Issues with Alkalinity

[Jrenzo]

Hello!

I've been having issues now for the past couple of weeks. I recently converted a freshwater tank to a Saltwater tank about a month ago and I'm having issues with raising the Alkalinity up on the tank. As you can see from the photo's there is precipitation when I dose with Alkalinity to the tank, it just sticks to the aquarium walls. I was using a canister filter before and I recently changed to a HOB filter, Tidal 75, that just has biomedia+Rhos Phoa/ChemPure Blue inside it.

These are the water parameters for this tank.

Alkalinity: 7.0
MG: 1400
Calcium: 400
Salinity: 1.026
Phosphate: 0
Nitrate: 2
PH 8.2

Using RedSea dosing, Alkalinity, and test kits. I also have some Hannah test kits as well that I use to cross-reference anything that might seem wonky. I started by buying my Saltwater mix from my local fish stories but recently I started to make my own. I'm using an RODI kit that measures 0 TDS before I mix the salt, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt, and I top off with the same RODI water.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated, just trying to get this tank under control. I have not dosed Alkalinity in 5 days since it keeps just collecting on the glass when I attempt to.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[Jekyl]

Add it to your top off water and allow it time to mix before entering the tank

 

[CreatiVe2]

Semi unrelated, but has your tank fully cycled?

 

[Jekyl]

Coral pro salt mixes to over 11dkh. Unless you have something soaking it up like coral or fast rise in nitrates it shouldn't be getting so low. If using a refractometer to test salinity make sure to use the calibration fluid every time.

 

[mdb_talon]

What else besides the HOB is providing flow? Assuming your numbers are accurate you should not be seeing that unless you just dont have enough flow and/or putting too much in at once.

 

[Jrenzo]

Thanks for all the replies!

The tank finished cycling about two weeks ago. I have two clowns in there and they are happy and healthy. There is a Nero 5 pump that is providing the majority of the flow in the tank, the tank itself is only 25 G.

For reference, I have another Saltwater tank next to it that uses the same RODI Water and salt mix and that tank has zero issues with water parameters other than the natural decline as the corals use up the minerals.

I have an IceCap salinity measurement tool that is calibrated. I used CaribSea rocks in this tank with only live rock from another tank added to it. There is one GSP in the tank and that's actually growing, I have one encrusting coral and thats it for the corals in the tank. I moved the Zoa's I had in here to my other tank while I get the water parameters sorted out.

What would you guys recommend to get the Alkalinity up as far as dosing goes?

 

[Jekyl]

Thanks for all the replies!

The tank finished cycling about two weeks ago. I have two clowns in there and they are happy and healthy. There is a Nero 5 pump that is providing the majority of the flow in the tank, the tank itself is only 25 G.

For reference, I have another Saltwater tank next to it that uses the same RODI Water and salt mix and that tank has zero issues with water parameters other than the natural decline as the corals use up the minerals.

I have an IceCap salinity measurement tool that is calibrated. I used CaribSea rocks in this tank with only live rock from another tank added to it. There is one GSP in the tank and that's actually growing, I have one encrusting coral and thats it for the corals in the tank. I moved the Zoa's I had in here to my other tank while I get the water parameters sorted out.

What would you guys recommend to get the Alkalinity up as far as dosing goes?

Never increase more than 1dkh per day. I was adding baking soda to my top off water to keep mine maintained.

 

[mdb_talon]

Jeckyl's idea of mixing it into topoff water seems like a good next step. Should be less likely to precipitate that way. The other thing is to take a syringe and slowly drip alkalinity into the flow. That is what i do in my 13g tank. Even though i just dose about 10ml a day if i do all at once it does precipitate some so i slowly drip a few ml at a time a few times a day.

 

[Jekyl]

Keep an eye on things. The alkalinity drop is most likely tied to a rise in nitrate. If you get nitrate in order then alkalinity will not need as much dosing. New tanks aren't very stable. I'd work towards that stability rather than chasing numbers right now.

 

[Roli's Reef Ranch]

Thanks for all the replies!

The tank finished cycling about two weeks ago. I have two clowns in there and they are happy and healthy. There is a Nero 5 pump that is providing the majority of the flow in the tank, the tank itself is only 25 G.

For reference, I have another Saltwater tank next to it that uses the same RODI Water and salt mix and that tank has zero issues with water parameters other than the natural decline as the corals use up the minerals.

I have an IceCap salinity measurement tool that is calibrated. I used CaribSea rocks in this tank with only live rock from another tank added to it. There is one GSP in the tank and that's actually growing, I have one encrusting coral and thats it for the corals in the tank. I moved the Zoa's I had in here to my other tank while I get the water parameters sorted out.

What would you guys recommend to get the Alkalinity up as far as dosing goes?

What temperature are you mixing the Red Sea Coral Pro at? Also, CaribSea rock doesn't support the tank cycling process as well due to a lack of porocity. I'm assuming you have the purple painted kind?

 

[Jrenzo]

I'm mixing the salt at around 70F and then bringing it up to temp of about 78F. You are correct, this rock is the CaribSea purple painted kind, I just purchased a box with about 20 lbs worth of rocks. My other tank is using the same water both RODI and Salt and has no issues.

The main difference between the tanks is mainly the rock type and the filtration. I used live rock from another aquarium to get my first tank started, about 15-20lbs worth, along with maybe another 10lbs of CaribSea rocks. The first tank also is an AIO with a small refugium inside.

This newer tank was using a canister filter for filtration but changed to a HOB, and the main rock in the new tank is CaribSea purple rock, a little over 20lbs worth, and 5lbs of live rock from another aquarium.

I will definitely start to dose the alkalinity into the tank but very slowly and watch for any type of precipitation occurring. I'm still very new to the hobby, my first tank is doing well but was only established about 4 months ago. Thanks for all the tips!

 

[Roli's Reef Ranch]

I'm mixing the salt at around 70F and then bringing it up to temp of about 78F. You are correct, this rock is the CaribSea purple painted kind, I just purchased a box with about 20 lbs worth of rocks. My other tank is using the same water both RODI and Salt and has no issues.

The main difference between the tanks is mainly the rock type and the filtration. I used live rock from another aquarium to get my first tank started, about 15-20lbs worth, along with maybe another 10lbs of CaribSea rocks. The first tank also is an AIO with a small refugium inside.

This newer tank was using a canister filter for filtration but changed to a HOB, and the main rock in the new tank is CaribSea purple rock, a little over 20lbs worth, and 5lbs of live rock from another aquarium.

I will definitely start to dose the alkalinity into the tank but very slowly and watch for any type of precipitation occurring. I'm still very new to the hobby, my first tank is doing well but was only established about 4 months ago. Thanks for all the tips!

I've had precipitation issues before when over-dosing ALK and Kalkwasser. If using 2 parts maintain equal doses of ALK and CAL. When my Ph went too high from the Kalk being in the ATO I had a big ALK drop which led me to dose more ALK. This only caused more precipitation and a further drop in alk because I wasn't dosing equal parts of CAL. Long story short, I crashed the tank and lost half my corals before I learned what I did. Now I'm really careful with dosing and try to add no more than what the tank consumes naturally (w/o precip). Live rock definitely helps and my 100 GAL system was started with a lot of live rock from my previous 40 gal system and has been an insta-tank (besides dino's and cyano that I created by bottoming out my nutrients running too much gfo). That too about a month to fix... but anyway, always a challenge and always an opportunity to learn. That's what I love about this hobby!