Cant Raise Alk past 7 DKH

[sk8elenex92]

Hello everyone,

The SPS bug bit me so I have been just adding SPS frags for now to the tank so I have been checking my parameters and getting them dialed in. The problem is that I can not get my ALK to go higher then 7DKH.
I dose kalkwasser all day and use baking soda to try and raise the ALK. The kalk gets pumped in every hour for 30 seconds using toms aqua lifter pump. I also do run biopellets and have been since the very beginning. Any one run into this issue before?

A: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phos : Not sure
PH: 8.1-8.2
ALK: 7
Calcium: 460
Mag: 1420

Thank you,

 

[Irsug1]

The aqua lifter is a pretty slow pump. Try bumping to a minute or two. If you see your calcium go up without an alk increase, it's probably time for two part dosing.
Don't let your alk get over 8 with bio pellets though. It's not good as it can burn coral.

 

[labas39]

My hovers around 7. I dose kalk and use a calcium reactor. Only when it gets below 7 do I add any additional DIY alk.

Personally, I don't think you should be concerned. I have an acropora dominated system and they do just fine between 7 and 8. I do no carbon dosing.

 

[sk8elenex92]

I have 10 SPS frags and 1 colony of purple stylo. Then have other lps and softies.. you think that they are already sucking down that much that I have to start just using 2 part? I've been testing for the last month or so and my Calcium has been stable every time. Just this damn alk wont go up. My plan was to keep it at 8

Labas maybe I should just leave it then? Everything looks great with polyp extension.. Want more growth! ha who doesn't

 

[labas39]

Well, I don't know if that little of SPS will drag it down but frankly, I wouldn't worry about it. I don't worry about it in my system and I have over 50 types of different SPS with everyone looking happy. I only worry about it if it gets below 7.

 

[Smitty]

Check your magnesium also. If mag is low, it won't help keep alk and cal stable.

Sent from my Note 5

 

[maidia]

Leave them alone if they are happy. If you chase the number then you chase them to

 

[sk8elenex92]

Well Mai your the expert here so I am just going to leave it as it is.. Ill pray for the best and test once a week. Thank you guys for all the answers..

 

[labas39]

If you're worried about it, test more often. I try to test my Alk daily. It's pretty easy to do before going to work. I switch between Hanna and Salifert to ensure both are giving me correct readings.

In my opinion, if Alk is good, all the other elements will be ok as well. I test Ca once every couple weeks and quit testing Mag and potassium altogether.

 

[EricTheRed]

7 is perfect if you're running pellets.

 

[Sparky312]

Kalk is good for keeping alk/cal but not that good for raising it. For raising, use 2 part -- you can pick up 500 ml of Seachem feef fusion 2 for like 8 bucks most places and give it a try. Or water changes with a higher alk salt.

That said, I do agree with the other guys that you would be fine to stay at 7

 

[sk8elenex92]

Yea I was just using Kalk to keep my PH up. I was trying to raise it with Randys 2 part Recipe.. I did a water change sunday and tested and I was at 7.6 on ALK, and 450 Calcium.. Im going leave everything alone and retest Sunday again.

How much does everyone's ALK drop per week or day????

 

[Sparky312]

Not sure how much mine drops per day/week. What I did was get alk/cal where I wanted them with 2 part before I had ATO and kalk. Once I started using kalk I haven't needed to do 2 part anymore. For my tank, I mix 4 teaspoons into 5 gallons of RO for top off -- the water can hold up to 10 teaspoons so as corals grow and consume more you add more kalk to the mix. So that's how I'm measuring it, hope that makes sense.

You are taking it slow which is exactly right. I'd advise getting it to 8 -- not because its any better than 7, but if you're at 7 you need to be really on top of it because if it drops below that you might have problems. If you're at 8 and it drops a little you'd still be fine. Just my 2 cents.

I don't know anything about biopellets tho- if that changes anything

 

[sk8elenex92]

I dosed my Kalk using my reef keeper and toms lifter pump. 2 teaspoons of Kalk per gallon. Would turn on every hour for 30 seconds.

 

[bryman]

I agree with the others, 7 is fine for ULNS, and with 0 nitrate I'd keep it under 7.8. It's more important to keep it stable where it is than bring it up.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[sk8elenex92]

Bryan that is exactly what I'm going to try to accomplish here. I have never dosed 2 part in any of my tanks so ill try to figure this out after 1 week see how much it drops. After seeing your SPS I am going to take your word for it. Oh and I broke that slow burn monti I got from you. I was so pissed,l I tried cutting cutting the stem off the plug it and I ended up breaking the frag. AGH.. Hopefully they both just grow now.

 

[bryman]

No problem, if you need more I'll just break off another piece. It grows quickly.

FYI, when my tank was full of SPS in the past pre-crash, it would consume a little over 1 dKH per day of Alk. I found this out the hard way when my Alk container ran out. If adjusting Alk, make sure to test every day at the same time. I have never dosed Kalk, but I think it is good at buffering your Alk/Ca parameters. You are on the lower side of safe Alk per your conditions, and you will probably see stress on the corals if you dip into the mid-6's. You could try just adding some Alk solution from a 2 part kit as your Ca is already high enough and could come down a bit, and seeing if Alk will stay at a slightly higher level because of the Kalk buffering. Right now I am still ULNS and my stuff seems happiest at about 7.4-7.6. I test Alk every other day but used to test every day before parameters stabilized.