Hello, trying to wrap my head around why Alk steadily increases every week without any dosing (no pH additives either).
22g AIO
5g water change every week - source water is Fritz salt, Alk is steady 8.7 every test/batch.
Cheato in back chamber, filter floss + BRS Rox Carbon and Purigen in media bag (plan on removing the purigen today, need more nutrients).
No skimmer, no GFO (had them but both removed May 13th).
Light is 4 t5 bulbs + 4 nano-box pucks hung about 2 ft up since it is overkill.
5 fish fed LRS frozen food 1-2 times per day
Handful of small SPS frags that are very slowly growing
Tank is 1 year old
Alk after last water change was 9.2 on May 18th, tested alk just now before water change, it is 9.8 (I checked it twice).
Salinity 1.026 with calibrated refractometer (double checked with a 2nd one)
Calcium 445 (red sea)
Mg 1380 (red sea)
Po4 0 (hanna low range phosphorous, usually runs 0.02)
Nitrate: 0.50 (red sea)
Temp: 76 (Noticed today I did have some swings at night down to 72, yikes, bad heater, replacing it today)
I use hanna alk checker, bought a new reagent, same results. I also bought the hanna alk standard set and it verified the hanna was working correctly.
Top off water is RODI using Spectrapure unit, 0 TDS, filters changed a few months ago. ATO container is a food safe water container, water from inside ATO tests 0 for ALK.
Sand is tropic eden dry reef flakes
Rock is Reef-Cleaners dry rock that has been with me live/kept wet for several years now in various tanks.
Let me know if I missed anything.
Thank you.
22g AIO
5g water change every week - source water is Fritz salt, Alk is steady 8.7 every test/batch.
Cheato in back chamber, filter floss + BRS Rox Carbon and Purigen in media bag (plan on removing the purigen today, need more nutrients).
No skimmer, no GFO (had them but both removed May 13th).
Light is 4 t5 bulbs + 4 nano-box pucks hung about 2 ft up since it is overkill.
5 fish fed LRS frozen food 1-2 times per day
Handful of small SPS frags that are very slowly growing
Tank is 1 year old
Alk after last water change was 9.2 on May 18th, tested alk just now before water change, it is 9.8 (I checked it twice).
Salinity 1.026 with calibrated refractometer (double checked with a 2nd one)
Calcium 445 (red sea)
Mg 1380 (red sea)
Po4 0 (hanna low range phosphorous, usually runs 0.02)
Nitrate: 0.50 (red sea)
Temp: 76 (Noticed today I did have some swings at night down to 72, yikes, bad heater, replacing it today)
I use hanna alk checker, bought a new reagent, same results. I also bought the hanna alk standard set and it verified the hanna was working correctly.
Top off water is RODI using Spectrapure unit, 0 TDS, filters changed a few months ago. ATO container is a food safe water container, water from inside ATO tests 0 for ALK.
Sand is tropic eden dry reef flakes
Rock is Reef-Cleaners dry rock that has been with me live/kept wet for several years now in various tanks.
Let me know if I missed anything.
Thank you.
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