Alkalinity problem and question?

[Guygettnby]

hey all. i currently have a 58g rr tank with 30g sump. this tank was perfect for the longest time then i had the tank crash from an unknown source. since then i have had nothing but problems in this tank. i currently have been dosing B-ionic 2 part every day for the past 3 months to try and solve my Mag, Alk and calcium problems. here are my levels right now as of an hour or so ago.

PH 8.0
DKH 5.4
Magnesium 1300
Calcium 430
Salinity 1.026
Nitrate 10-15
nitrite 0
phosphate 0 ( on a slifert and API test kits)

3 or so months ago my readings were abit different but my ALK/DKH levels are still way too low. all my other levels are getting better. my ph still needs to go up some but the other levels i can live with.

is there anything else i can possibly do to actually raise my alk levels?? you would think that after 3 months of dosing B-Ionic everyday they would be higher. i am dosing abit more then i actually should be and it still seems like it is not enough. i am going crazy trying to fix this ALK problem without seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. any help would be great!!!!

 

[Guygettnby]

another thing i had a problem with and i dont know if this has anything to do with this problem but i figured i would mention it as well... a week ago i made up about 25-30g of saltwater and it sat for about 3 days because i ended up getting sick. i put a heater and a mag 5 in the bucket like i always do. anyhow, when i opened the bucket back up getting ready to change my water the entire bucket, pump, cords and heater were covered with a greyish like sludge that felt like a mud??

this has never happened to me before and i have done nothing different then i ever have. i discarded the water and washed everything so i could try again. but i am wondering what could have caused this problem and if i infact have a bad batch of salt. this is instant ocean salt BTW.

 

[kgross]

What is in the tank? How much are things growing?

could it just be that you are not dosing enough to keep up with the growth?

For a good alk boost, use the reef chemistry calculator to figure out how much baking soda to add to raise your alk to where you want it, then go back to the 2 part to keep it there.....

Kim

 

[bertoni]

I suspect that the tank just needs more B-Ionic per day. This calculator should help:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

 

[Guygettnby]

my tank is not heavily stocked, my growth is very slow right now if any and i already have been adding more then it recomends to add to a tank my size. my tank only has like 2 SPS, 3 LPS and everything else is softies besides the 2 clams.

so basicly what you are thinking i need to do is simply just add more 2 part then what i have been? i just get nervous adding so much stuff too my tank when i am already adding more then it says too and more often then it says.

 

[bertoni]

As long as the alkalinity is low, dosing more B-Ionic is fine. Their recommendations are more for people who aren't testing.

It's worth getting a second opinion on the test kits from time to time, as they do fail over time.

 

[PapaKlix]

i am currently dosing nearly the max that warner marine suggests of their 2 part given my tank size and i wouldn't consider my tank anywhere near "fully stocked" as they refer to. i won't have any problem continuing to dose more despite the directions providing an upper limit.

Their recommendations are more for people who aren't testing.

by the way, i know there are people out there who do this but i can't imagine dosing anything without testing for it!

 

[kgross]

Don't worry to much about the max on the instructions, you can dose as much as needed without any problems.

Kim

 

[Guygettnby]

ok, well i was dosing 30cc and last night i bumped it up to 45cc so hopefully i will start to see a difference. i will also have somebody else test my water as well to see if my test kits are getting abit old.