New to Alk

[Sesty22]

Ive been monitoring my Alkalinity daily and I have tracked a .1 sometimes .2 decrease in my alkalinity per day. I test at the same time each day. My PH stays around 8.4 and my Calcium is always right around 450 and my Mag is about 1360. I use the Slaifert CA and the Aquaforest Mag tests and then I use the Hanna tests for my Alkalinity.

I want to start to maintain my Alk levels and I was going to start using All for reef, but it says to bump the alk and CA levels with the Balling method first and then to maintain with All for reef.

If I go this route, am I able to just dose the Part A Alk since my CA and Mag seem to not fluctuate much yet or do I have to dose all 3 together like the Tropic Marin website recommends? Am I able to Dose A and B and skip C? At the moment it seems I only need part A and then maintain my levels with AFR. Is my thinking correct? I'd like to keep it simple if possible.

I have been doing weekly water changes with Tropic Marin Pro Reef (Germany), my tank turns a year old at the end of the month, I'm currently switching to bi-weekly water changes if possible just so I can enjoy more and water change less.

Sorry if I missed any needed information, water chemistry is something that I find a bit tricky and all the information out there is overwhelming at times. If you need any other information, I will gladly provide!

Thank you in advance.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

What is your alkalinity level currently?

 

[Sesty22]

6.4 as of yesterday. I test again today at 6:30pm PST.

If the trend continues, It should be 6.3/6.2 tonight.

 

[nereefpat]

Generally, 2 part systems are meant to be dosed in equal parts. The consumption of both is a fairly fixed ratio. You want to dose both alk and Ca based on alk consumption. You may have to make small adjustments every once in a while.

FYI, if a tank is using 0.1-0.2 dKH of alk per day, the tank will be using about 1 ppm of Calcium per day. You won't be able to detect such small swings in Ca with our hobby test kits. I would dose both, based on the 0.1 dKH per day alk consumption. Check alk after a week. Check Ca monthly.

For the Mg, I would not dose any of that. There is no need in your situation, since the alk/Ca consumption is low, Mg is already 1360 ppm, and you do bi-weekly water changes. Tanks use about 1/10 the amount of Mg as they do Ca, just FYI...so in your case a fraction of a ppm every day.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

6.4 as of yesterday. I test again today at 6:30pm PST.

If the trend continues, It should be 6.3/6.2 tonight.

Like nreefpat said, I would dose them both, get your alk to where you want it and then start All For Reef. However, you will probably have things bouncing around a bit until you get All For Reef dialed in, so don't be surprised if your alk goes out of target at the beginning. You will just need to tweak the AFR until you have it nailed down.

 

[nereefpat]

get your alk to where you want it and then start All For Reef.

Yes. Get your alk where you want it with the alk supplement, then start dosing AFR or 2 Part.

I might start with dosing about 0.5 dKH alk only spread out through the day until you get to your target alk.

 

[Sesty22]

Thank you both for your time and the information, it is very helpful for me! I keep records of all the help I get so I can go back and reference if needed later!

Just to be sure I'm clear and make sure I can fine tune this, I can go ahead and get the Part A (alk) and Part B (Ca) and SKIP the Part C?

Slowly dose Part A and B around 0.5 dkh per day until I get it to where I would like it, then cut dosing the Part A and Part B and just use AFR, sound correct? You mentioned to "check after a week", would that be after a week of using the Part A/B or a week after getting dkh stable with Part A/B and using AFR? ...I guess that brings me to my next and hopefully (sorry) last question. How long should I use Part A/B before I stop and start using AFR? Is it immediately after getting my alkalinity to where I want, or is it after keeping it there for some time with the Part A/B?

Would there be any reason to not use AFR and just keep using Part A and Part B to keep things stable?

What would you recommend for a good stable place for my dkh? I was thinking around 8.5, but I'm not married to any specific number at the moment, I was just going to experiment and see what the corals like best.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Hmm, I think we both thought you were already dosing 2 part. If you are not, you don't really have to go the full Balling route, though the TM balling system is wonderful, you could simply get your alk bumped up with baking soda. Still dosed slowly of course. I would not worry about buying the Part A and Part B simply for this adjustment. I would just use baking soda and then start the AFR.

When you do start the AFR, the alkalinity is delayed from being detectable by a couple of days. After it has been running for awhile, the delay drops to about a day. So you need to be patient and not make any adjustments until you see the effect of the past doses, before bumping it up and overshooting your target. It is pretty easy though once you are familiar with it.

An alk level of 8.5 is fine.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thank you both for your time and the information, it is very helpful for me! I keep records of all the help I get so I can go back and reference if needed later!

Just to be sure I'm clear and make sure I can fine tune this, I can go ahead and get the Part A (alk) and Part B (Ca) and SKIP the Part C?

Slowly dose Part A and B around 0.5 dkh per day until I get it to where I would like it, then cut dosing the Part A and Part B and just use AFR, sound correct? You mentioned to "check after a week", would that be after a week of using the Part A/B or a week after getting dkh stable with Part A/B and using AFR? ...I guess that brings me to my next and hopefully (sorry) last question. How long should I use Part A/B before I stop and start using AFR? Is it immediately after getting my alkalinity to where I want, or is it after keeping it there for some time with the Part A/B?

Would there be any reason to not use AFR and just keep using Part A and Part B to keep things stable?

What would you recommend for a good stable place for my dkh? I was thinking around 8.5, but I'm not married to any specific number at the moment, I was just going to experiment and see what the corals like best.

no, I would not skip the other parts, your demand is too low to detect the other changes, and the additions will also go undetected until you suddenly need a lot.

 

[Sesty22]

no, I would not skip the other parts, your demand is too low to detect the other changes, and the additions will also go undetected until you suddenly need a lot.

Thanks for the input!

So if you were me, would you be dosing A, B, and C until my alkalinity is where I want it, then discontinue and use All for Reef?

 

[CryptoNautical]

Bring up alk slowly I've seen no more than 1.4dkh a day but I tried that and browned my more sensative acros for about a month. I'd say .5 or .8 a day but that's my experience.

 

[Sesty22]

no, I would not skip the other parts, your demand is too low to detect the other changes, and the additions will also go undetected until you suddenly need a lot.

Would you even bother with Starting the A/B/C program if eventually I just want to use AFR?

Or should I bump the Alkalinity to the desired range with Baking soda ( not sure how to do this yet ) and then just see if I can maintain my levels with the AFR?

Sorry, I'm just still unsure if I should use the balling A/B/C and then AFR or some other combination of them.

Thanks!

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I think your question got missed. Here is a bump to the top

 

[nereefpat]

I would raise alk only with baking soda to where you want it.

Then start with whatever dosing system you like, rather thats AFR or 2/3 part or kalk.

I hope that answers it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Would you even bother with Starting the A/B/C program if eventually I just want to use AFR?

Or should I bump the Alkalinity to the desired range with Baking soda ( not sure how to do this yet ) and then just see if I can maintain my levels with the AFR?

Sorry, I'm just still unsure if I should use the balling A/B/C and then AFR or some other combination of them.

Thanks!

If you want to use AFR, I see no reason to not start as soon as you need alk dosing.

But if you need substantial corrections, baking soda is likely easier to manage for that.

 

[Sesty22]

Thank you everyone, really appreciate the help!