stumped on my parameters

Bleigh

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I know what you mean, I add it in a drop at a time right above a powerhead to mix it in.... takes forever and I have not heard of anything better.... maybe I should be pouring it in and I'm just wasting time dosing 5mls one drop at a time.




i think i am going to increase to 7 ml alk and check results.
since my calcium and mag are good levels, should i increase those or just keep them where they are?

I think the conventional wisdom is to change one thing at a time. But someone with more knowledge can probably give you better advice on that.
 

Flippers4pups

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I know what you mean, I add it in a drop at a time right above a powerhead to mix it in.... takes forever and I have not heard of anything better.... maybe I should be pouring it in and I'm just wasting time dosing 5mls one drop at a time.

Baking soda is better. Baked baking soda (soda ash) is more potent because of the lack of CO2. If it precipitates, it can coat anything that generates heat, heaters, powerheads, pumps....etc.

Baking soda is much more forgiving.


i think i am going to increase to 7 ml alk and check results.
since my calcium and mag are good levels, should i increase those or just keep them where they are?

Switch to baking soda and use the calculator I provided. It will hit your target surprisingly accurately. It's much cheaper than buying BRS alkalinity. Box costs, what a dollar?
Dosing alkalinity without knowing what it will do can cause a large swing and more problems.

I wouldn't dose calcium or magnesium untill their numbers drop.
 
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Barnabie Mejia

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I think the conventional wisdom is to change one thing at a time. But someone with more knowledge can probably give you better advice on that.

Oh yeah for sure, I was just referencing the method that I was dosing the alk, I wasn't sure if I was wasting time doing one drop at a time for any given amount of alk because of the precipitation that occurs

Switch to baking soda and use the calculator I provided. It will hit your target surprisingly accurately. It's much cheaper than buying BRS alkalinity. Box costs, what a dollar?
Dosing alkalinity without knowing what it will do can cause a large swing and more problems.

I wouldn't dose calcium or magnesium untill their numbers drop.

Gotcha, I will dose a little more to get small changes in the tank. I will also look into the baking soda and the calculator.
 

Flippers4pups

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Cell

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Everything spaced properly? You have some corals that will do a number on other corals in a somewhat small space.
 

Flippers4pups

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Oh yeah for sure, I was just referencing the method that I was dosing the alk, I wasn't sure if I was wasting time doing one drop at a time for any given amount of alk because of the precipitation that occurs



Gotcha, I will dose a little more to get small changes in the tank. I will also look into the baking soda and the calculator.

The precipitation will show itself in calcium build up on heaters, inside pumps....etc. it can get so bad that it makes pumps stop working. Soaking them in vinegar water will clean them. Just watch out using soda ash.

Side note, people use soda ash to raise alkalinity, but it gives a temporary boost in pH. That's why they use it, for the pH boost.

Once again, no more than 1dkh increase per day till target is reached. Less stress on corals this way.
 
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Barnabie Mejia

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Everything spaced properly? You have some corals that will do a number on other corals in a somewhat small space.

Not sure what is the proper spacing, but I don’t have any coral near the torches if that’s what you’re talking about.
Does having coral near each other have an affect on the alk consumption? Dumb question but you never know....
Also I have had some coralline algae growing in some spots and the rock has had it for a while as well.... I have read that the algae also consumes alkalinity
 

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are you saying to get a saltmix that is higher than 8dKH upon mixing?

is there something that might be soaking up the Alk? I have been looking hard to see if there is any precipitation from the alk and the calcium and I have not found any. I add alk and then 30 min later I add the calcium.

Also, I thought it was good to have my nitrates at the 0-5ppm? I don't want to deal with another algae bloom like I had.
Reef chrystals, IO is the ticket. Alk is usually 11ish, Ca 400ish. Your alk of 5 (assuming your test kit is accurate) is definitely low. The lowest I like my alk is 7 if my calcium is 400+ Your goal is to raise your alk to 7-8 over the course of a week or so. Keep on at 5mL and check back in a week - if your tested levels are increasing - keep it at 5mL. If not, increase your dose and check again in a week. Keep checking Ca when your alk is increased, make sure it doesn’t drop.
 

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Gonna poke my nose in where others have already given some good advice. Focus on one goal, and choose one way to get there. Personally, I'd be focusing on the Alk right now with a $1 box of arm and hammer baking soda and the calculator that was linked a few posts back.
 

Cell

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Not sure what is the proper spacing, but I don’t have any coral near the torches if that’s what you’re talking about.
Does having coral near each other have an affect on the alk consumption? Dumb question but you never know....
Also I have had some coralline algae growing in some spots and the rock has had it for a while as well.... I have read that the algae also consumes alkalinity

My comment wasn't related to alk consumption, coral placement would have no bearing on that. However, acans, chalices and war coral can all have long sweeper tentacles that can reach adjacent coral, not to mention the BTA in there too. You mentioned your acans are looking poor but weren't specific about any other coral. Is it just your acans looking bad or everything?
 
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Barnabie Mejia

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My comment wasn't related to alk consumption, coral placement would have no bearing on that. However, acans, chalices and war coral can all have long sweeper tentacles that can reach adjacent coral, not to mention the BTA in there too. You mentioned your acans are looking poor but weren't specific about any other coral. Is it just your acans looking bad or everything?

my acans were the only ones looking bad, but they were up on the rocks away from the chalice, war, Torches, and BTA. that was my first thought too.... the LFS also told me that out of the coral that I have the Acans are the most sensitive (but I don't know if he told me that to get me off his back with all the questions...) cause all the others are doing pretty well, especially my Duncan and the trumpet/ candycane, they're popping out new heads and splitting. I have also read that those are pretty hearty/ hardy coral to have and they don't really seem to be affected by parameter swings - within reason.

the plate coral (I think that is what its called, my brother in law gave it to me when we first got the tank) has a spot that has lost color and looks burned, and the war coral looks like the body or membrane is receding a bit. not sure about the war coral because it just might be me panicking because I know some of the others aren't doing too well.
 
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Barnabie Mejia

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I tested last night and I the parameters are as follows
Alk - 5dKH
Calcium - 400ppm
Mag - 1330ppm
Nitrate - 0-5ppm
Ammonia - 0
PO4 - .02
Salinity - 1.0255
Temp - 78*
I don't have a tester for PH, but I will venture to say its not where it should be.

I dosed 7ml of Alk and will test tonight to see if the increase was t least 1-1.5dKH. 5 mls didn't seem to have any effect on the tank at all. I will also be picking up some baking soda tonight to mix my own stuff.

wasn't sure if I should have dosed any calcium, so I didn't add any. should I have?
 

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So not sure if you said which salt you use?.. all is definilty low and your saturation is low... so I'd dose all as posted above. Or do a few arter changes with salt that's a higher alk like red sea pro. That's mixed at about 12dkh, doing a few gallons every other day to bring it up to 8-10 over the next few weeks. Dont rush alk itll shock/kill your corals if you do it too fast..
 
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Barnabie Mejia

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So not sure if you said which salt you use?.. all is definilty low and your saturation is low... so I'd dose all as posted above. Or do a few arter changes with salt that's a higher alk like red sea pro. That's mixed at about 12dkh, doing a few gallons every other day to bring it up to 8-10 over the next few weeks. Dont rush alk itll shock/kill your corals if you do it too fast..

Im using IO purple bucket and when I test it, my alk is at 8 Calc -450+ mag at 1400. I am thinking of taking it back to my LFS where I got it and exchange it for reef crystals or getting some credit so I can order tropic marine pro reef salt. the tropic marine pro reef salt advertises there alk levels at 7 but all the times I have mixed some for a friends that uses it, it always tests out at 10dKH and that was with a Hanna, API, and Salifert testers. all three tests weren't EXACTLY 10dKH but very close to one another.

in the end, I am planning on making changes to slowly increase the alkalinity in the tank so I don't stress anything in there. I love my tank and want to keep it looking good for a long time, even after I get the 75 gallon up and going! this tank is teaching me a whole lot in terms of reefing so hopefully the 75 gallon will be easier to deal with especially because it is more water volume and the parameter swings wont be as violent and stressful on the livestock in the tank.
 

Bleigh

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Switch to baking soda and use the calculator I provided. It will hit your target surprisingly accurately. It's much cheaper than buying BRS alkalinity. Box costs, what a dollar?
Dosing alkalinity without knowing what it will do can cause a large swing and more problems.

I wouldn't dose calcium or magnesium untill their numbers drop.
I asked my lfs today about this and they seemed to not like that idea. They said using baking soda would make the ph sky rocket. Is this accurate?
 
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Barnabie Mejia

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I asked my lfs today about this and they seemed to not like that idea. They said using baking soda would make the ph sky rocket. Is this accurate?

I also called and asked my LFS and they said to keep using the BRS cause the PH would increase and seeing that I don't have a PH testing kit, it would be better to use the soda ash for the time being.

I went on to the @Bulk Reef Supply site and the calculator said to use 71.4 ml. I know that is the amount to bring it up from 5dKH to 9dKH and I wouldn't want to do that in one dose on a 25gallon tank. so in a series of 5 days of dosing I would have to be dosing 14.5 ml per day and that would "theoretically" be increasing the dKH by 1.25 dKH per day.
to me that still sounds like its way too much too fast and I would still have to be worrying about the PH increasing and not having a tester right now. I think my math is on the right track with it, but I also suck at math.
 

Bleigh

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I also called and asked my LFS and they said to keep using the BRS cause the PH would increase and seeing that I don't have a PH testing kit, it would be better to use the soda ash for the time being.

I went on to the @Bulk Reef Supply site and the calculator said to use 71.4 ml. I know that is the amount to bring it up from 5dKH to 9dKH and I wouldn't want to do that in one dose on a 25gallon tank. so in a series of 5 days of dosing I would have to be dosing 14.5 ml per day and that would "theoretically" be increasing the dKH by 1.25 dKH per day.
to me that still sounds like its way too much too fast and I would still have to be worrying about the PH increasing and not having a tester right now. I think my math is on the right track with it, but I also suck at math.
That sounds like a reasonable daily increase. Your corals are likely uptaking some everyday too. So it will likely take more than that to increase by your desired amount because of the daily consumption. I’m trying to increase my alk too. I’ve been advised to stay between 1 and 1.4 daily dkh increases. My plan is to dose the amount the calculator shows. And if it’s not increasing enough, to add a bit more. Then when I get to my desired level, I’ll figure out my daily dosage required to Maintain That dkh.
 

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I know what you mean, I add it in a drop at a time right above a powerhead to mix it in.... takes forever and I have not heard of anything better.... maybe I should be pouring it in and I'm just wasting time dosing 5mls one drop at a time.
When I dose Randy Baked Baking Soda/ Water mix for alk, I just pour it in my filter socks I figure the cloud will that will fall out of solution will re-dissolve was water passes thru the socks
 

Flippers4pups

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I asked my lfs today about this and they seemed to not like that idea. They said using baking soda would make the ph sky rocket. Is this accurate?

No, baked baking soda (sodium carbonate) will temporarily. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) will not.
 

Flippers4pups

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When I dose Randy Baked Baking Soda/ Water mix for alk, I just pour it in my filter socks I figure the cloud will that will fall out of solution will re-dissolve was water passes thru the socks

Once it precipitates, it will not redissolve.
 
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