Is this common in a new tank

B

BryanCaruso

New member
I use Red Sea coral pro has pretty high alkalinity. So far all I am using up is alkalinity. I am do for a water change on Wednesday that will be two weeks since my last change. I have monitoring the alkalinity and calcium. Calcium has dropped from 450 to 435 alkalinity has been steady declining and is at 8dkh since water change is just around the corner I'm not going to start dosing was just curious if this is normal
 
I have salifert for calcium and alkalinity and I also have API which I use to get a range on the salifert and surprisingly it is real close.
 
Whats in the Tank that eating the ALK and Ca. ? what size tank ? if nothing then wow/wierd if you got a bunch corals sounds about normal ? I have tons of sps and if I stopped my Ca Rx for a day Id see my DKH go from 8.25 to 7.85 & Ca from 480 to 420 in a day or 2 ? It all depends on whats in the tank and how big
 
Well I have 15 corals all smaller frags 1 pocillipora, cyphastrea,torch,hammer,frogspawn,candy cane, 1 Yuma,2 zoas frags,blasto,Duncan I think that is most of them
 
Where was your DkH originally? How long between tests? Are you testing at the same time each day you test? Do you see any growth in your corals? Do you see coralline growing? Do your heaters have a white, hard substance on them? Same question for your pumps...


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I usually test everyday. Most of the time when I wake up and check on things and feed the fish.i shut off return pump and skimmer while I feed. When those are off I always empty collection cup and clean it. I also pull a little tank water out and rinse the sponge. I have noticed over the two weeks this practice is bringing Down the s.g as well cuz not only am I topping off for evaporation but also for cleaning sponge anyway.... I then check the alkalinity with the API. It is really close to the salifert actually. And then usually after dinner maybe every other day I do the salifert calcium and alkalinity and record my findings. I also note when I feed the reef roids and other maintenance tasks and nitrates etc....since I have the time my last two water changes I have completely drained the sump and reserved some water to rinse out my rubble rock and any detritus on the bottom of sump. It is right around 16 gallons so they are significant water changes. I will probably do the same Wednesday. I think I was at 11dk after water change I'd have to check log. So in almost two weeks I have used 15ppm of calcium and 3dkh in alkalinity. And yes I am starting to see growth on corals some of them
 
Sounds about right in my experiance, even though the corals are small they do consume the trace elements your losing, however big juMps from 8 dkh to 11 are not good and will eventually kill your corals ime.. some people run a high alk others shoot for nsw but in the end what matters most is consistency, so with that being said pick tour spot and try to keep it wether high or lower. Alot has to do with your salt mix your using, i used to use oceanic salt and red sea and both those had high alk 11-13dkh ive since switched a couple times trying different brands and now use fritz rpm which is closer to 8, my point is try to use nsw mixes that are in range of what you want to keep yours at. Then you need to get some additives wether brs brand or esv 2 part and start dosing daily to keep your readings stable. I use a ca llcium reactor which is pretty tough to get set up and a decent chunk of change to start but is cheaper in the long term anyways i would recommend ESV B-ionic 2 part ca and alk and manually dosw daily to make up what your corals and coraline algae are taking from your watwr column.. its pretty easy just follow the instructions and you will s eneverything start to settle into place. Dosing pumps are a great investment as well and its pretty much set and forget once you find the correct dosages p:your tanks requirements. Hope this helps ;)
 
I was going to buy a aquarium product for calcium not dowflake or prestone heat etc. For alkalinity I was going to use baking soda when the time comes maybe after Wednesday's water change and try to stabilize it more.
 
I also have a kalk dripper made if I need balance calcium and alkalinity for use in top off water but i am not using up the calcium yet
 
Read this in some Red Sea literature:

Causes and effects of unbalanced levels of foundation elements
• New aragonite substrate - new aragonite surfaces can increase the non-biological precipitation of calcium and carbonates which will lead to their depletion from the water, causing a drop in calcium and alkalinity.
• Unbalanced salt mixture - low magnesium or high calcium can lead to alkalinity drops.
• Excessive dosing of calcium or buffer (without dosing magnesium) - Adding too much calcium (to saturation levels) can lead to a sudden drop in alkalinity. Adding too much buffer to an aquarium with calcium at saturation levels will cause precipitation, leading to low calcium levels.
The phenomena listed above are typical to many chemically unbalanced marine and reef tanks causing stress to the inhabitants as well as to the aquarist. Balanced supplementation should therefore be implemented to maintain calcium, magnesium and alkalinity at the recommended levels.
 
Last edited:
Having a similar issue, but mine is due to dosing kalk without monitoring alk and Ca. Ca was 535 and alk was 6.7. Doing small water changes and dosing baking soda.
 
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