alk levels ?

[ziggy222]

just curious if i may have a problem.my calcium is at a steady 450,my ph is at a steady 8.5,my alkalinity however will not stay up.i'm using a red sea alk test kit and it only has 3 colors to choose from low0-1.6,normal 1.7-2.8,and high 2.9-3.6.ok so it reads at the low half of low and i checked it at the lfs and it was low when they tested it.i'm using seachem reef builder to raise carbonate alkalinity.it says half tsp per 40 gallons twice a week.i'm using an over full tsp 3-4 times a week to get it at a normal level.am i missing something?or will i just always need to add it?i've never had to deal with this before but some corals mainly lps were shrinking a bit.i have a softy,lps,and sps 55 gallon with a 29 gallon half full sump,plenum,skimmer,chaetto,and run carbon.

[reef_guru]

a salifert test kit would probably be a better choice. seachems reef builder liquid or dry lowers pH, and dont over exceed the suggested dose.

first and foremost, what is your Mg?


with Ca 450, dkH should be 12.5 ( 4.5 meq/L )

[ziggy222]

they were out of salifert test kit but will get one when i can.i guess i need a magnesium test kit two now.i thought i was done buying things for awhile till i replace the bulbs.sigh this hobby gets expensive.on the lfs kit the alk was i think at 2.6 and it was supposed to be around 8-12 something on their kit.

[reef_guru]

Mg is the buffer for Ca and dKH. helps keep them constant. if Mg is low the other two swing out of control. ive used salifert for years with no problems, which is why i recommended it. there kit seems to vague to me. is your water clear?

[ziggy222]

yes its clear.everything else seems fine to me.i just need a little more growth and expansion on my lps and i was concerned about how much alkalinity i've been having to add.i will get magnesium tested soon as i can get to the lfs again and buy a magnesium test kit next month.

[coral reefer]

Calcium, alkalinity, magnesium and pH walk hand in hand! Changing one will adversely affect the others!
Alkalinity plays an important role in the growth of corals, and is adviseable to keep alkalinity at a higher level in a captive environment than in natural seawater!

[reef_guru]

there are different methods to adding Ca, dKH and Mg. i also dose seachem products. but have a Ca reactor and kalkwasser for the main source of Ca, dkH, and Mg. the seachem products are the icing on the cake with regards to supplementing. are you dosing liquid ( plus, trace, complete, carbonate, calcium )? or dry ( buffer, builder, advantage calcium )?

if you pay attention to the tanks dKH consumption rate. this will help keep all other elements where they need to be.
2.8 dKH to 20 ppm Ca
correct ratio for Ca,Mg,Sr is 100, 5, .1

[ziggy222]

a have the 3 part seachem pack.reef plus whick don't use hardly ever cause i get algae if i do,reef complete which i hardly use cause it raises calcium which is always high,and reef carbonate which i used up real fast so i got the powder kind from seachem cause it goes farther.by the way i thank you all for the help so far as i try to get this mess fixed and try to understand.karma. also it does'nt say on the bottle but reef plus needs refrigerated after opening.for some reason they don't tell you.

[reef_guru]

reef plus does have it on the label, its just in really small print. i have a container under the tank with all the dosing liquids, plus is one of them which sits next to the main pump. each container lasts maybe 6 months. so if there is an issue with keeping the plus cold after opening, im in trouble.

the Ca reactor is actually a dKH reactor, even though it produces Ca,dkH,Mg,Sr and so on. i have a Ca reactor with kalkwasser and use all the seachems as an added bonus. the Ca reactor produces 9 dKH daily, the kalkwasser 4 dKH daily, seachem liquid carbonate 1.5 dkH daily. my dkH consumption rate is 14.5 daily, i wouldnt be able to completely dose with liquid seachem. so in regards to your tank, would a Ca reactor benefit your tank? what is your dKH consumption rate?

[ziggy222]

well i'm adding a bit over 6g maybe 8g every 2 days which is a bit over a tsp of seachem powder reef builder to raise carbonate alkalinity.basicaly i'm using 3 times the dose for an average tank but still less than the maximum