Alk goes up calc goes down

[techhnyne]

So im noticing a trend in my daily numbers. It seems as my all goes up my cal goes down. I know the higher the alk the more calcium intake corals use but would i notice a drastic difference in daily swings?

i am dosing daily and trying to even out the numbers and get my cal to 450 steady without raising too fast at once

note
i was dosing alk daily until it hit 9 then i did not dose alk again until it hit 8.2

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Curious to know what brand of tests you use

 

[techhnyne]

Curious to know what brand of tests you use

I am using hanna tests and i test at 10pm every night

 

[Enchanted Reefs]

Are you dosing all at once or throughout the day? Also are you consistently testing at the same time every day or at random times

 

[gbroadbridge]

So im noticing a trend in my daily numbers. It seems as my all goes up my cal goes down. I know the higher the alk the more calcium intake corals use but would i notice a drastic difference in daily swings?

i am dosing daily and trying to even out the numbers and get my cal to 450 steady without raising too fast at once

Are you dosing organic carbons?

if not I suspect test error.

 

[techhnyne]

Are you dosing all at once or throughout the day? Also are you consistently testing at the same time every day or at random times

Im dosing once per day at the same times every day
And testing at 10pm every night

 

[techhnyne]

Are you dosing organic carbons?

if not I suspect test error.

I am dosing triton other methods

what makes you think test error?

i was dosing alk daily until it hit 9 then i did not dose alk again until it hit 8.2

 

[Enchanted Reefs]

Im dosing once per day at the same times every day
And testing at 10pm every night

Are you also dosing calcium? If so how much have you been dosing every day of calcium and alkalinity? Have you been dosing different amounts each day or the same quantity?

 

[techhnyne]

Are you also dosing calcium? If so how much have you been dosing every day of calcium and alkalinity? Have you been dosing different amounts each day or the same quantity?

I mostly doze the same amount but if i test and notice my cal is down i dose 2x the amount to try get it back up.

im trying to find out if scientifically if i raise the alk does the cal test lower or is my coral really eating that much cal when my alk goes up? Should i dose cal to 450 and then stop dosing to see how fast it drops daily?

 

[Enchanted Reefs]

If you’re alk supplement has high ph and you’re increasing the dosage to reach a high alk number it might cause some precipitation which may be a reason as to why the calcium might be going down

 

[techhnyne]

If you’re alk supplement has high ph and you’re increasing the dosage to reach a high alk number it might cause some precipitation which may be a reason as to why the calcium might be going down

What do you mean by cause precipitation? How do i know if my alk is high ph?

 

[Enchanted Reefs]

Here’s a page that explains precipitation pretty well

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.php#1

You can search your alk supplement on Google and you might find it’s ph value

 

[techhnyne]

Here’s a page that explains precipitation pretty well

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.php#1

You can search your alk supplement on Google and you might find it’s ph value

Ill read up.
Thanks

 

[Enchanted Reefs]

I mostly doze the same amount but if i test and notice my cal is down i dose 2x the amount to try get it back up.

im trying to find out if scientifically if i raise the alk does the cal test lower or is my coral really eating that much cal when my alk goes up? Should i dose cal to 450 and then stop dosing to see how fast it drops daily?

As for your test, you can try it but corals respond differently to sudden changes so you might want to Keep your calcium at 450 for some time that way your corals can adjust to the calcium level before you cut it off. A better test that might cause less stress in your coral would be to raise your alk to a higher value and keep it consistent. Then adjust your dosage of calcium until it remains consistent at 450 for some time and compare how much your new dosage amount is compared to what you are currently dosing

 

[techhnyne]

As for your test, you can try it but corals respond differently to sudden changes so you might want to Keep your calcium at 450 for some time that way your corals can adjust to the calcium level before you cut it off. A better test that might cause less stress in your coral would be to raise your alk to a higher value and keep it consistent. Then adjust your dosage of calcium until it remains consistent at 450 for some time and compare how much your new dosage amount is compared to what you are currently dosing

Ok maybe ill stick with what im doing now which is figure out how yo keep my alk steady then adjust cal since i assume corals have less adverse reaction to lower cal then to alk swings

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I mostly doze the same amount but if i test and notice my cal is down i dose 2x the amount to try get it back up.

im trying to find out if scientifically if i raise the alk does the cal test lower or is my coral really eating that much cal when my alk goes up? Should i dose cal to 450 and then stop dosing to see how fast it drops daily?

There’s nothing to figure out in relation to calcification consumption. It is fixed at 18-20 ppm calcium per 1 meq/L (1.4 dKH) of alk.

If there is an effect other than testing issues, it comes from other sources and sinks for alk. Declining or dosing nitrate, for example, adds alkalinity.