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Alkalinity

MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
My Alk keeps dropping.

Fri - 5.6, dosed 20ml
Sat - 5.8, dosed, 20ml
Sun - 6.1, dosed 20ml
Mon - 6.7, dosed 40ml
Tue - 7.7

Adding that up I dosed 100ml in 4 days; 25ml per day. Does that sound correct?
I did dose 30ml more today to get in the 8.x range. Will test again tomorrow.
Yes, getting a doser.
 
Sunny

Sunny

NJRC Member
Article Contributor
There are many reasons for ALK drop.

Did you change the salt mix?
How much is your calcium?
What are you using to test ALK? Try a different method/test kit..

25 ml per day is not a lot - not sure of your water volume though.
 
Jamie S

Jamie S

NJRC Member
That seems to be around what I dose and I have a lightly stocked 6 mo old 125 gallon tank. I started putting kalk in my ato (minimum recommended dosage and it seems to be stable now around 8. Soon i'll be getting a kalk stirrer so i don't ruin the ato pump.
 
Roca

Roca

You should be testing Mg also. If your Mg is low, it will be a losing battle trying to keep your Alk and Ca stable as Mg plays a role in preventing calcium carbonate precipitation.

"Magnesium's primary importance in reef aquaria is its interaction with the calcium and alkalinity balance. Seawater and reef aquarium water are always supersaturated with calcium carbonate. That is, the solution's calcium and carbonate levels exceed the amount that the water can hold at equilibrium. How can that be? Magnesium is a big part of the answer. Whenever calcium carbonate begins to precipitate, magnesium binds to the calcium carbonate crystals' growing surface. The magnesium effectively clogs the crystals' surface so that they no longer look like calcium carbonate, making them unable to attract more calcium and carbonate, stopping the precipitation. Without the magnesium, the abiotic (i.e., non-biological) precipitation of calcium carbonate would likely increase enough to prohibit the maintenance of calcium and alkalinity at natural levels."

The "How To" Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

reefkeeping.com
 
E

eholceker

NJRC Member
Mke sure you test at the same time. There is variation best on the time.of day. Your highest will be when lights are on and lowest when lights are out. This is even with 24 hour dosing.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
eholceker said:
Mke sure you test at the same time. There is variation best on the time.of day. Your highest will be when lights are on and lowest when lights are out. This is even with 24 hour dosing.
Click to expand...
I do test one after another. Normally on Saturday mornings when all lights are on. Will test ALK and Calc tomorrow and post here.
 
amado

amado

Dal
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
I will also add this. Not all 2 part are equal.
I have used I few different two parts and I can personally tell you. Esv is more concentrated alk and cal.
I find myself dosing less when I use this product.
Bulk reef supply is cheaper but I also find myself dosing more to maintain the same alk/ calcium. I also find my magnesium doesn’t drop when I am dosing esv
But when I am using BRS I have to dose it separate every week.
The 2 part I got from premium aquatics( reef endurance) on sale is by far the worst at keeping alk/calcium I found myself dosing by hand just to keep up with my tanks consumption.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
For those asking; I tested today for the following.

alk - 7.7 No Change

Calc - 340

PH - I guess 8. Problem is I don't have the correct vial from Red Sea and used the Hanna spare to peer through it. Per the video color chart I guessed 8. Although it seems to have a light purple color which puts it at 11. Confused.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Decided to trash my API test kits. Keeping the Hanna for ALK and purchasing Salifert kits for Mag, PH, and Calc. Thoughts?
I want simple easy tests.
 
Jamie S

Jamie S

NJRC Member
Hannah for Alk is super easy. I'm not familiar with the Salifert test kits and use Red Sea, they're not too difficult and seem fairly accurate. I've compared them to the APEX tests and they're very close
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
I cannot get the ALK up to 8. Below is a table of the last 13 days. Thoughts?

DateAlk LevelAlk Dosed (ml)
4/16/20215.620
4/17/20215.820
4/18/20216.120
4/19/20216.740
4/20/20217.730
4/21/20217.7-
4/22/20217.650
4/23/20218.6-
4/25/20217.610
4/26/20217.440
4/29/20217.340
 
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