Alkalinity rising quickly

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My alkalinity keeps rising and my corals are all taking a hit over the past week I am up 1 dkh I am not dosing or anything I haven’t put my hands in the tank in about 2 weeks when I last did a water change I do one this Sunday. Please help I am using salifter test kit and I have been testing very frequently. Here is my log or testing.

08D841FA-A113-4B4A-B2EF-2B91DC53A185.png
 
OP
OP
gaving

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I changed salts back in March to Red Sea blue bucket but since then no
 
OP
OP
gaving

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yes I mix the bag every time I am doing a water change right now and Im going to check the dkh of the water
 

Daftendire

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 23, 2020
Messages
94
Reaction score
89
Location
Chadds Ford, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Your post says you haven't dosed anything but are you adding anything to increase nitrates? I've dosed NeoNitrate before which caused my alk to increase similarly to this.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
66,552
Reaction score
62,855
Location
Arlington, Massachusetts, United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You can lower alkalinity with sodium bisulfate (or muriatic acid). Seachem acid buffer contains this.

It is best done in the water change water (you can drop alk there as low as you want) since it drops pH and you need to aerate to bring it up, but could be done very slowly in an aquarium.

 
OP
OP
gaving

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Your post says you haven't dosed anything but are you adding anything to increase nitrates? I've dosed NeoNitrate before which caused my alk to increase similarly to this.
I am not and never have on this tank
 
OP
OP
gaving

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
How long has the tank been set up?

What kind of rock and/sand?

What type of water for top off?

Any additives at all? Nitrate dosing?
The tank was setup August 30 2020

Carib sea dry live rock and Carib sea araganite Figi pink sand.

I use Rodi water

nope
 
OP
OP
gaving

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You can lower alkalinity with sodium bisulfate (or muriatic acid). Seachem acid buffer contains this.

It is best done in the water change water (you can drop alk there as low as you want) since it drops pH and you need to aerate to bring it up, but could be done very slowly in an aquarium.


I just did a water change 1 minute ago and the dkh of the new water was 9.4 so hopefully that will help
 
OP
OP
gaving

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Has alk been rising all along, or only recently?
I tried dosing in may but I quickly stopped because I lost a frag and at the time I only had 4 so it impacted the amount needed it was a milipora normally it has been rising just never this quickly.
 

ying yang

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 16, 2021
Messages
4,860
Reaction score
10,103
Location
Liverpool
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Are you stirring the salt before adding it to the water?
Why stir the salt before adding it to the water to be mixed ?

So that it doesnt clump together and elements stick together or what ?
I never stir the salt and never heard that its good practice to stir the salt first before adding it to the water to be mixed.
 
OP
OP
gaving

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Some salts separate over time and you will get fluctuations in the levels of the salt. So the alkalinity and mag could separate so you could be making saltwater with a dkh of 4 and mag of 1600.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
66,552
Reaction score
62,855
Location
Arlington, Massachusetts, United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I tried dosing in may but I quickly stopped because I lost a frag and at the time I only had 4 so it impacted the amount needed it was a milipora normally it has been rising just never this quickly.

But has the alk been rising since the tank was set up, or only for the time frame listed here?
 
OP
OP
gaving

gaving

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
49
Reaction score
14
Location
new york
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
But has the alk been rising since the tank was set up, or only for the time frame listed here?
No there was a good period around October-March where the tank was stable. Just over the past few weeks the alk has been raising just this week alk has gone up more then normal
 
Back
Top