How to get alk up without skyrocketing pH?

[jackk]

Hello, i have had some troubles keeping acros in my tank. I have no problem other sps. My montis, stylophoras and birds nest all do great and have great growth. But anytime i put an acropora in my tank, it slowly dies from the bottom up.

I was told that perhaps my alk was not right. So i bought a test kit and measured it at 7 with salifert. I then also sent the water out to a lab to get some results to make sure i was testing it right:

Ammonia (NH3-4)Good 0 0.000 - 0.050 mg/L
Nitrite (NO2) Good 0.006 0.000 - 0.100 mg/L
Phosphate (PO4) Good 0.02 0.000 - 0.250 mg/L
Nitrate (NO3) Good 0.8 0.000 - 25.000 mg/L
Silica (Sio2-3) Good 0.5 0.000 - 0.500 mg/L
Potassium (K) Low 99 350.000 - 450.000 mg/L
Ionic Calcium (Ca)Low 90 100.000 - 300.000 mg/L
Molybdenum (Mo)Good 0.1 0.000 - 0.120 mg/L
Strontium (Sr) Good 8.1 5.000 - 12.000 mg/L
Magnesium (Mg) Good 1163 1100.000 - 1400.000 mg/L
Iodine (I) Good 0.04 0.030 - 0.090 mg/L
Copper (Cu) Good 0.02 0.000 - 0.030 mg/L
Alkalinity (meq/L)Good 2.6 2.500 - 5.000 meq/L
Total Calcium (Ca)Good 430 350.000 - 450.000 mg/L

Looks like it is pretty much a 7. My pH in the tank is generally 8-8.1 on a daily cycle.

I tried dosing with kalk in the ato, but it just shoots my pH way up to 8.5 over the course of a week and doesnt seem to move alk.

I then tried dosing with superbuffer dkh, and the same happened, pH shoots up to 8.5 but no measurable move in alk. I

What am I doing wrong?

 

[downbeach]

Baking Soda

 

[this is me]

I'm incline to say there's something wrong with the test kit or your testing.
Have you taken a sample of your tank water and let the LFS or local reefer check the alk for you?
What if you take a cup water in your tank and pour a capful of the dKH buffer and test? If your alk is not moving, then something is wrong with your test kit. I'm no chemist but it's hard to believe your alk is not moving when your PH is increasing that much when adding the buffer.
Does the ALK go down if you don't add anything?

 

[Allmost]

But anytime i put an acropora in my tank, it slowly dies from the bottom up.

just keep KH stable by dosing sodium carbonate multiple times a day. [baking soda, baked baking soda, ESV, or anything else u like, just dose multiple times a day instead on once a day.

since you say the acros loosing tissue from base up, it is most likely nutritions [po4 to be exact] being too low, or getting removed too fast ! how often do you exchange your GFO ?

from the description, KH is not the Issue. PH ... will follow, so only check PH if you see its off the daily trend.

 

[jackk]

I'm incline to say there's something wrong with the test kit or your testing.
Have you taken a sample of your tank water and let the LFS or local reefer check the alk for you?
What if you take a cup water in your tank and pour a capful of the dKH buffer and test? If your alk is not moving, then something is wrong with your test kit. I'm no chemist but it's hard to believe your alk is not moving when your PH is increasing that much when adding the buffer.
Does the ALK go down if you don't add anything?

I thought that too! I was using the salifert test kit, and then I bought a test from aquariumwatertesting.com, which is the above results. It is the same as my test. So I tend to think it is likely accurate?

 

[jackk]

since you say the acros loosing tissue from base up, it is most likely nutritions [po4 to be exact] being too low, or getting removed too fast ! how often do you exchange your GFO ?

from the description, KH is not the Issue. PH ... will follow, so only check PH if you see its off the daily trend.

I change the GFO probably every six weeks. Is this good? My tests (above) show a little bit of phospate in the tank, which is good i think?

What do you mean by "KH is not the issue"? Sorry i do not understand.

 

[Allmost]

KH is not what is causing your Acros to die from base up.



usually, acros that die from Base up, are due to changes in water too fast, like reduction of po4.

I dont know if changing your GFO every 6 weeks is good or not, every system is different, you should change GFO when po4 starts to raise.

 

[jackk]

KH is not what is causing your Acros to die from base up.



usually, acros that die from Base up, are due to changes in water too fast, like reduction of po4.

I dont know if changing your GFO every 6 weeks is good or not, every system is different, you should change GFO when po4 starts to raise.

Ok, thanks! What level of phospate do you change GFO at?

 

[Allmost]

again, every reef is different. so numbers and values and ... would just be confusing. specially with our test kits

usually, when we test the out put of the GFO reactor it reads zero po4, when that output sample starts registering GFO, it means that the GFO is on its way out

 

[fjpod]

use unbaked baking soda.