alk to low?

[kimber45]

i've been fighting a lowering alk issue with my tank.

i have a 24nano that's been set up for about a year now. my alk has consistently lowered from 8-9 to where it is now at 6'ish.

i dose kalk for top off. calc runs between 430-460.

ph has been pretty consistent around 7.8.to 8. with about .1-1.5 swing day/night.

all other param's are picture perfect.

i've lost some zoa's lately and wonder if it could be related to my alk levels. and it's not all of them, some are doing great. i dip and no new additions for at least 6 months so i don't think it's parasitic.

everything else is and has been thriving. i've had very few loses so this has me at a loss. :P

any suggestions or more questions?

edit: bulbs are about 4 months old.

[Scoobers]

Have you ever tried dosing the alkalinity part of a 2 part supplement to raise it?

[tcwoodrn]

6 is definitely too low, especially if you are trying to keep SPS. I've been fighting the same thing. I've gotten it back up to 7.5-8 by using the bulk reef supply two part alk.

[Scoobers]

My alkalinity was very low as well, around 6. I started dosing the maximum recommended on the bottle and over a week or two was finally able to raise mine to 9. In order to keep it that high I have to dose every other day.

[kimber45]

no sps in this tank. mostly zoa's and a couple lps and softie.

the only thing i can think of is i haven't used kalk as make up in a couple months since my calc levels reached over 400.

i'm going to start using kalk again to see if that helps.

i don't want to have to dose something everyday to control this. i don't like adding additives to my tank. i try to control everything naturally. that's why i quit using kalk once my calc and ph stabilized.

what natural ways are there to raise alk?

also is it the low alk level itself that is bad or is it ph swings low alk can cause?

my ph remains pretty stable.

[bjkpoker]

Reef central has a good article about making your own Calcium, Alk, and Mag supplements. I made the Alk supplement and it helped me. For the Alk you just bake a box of baking soda in the oven at 300 degrees for an hour and then dissolve it in 1 gallon of water. I dose 1/4 cup twice a day for my 150 gallon tank and I check it often.

[Jim Z.]

Your high calcium levels are driving down your alkalinity. Take a sample of your reef tank's water to your LFS and have them test it along with Magnesium. What brand of salt are you using? Kalkwasser can cause problems in small tanks due to its highly caustic nature and it does not take much to knock water parameters out of wack. Using the alk portion of 2 part is an excellent suggestion and maintaining water parameters with 2 part solutions should work well for your nano. You may not need to dose kalk if you decide to go with 2 part solutions.....Jim Z.

[kimber45]

my mag level is 1360.

my kits are about 6 months old and i am using them accurately. i tested mag,alk,calc 3 times in row and came out exact so i'm pretty confident my readings are right. i will bring sample to lfs on my next trip however.

i'm using the reef salt mix from tropicorium. it's about a year old.

well since my calc and ph seem to holding up on it's own maybe i'll try 2 part instead of kalk for a while.

is 2 part ok to dose with top off water?

looks like i have more reading to do. :P

[tcwoodrn]

2 part can be dosed directly into the water column into a high flow area. I dose mine in my fuge where water drops in from my DT. In a nano I would do it in the back part thats separated from the DT in the most turbulent spot I could find.


The advantage of 2 part is that you always have a nice mixture sitting right there with an exact formula of how to raise or maintain cal, alk, mag, and subsequently pH.

[kimber45]

2 part it is. at least 1 of them. :P

i read a couple randy articles on it so i think i'm good.

i'm going to use it in my ato. i only go through less then a gallon a week so i can take my time with it..

edit: darn pistol shrimp just snapping away tonight.... always worry about goby when he does that.

[HOLLYWOOD]

IMO if Ca and MAg are in the correct ranges you have to use an Alk buffer or DKH buffer to bring it up independent of the others, if you use a 2 part you are supossed to use it in equal parts...so if ca is right you wouldn't want to add CA part of the 2 part but most 2 part are set-up to be use dequally.
So a ALK buffer is what is needed.

[kimber45]

thanks hollywood, but i thought it was ok to just dose one part of randy's 2 part?

any certain buffer(s) you recommend?

[Scoobers]

I disagree with the theory that 2 part must be dosed equally. I dose a lot more alkalinity part than calcium and My params are right on and everything is growing great.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Well in all honesty I have never used any home made 2 part? I used super DKH buffer or Seachem ALK buffer if I am just doesing ALK, at home and on many tanks I do have good succes and parameters using Tropic Marin Ca and Mag supplements. But others need a boost on ALK for some reason and have to add it separatly.

Just my experiances, hope it helps

[entropicstatic]

when was the last time you did a big water change?
a 10 gal waterchange on a nano tank can save you a lot of hassle.