Rising Alkalinity

[YHSublime]

Hello WAMAS! 

 

Quick question, that I think I might have the answer to already, but wanted to see what others have maybe experienced. 

 

First, I use ESV bIonic for 2 part dosing. When I swapped into my new tank, I was pretty much dosing 50ml a day in an overgrown 80 tank, into 35ml a day into a 30 gallon tank. For about 3 weeks my alk held steady, and I started testing x2 a week vs every day. When I would go back, I'd find that my alkalinity had slowly been creeping up, pretty much a whole point (from 9 to 10)

 

I've slowly been dialing back, and as I do this, my alkalinity will hold steady for a few days, and then I'll find it creeping back up again. I've been playing this game for the past month and a half, and now I've gone from 35ml of each solution daily down to 20. 

 

I suspect that what's happening is that my nitrates are not bottoming out, but getting very very low. From a visual observation, my SPS is doing reaaaaally good, and my softies and torches are still doing great, but not peak. This has been a 180 from the old tank. 

[ReeferMan]

I have the opposite issue but tons of growth and coralline. Stays steady and slowly drops. Been increasing my dosing. Is this a new tank that was moved from an old tank? Wonder if they are still settling in and not consuming as much alk. Calcium and Mag numbers good?

 

[YHSublime]

1 hour ago, ReeferMan said:

I have the opposite issue but tons of growth and coralline. Stays steady and slowly 

 

That's usually the way it works, it drops! I'm already seeing some aggressive coraline growth. Truthfully, I struggled keeping my alk up in the bigger tank as I had the same issue you currently do. In the new tank (current) it's seeing rapid SPS growth, like 1/2 growth in 1.5 months. I don't know if that's standard, but I've never had that.

 

1 hour ago, ReeferMan said:

Is this a new tank that was moved from an old tank? Wonder if they are still settling in and not consuming as much alk. 

 

Yes, this is a reef tank that was taken from 80 gallons and put into a 30 gallon. No visible cycle, everything has been doing great. Everything IS doing great, but my alkalinity consumption started very heavy, and then slowly dwindled, by almost half. My speculation is nitrates are much lower now (I've halfed my livestock and I'm feeding less.) 

 

1 hour ago, ReeferMan said:

Calcium and Mag numbers good?

 

480 and 1300, so yes! 

[ReeferMan]

Sounds like nitrates are being consumed and raising alk

 

[YHSublime]

3 hours ago, ReeferMan said:

Sounds like nitrates are being consumed and raising alk

 

 

Yeah, that's my speculation, just checking with others who have maybe seen this before and have had the same experience.