The impossible is happening

[spsick]

I had high levels of metal and iron i believe ( it was about a month ago I got the results) I thought it was maybe because I leave my algae scraper in the tank.

Can you pull that report up and post results? Heavy metals are a big deal and can help us identify your issue.

How frequently are you changing your sediment and carbon filters on your RODI? And what is the output TDS if you know?

 

[Crustaceon]

Titration test the big three. Rule out bad apex probes.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Can you pull that report up and post results? Heavy metals are a big deal and can help us identify your issue.

How frequently are you changing your sediment and carbon filters on your RODI? And what is the output TDS if you know?

I let the run for 10 min before using the RoDi it reads zero.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Thank you, what’s in the media bag attached to the skimmer?

Carbon

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Do you calibrate it before each test? If so, how? Do you use a calibration fluid at 35 ppt or RODI water?

I also didn’t see an ATO in you cabinet. What do you use to top off your tank?

I do not calibrate after every use, the ato is in the Cabinet next to my tank. 10gallon standard tank

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Here's how I view different test methods
1. Apex/Trident - constant monitoring. Most useful for trends/changes. Not just for alk, but also Ca, Mg, pH, ORP, salinity.
2. Hanna - Periodic spot-checks to verify the Apex/Trident Combo
3. Salifert - Gold standard. Used when "omg what is happening I need to get to the bottom of this" and need to regain trust in my measurements. And a calibrated refractometer for salinity numbers.

I've tested my salifert kits against reference standards and they're always the closest to expected which is why I use them as my baseline. I would not trust the Apex/Trident to be the end-all of testing because there are myriad things that can effect the Trident results that are either harder to control or just don't exist when compared to the Salifert test. Things like: microbubbles, debris in sample or reagent tubes (and other sample/volume related variables), calibration factors, etc.


Going backwards to show my method: I calibrate my Trident using my tank water. I measure a sample with Salifert kits, then immediately run the Trident calibration cycle using the numbers obtained from the Salifert kits. I also determine the calibration offset required by my alk Hanna checker at the same time.

This process was born out of implementing the trident, and my experiences trying to get repeatable measurements aligned with other (more trusted) test methods. Given I've had the Trident less than a month, I still need to determine how often I'm going to perform this calibration process. Needs to be often enough to keep drift in-check, but not so often as to cover up any small changes in tank parameters. And I'm considering ditching the hanna altogether.



Now that that's out of the way -- have you verified your Trident numbers against a standard titration kit? Also, it looks like your alk has been swinging quite a bit as you make changes to try to get to the bottom of this. That's certainly impacting growth. I wouldn't do anything until I verified the Trident with a titration test.

Edit - Just saw that you've tested with other methods and the results are higher than trident. If you're testing your replacement water and it doesn't have high alk, I don't think it makes much sense to switch salts. Feels more like a hail mary based on hope than a data-driven decision, to me.

Something's adding alk to your tank, and I also suspect that it's related to your previous alk issue. Even months later. You're currently at what, 8.6 or so? Take a a few breaths and let things go for a bit and monitor. Step in and make changes only if you start seeing alk burn (or increase nutrients to make the increased alk more palatable to your coral). Right now, you're nowhere close to "too high." It seems like you're stuck in a correction cycle and you might be doing more harm than good by trying to throw everything at the wall and seeing what sticks.

The trident is reading 8.6 Hanna is reading 10.3

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Just a quick update I test my cal with a Red Sea test kit tonight and base on its results my cal is around 425 and not that 529 reading my trident was giving me. As far as alk goes I only have the Hanna checker which was giving me a reading of 10.3 which is higher than my trident so tomorrow I’ll go purchase a different test kit to see what the results are. Thanks for all the info guys. This has been a great help.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Also, salinity read 1.026

 

[IslandLifeReef]

I do not calibrate after every use, the ato is in the Cabinet next to my tank. 10gallon standard tank

How do you calibrate your refractometer? Do you use RODI water or do you use a calibration fluid that is set to 35 ppt?

If you aren't calibrating your refractometer before each use, then your salinity measurement is suspect. If you aren't using a calibration fluid set to 35 ppt, it is even more suspect.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

How do you calibrate your refractometer? Do you use RODI water or do you use a calibration fluid that is set to 35 ppt?

If you aren't calibrating your refractometer before each use, then your salinity measurement is suspect. If you aren't using a calibration fluid set to 35 ppt, it is even more suspect.

Salinity is spot on. I use my personal and had it double checked at LFS

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

ohhh...when the title said the impossible was happening, I was expecting a thread about how prices are coming down so that we have an affordable hobby!!

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Salinity is spot on. I use my personal and had it double checked at LFS

OK, well that still didn't answer my question. So what is causing your dKh to rise without dosing?

 

[gbru316]

Titration test the big three. Rule out bad apex probes.

Apex doesn't use probes for Ca, Alk, and Mg testing. It uses titration in a similar method to Hanna, I believe.

 

[Crustaceon]

And I never said it did, which is why these were two sentences.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Update: it was the sand! I removed all the old sand and replace it with new sand. My alk has slowly dropped from around 10 to 8.5. It has been consistently hovering around 8.4-8.5 for a week now, cal has also lowered to acceptable ranges

 

[spsick]

Update: it was the sand! I removed all the old sand and replace it with new sand. My alk has slowly dropped from around 10 to 8.5. It has been consistently hovering around 8.4-8.5 for a week now, cal has also lowered to acceptable ranges

New sand will consume alk strangely. @Randy Holmes-Farley has explained why but why escapes me.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

New sand will consume alk strangely. @Randy Holmes-Farley has explained why but why escapes me.

Crap! so maybe it’s not the sand and the results are temporary

 

[AydenLincoln]

Sadly they are known to be inaccurate invest in a salinity probe stabilizer like this! I promise it makes all the difference.