Alkalinity (Randy Holmes recipe) precipitating and not raising levels much... help requested.

[Coxey81]

Sorry the thread title wasn't the best. But I've been using Randy's Alkalinity recipe for a while now and have had good results until lately.

I keep my newer tank at about 8.7 dkH. I started adding corals at the beginning of this year and have slowly added.

Everything is doing good. I started having to supplement alk, cal, and mag at the beginning of summer. Adding about 5 ml of randys alk recipe to bring it up from 8.4 back to 8.7 once a week.

It's a 40 gallon breeder with a 20 gallon sump. About 53 gallons total.

I added more corals over the last month and have noticed I'm now dipping down about 1 dkH a week. However, I noticed tonight the Alk I added two days ago had just precipitated and settle in front of my return pump. And when I tested Alk it was actually lower than it was right before I added it two days ago. I used a baster and stirred it up and saw it definitely spread throughout the tank. Waited til the water cleared a couple of hours later, and tested again. But it's still sitting at about 7.8 dkh.

I'm afraid it just precipitated again, but in a more spread out fashion and isn't raising the alk level any.

Any help with solutions, etc is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[homer1475]

Check your magnesium levels

 

[Miami Reef]

Are you dosing the Ca and Alk at the same time? They need to be spread apart until they fully dissolve.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sorry the thread title wasn't the best. But I've been using Randy's Alkalinity recipe for a while now and have had good results until lately.

I keep my newer tank at about 8.7 dkH. I started adding corals at the beginning of this year and have slowly added.

Everything is doing good. I started having to supplement alk, cal, and mag at the beginning of summer. Adding about 5 ml of randys alk recipe to bring it up from 8.4 back to 8.7 once a week.

It's a 40 gallon breeder with a 20 gallon sump. About 53 gallons total.

I added more corals over the last month and have noticed I'm now dipping down about 1 dkH a week. However, I noticed tonight the Alk I added two days ago had just precipitated and settle in front of my return pump. And when I tested Alk it was actually lower than it was right before I added it two days ago. I used a baster and stirred it up and saw it definitely spread throughout the tank. Waited til the water cleared a couple of hours later, and tested again. But it's still sitting at about 7.8 dkh.

I'm afraid it just precipitated again, but in a more spread out fashion and isn't raising the alk level any.

Any help with solutions, etc is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Which recipe are you using?

 

[Coxey81]

Which recipe are you using?

I'm using recipe #1. The baked baking soda.

 

[Coxey81]

Are you dosing the Ca and Alk at the same time? They need to be spread apart until they fully dissolve.

No, I actually didn't dose any calcium this time because it was at 450.

 

[Coxey81]

Check your magnesium levels

Magnesium was 1360

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The material you see precipitating may be magnesium hydroxide that will redissolve with more mixing. or it may be calcium carbonate that will not.

In either case, dosing recipe #2 will reduce or eliminate the issue, so if increased flow doesn’t help, that change should.

 

[Coxey81]

The material you see precipitating may be magnesium hydroxide that will redissolve with more mixing. or it may be calcium carbonate that will not.

In either case, dosing recipe #2 will reduce or eliminate the issue, so if increased flow doesn’t help, that change should.

Ok, thanks

 

[Gadbery]

Ok, thanks

Looking at starting to use this recipe#1 for alk/cal/mag
If im not mistaken the ALK mixture and Calcium Mixture should be delivered in equal parts to one another. Spread out 30min apart from each other but equal dosiage. then dose mag mixtue when needed (or when the other 2 dose containers empty)

If im understanding this wrong please let me know

 

[homer1475]

You got it.

Dose in equal amounts, roughly 15 to 30 minutes apart so they do not precipitate.