I can't raise my alkalinity level!! Help!

[bryan1354]

Hello,

I have been trying to raise my alkalinity level in my reef tank but have had not success. I am using BRS 2 part system and I initially had an alkalinity of 6.5 DKH and managed to raise it to 7.8 DKH but it has been stuck there for about 3 days. I have dosed the recommended dosage to raise it to 9.0 DKH 3 times!! and it has stayed at 7.8 any ideas whats going on??

40 Gallon

PH: 8.0-8.2
Calcium: 500ppm
Alk: 7.8 Dkh
Magnesium: 1400ppm
Salinity: 1.025

Reason I want to raise my alk to 9.0 Dkh is so I can start dosing Kalkwasser via my auto top off.

Thanks,

 

[xfactor1315]

What else are you dosing. If your raising calcium by alot it can push the alk down

 

[bryan1354]

Not dosing anything other than the alkalinity solution from the BRS 2 part. My calcium is at 500ppm just from water changes with Kent Reef salt.

 

[bertoni]

I'd test the alkalinity the same time every day for a while, and dose to the target level. This calculator should help:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

You should ignore the recommended doses. They're for people who aren't testing, really.d

 

[tmz]

Do you know the alk of the newly mixed salt water used for water changes? What's the sg btw? I agree with the daily testing at the same time each day untill you figure consumption levels. Then evey few days shuld be fine.
At some point you may need to add some level of calcium in balance with the alk but accounting for the salt mix additions,so it all comes out to 20ppm calium to 50ppm carbonate alainity. Calcium goes down more slowly than carbonate alkalinity and there is more of it. AS calcium carbonate forms approximately 20ppm calcium is used to 50ppm(2.8dkh)alkalinity.

 

[bryan1354]

I use kent reef salt and I believe the alk is about 7DKH when freshly made. I just dosed 40ml to raise it to 9.0 and tested about 15 mins after and I got a test of 8.4DKH. Can I start dosing kalkwasser already and keep dosing the alkalinity solution till I reach 9.0 and see it stabilize? or do I hold off on kalk until my alk raises and stabilizes?

Thanks,

 

[bryan1354]

Or is a dkh of 7.8-8.4 good? to grow out frags of sps and lps corals? If so I will just keep it as is and start dosing the kalk already.

 

[tmz]

I think 7.8 to 8.4 dkh is fine. Personally I'm just a tad higher 8.6 to 9.3 or so . Kalk is the main supplement( dosed 24/7) with a little extra from two part( baking soda and calcium chloride)

 

[bertoni]

As long as the daily low for alkalinity is above 7 dKH, the tank likely will be fine. For some people, stony corals seem to react badly to alkalinity swings, so if you're doing a single alkalinity dose per day, that might be an issue if and when the dose gets to be large.

I think starting the Kalk now is fine. I would watch the pH carefully for a while, though, since Kalk can cause substantial problems if it's dosed too rapidly.

 

[slyfox29]

I'm not as near experienced as so many others here, but if this is just a frag grow out tank, I can tell you based on my current experience, Red Sea Coral Pro salt has been awesome in my frag tank. I do bi-weekly water changes and the ALK levels are much higher than yours.....around 11 dkH. My parameters stay pretty stable which I think helps alot.

I can't speak for others, but I'm getting great growth on my SPS and LPS with no dosing.

 

[tmz]

Salt mix is salt mix ;pick one with the alk Calcium and Mag levels you like for your system. Water changes will add those supplements. Often, it's not enough unless the volume of water hanged over time is relatively high .Stable parameters with alk in the 7 to 11 range but relatively steady is improtant, imo.

 

[bryan1354]

Tested my alk today after raising it to 8.4 and dosing kalkwasser for a week and it was down to 7dkh raised it back to 8.4 with the two part solution. Hopefully I can figure this out so I can keep it 9dkh.

 

[bryan1354]

The alk on a fresh batch of my saltwater is at 10DKH actually!! have no idea why I had a dkh of 6.5!! if my magnesium levels are at 1400ppm I should be able to keep a high alk and calcium levels.

 

[bertoni]

Many tanks consume 2-3 dKH per day. I'd just start measuring and dosing daily, and see what happens.

 

[bryan1354]

But what consumes it? I have like 5 small frags in the tank not colonies.

 

[bryan1354]

Could it be participating out?

 

[tmz]

Do you notice precipitant anywhere? Have you noticed anything that might indicate it's occurirng,such as scale on heaters ad pumps, pH spikes when dosing, and so on? Is coraline growing? Are you dosing clear kalk water, slowly? How/ where are you dosing the alk supplement?

 

[bertoni]

Coralline algae can consume a lot of calcium and alkalinity, too.

 

[rocky25]

how to raise alk

how to raise alk

Hello,

I have been trying to raise my alkalinity level in my reef tank but have had not success. I am using BRS 2 part system and I initially had an alkalinity of 6.5 DKH and managed to raise it to 7.8 DKH but it has been stuck there for about 3 days. I have dosed the recommended dosage to raise it to 9.0 DKH 3 times!! and it has stayed at 7.8 any ideas whats going on??

40 Gallon

PH: 8.0-8.2
Calcium: 500ppm
Alk: 7.8 Dkh
Magnesium: 1400ppm
Salinity: 1.025

Reason I want to raise my alk to 9.0 Dkh is so I can start dosing Kalkwasser via my auto top off.

Thanks,

6 to 8 grams baking soda with ro/di water to 1 quart jar should do the trick

 

[Tek]

Were you able you able to figure this out?

I am having the same issue in my 30G SPS dominate. My Red Sea ALK test will show 8.4dkh and I add enough Seachem Reef Builder to raise it to 9.0dkh every 2 hours via a doser. It will still settle at 8.4dkh even if I double dose in the same hour. My CA is at 450ppm constantly via a doser. There seems to be an ALK wall.

My other tank which is 70G and lightly stocked is at 425ppm CA and the ALK has been steady at 9.0dkh via daily manual dosing. Could it be the CA at 450ppm on my 30G preventing the ALK from rising? The calculators show CA of 425ppm and ALK of 9.0dkh is considered balanced.