Frag tiles raising alk? Possible?

[findingsimple]

On Saturday I added about 10 5cm * 5cm frag tiles to my tank (with some frags I made)

Since that day my alk has been on the rise and I can’t get it to go down. It’s gone from a stable 9-9.5 up to 13 just now.

I turned the doser off as soon as it went above 9.5 (Saturday) and it hasn’t been on since.

Is it possible for the tiles to do this? They were brand new / not cured

 

[findingsimple]

I’ve tried changing some reasonable amounts of water to bring it down but that hasn’t worked.

And made a completely new batch of salt water (new rodi)

 

[Jason_MrFrags]

Yes its possible if they were not cured

 

[findingsimple]

Dang. Will I be able to ride this out or is this quite bad? Corals don’t seem concerned at the moment but….

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What sort of tile?

Only uncured cement is an issue. Normal fired ceramic tiles (like floor tiles) are not going to boost alk noticeably.

 

[findingsimple]

They weren’t like ceramic tiles - they were frag tiles - so like frag plugs except a tile so yes more like cement I guess.

Basically a tile version of a frag plug.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Well, "frag plug" doesn't mean anything to me, composition wise. People use all kinds of things.

Are you talking about a commercial product?

 

[findingsimple]

Right sorry just assumed that was easiest way to describe a common white frag plug.

It’s a commercial product, the LFS buys in bulk and sells individually so I don’t know the brand.

Anyhoo I feel like I’m not going anywhere with this thread. It does seem like the tiles have caused the alk to rise. I had no idea this was possible.

Seems like I either need to remove them or ride it out.

Thanks all.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I’m skeptical they impact alk unless made of cement.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Try putting a couple in a cup of tank water and measure alk over a week or so.

 

[findingsimple]

I’ll have to get some more. I used the ones I purchased.

Since I put them in the tank it’s gone from a steady 9-9.5 peaked at 13.8 yesterday (always going up even with water changes) and has just starting going down over night. So I’m hoping that trajectory continues.

I haven’t made any other changes and have everything automated down to my skimmer cup being emptied every night.

Reef factory Kh Keeper and Hanna checker both gave consistent results.

So strange and frustrating

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I’ll have to get some more. I used the ones I purchased.

Since I put them in the tank it’s gone from a steady 9-9.5 peaked at 13.8 yesterday (always going up even with water changes) and has just starting going down over night. So I’m hoping that trajectory continues.

I haven’t made any other changes and have everything automated down to my skimmer cup being emptied every night.

Reef factory Kh Keeper and Hanna checker both gave consistent results.

So strange and frustrating

People do experience rising alk for other reasons. I would not discount those.

These other reasons include dosing or declining nitrate, water changes with a high alk salt mix, and dissolution of sand and rock as organics in them break down, releasing Co2, lowering the pH there and dissolving the calcium carbonate.

 

[findingsimple]

Thanks.

My doser hasn’t been on, nitrates steady, salt mix hasn’t changed (Red Sea blue and tests within expected range).

My tank is only 7 months old, is dissolution of sand and rock common for that sort of age? (I have no idea, genuinely interested I know nothing of this side and keen to look out for it) - I have tested ph over the last few days as well and it’s been fairly steady - if anything very slightly elevated.

Alk is continuing to drop as the day has gone by so I’ve got that downward trajectory I was hoping for.

 

[Jason_MrFrags]

get another testing kit or have someone else verify test results

 

[Dennis Cartier]

get another testing kit or have someone else verify test results

He is already cross referencing a Reef factory Kh Keeper and Hanna checker, so the result is probably accurate.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks.

My doser hasn’t been on, nitrates steady, salt mix hasn’t changed (Red Sea blue and tests within expected range).

My tank is only 7 months old, is dissolution of sand and rock common for that sort of age? (I have no idea, genuinely interested I know nothing of this side and keen to look out for it) - I have tested ph over the last few days as well and it’s been fairly steady - if anything very slightly elevated.

Alk is continuing to drop as the day has gone by so I’ve got that downward trajectory I was hoping for.

I don't think there's much age dependence to sand and rock dissolution, though it may correlate with organic detritus accumulation down in the sand. it is normal in all tanks, IMO, but only gets noticed in tanks with low alk demand to begin with.

 

[findingsimple]

> but only gets noticed in tanks with low alk demand to begin with.

Interesting, I guess that could be it if I stirred the sand up a bit too much. But then again I do have a leopard wrasse which is forever stirring things up more than I have ever done. Interesting

Not sure whether I fit into low alk consumption, I've been/was dosing ~60ml of AF components pro a day to keep things stable at that 9-9.5 and it was gradually increasing as demand as things have grown.

 

[findingsimple]

I'll definitely try and get some more of these tiles and try and run a test

 

[findingsimple]

Alk back down to 10.5 so we’re getting close to what was normal for the tank.

I’m certain it was the tiles. I won’t be using them again and the LFS is going to be getting an update next time I’m there.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Alk back down to 10.5 so we’re getting close to what was normal for the tank.

I’m certain it was the tiles. I won’t be using them again and the LFS is going to be getting an update next time I’m there.

Thanks for the update!