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Super low alk and a hanna checker, questions and concerns

YHSublime

By YHSublime,
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YHSublime Neptune Reefer

YHSublime

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that will teach you to be so cavalier about testing and dosing...lol

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That's what my levels look like, just saying.

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YHSublime Neptune Reefer

YHSublime

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wonder what they COULD look like if they look this good ha ha ha...

look I am as shocked as you at your finding....

I am also vexed. Looks like I'll be dosing sooner than expected.

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flooddc Oracle Reefer

flooddc

Your corals look happy.

If it was me, would not do anything drastic. Just double check the checker, possible operator error or defective unit. Get someone close by with another tester to verify.Then slowly bring the parameters up. Just my opinion... Best of luck

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howaboutme Legendary Reefer

howaboutme

Your corals look happy.

If it was me, would not do anything drastic. Just double check the checker, possible operator error or defective unit. Get someone close by with another tester to verify.Then slowly bring the parameters up. Just my opinion... Best of luck

 

I agree with this.

 

Also, I think I read that ULNS are better run at lower Alk. What do your NO3 and PO4 normally stay at? Are you carbon dosing? It's possible that you're corals just got used to the number as it was gradually heading towards it. But it was more or less stable, which is key. You can dose and see if you see improvement (not sure how since they look good already!) and find a level you are comfortable with. Otherwise let it be and give up the chase.

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lnevo Master Reefer

lnevo

I would do your normal WC first then see what your tank is at. Bring up the alk slowly. I would do 1/2 the dosage to bring uo 1.4dkh per day. That would give you .7dkh as a target. You'll also see the consumption amount. Second day try and get to the .7 compensating for that consumption.. Once you get the hang of your daily dose you'll have an idea what to set your dosers for. I would bring up the calcium too since its low, but the change in calcium from consumption is much harder to read. 1dkh = 5ppm calcium but the stderr on calcium tests is higher than that...

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Origami Neptune Reefer

Origami

What's your salinity using a calibrated refractometer? What is the salinity of your freshly mixed batch of RC?

 

Alk drops quickly. My tank in Ashburn would easily drop 2 - 3 dKH over the course of a day if I hadn't dosed kalkwasser.

 

Do you use DIY two part? If so, what do you use to make the Alk part (Baking soda or baked baking soda?) What recipe do you use? Maybe I can calculate the alkalinity of your supplement and you can dilute it and measure it using it as an approximate alkalinity standard.

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YHSublime Neptune Reefer

YHSublime

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What's your salinity using a calibrated refractometer? What is the salinity of your freshly mixed batch of RC?

 

Alk drops quickly. My tank in Ashburn would easily drop 2 - 3 dKH over the course of a day if I hadn't dosed kalkwasser.

 

Do you use DIY two part? If so, what do you use to make the Alk part (Baking soda or baked baking soda?) What recipe do you use? Maybe I can calculate the alkalinity of your supplement and you can dilute it and measure it using it as an approximate alkalinity standard.

 

see Jenn's response, lol. I'm a firm believer of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I presumed I would have a need to dose calk and alk down the line as I began to whorde SPS, so I ended up jumping on BRS's dosing pump deal. I then jumped on their doorbuster for an alk hanna checker, as I figured it would be a good tool to have as I dialed in to my tanks needs.

 

The salinity of both my tank and my pre mixed water is 1.026 with a calibrated refractometer. Every three days I go through about 5 gallons of RO top off. I don't dose anything, I just water change and skim heavy. Honestly, I can't remember my last water change, which probably has a lot to do with my levels being what they are.

 

I would be interested in DIY 2 part, as I don't mind being hands on.

 

Just a heads up, BRS recommends a max of 1.4 dkh rise a day and I have not read any where that recommends more then 2 a day.

 

Thank you!

 

Your corals look happy.

If it was me, would not do anything drastic. Just double check the checker, possible operator error or defective unit. Get someone close by with another tester to verify.Then slowly bring the parameters up. Just my opinion... Best of luck

 

I agree with this as well. I just did a 40 gallon water change, and I'm not in a hurry to spike things up quickly. I'm still not planning on reacting immediatly. I am done testing tonight, but tomorrow will see how it looks when I get home and start my plan of action.

 

I agree with this.

 

Also, I think I read that ULNS are better run at lower Alk. What do your NO3 and PO4 normally stay at? Are you carbon dosing? It's possible that you're corals just got used to the number as it was gradually heading towards it. But it was more or less stable, which is key. You can dose and see if you see improvement (not sure how since they look good already!) and find a level you are comfortable with. Otherwise let it be and give up the chase.

 

Jack, see Jenn's post:

 

that will teach you to be so cavalier about testing and dosing...lol

 

but to answer the rest of your question, the last time I checked was a long time ago. I dose nothing. I only use Reef Crystals and a big skimmer. I am shocked the corals look the way they do, I will be interested to see how they are looking once I get my levels up a bit. I'm not chasing numbers here, fact of the matter is, it's been a long time since my last water change, and I've added a bit more SPS than I used to have.

 

I would do your normal WC first then see what your tank is at. Bring up the alk slowly. I would do 1/2 the dosage to bring uo 1.4dkh per day. That would give you .7dkh as a target. You'll also see the consumption amount. Second day try and get to the .7 compensating for that consumption.. Once you get the hang of your daily dose you'll have an idea what to set your dosers for. I would bring up the calcium too since its low, but the change in calcium from consumption is much harder to read. 1dkh = 5ppm calcium but the stderr on calcium tests is higher than that...

 

Yeah, I will set up my dosing pumps tomorrow. However, that's as far as I will get. I was going to use BRS 2 part, but I am open to suggestions.

 

Until I can figure out the best plan to get to appropriate levels, I don't want to be reactive.

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lnevo Master Reefer

lnevo

I've been very happy so far with the pre-measured portions of BRS 2-part. I know a lot of people like the b-ionic (which is nice since it includes mag) i'm sure you'll find a good solution :) no pun intended..

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YHSublime Neptune Reefer

YHSublime

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I've been very happy so far with the pre-measured portions of BRS 2-part. I know a lot of people like the b-ionic (which is nice since it includes mag) i'm sure you'll find a good solution :) no pun intended..

 

Thanks, I might stick with that as it seems like the easiest route.

 

Before my water change:

 

BRS suggests for alk to get to 8:

NEED: 272.5 ml

9.2 fl oz

54.5 tsp

 
Calcium to reach 450:
NEED: Need: 1289.6 ml

43.6 fl oz

257.9 tsp

 
I do have liquid calcium, if I added that to my ATO bucket diluted, would that be helpful?
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Origami Neptune Reefer

Origami

DIY two part:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

 

BRS also has recipes. For many tanks, regular old Arm & Hammer baking soda is all you need for alkalinity. I would use BRS calcium chloride for the calcium supplement rather than calcium chloride ice melt for controlled purity, but a good, clean ice melt can be just as good and a lot cheaper. I've used magnesium chloride ice melt for a magnesium supplement for years.

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lnevo Master Reefer

lnevo

Well if you haven't been changing water....Start with the water change before you calculate your needs. And your not going to go from 5.6(?) to 8 in one shot....i would figure out the daily dose you want to start raising and do am/pm doses. I wouldn't do it in the ATO, but maybe not a bad idea. Would look for other opinions on that..

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YHSublime Neptune Reefer

YHSublime

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DIY two part:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

 

BRS also has recipes. For many tanks, regular old Arm & Hammer baking soda is all you need for alkalinity. I would use BRS calcium chloride for the calcium supplement rather than calcium chloride ice melt for controlled purity, but a good, clean ice melt can be just as good and a lot cheaper. I've used magnesium chloride ice melt for a magnesium supplement for years.

 

I was reading that as you posted :) I think I will be doing a little baking tomorrow. Somewhere out there, my 12 grade chemistry teacher is smirking, the things I find interesting as an adult were the things I refused to learn about as a teen.

 

Well if you haven't been changing water....Start with the water change before you calculate your needs. And your not going to go from 5.6(?) to 8 in one shot....i would figure out the daily dose you want to start raising and do am/pm doses. I wouldn't do it in the ATO, but maybe not a bad idea. Would look for other opinions on that..

 

Yeah, like I said, I'm not going to be reactive. I have a lot to learn and things are doing fine right now, nothing good happens fast, nothing good happens fast, nothing good happens fast (this is for me, not for you)

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Origami Neptune Reefer

Origami

Calcium is low, just tested and it's at 380! PH above, at about 8.

 

There's your answer. Low calcium + low alkalinity indicates that you're consuming more quickly than you're replenishing.

 

You need to supplement.

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Origami Neptune Reefer

Origami

If you don't have low pH (and you don't), just use regular baking soda. Forget about baking the baking soda as sodium carbonate (baked baking soda) will cause your pH to spike if not dosed very slowly.

 

I regularly use this reef chemistry calculator.

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

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YHSublime Neptune Reefer

YHSublime

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If you don't have low pH (and you don't), just use regular baking soda. Forget about baking the baking soda as sodium carbonate (baked baking soda) will cause your pH to spike if not dosed very slowly.

 

I regularly use this reef chemistry calculator.

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

 

Wow, that is super helpful. Bookmarked. I will see what my levels are tomorrow after my 1/4 water change, if they are any different. I plan on dosing super slowly anyways at the moment, until I understand what I am doing. I appreciate all the help, looks like my timing with my new toys was perfect.

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sachabballi reef Oracle Reefer

sachabballi reef

you have added a ton of coral and the ones you had for a bit have really grown well...they are probably just sucking it up faster than you have ever dealt with on your previous tank.  I just had to readjust my dosers yesterday as all of a sudden a lot of corals have decided to take off and my alk and calc had dropped....I use brs on their dosers hooked to the apex so its incredibly simple to just add additional minutes to the schedule. You are going to love the ease of it all and how solid your numbers stay..i test every 2 weeks right now just to be sure since I am seeing changes in the corals, if this keeps up I will need to test weekly to stay on top of it I suppose....

I am happy to help if you need with anything

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YHSublime Neptune Reefer

YHSublime

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you have added a ton of coral and the ones you had for a bit have really grown well...they are probably just sucking it up faster than you have ever dealt with on your previous tank. I just had to readjust my dosers yesterday as all of a sudden a lot of corals have decided to take off and my alk and calc had dropped....I use brs on their dosers hooked to the apex so its incredibly simple to just add additional minutes to the schedule. You are going to love the ease of it all and how solid your numbers stay..i test every 2 weeks right now just to be sure since I am seeing changes in the corals, if this keeps up I will need to test weekly to stay on top of it I suppose....

I am happy to help if you need with anything

Thanks, Jenn. I will def holler if need be. It gives me something to tinker with for now, it should appease me , really.

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