stumped on my parameters

[reef r madness]

Once it precipitates, it will not redissolve.

So what then ...I have precipitation

 

[lapin]

I know that once it plates heaters and pumps, it doesn't dissolve. Ive had it so thick you needed to chisel it off. That stuff wasn't going anywhere. Maybe it would dissolve in a year or longer......idk.
Have you had it plate everything that generates heat?

If it does plate or form a crust I have not seen it. The socks are not stiff when I take them out for cleaning. I dont dose on a regular basis. I think in 2 years I have added it 3 or 4 times, 100 ml at a time when I had low alk. Maybe thats why.

 

[BeejReef]

How did the OP make out? Precipitation was my thought too. If he's dosing alkalinity and it's not rising, it had to be testing error or precipitation, right?

Seems odd that his alk would be so low, but calcium would be just fine. He does have a lot of corals and could conceivably have a tank demanding 1+dkh per day, maybe more if coraline too. Still, just seems odd that the alk number is not budging.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

How did the OP make out? Precipitation was my thought too. If he's dosing alkalinity and it's not rising, it had to be testing error or precipitation, right?

Seems odd that his alk would be so low, but calcium would be just fine. He does have a lot of corals and could conceivably have a tank demanding 1+dkh per day, maybe more if coraline too. Still, just seems odd that the alk number is not budging.

so I tested last night at 8:00pm and it came in at 5dKH, so I added 10ml of Alk. Expiration date of tester is 2023 fyi.

I also realized that I had a high pH test kit (I know, I know.... it was with the kit I got from a fellow reefer that went full hanna testing). pH came in at 8.0. this was the first time I had ever tested pH so I will take another test today and then verify it by testing again after that. I was hesitant to believe that test only because the pH test kit expires 12/2019, just seems too close to expiration to trust, for me at least.

Tested this morning at 7:00am and it came in at 5.5-6dKH and I added the remaining 4 mls that was given by the BRS calculator. I will see what it looks like when I get home today at 6:00pm

@William DeCoursey I do have coraline on the rocks and I have noticed that I am getting some fresh coraline growing on the rocks as well but its nothing crazy, maybe like 3-4 square inches of new stuff.

i have been looking for precipitation but have not found any, i add the alk very slowly right above the powerhead and each drop that goes in, I wait for it to dissolve before the next drop goes in to the tank. nothing on my heater or power heads.

 

[BeejReef]

That's a good patch of coraline. I have a number of lps frags as well. Some are visually growing, but I'm pretty sure most of my alkalinity consumption (.9-1.0 dkh/day) is being taken up by coraline and baby snail shells.. lol.

I'm no expert at all. Get queezy though when u see dose, dose, dose and no change. A lot of times those stories end with the OP coming home to a dead tank. Glad your numbers are starting to make sense.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

That's a good patch of coraline. I have a number of lps frags as well. Some are visually growing, but I'm pretty sure most of my alkalinity consumption (.9-1.0 dkh/day) is being taken up by coraline and baby snail shells.. lol.

I'm no expert at all. Get queezy though when u see dose, dose, dose and no change. A lot of times those stories end with the OP coming home to a dead tank. Glad your numbers are starting to make sense.

that has been a fear of mine.

FWIW, I have noticed that one of my acans is starting to look a little healthier after I started the dosing, even though I didn't see the numbers change, so maybe its going up and coming right back down after the consumption from the coral and coraline (both existing and new growing).
I think a doser might be in order soon so I can have more accurate dosing to have much more stable parameters.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

on a side note I had my alarm for my ATO go off this morning at 3:00am, not a good feeling, and a stupid snail was on the optical sensor and had the pump run until alarm.

good thing I have it set to run for a maximum of 8 seconds so the salinity dropped very little, and I just pulled out 2 large cups of water and replaced it with some water that I had on standby with a little higher salinity just incase this were to happen. so the salinity is back where I had it.

 

[Deano the reefer]

YOUR ALK IS WAY TOO LOW. also whats your ph? Check your strontium too

Alk at 10 or 11
Strontium at 10-12
Ph at 8.3 to 8.4

 

[Bleigh]

that has been a fear of mine.

FWIW, I have noticed that one of my acans is starting to look a little healthier after I started the dosing, even though I didn't see the numbers change, so maybe its going up and coming right back down after the consumption from the coral and coraline (both existing and new growing).
I think a doser might be in order soon so I can have more accurate dosing to have much more stable parameters.

Mine used at least .5 dkh between noon and about 7.

I made the batch for Randy's 2 part based on what @Flippers4pups said. 1 gallon rodi and 1 and 1/8 cup of baking soda. The calculator said I needed to add 71 ml of that to go from 6 to 9 dkh. That means that adding 28 ml per day should be more than safe. I've been adding 10 ml in the morning, 10 ml in the afternoon, then testing that night and if the alk is the same as that time yesterday, I'm adding 10 ml more.

All of my corals have perked up super fast also. My coraline is also growing explosively. The alk is def being used faster than I can add it, but I'd rather have a small increase than overshoot it.

 

[Bleigh]

YOUR ALK IS WAY TOO LOW. also whats your ph? Check your strontium too

Alk at 10 or 11
Strontium at 10-12
Ph at 8.3 to 8.4

Should alk really be that high? Does the levels change base on the tank set up (softies/sps, etc) And the OP is trying to get the alk up, but it's proving difficult. Hopefully they'll get it figured out soon.

 

[Stigigemla]

You have had a lot of suggestions here on what to do. I am totally convinced that they all come from owners of functioning tanks.

Lets go back to the basics. Instant Ocean is a well merited salt functioning well for many thousands of reefers. It will work for You too.
The values in the sea that the corals are adapted to are about kH 7, Ca 400, Mg 1300.

In tap water normally it is impossible to have kH 7 and 400 in calcium. It will precipitate. But in sea water there is magnesium too and it blocks the precipitation. In my experience at pH 8.0 to 8.2 maximum values are about 8 and 420 for 1350 of magnesium.
If You add more kalcium or kH it will begin to precipitate. In the pumps around the rotor at first.
If You raise the pH with soda ash to 8.2 to 8.5 You have to decrease kH or calcium because it will preicipitate easier in a higher pH.

If you raise kH and/or Calcium and/or pH values You often get a faster coral growth. That is one reason that many have higher levels then those we find in the sea. The other reason is that it gives You a higher safety margin if the valuest start to sink.

For a beginner I recommend the KISS method. Keep it simple stupid.
That means before You change any maintenance or equipment think first: Is this going to make it easier for me.
In this case You have to do something about Your values. A dosing pump will make it much easier for You. But first You must dial in Your values so You know what to dose. Note every thing You add to the tank from now on until You have reached good stable values.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

You have had a lot of suggestions here on what to do. I am totally convinced that they all come from owners of functioning tanks.

Lets go back to the basics. Instant Ocean is a well merited salt functioning well for many thousands of reefers. It will work for You too.
The values in the sea that the corals are adapted to are about kH 7, Ca 400, Mg 1300.

In tap water normally it is impossible to have kH 7 and 400 in calcium. It will precipitate. But in sea water there is magnesium too and it blocks the precipitation. In my experience at pH 8.0 to 8.2 maximum values are about 8 and 420 for 1350 of magnesium.
If You add more kalcium or kH it will begin to precipitate. In the pumps around the rotor at first.
If You raise the pH with soda ash to 8.2 to 8.5 You have to decrease kH or calcium because it will preicipitate easier in a higher pH.

If you raise kH and/or Calcium and/or pH values You often get a faster coral growth. That is one reason that many have higher levels then those we find in the sea. The other reason is that it gives You a higher safety margin if the valuest start to sink.

For a beginner I recommend the KISS method. Keep it simple stupid.
That means before You change any maintenance or equipment think first: Is this going to make it easier for me.
In this case You have to do something about Your values. A dosing pump will make it much easier for You. But first You must dial in Your values so You know what to dose. Note every thing You add to the tank from now on until You have reached good stable values.

Yes, i'm with you on that, IO reef crystals might be what I am needing to switch to, but I have quite a bit of IO Purple mix that I need to burn through and I don't think me LFS is going to want to work out an exchange. Its ok though cause I am taking this as a learning experience.

Last night I checked my Alk and it was at 6dKH, so its showing improvement, slight but going up none the less.

I added 12 mls when I got home from the baseball game.
Checked this morning and it was at 6.5dKH. My son is scheduled to add in 5mls at 10:00am which by doing so will put me back on the schedule that fits my work schedule. so we are moving in the right direction, and at good pace in my opinion.

I would like to have it up at 9-10 already but thats not reality. little at a time. I will keep you posted on the progress.

I also have not seen any precipitation as of yet, and I have and will continue to monitor that.

 

[Bleigh]

Yes, i'm with you on that, IO reef crystals might be what I am needing to switch to, but I have quite a bit of IO Purple mix that I need to burn through and I don't think me LFS is going to want to work out an exchange. Its ok though cause I am taking this as a learning experience.

Last night I checked my Alk and it was at 6dKH, so its showing improvement, slight but going up none the less.

I added 12 mls when I got home from the baseball game.
Checked this morning and it was at 6.5dKH. My son is scheduled to add in 5mls at 10:00am which by doing so will put me back on the schedule that fits my work schedule. so we are moving in the right direction, and at good pace in my opinion.

I would like to have it up at 9-10 already but thats not reality. little at a time. I will keep you posted on the progress.

I also have not seen any precipitation as of yet, and I have and will continue to monitor that.

Glad you're seeing some positive movement!

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

Glad you're seeing some positive movement!

Definitely, once we get it up to 9-10dKH we will maintain it there and watch the coral grow out! we were excited when we started to see some growth and then it started to die off cause of the parameter swing and imbalance.
glad we're learning this now so when the 75g is online we will know what path to take.

 

[Dburr1014]

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?

I was reading through the post and stopped here.
IO had a high alk. Water changes should be raising it but yet you are dosing with no effect.
My questions are, do you skim?
If yes, where do you pull air in from? Outside or inside the house.
And, is your house buttoned up tight with all windows closed ac on?
This sounds to me like you need to pull in some fresh air, oxygenate the water.
Power heads pushing toward the surface.

 

[Bleigh]

Definitely, once we get it up to 9-10dKH we will maintain it there and watch the coral grow out! we were excited when we started to see some growth and then it started to die off cause of the parameter swing and imbalance.
glad we're learning this now so when the 75g is online we will know what path to take.

Same boat! Looks like we had the issue about the same day. Currently have a 29 gallon biocube and building a 60 gallon with sump. And I'm sure I'm going to learn a lot with the 60 gallon, which is why I'm doing that before I upgrade to a much larger system. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for people who jump in with crazy large tanks and then have issues.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

I was reading through the post and stopped here.
IO had a high alk. Water changes should be raising it but yet you are dosing with no effect.
My questions are, do you skim?
If yes, where do you pull air in from? Outside or inside the house.
And, is your house buttoned up tight with all windows closed ac on?
This sounds to me like you need to pull in some fresh air, oxygenate the water.
Power heads pushing toward the surface.

No skimmer, just a HOB filter, GFO/ Carbon dual reactor. Tunze 6040 and a cheapo powerhead with surface agitation. House isn't buttoned up tight, its old haha. FWIW we have an evaporative cooler, not refrigerated air. there are times when we do have the doors and windows open for fresh air (for us to enjoy, not specifically for the tank)

pH was 7.8-8.0 today (API chart)

 

[reef r madness]

Yes, i'm with you on that, IO reef crystals might be what I am needing to switch to, but I have quite a bit of IO Purple mix that I need to burn through and I don't think me LFS is going to want to work out an exchange. Its ok though cause I am taking this as a learning experience.

Last night I checked my Alk and it was at 6dKH, so its showing improvement, slight but going up none the less.

I added 12 mls when I got home from the baseball game.
Checked this morning and it was at 6.5dKH. My son is scheduled to add in 5mls at 10:00am which by doing so will put me back on the schedule that fits my work schedule. so we are moving in the right direction, and at good pace in my opinion.

I would like to have it up at 9-10 already but thats not reality. little at a time. I will keep you posted on the progress.

I also have not seen any precipitation as of yet, and I have and will continue to monitor that.

I'm having this same issue. I'm using instant ocean salt. I picked up a bag of reef crystals today.Ive had success with reef crystals in other tanks..Im going to start doing 10 gallon water changes for the next 4 weeks

 

[reef r madness]

I'm having this same issue. I'm using instant ocean salt. I picked up a bag of reef crystals today.Ive had success with reef crystals in other tanks..Im going to start doing 10 gallon water changes for the next 4 weeks

just till I get these nitrates under control

 

[Bleigh]

just till I get these nitrates under control

Keep us updated on your progress!