Confused on 2 part

[homer1475]

Sorry if this is long, but I'll try and explain everything in detail.....


Moved up to a bigger tank(80g Vs. my previous 30G). The tank itself is an 80G rimless with a 30G sump. I've worked out with displacement and the sump I have roughly 80G total volume, and have a decent coral load(quite a few LPS, a small spattering of SPS and several softies). I cannot for the life of me get my ALK to raise past 7 DKH. I'm dosing 2 part along with 1tsp per gallon of kalkwasser in my ATO

I've been dosing Randys recipe 1(soda ash/baked baking soda) at the rate of 6 FL OZ.(178ML) a day spread out over 12 hours via a dosing pump(every other hour), and If I understand 2 part correctly I am also dosing calcium at the same rate(12 hour intervals on the off hours ALK is dosed).

Now heres where I get confused, during my weekly tests my ALK is always 7 DKH, but my magnesium and calcium are way high. Calcium is over 500(salifert doesn't go any higher), and magnesium is roughly 1500(never have added any magnesium supplements, although I have BRS bulk chemicals.

My sandbed around my rocks is rock hard, not just a crust, but actually like a rock. The rest of my sandbed is still sand, its just solid around my rocks. I have 0 precipitate on my pumps, heaters, glass, sump anywhere. No coraline growth, so that can't be sucking it up, but do have a small maxima clam, which I have read can suck up ALK and Cal. But wouldn't the CAL also be dropping?

If I hand dose to try and bring up the ALK to around 8 I get precipitate on everything and I kind of believe my original hand dosing of unequal parts is what caused my sandbed to clump. If I hand dose to bring the ALK up should I also be hand dosing the CAL part too? But my CAL is already sky high.

In my mind 6FL OZ of 2 part is quite a bit for my tank size although I really have no clue whats considered alot?

I've read a ton of threads, watched numerous videos on 2 part dosing and all say the 2 parts should be dosed in equal parts(or roughly equal), but if i dose more alk who knows how high my CAL will get if I add equal parts.

Sorry for the long winded post, but every detail helps I know.

FYI all test kits are in date and have used a couple different test kits to confirm my readings. I also had all these same corals(with the exception I've added a few) in my biocube and KALK in my topoff was all that was needed to maintain levels. I do know 7 DKH isn't horrible, but I would like to keep it around 8ish.


Just a small PS:
I use baked baking soda for ALK, and BRS bulk calcium chloride for the calcium part.

 

[BlackTip]

I had similar problem in the past. I tried many things without success. What worked for me was I stopped dosing for few days. During this time I did daily water change until 50% water were replaced. Depends on the salt you use, with water change calcium level should be in the right spot. Then, I used baking soda to bring the alkalinity to where I wanted

I think the issue was ion imbalance, but I don't know for sure what cause the precipitation.

I was using IO salt, and during the daily water change, I switched to SeaChem Reef Salt. I don't know whether the issue was the salt or the BRS 2 parts system I was using.

 

[minus9]

I would stop using Kalk and just use 2 part and hold off dosing calcium until it comes back down. Also, make sure you are not dosing both at the same time. If you dose alk on the hour, then dose calcium at least 30 minutes later. I dose diy soda ash and brs calcium and I can tell you that I'm not dosing the exact same amount for both, probably a few mL's difference between the two.

 

[bertoni]

You can use two syringes for the Salifert kit and add the results. That'll tell you how high the calcium is. I would stop dosing the calcium part until the calcium level is more lie 450 ppm, if it ever gets there. Plain baking soda tends to cause less precipitation because it drop the pH slightly when added to the tank. I might mix up some of the recipe 2.

 

[homer1475]

If I stop dosing Calcium and just add baking soda, won't it cause the calcium to precipitate out?

I was doing this initially(only ALK as my CAL was always spot on), and it caused a ton of precip on my pump motors and such. Also I think this is my my sandbed turned to rock.

 

[bertoni]

Dosing calcium should cause more precipitation than skipping it. Something else might have been happening. If the tank is having precipitation problems, I'd use baking soda for a while. It tends to cause less precipitation because it lower the pH a tiny bit when added, rather than raising it.

 

[homer1475]

Thanks bertoni!
I'll give that a try, and stop dosing calcium for a while to see if things even out.

 

[bertoni]

You're welcome. Good luck!