New tank alk drop

[sstanley223]

To be brief my new system is apxt 120 net gallons. 80 lbs of new sand and about 80 lbs of well seasoned live rock from my old system. This is an upgrade running 2 weeks. Sump is full of rock and macro. I'm am experiencing a daily alkalinity drop of .2 dkh. There are very few corals in this system. Calcium has stayed at 450 and magnesium has stayed at 1440. I'm keeping the alkalinity at 8.0 by using reef fusion2. I don't want to create an imbalance and future problems. My lfs suggested kalkwasser because the ph is a bit low. I'm scratching my head to explain the alk drop. Could the ions be bound up by the new sand? Looking for input because I really want to get this right! Thanks! STAN

 

[lapin]

Your new tank upgrade will bounce around as things grow in the rock work and sand. Even if it is from another tank. Its normal for alk to drop for a while then stabilize. If alk is too low for your liking after a month or 2, water changes with a high alk salt mix should work until you have a lot of coral, then I would think about dosing.

 

[sstanley223]

Thanks! I used Fritz. It mixed up at 9.1 I was surprised to see it at 7.4 after 10 days.