Low Alk Issue - 6.5 - Need Help Dosing

[71Percent]

Hi all, Alk has been consistently low. Elos tests come in between 6.5 and 7.5. Other parameters are fine. I think it has effected my hard corals, which have begun to die off. Soft corals doing fine. I want to start dosing to raise the Alk level and was hoping for some advice. My LFs recommended dosing with Bionic A, but I read somewhere that Limewater is better. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[undertai]

Limewater want raise the levels of alk that much. Limewater is mostly used to keep levels consistent. I would go with a buffer to raise alk levels to atleast 8 or 9 then use Limewater.

 

[71Percent]

Thanks. Then basically, I should be dosing buffer everyday going forward? Is this common? When would you recommend dosing - day or night?

 

[Fish4life28]

I use the bionic 2 part for the bulk of my dosing. And I run limewater via dosing pump at night to help keep ph steady. It also makes up a small part of dosing. I use a tad less bionic this way

 

[71xlch]

Limewater want raise the levels of alk that much. Limewater is mostly used to keep levels consistent. I would go with a buffer to raise alk levels to atleast 8 or 9 then use Limewater.

If you use a buffer keep an eye on your calcium. It may drop.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Hi all, Alk has been consistently low. Elos tests come in between 6.5 and 7.5. Other parameters are fine. I think it has effected my hard corals, which have begun to die off. Soft corals doing fine. I want to start dosing to raise the Alk level and was hoping for some advice. My LFs recommended dosing with Bionic A, but I read somewhere that Limewater is better. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Read this article to get started. It's relatively simple and extremely inexpensive to start with Randy's recipes and bolus dosing (i.e., adding a certain number of mLs of Ca/Alk solution once a day when feeding the tank). You can move on to dosing pumps using the same recipe if you wish to automate the process.

Sodium bicarbonate can be had at the grocery store - it's perfectly suitable for us in a reef tank. Calcium chloride's a bit more challenging; a lot of us buy it from Bulk Reef Supply or other "bulk" vendors. If you have a specialty kitchen supply place in your area, you may be able to get "food grade" calcium chloride, as it's used in "molecular gastronomy".

 

[71Percent]

Thanks for all the advice folks, I will check out the recipes and work to dial it in.

 

[twon8]

I dose 280 ml a day of each of Randy's two part via litermeter 3 plus I top off with kalkwasser.

 

[71Percent]

I dose 280 ml a day of each of Randy's two part via litermeter 3 plus I top off with kalkwasser.

Doesn't the equal dosing of the two parts cancel each other out? Or is your Alk level fine to begin with?

 

[twon8]

One supplements alkalinity and the other calcium. Thus maintains my alkalinity and calcium at the level I want

 

[jfuka78]

That is low but not bad, I tend to keep my all right around 7 and had great colors in the past, just slow growth

 

[toothman]

Bionic is very good because it also has the necessary trace elements that are not in just cacl and baking soda. If your ca demand is not too high I would follow your pet store's advice and use bionic.. I do not use bionic but use randy's two part with the addition of trace elements, so extra cost plus extra addition of trace elements, more work. I have a larger tank, bionic would be expensive.

Personally my tank does much better at kh values around 7-7.5. Any higher I actually have slower growth. If you have low nutrients in your tank value similar to NSW 7.2 kh is a must, above 8.5 acros will be stressed. I am not totally convinced that this is the reason for the demise of your acros. How stable is your dosing system, are there swings in kh, or is it gradually declining to 6.5. If you need a cheap dosing pump Jaebo make a great one around $100. Consider a couple of larger water changes this will generally heal all wounds.