Finally went rimless. 57g starfire illuminata

[lokii_37]

Similar to the above. I test cal and Alk about once a week. I test mag sometimes but not regularly. I bought a nitrate and phosphate test kit but with my color deficiency it is really hard for me to read at the lower levels. As long as my algae is not blowing up I figure I'm good with N and P.

 

[Ssteve]

So results are in. Calcium is about 450 which I'm fine with, mag is about 1450, and all was 12dkh or a touch higher. Should I just let it ride and see where it goes over the next couple days?

 

[Dapg8gt]

I would let it ride for 3 days and see what it's at.imo It would be a good idea to see where you nitrate and phosphate are at also as the high alk could give you some issues if your nutrients are really low. 12 is about as high as you go.

 

[Ssteve]

Nitrates are around 5 and phosphates about .08 I just tossed some gfo in a reactor so I'll test agin in a couple days but I'm really not concerned with either as they have both been higher before and no real algae issues to speak of.

 

[lokii_37]

Yeah I would let it work it's way down a little. What salt are you using? What is the Alk of a fresh batch of SW?

 

[Ssteve]

Just switched from aquavitro salinity to reefcrystals because of the high alk. It tested around 10-11dkh but that was api test kits and not to be trusted. Tested yesterday with Red Sea kit... I've been blind dosing Brightwell nano code A&B so it could be related to that as well... I'll retest tonight and see what it looks like... I'm going to discard the nano code anyways as my brs dosing stuff will be here next tue.

 

[Ssteve]

Alk is sitting at about 10.4-10.6dhk, calcium is still about 450 or a little more, and mag is around 1250. Ph 8.2, nitrates dropped to undetectable since I slowed feeding a bit, and I can't really detect any phosphates.. Although yesterday and today the algae on my glass has been worse than ever before even though I just started running gfo last week.

 

[Reef Bass]

IME, I've found an alk closer to 8 seems to work better for my tank. Grant had outrageous success at 7, but I don't think it was because his alk was 7 versus 8. He may tell you otherwise.

I'd bump the mag up a little until it's over 1300, but 1250 is darn close. I've noticed issues before when it dropped below 1200-1150.

 

[Ssteve]

How can I drop the alk?

 

[lokii_37]

How can I drop the alk?

Do water changes with lower Alk water.

When I mix reef crystals my Alk is about 8 but my tank stays just under 8dkh.

 

[Ssteve]

I'll make some up and test it today

 

[Reef Bass]

If you're dosing you could reduce the amount somewhat and let it drift down gradually.

Not saying higher alk is bad, just that values around 8 have worked better for me with stony corals. There are those who run their tank 10+. I've heard some salt mixes mix up at 10+ as well.

 

[Ssteve]

I know that the salt I was using (aquavitro salinity) was mixing up high. How high I'm not real sure cause the tester I was using wasn't all that accurate. But over 10dkh. Since I have switched to reefcrystals and haven't tested it, but only done three 5g water changes with it so far and been blindly dosing nano code A&B since that's all I had. I'm guessing that drove the alk up.

 

[woodnaquanut]

Ease off on Alk dosing. Your Ca is a little high. It might just be test kit error. You could ease off on it too.

Let it come down on it's own.

Do you dose Mg?

 

[Ssteve]

Just nano code A&B which has a little bit of everything in it.

 

[Dapg8gt]

How can I drop the alk?

I would Let the tank consume it to your level you choose. Then dose to keep it at that level. I wouldn't dose anything until both levels drop. And if your CA or vise versa is staying high just don't dose it only dose the portion you consume until it reaches an equilibrium. It's gonna take testing daily at first to get you where you need to be but getting the consumption dialed in is key to stability.

Imo cal of 450 is fine. But with the lower nutrients your showing I would say the alk could be an issue. The whole undetectable nutrients argument that is so rampant nowadays is imo an issue when it's said to be law. Running 0 across the board was the worst thing I ever did in my tank and my coral suffered for it. My opinion is 0 for N&P=bad.

Dosing too much will lead to more harm than good so take is slow. Better to start low and dose multiple times to get the raise your looking for vs way over shooting it causing a spike.

And fwiw rc usually has really high alk 11-12 so be alert of that. Also on water change days it most likely will throw off your normal dosing meaning you won't need to dose as much if at all depending on amount of water added.

 

[Ssteve]

Alk is down to 9.2, calcium 410, and mag I bumped up to 1480. I'm assuming it's the nano code that drives the alk up.

 

[lokii_37]

you can also just add the calcium part as you let your Alk come down you can keep you Ca up.

 

[Ssteve]

Just mixed up 4g of fresh salt overnight. Mag is 1320, alk 9.5, but calcium is about 500-520

 

[woodnaquanut]

When you open a new batch of salt do you stir it? I've heard salt mixes can settle in transit and not be uniform. I've never experienced this but then again I rarely test the new SW.