Proper speed in which to raise ALK?

Greg P · Dec 4, 2019

SaracensRugby said:
Ok, so just got my Trident and am thrilled with the specificity it gives each day. Especially as I am not an avid tester, just couldn't get around to doing it. So, that being said, how quickly would you raise dKh by 1? Over a week, two weeks? I am going from a low 6.8, and want to get it to 8.8ish. But do not want to stress out my acro's at all, and am in no rush. I already raised it from 6.5 to 6.8 over 2 days; crazy how the Trident picked up the increased dosage right away. (And yes I know below 7 is not close to ideal, but things seem decent to ok right now so no rush to jack it up).

Cheers.

Sorry about the earlier crap ..

Yes, raise it by 0.5 per day. No more than 1.0 per day is safe, otherwise you may suffer burnt tips.
If your NO3 and PO4 are low then you will need to raise them to allow your skeletal growth to keep up with your tissue growth.

SaracensRugby · Dec 4, 2019

Thanks all. Nitrates between 5-10, need to test phosphates here later today. The reason I wanted to raise it to higher 8s is I watched a video by Dana Riddle (if I recall correctly) on the correlation between ALK, flow, growth, etc. Higher ALK equaled higher growth. I know I may not be quoting it 100% accurately, but that is the goal. But again, my acros, little though they are, are happy, so not looking to upset the Apple cart here.

LARedstickreefer · Dec 4, 2019

SaracensRugby said:
Thanks all. Nitrates between 5-10, need to test phosphates here later today. The reason I wanted to raise it to higher 8s is I watched a video by Dana Riddle (if I recall correctly) on the correlation between ALK, flow, growth, etc. Higher ALK equaled higher growth. I know I may not be quoting it 100% accurately, but that is the goal. But again, my acros, little though they are, are happy, so not looking to upset the Apple cart here.

Higher Alk is also riskier. You have much less room for error when another parameter gets out of whack.

Charlie’s Frags · Dec 4, 2019

gregzz4 said:
Ok, you guys can have your Alk rise by 1.0 per day, but you aren't thinking about the OP.
You cannot have a sensitive tank rise that much in 1 or 2 days !!!!!!

Shake your heads and give proper advise

I do shake my head most days from all the sps to alk paranoia. Th OP asked how fast he or she can safely raise his alk and I answered it with what has been safe with my system. @SeaDweller and I have been spending hours a day on this forum helping reefers for years and you’ve been a member for less than 2 months and try to shame us??? The OP can decide for themselves who they want to listen to or not, but don’t throw shade at us for answering the question. Good luck with getting through your tank uglies.

SeaDweller · Dec 4, 2019

Chaswood79 said:
I do shake my head most days from all the sps to alk paranoia. Th OP asked how fast he or she can safely raise his alk and I answered it with what has been safe with my system. @SeaDweller and I have been spending hours a day on this forum helping reefers for years and you’ve been a member for less than 2 months and try to shame us??? The OP can decide for themselves who they want to listen to or not, but don’t throw shade at us for answering the question. Good luck with getting through your tank uglies.

you make it seem like we don't have lives...

it's true!!! ;Dead

SaracensRugby · Dec 5, 2019

Thanks for all of the feedback, and interesting dialogue

. Certainly when I ask questions like this those that post bring up things that I may not be considering, so well worth reading the comments.

WindyCityReefer. · Dec 5, 2019

Chaswood79 said:
I do shake my head most days from all the sps to alk paranoia. Th OP asked how fast he or she can safely raise his alk and I answered it with what has been safe with my system. @SeaDweller and I have been spending hours a day on this forum helping reefers for years and you’ve been a member for less than 2 months and try to shame us??? The OP can decide for themselves who they want to listen to or not, but don’t throw shade at us for answering the question. Good luck with getting through your tank uglies.

I have to agree - all the paranoia is unnecessary. In my opinion (which will mean nothing to most) is that SPS and more sensitive corals thrive in stable environments. There is a range for every parameter which is why we see numerous successful reefs with different values. Will a 1.0 dKH swing stress out the tank's inhabitants? Maybe. Will it cause RTN or recession? Highly unlikely. If the change is more drastic such as 5.0 dKH for example, then you may run into problems. Tank parameters such as alkalinity, calcium, magnesium are constantly changing due to supply and demand. Yes, we can strive to minimize the fluctuation and achieve a desired "number" but in reality there will always be some minimal change throughout the day.

To get back to the OP question, you will be fine with that change in dKH. Strive for stability over exact numbers. I will get off my soap box now.

jda · Dec 5, 2019

What is going on here?

The reason that you raise really slow is so that if you see any issues, then you can stop. Doing in one day what you can do in ten gives you no margin for error... especially when the raise is not an emergency or even necessary.

Greg P · Dec 11, 2019

Apologies to @SeaDweller and @Chaswood79
I was involved in too many threads on 2 different forums and my brain locked up.
Yes, moving up by .05 is paranoia but I've seen new reefers kill SPS with daily rises of 1.0dKh
Anyway, sorry dudes. No offence meant ... just a brain fart and the head shake stuff wasn't meant for you guys

Members on 'another site' recommended a new reefer would be OK to move up from 6.0 to 8.0 in one day without any affect on their new frags

Tamberav · Dec 11, 2019

Slowly raising my alk from 5.0 to 7.0. I am increasing about 0.1 a day.... No reason other than I am in no hurry to get to the finish line. shrug.

Greg P · Dec 11, 2019

Tamberav said:
Slowly raising my alk from 5.0 to 7.0. I am increasing about 0.1 a day.... No reason other than I am in no hurry to get to the finish line. shrug.

Are you just stating what you're up to, or are you looking for some feedback?

Tamberav · Dec 11, 2019

gregzz4 said:
Are you just stating what you're up to, or are you looking for some feedback?

Just sharing how I am doing it.

LARedstickreefer · Dec 11, 2019

I don’t think I can even measure a 0.1dkh change with my test kits

I usually go 0.5dkh per day if I need to change things.

I’ve got my dosing on a doser now. It makes it so much easier to do this.

SeaDweller · Dec 11, 2019

LARedstickreefer said:
I don’t think I can even measure a 0.1dkh change with my test kits

I usually go 0.5dkh per day if I need to change things.

I’ve got my dosing on a doser now. It makes it so much easier to do this.

for real yo.

to everyone else, do what makes YOU feel most comfortable. Some raise it 0.5, some raise it 1.0, some raise it 0.00000.00001. You just have to know your tank.

TheGulag · Dec 11, 2019

Tamberav said:
Slowly raising my alk from 5.0 to 7.0. I am increasing about 0.1 a day.... No reason other than I am in no hurry to get to the finish line. shrug.

I bet your alk is swinging more then that everyday until you dose... unless you are trickle dosing the entire day...

Tamberav · Dec 11, 2019

LARedstickreefer said:
I don’t think I can even measure a 0.1dkh change with my test kits

I usually go 0.5dkh per day if I need to change things.

I’ve got my dosing on a doser now. It makes it so much easier to do this.

Well I am only testing every few days and it averages to about that per day. I was 5.0 and tested 3 days later and was 5.3 and so on

I am not saying you can't go 0.5 in one go. I am just sharing how I am doing it because I am just relaxed about these things.

TheGulag said:
I bet your alk is swinging more then that everyday until you dose... unless you are trickle dosing the entire day...

Yes trickle dose I guess, my DOS is dosing 0.2ml every 15 min for 24 hours.

TheGulag · Dec 11, 2019

Tamberav said:
Yes trickle dose I guess, my DOS is dosing 0.2ml every 15 min for 24 hours.

Yeah i would definitely call that a trickle dose. Worth noting though the rate of alk is used at a different rate throughout the day so I would imagine that towards the end of your photo period you are actually lower then you would think and then throughout the night it gets built back up and probably ends up higher then tested, assuming you are testing at the same time each day. Either way good chance it is still swinging throughout the day just not as much as someone who only doses once a day.

Tamberav · Dec 11, 2019

TheGulag said:
Yeah i would definitely call that a trickle dose. Worth noting though the rate of alk is used at a different rate throughout the day so I would imagine that towards the end of your photo period you are actually lower then you would think and then throughout the night it gets built back up and probably ends up higher then tested, assuming you are testing at the same time each day. Either way good chance it is still swinging throughout the day just not as much as someone who only doses once a day.

Yes. Alk is taken up during the day and growth is still added at night. I never claimed it wasn't changing.

Just that I am taking things slow because I can... corals are putting on good growth even at the lower alk.