Alk swung

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

Erin1971Texas said:
Ok. It's generally best to wait 12 hours or more to test alk, calcium, and magnesium after a water change or manually dosing. Test again right before you go to bed or first thing in the morning. The reading of 13 might have been a very temporary rise...

It’s been about 5 hours since I tested luckily it’s a super simple test with Hanna so that’s a win

DanyL · Jan 13, 2023

Bacterial blooms aren't a big deal when you plan for them, and in this case you'll be doing small daily water changes.
That being said, as others have suggested I would stay away from carbon dosing, as your nutrients are too low and it'll most likely do more hard than good at this point.

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

Poseidon03 said:
Those are super hardy. They might brown out, but shouldn't peal. Every tank is different though, so you never know.

Btw, keep an eye on your alk. It could plummet a ton due to dropping your nutrients and increasing your alk. You might see a lot of growth. You will definitely see a spike in nutrients again. Your rock will be releasing all the stored nitrate and phosphate. I'd continue doing 30% water changes every 3 days.

I need to stop chasing dang numbers the corals was all fluffy and appeared happy as could be but since everyone preaches 20 or less no3 and less than .08 po4 here we are ‍

DanyL · Jan 13, 2023

Chucky said:
It’s been about 5 hours since I tested luckily it’s a super simple test with Hanna so that’s a win

Hanna Alk tests can often be inaccurate, do you have a Salifert/Red Sea test kit on hand?

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Jan 13, 2023

Chucky said:
It’s been about 5 hours since I tested luckily it’s a super simple test with Hanna so that’s a win

My advice, which may absolutely not be the best, is to test again in the morning and go from there. If alk is down to 11 or less then you probably didn't have as big of a swing as you thought. If it's still high, mix some new saltwater, TEST THE ALK*, and do a 20% water change.
*If the alk of your new SW is higher than the tank alk, you'll be better off not doing the water change yet.

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

DanyL said:
Hanna Alk tests are can often be inaccurate, do you have a Salifert/Red Sea test kit on hand?

Well tbh I first tested it with api i know unreliable but it was saying 11 drops took it to yellow then I checked with Hanna and 13.8 is what she read

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

Erin1971Texas said:
My advice, which may absolutely not be the best, is to test again in the morning and go from there. If alk is down to 11 or less then you probably didn't have as big of a swing as you thought. If it's still high, mix some new saltwater, TEST THE ALK*, and do a 20% water change.
*If the alk of your new SW is higher than the tank alk, you'll be better off not doing the water change yet.

Thank you for your help ma’am

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Jan 13, 2023

Chucky said:
I need to stop chasing dang numbers the corals was all fluffy and appeared happy as could be but since everyone preaches 20 or less no3 and less than .08 po4 here we are ‍

Not everyone preaches that, but somehow it's become gospel, lol.

It is difficult to meet the nutritient requirements for softies, LPS, and most sps all in one tank, especially a small one, but the SPS you have are fine with dirtier water and the lps and softies won't mind N : P of 50:0.5.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Jan 13, 2023

Chucky said:
Well tbh I first tested it with api i know unreliable but it was saying 11 drops took it to yellow then I checked with Hanna and 13.8 is what she read

API is not unreliable, their tests just aren't as precise.

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

Erin1971Texas said:
Not everyone preaches that, but somehow it's become gospel, lol.

It is difficult to meet the nutritient requirements for softies, LPS, and most sps all in one tank, especially a small one, but the SPS you have are fine with dirtier water and the lps and softies won't mind N : P of 50:0.5.

I agree with you totally I have a buddy whose literally the only other reefer I’ve came to know personally that lives a couple towns over and he preaches it and well I listen ‍

when I had my 180g mixed Reef I never checked anything I just fed it and wc once a month didn’t even dose it much. It was a fully established wet system I bought this tanks my first one I’ve did from scratch and it’s been quite the journey haha

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Jan 13, 2023

Chucky said:
Well tbh I first tested it with api i know unreliable but it was saying 11 drops took it to yellow then I checked with Hanna and 13.8 is what she read

Wait, API isn't a titration test...

Never mind, I'm thinking of nitrate, lol

DanyL · Jan 13, 2023

Erin1971Texas said:
API is not unreliable, their tests just aren't as precise.

They can actually be used for high resolution readings as well by dilution.

Chucky said:
Well tbh I first tested it with api i know unreliable but it was saying 11 drops took it to yellow then I checked with Hanna and 13.8 is what she read

I would trust the results from API over Hanna.
Do another API test, make sure to follow the instructions.

If this is the case, it's most likely to be a bad Hanna Alk reagent and a smaller Alk swing than you thought it was.

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

Erin1971Texas said:
API is not unreliable, their tests just aren't as precise.

Well most people say stay away from api due to there unreliability lol idk tho

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

DanyL said:
They can actually be used for high resolution readings as well by dilution.

I would trust the results from API over Hanna.
Do another API test, make sure to follow the instructions.

If this is the case, it's most likely to be a bad Hanna Alk reagent and a smaller Alk swing than you thought it was.

Okay I’ll check it again with api one moment

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Jan 13, 2023

Completely off topic, but what does ‍

mean (in the context of this discussion)? I don't even see that as an emoji choice

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

DanyL said:
They can actually be used for high resolution readings as well by dilution.

I would trust the results from API over Hanna.
Do another API test, make sure to follow the instructions.

If this is the case, it's most likely to be a bad Hanna Alk reagent and a smaller Alk swing than you thought it was.

Just checked went yellow at 11 drops then broke the dang vial ‍

Chucky · Jan 13, 2023

Erin1971Texas said:
Completely off topic, but what does ‍ mean (in the context of this discussion)? I don't even see that as an emoji choice

It’s when I use smh emoji idk why it’s doing that

DanyL · Jan 13, 2023

Chucky said:
Just checked went yellow at 11 drops then broke the dang vial ‍

Ok so first thing you do tomorrow is to get a new Alk test from either Salifert, Red Sea, AquaForset or Tropic Marin and test again.

I also suggest getting new salt with lower element values such as the blue bucket from Red Sea for your upcoming water changes, this will make it easier for you to lower alk in the upcoming weeks.