Alk 4.8.... whatttttt!!!

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Ok... so as some of you know I recently switched from Red Sea Coral Pro to Tropic Marine Pro. Original plan was to buffer the alk, but my tank took to the new salt pretty well without issue. I do a 3gal AWC daily to keep up with nutrients and most of my corals are just coming up on a year old. Finally decided to order a hanna checker for my alk since I was debating playing with soda ash for the buffer. Well it came in... I came home late today as I often do and noticed my corals didn't look normal. PE wasn't as significant and they just looked off to me. So I opened up the hanna and tested... 4.8 :O I couldn't believe it so I grabbed my red sea and salifert tests.... 5.2 and 5.7... did another hanna 4.8. Holy hell! So luckily I had soda ash already mixed with RODI, got the brs calculator and figured out what it would take to get it back to 9, but sloooooowwwly. 11.4 floz. I dumped 4oz in the sump near the return and put the rest in my ATO reservoir. I'm going to be gone 12 hours tomorrow and leave Saturday until Monday. Yikes, anxiety is through the roof. I'll test again in the morning and tomorrow when I get home to see where i'm at. I hate to play a guessing game before leaving for three days, but may not have a choice without time to get it to normal and then see how fast it is dropping daily. I can't believe none of my corals have just pooped the bed...Wish me luck!

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

pH has shot up to 8.5... thinking i'll leave the fuge light off tonight and get some kalk in route

 

[MnFish1]

pH has shot up to 8.5... thinking i'll leave the fuge light off tonight and get some kalk in route

curious - what was your alk the last time you measured it? Since youre leaving - you obviously have to do 'something' - but - do you have any clue WHY your alk has changed? Because if there is an underlying 'cause' - just adding soda ash might not be enough. And if it has been slowly dropping over weeks (i.e. dont know when you checked it last) - there is no emergency to 'fixing it'?

FWIW - from what I've read here @Randy Holmes-Farley It is extremely difficult to get alkalinities this low in a reef tank without some obvious problem. Hope you can figure out what caused it.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

curious - what was your alk the last time you measured it? Since youre leaving - you obviously have to do 'something' - but - do you have any clue WHY your alk has changed? Because if there is an underlying 'cause' - just adding soda ash might be enough. And if it has been slowly dropping over weeks (i.e. dont know when you checked it last) - there is no emergency to 'fixing it'?

FWIW - from what I've read here @Randy Holmes-Farley It is extremely difficult to get alkalinities this low in a reef tank without some obvious problem. Hope you can figure out what caused it.

My only thought is that when I was running RS coral pro it wasnt dropping to levels that made me notice a difference in my corals because of the AWC.

Dont get me wrong I have quite a few sps in my tank that were growing well. I'm thinking my consumption was higher then I thought as I wasnt testing nearly enough. I tested right before moving to tropic marine about two weeks ago and was at 10dkh.

I'm thinking the soda ash is a good fix for now, but need to see where calcium is at. It should be rather low as well if I'm chalking this up to consumption and a salt swap?

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Might also make sense why the transition was so smooth. If I was already consuming from 12dkh to 10dkh with AWC, then going to 8 over the course of two weeks...

 

[MnFish1]

My only thought is that when I was running RS coral pro it wasnt dropping to levels that made me notice a difference in my corals because of the AWC.

Dont get me wrong I have quite a few sps in my tank that were growing well. I'm thinking my consumption was higher then I thought as I wasnt testing nearly enough. I tested right before moving to tropic marine about two weeks ago and was at 10dkh.

I'm thinking the soda ash is a good fix for now, but need to see where calcium is at. It should be rather low as well if I'm chalking this up to consumption and a salt swap?

Right.... I would make sure on the Ca, Mg and Alk.

 

[MnFish1]

Might also make sense why the transition was so smooth. If I was already consuming from 12dkh to 10dkh with AWC, then going to 8 over the course of two weeks...

PS - I guess I always thought that rather than taking the Alk that low - the coral would just stop growing. But - it's interesting....

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

PS - I guess I always thought that rather than taking the Alk that low - the coral would just stop growing. But - it's interesting....

It's a recent drop for sure. I was testing weekly but have been away quite a bit and it got away from me. Plus coraline was still growing and everything has looked great.

Btw calcium is at 420 so I'm lost at this point. Just praying I havent nuked my tank right now. 11:30pm here and up at 5 so hope I have reason to test in the AM.

 

[MnFish1]

It's a recent drop for sure. I was testing weekly but have been away quite a bit and it got away from me. Plus coraline was still growing and everything has looked great.

Btw calcium is at 420 so I'm lost at this point. Just praying I havent nuked my tank right now. 11:30pm here and up at 5 so hope I have reason to test in the AM.

Did you change salt for a reason>

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Did you change salt for a reason>

Yeah precip in my awc station.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

6.3 this morning prior to leaving for work.

Everything looked okay...

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

pH is down to 8.36

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Alk is at 7.1, pH is 8.5... nothing lost thus far. Miracle.

 

[JoeD_]

Good luck, nothing more disastrous to SPS than alk swings!

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Good luck, nothing more disastrous to SPS than alk swings!

I'm aware and very shocked that everything looked great prior to leaving today.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

may have found some part of the culprit... I mixed up a new batch of salt last night for my AWC station and tested the water. Tropic Marine Pro and tested to 6.7

 

[Mical]

Are you stirring salt in bag/bucket before you add it to your RO water? Elements tend to settle while sitting. I found mixing salt up before adding it to RO water gives me more consistent readings that concur w/manufacturers specs.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Are you stirring salt in bag/bucket before you add it to your RO water? Elements tend to settle while sitting. I found mixing salt up before adding it to RO water gives me more consistent readings that concur w/manufacturers specs.

I use the whole bag.

 

[ShepherdTech]

may have found some part of the culprit... I mixed up a new batch of salt last night for my AWC station and tested the water. Tropic Marine Pro and tested to 6.7

That is why I stopped using that specific salt.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

That is why I stopped using that specific salt.

You're the first person I've read that had the issue. I'm hoping it isn't consistently low.