Alk Stability.....:(

[abfleck]

Ok.....so recently I noticed that one of my frags (tri color acro) was suffering from burned tips and slowly receding. This frag has always been kind of questionable health wise since its been in my tank, but now I beleive its suffering from Alk burn. It appears that my alk has been swinging more than what would be considered accecptible at this point. Yesterday, I tested my alk (hanna meter) and it tested at 9.7 dkh. Normally my goal was to keep in at 9.0 dkh. This reading was taken before my normal daily dose of Randy's part one Alk solution. This was a tad higher than what I would normally shoot for...approximately 8 hours later I tested the Alk again (Hanna meter) and it was 8.7 dkh. Being 1 dkh lower, this may be why my tri-color acro hasn not been doing well, do the large alk swings of up and down. Due to the swings and alk being unstable, i began dripping lime water (last night) to add equal amounts of calcium and alk to keep the parameters more stable. After approximately 16 hours of dripping lime water, the alk only lowered from 8.7 dkh to 8.4 dkh. So dripping lime water seems to keep the alk more stable is what I am seeing at this point. Since I am using lime water, I will have to make up a new batch of alk solution of recipe 2 this time, since recipe one requries you to bake off excess C02, so that I dont affect the PH any more that the lime water already does.

Based on the above information, is there anything else I can do to keep my alk more stable? What causes alk burn? Is it the alk swings, high Alk, low Alk or any combination of swings and high/low Alk?

Here are my current parameters:

Ca 450
Alk 8.4 dkh

Have not checked the PH, or nitrates recently. PH was always normal to low 7.8ish prior to starting lime water.

***Tank is approx 11 weeks old*****

 

[chuckreef]

I don't believe a change of one dKH or an alkalintiy of 10 is the cause of the problem.

Check the coral for pests by dipping it and examining the container.
Try relocating it.

 

[James404]

I agree that a swing of 1dKh will not cause burnt tips, is this a new frag that you got? I would look into its placement, perhaps move it to a lower location in the tank.

 

[abfleck]

I have had this frag in the tank for about a three weeks. I did not notice the changes until recently. I fragged it and move it to my frag rack for the time being to see if the location of the tank will help it recover. I have also noticed that my green slimer may be suffering from STN now from the bottom up. Green slimers are hardy no? I will watch it and see what happens. I will frag the bottom off if it continues......

dkh today is 8.1....just a slight less that yesterday....

I agree that a swing of 1dKh will not cause burnt tips, is this a new frag that you got? I would look into its placement, perhaps move it to a lower location in the tank.

 

[seapug]

If you're having alkalinity issues, a magnesium test might be good idea too.

 

[silentscream]

The way I was reading your post, before you began to add kalk to supply ALK & CA in a balanced ratio, you were only adding the ALK part of Randy's DIY 2-part, not the calcium part? Is that correct?

 

[abfleck]

I have tested and corrected my magnesium levels. That's correct I was only adding alk solution daily and ca solution when ca dipped under 450ish.

 

[bertoni]

The only way to keep the alkalinity more stable is to test more often and correct the dosage as needed. I'm not convinced that the coral problem is due to the alkalinity change, but it could be. I don't think anyone knows how alkalinity changes affect corals in this type of case.

 

[tmz]

Have you checked PO4 or NO3?

 

[abfleck]

Have you checked PO4 or NO3?

I have not lately but is on my list of things to do tonight. Will report the results when I have them available. The last time I tested phos with the Hanna meter, the results were .17ppm (2ppm). I never had any detectible nitrates using a salifert test kit...


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[abfleck]

ok......checked PO3 and PO4 last night. Nitrates were 0ppm and phosphates 0ppm. I am running GFO and never had any issues with either one at this point.

I looked at my green slimer again today and it seems to be suffering from STN. I am unsure that the issue is at this point. I am thinking about fragging the green slimer and moving it elswhere in the tank. Also, the PE has not been great recently as well. Not sure why it is unhappy. Lots of flow, temp 78.6, Alk 8.1 Ca 440-450ish Mag 1350.