Alk help!

[codydemmel4]

Okay so I thought everything in my tank was great till I started seeing what I think are dead spots on some of my SPS.


I tested my water yesterday and dkh was 7, I added some supplements last night. I just tested my water today and dkh was only 4!!! I have 0 phosphates, 0 nitrate, and 460 calcium, I do not have any mag tests so I am not sure what that is.


I am wondering how I add the baking soda mix and how much to add. This is a 55 gallon system with a decent amount of SPS, LPS, and 2 big anemones.

So will I just add like 1 1/2 cups of baking soda for a gallon of RO/DI and then add that till I get it up to like 9-10 and then figure out how much of the mix I have to add each day to keep it stable? I do not have a dosing pump so I am going to add some of the mix in the morning and some at night.

Does this make sense? I just want my tank to go back to normal and have great growth in my corals, especially my SPS

 

[Setragni]

4 sounds really low, did you double check and or crosscheck with a different test? I would not do anything until you are a 100% sure your alk is that low. Test your PH, if your ph is low it is probably the alk.
Now I would not bring your alk from 4 to 9 all at once. You have to do it slowly.
I believe this is a user error or faulty test kit. From 7 to 4 in a day your corals would have responded badly.

 

[downbeach]

If you want to use plain baking soda, add 1 1/4 cups to a gallon of RO/DI water, use this calculator, fill in the numbers for your system and select Randy's Recipe #2 from the drop down menu. Baking soda is a little more difficult to get into solution, so I used to use a hand held blender to mix it. If you confirm that your dKH is that low, add the solution slowly over a few days.
Another solution is to bake 2 cups of the baking soda on a cookie sheet @ 450 for 1 1/2 hours, which will turn it into soda ash. Use the same calculator and select Randy's recipe #1.

 

[jda]

Make sure your test kit is accurate first. I have a TON of SPS and true coral any my alk could not drop 3dkh in one day.