Extreme ALK Consumption Need Help

KrisReef

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Yes, dry white rock, and dry aragonite. I didn't know dry rock would "absorb" alk. Is that a thing?
Apparantly yes, it is a thing. Way I read the description was that rocks have spots on there structures where they will absorb alk until those "holes" in the crystal structures are filled/bonded with alk. Until they get filled they absorb alk from the water. Once they are filled, they will continue to lose and gain alk but at a rate of equilibrium with dissolving and absorbing it. I have not tested this, but the guy who posted it isn't a slouch chemist (or geologist) like myself. Other people have reported the same thing, always new dry rock.

I tossed a dry chunk fresh from the lfs and measured a few ppb of phosphorus being released from fresh-dry quarry rock, but I haven't tested alk. I did start adding baking soda to my rock tanks (for curing and storage) when I realized that alk is absorbed by these rocks. I'd rather have a rock leaching extra alk instead of your situation when I add it to a system. I have also added lanthanium chloride into the barrels if I measure P in the water, and keep adding until I get zeros. Then I rinse out the buckets and soak them in fresh salt water so they are ready when needed. hth.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Apparantly yes, it is a thing. Way I read the description was that rocks have spots on there structures where they will absorb alk until those "holes" in the crystal structures are filled/bonded with alk. Until they get filled they absorb alk from the water. Once they are filled, they will continue to lose and gain alk but at a rate of equilibrium with dissolving and absorbing it. I have not tested this, but the guy who posted it isn't a slouch chemist (or geologist) like myself. Other people have reported the same thing, always new dry rock.

I tossed a dry chunk fresh from the lfs and measured a few ppb of phosphorus being released from fresh-dry quarry rock, but I haven't tested alk. I did start adding baking soda to my rock tanks (for curing and storage) when I realized that alk is absorbed by these rocks. I'd rather have a rock leaching extra alk instead of your situation when I add it to a system. I have also added lanthanium chloride into the barrels if I measure P in the water, and keep adding until I get zeros. Then I rinse out the buckets and soak them in fresh salt water so they are ready when needed. hth.

If there is such an effect, I think a better description is that the bare calcium carbonate surfaces act as seed crystals for precipitation of calcium carbonate, which is supersaturated in most reef aquaria and in normal seawater.
 
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ALAIRMORE

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Apparantly yes, it is a thing. Way I read the description was that rocks have spots on there structures where they will absorb alk until those "holes" in the crystal structures are filled/bonded with alk. Until they get filled they absorb alk from the water. Once they are filled, they will continue to lose and gain alk but at a rate of equilibrium with dissolving and absorbing it. I have not tested this, but the guy who posted it isn't a slouch chemist (or geologist) like myself. Other people have reported the same thing, always new dry rock.

I tossed a dry chunk fresh from the lfs and measured a few ppb of phosphorus being released from fresh-dry quarry rock, but I haven't tested alk. I did start adding baking soda to my rock tanks (for curing and storage) when I realized that alk is absorbed by these rocks. I'd rather have a rock leaching extra alk instead of your situation when I add it to a system. I have also added lanthanium chloride into the barrels if I measure P in the water, and keep adding until I get zeros. Then I rinse out the buckets and soak them in fresh salt water so they are ready when needed. hth.

Amazing information thank you. It really helps to know I'm not completely bonkers. When I was seeing almost 1dkh drop a day. The first thing I thought was my Hanna checker was defective, so I picked up a red sea kit got almost identical results still not understanding how I'm losing so much alk I got a third test kit from Salifert and same results.

Last night I tested at 7dkh so I dosed 3.5grams Na2CO3 got it to 8dkh tested today about 22 hours later its 7.1 :confounded-face: that's with running kalk at a slow drip.

1672806599636.png


I will continue to test and dose with weekly water changes. Thank you all for your help I will keep updating.

Edit: Typo
 
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KrisReef

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Amazing information thank you. It really helps to know I'm not completely bonkers. When I was seeing almost 1dkh drop a day. The first thing I thought was my Hanna checker was defective, so I picked up a red sea kit got almost identical results still not understanding how I'm losing so much alk I got a third test kit from Salifert and same results.

Last night I tested at 7dkh so I dosed 3.5grams Na2CO3 got it to 8dkh tested today about 22 hours later its 7.1 :confounded-face: that's with running kalk at a slow drip.

1672806599636.png


I will continue to test and dose with weekly water changes. Thank you all for your help I will keep updating.

Edit: Typo
Nicely done! Beautiful report. It will be interesting to see how long this takes to remedy, hopefully it will be cured rapid.
 

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