Alk is very low, what amount of soda ash should I dose?

[Auntjemimma]

I recently took an alk reading with my Hanna checker and it came back with a 5.5dkh result. I will be dosing soda ash to raise the alk but I’m not too sure how much to dose to begin with, how often to dose throughout the day, and in what increments i should increase the dosage if needed?

alk 5.5dkh
magnesium 1380-1410
ph 7.86
calc 490
phos .04

 

[glb]

I recently took an alk reading with my Hanna checker and it came back with a 5.5dkh result. I will be dosing soda ash to raise the alk but I’m not too sure how much to dose to begin with, how often to dose throughout the day, and in what increments i should increase the dosage if needed?

alk 5.5dkh
magnesium 1380-1410
ph 7.86
calc 490
phos .04

I’d raise the alk slowly. I think no more than 1.5dkh/day is the recommended limit. BRS has an alk calculator on their website that will tell you exactly how much you need to add. Since you won’t be raising it all at once but over several days, you could probably get away with dosing once/day but dosing over the course of the day in smaller amounts would work too. How did it get that low?

 

[Auntjemimma]

I’d raise the alk slowly. I think no more than 1.5dkh/day is the recommended limit. BRS has an alk calculator on their website that will tell you exactly how much you need to add. Since you won’t be raising it all at once but over several days, you could probably get away with dosing once/day but dosing over the course of the day in smaller amounts would work too. How did it get that low?

I’m going to assume from my GSP which has really taken off over the last several months. I had never really worried about it before but now that I have so many corals I will be checking regularly.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

This may help you for the amount to dose. Reef Chemistry Calculator

Dennis

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I’m going to assume from my GSP which has really taken off over the last several months. I had never really worried about it before but now that I have so many corals I will be checking regularly.

GSP don't consume alkalinity.

Try the kit on some new salt water to be sure you are getting plausible readings before upping the tank, then if so, use the calculator linked above.

 

[glb]

I’m going to assume from my GSP which has really taken off over the last several months. I had never really worried about it before but now that I have so many corals I will be checking regularly.

I’d recommend the Hanna Checker for alk. It’s the best on the market IMO. Good luck!

 

[Auntjemimma]

I’d recommend the Hanna Checker for alk. It’s the best on the market IMO. Good luck!

That is the one I used. The first time I tested it came back 5.9, I tested again the next day and got 5.5.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That is the one I used. The first time I tested it came back 5.9, I tested again the next day and got 5.5.

Try it on new water.

 

[Auntjemimma]

Try it on new water.

Thats a good Idea, I have some saltwater pre-mixed that i'll try out this evening. My birds nest coral (roughly softball size) and montiporas have grown quite a bit, do you think that is what is causing the alk drop?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thats a good Idea, I have some saltwater pre-mixed that i'll try out this evening. My birds nest coral (roughly softball size) and montiporas have grown quite a bit, do you think that is what is causing the alk drop?

Might be, or it might be test error.

 

[glb]

Try it on new water.

Thats a good Idea, I have some saltwater pre-mixed that i'll try out this evening. My birds nest coral (roughly softball size) and montiporas have grown quite a bit, do you think that is what is causing the alk drop?

How old is your testing reagent? I’ve had errors when I used expired reagent

 

[Tamberav]

I recently took an alk reading with my Hanna checker and it came back with a 5.5dkh result. I will be dosing soda ash to raise the alk but I’m not too sure how much to dose to begin with, how often to dose throughout the day, and in what increments i should increase the dosage if needed?

alk 5.5dkh
magnesium 1380-1410
ph 7.86
calc 490
phos .04

Raise it slowly to your desired level but then you should test daily the same time every day for a week to see consumption (don’t dose during this) so you know the daily dose and continue to test alk once or twice a week as it can change. Every tank is different.

 

[Ccote]

I’m having same problem. I have 90 gallon and it has 13 rose bubble tip anemones in it along with a zoa garden; a leather, and a gargonian. Tank was not looking good so I tested water two days In a row at the same time. My alk was 5.6 first day and 5.5 second day. I want to raise it to 8. I’ll be dosing by hand. I heard .5 a day is the max. Is this true?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I’m having same problem. I have 90 gallon and it has 13 rose bubble tip anemones in it along with a zoa garden; a leather, and a gargonian. Tank was not looking good so I tested water two days In a row at the same time. My alk was 5.6 first day and 5.5 second day. I want to raise it to 8. I’ll be dosing by hand. I heard .5 a day is the max. Is this true?

There's no set rule on alk raising, but going slow is desirable and 0.5 dKH a day dosed is a fine plan. I'd split it into morning and afternoon doses if you do not have a dosing pump, and you may find demand outstrips that dose and may need to dose more each day to make progress.

 

[ApoIsland]

I recently took an alk reading with my Hanna checker and it came back with a 5.5dkh result. I will be dosing soda ash to raise the alk but I’m not too sure how much to dose to begin with, how often to dose throughout the day, and in what increments i should increase the dosage if needed?

alk 5.5dkh
magnesium 1380-1410
ph 7.86
calc 490
phos .04

For the last couple weeks I have been adding enough to increase alk 0.5dkh three to 4 times per day. I’ll dump it in at 7am, noon, 6pm and 10pm. No I’ll affects so far so I would say you can safely add 0.5dkh every 4 to 5 hours.