I'll try to keep it brief. I went hypo several months ago and forgot I hadn't dosed up (used cheaper salt to raise salinity back to 1.025). Add the few corals I had from the quarantine tank and was like..oh no. Honestly, most every level was fine save for Alk which was 5.6. I immediately aimed to dose up 0.5dkH a day or so. Tank is 120g with ~30g sump. Added 30mL Red Sea Foundations KH/Alkalinity solution first day (all I had). Bought more and added 60mL more 2 days later. I forget the numbers but it bumped into the 6 range. Added 60mL more, then 80mL probably twice over a several days. Bumped into the 7's and finally 8.3. Checked a day or two later and it was in the low 7's. Added 80mL more, still in the 7's. I should add I also have a doser adding ~14mL All for Reef everyday. This was the last stable dosing before hypo. All in all I've probably added 250-310mL of Red Sea solution in the last 9-10 days.
What seems to be the potential issue(s) here? I'm using a Hanna Checker. Bad batch of Alk solution? Hanna reagent gone bad or is there a chemistry/biological issue at play? Tank is reestablishing itself from a coralline algae growth standpoint. Before dosing alk reagent, Ca was 420, Mg 1350, pH 8.4. I've tried dosing various places, return section, drain section etc. The amount I'm dumping in there just doesn't add up with the final result unless something is off (reagent, test kit) or something is consuming a massive amount of carbonate. I suppose I'll go ahead and order more Alk test reagent just to clear that possibility.
What seems to be the potential issue(s) here? I'm using a Hanna Checker. Bad batch of Alk solution? Hanna reagent gone bad or is there a chemistry/biological issue at play? Tank is reestablishing itself from a coralline algae growth standpoint. Before dosing alk reagent, Ca was 420, Mg 1350, pH 8.4. I've tried dosing various places, return section, drain section etc. The amount I'm dumping in there just doesn't add up with the final result unless something is off (reagent, test kit) or something is consuming a massive amount of carbonate. I suppose I'll go ahead and order more Alk test reagent just to clear that possibility.