BB tank problems at higher Alk?

Wiskey

Wiskey

New member
I have a BB low nutrient tank, and everything was going along great at 8 dKH (420 Ca). I decided to slowly raise this to 10 Dkh, and I got a little STN and one case of RTN for my trouble.

I took 3 days to raise the Alk, using 2 part (Ca and Alk to keep them in balance) and it stayed stable once at 10 Dkh (435 PPM CA) via the Kalk reactor.

I am now allowing it to drop back down to 8 dKH.

My question:
Has anyone else had trouble with their BB tank when attempting to run a higher Alk?

Thanks,
Whiskey
 
i'm BB i recently tryed to up my alk to around 12 DKH since i heard it was optimal for growth and what not, i noticed that around 12 DKH my green monti cap started to get some precip and started to withdraw it's polyps, i did a water change and got my DKH back to 10 and everything is looking great. i think ill try to keep it at 10 for now and see how well everything does in the next few weeks.

i heard that a DKH between 9-10 was best...maybe you tryed to raise it to quickly...remember go slow i raised mine to 12 over 3-4 weeks but still got precip at 12 DKH so i lowered it because i noticed an ill effect on my cap. but at a DKH of 10 now everything has better PE and growth is still great.
 
I'm a BB and try to keep my ALK at 12 dKH and Cal at 450 ppm.

I notice much higher corelline growth, which coveres the BB very nicely.

It does swing a lot in one day since I dose once daily. It can swing from 12 to 9 (occassionally down to 8) and CAL from 450 to 420.

Part of that is corelline and the other is the clam.

I have SPS, LPS, Softies, 1 Anemone, 1 Cro Clam

They all seem great, but look best when everything says balanced and stable.

Best growth at 12 - 450

Best polyp extension at 9 - 425

I think whatever you chose, just keep it there for 2 months - some inverts/corals might have to take some time to adjust.

Raising your ALK over a few day was fine IMO, but the corals might take 2 months to get used to it. After all, the extra ALK/CAL means they can (and need time to) adjust their growth.

PS
 
If my alk goes above 8dkh I will have problems. This was happening even before I was on the zeovit system.
 
Has anyone else had trouble with their BB tank when attempting to run a higher Alk?

Has anyone else had trouble with their BB tank when attempting to run a higher Alk?

I think the issue here is related to low nutrient tanks, not necessarily the lack of a sandbed. Several people have noted the recent trend of corals stressing when keeping their Alk in the "recommended" 9-12 dKH range. One recent thread can be found here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=881916 but it gets a bit off-track.

On a personal note, I have a SSB reef tank (sorry, I cannot include a picture b/c Photobucket is down) where I supplement Ca and Alk by Kalk only. I spike with vinegar, run carbon and ROWAPhos 24/7, and skim fairly heavy. Using Salifert test kits, my Phosphates and Nitrates are zero (even when looking through the side to get the low-range affect), so it would fall into the whole low-nutrient category.

I have converted to IO salt over the last year and was in a routine of doing a 5-10% WC every week. My experiences follow what Zoom points out on the 3rd page in the link above - that IO commonly has high Alk and low Calc. Doing weekly WCs my Alk kept climbing. Once it got over 10.5 dKH, several of my SPS started showing signs of stress. I've noticed slower growth and a loss of color (I cannot post comparison pictures at this time). I attributed a previous minor issue of STN to increased temps (79.5-80, up from 77.5-78) but now I'm sure the high Alk played a major role. About 7 weeks ago, the tank got as high as 11.8 dKH, so I decided to take corrective actions.

In an effort to get my levels down, I've since backed off the WCs to every 2-3 weeks, where I change about 5% each time; I've also lowered the concentration of limewater. If I remember correctly, last week my Ca was 450 and my Alk was 9.85 dKH. The SPS are started to get some color back, but they're still not what they were.
 
I kept my tank >10dKH for years. In the last 2 years, I've kept it at NSW levels (7-8), and I've noticed the following:

-Far less TN events.
-Much less coraline (which I like)
-pumps stay clean for a long time
-acro growth is still very good
-no more calcium carbonate buildup in my sump (this was a major problem for me at one time
-my heater looks like a heater and not a large white rock

Also, with the lack of calcium carbonate deposits in my system, my calcium reactor uses a LOT less media.

It's worth mentioning that my clams still grow VERY quickly with at a reduced alk. I reckon that they're my major consumer, but their growth rate is still amazing.

When I mention far less tissue necrosis events, I mean no 'unexplained' disasters. I seemes to be plagued for a while with STN in my system. Just when I'd get things back in line, and get some new frags going, I'd wake up to tissue recession at the base of my corals. I can't conclude that the higher alk was the culprit, but I can attest that my system has been much healthier since I backed off to an alk of 8.0dKH. Coincidence? Maybe. I have read other's experiences that have been similar to mine.

Why do you want an alk of 12 anyway? I think you'd be surprised in the slight difference of growth versus natural parameters.

jm$.02. Try backing off and see if you notice a difference in growth.

-E.
 
I remember Bomber referring to high alk (R)TN as 'alk burn'. Don't remember whether any explanation for it was given....
 
like i posted earlier, i'm pretty sure i started to get alk burn on my green monti cap at around 12 DKH mine is now at 9.8-10 DKH my polyp extension is definatly improved over the last week all my corals look great. I notice no more coraline or calcium buibl-up at this level, but my light is also a yellow/white iwaski 14k 175w so i tend to grow more green coraline than the purple/pink
 
I thought it had to do with the buffering capacity or lack thereof because of lack of sand.

I have read you cannot go with the "recommended 10-12dkh" in a bare-bottom tank. 8dkh is fine.
 
I have my alk at 10.5 -11 .. so how do you drop it? Eric at fragfarmer.com suggested I add turbo calc to get it to start dropping....

Any other tips?
 
I am gonna do that, and turn off my kalkwasser reactor.. I think I am getting a little alk burn on some of my corals.

I'll just try to keep that calc stable while dropping the systems... I also ordered some magnesium and a test kit from Eric.
 
I agree that if your running low nutrients (what all of SPS tanks try to accomplish), you must keep your levels similar to NSW. That is a MAJOR part of Zeovit is keeping your levels as close to NSW as possible. The reason has nothing to do with zeo specifically, but when your running low nutrients (which zeo tanks tend to be). I personally think 8.0 is about the hot spot. Much lower and you can run the risk of low alk if you dont have a Ca Rx to keep it perfectly stable. Frankly I dont see any point in running high alk either though, the growth is certainly not much if any better. Frankly its just plain not worth the risk of TN IMO.
 
Thanks for all the help everyone! I've been watching this thread, but not posting to see where this goes on its own.

We seem to have 2 schools of thought here, Some people are sucessful with a very high Alk, while others have had problems running it that high. It looks like the majority do fine with a lower alk, so I don't think I will run the risk and just keep mine at 8 dKH.

Further comments are welcome, Ill continue to check back.

Thanks,
Whiskey
 
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