High alk

Discussion in 'General Reef Topics' started by Piano10, May 18, 2016.

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  1. Piano10

    Piano10 Aiptasia Anemone

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    I was having issues with my params and started dosing mag and ca. I only dosed alk twice
    and it was stable so didn't continue.

    My mag seems to be an issue.
    After water changes it often drops in my 15g although this week it looks like it went up.

    Ex. My mag was 1040 when i started dosing and has fluctuated between 1140-1240 after dosing.
    I find after a wc it drops to 1140, this time my test showed 1410 after water change.

    My ca has been fine so i am not dosing that now.

    My alk however is 5.5 meq/L

    Is this high? What can I do if my alk continues to rise?

    I have been trying to figure out how much my tank uses but with my mag results being different more frequently than not-i can't figure it out.
     
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  3. mr_tap_water

    mr_tap_water Astrea Snail

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    Hi there this is just a thought have you give your Salt a good mix up first before adding water as it is possible certain elements could be sitting at the bottom, you could also try testing your newly mixed water to see what the stats come out like if they're not as high or Low as you would like you could also try a different brand of salt with stats that suit your needs.


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  4. Piano10

    Piano10 Aiptasia Anemone

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    Yup. I mix my salt prior to adding, I've also tested the salt water. The mag came out very low.

    I just switched to io reef crystals and i wouldn't recommend it-it doesn't offer any more benfit than the reg io besides a higher calcium.

    The issue is that coral pro can't be found locally anymore and its only sold in huge buckets which is more than i would need for yrs. I try not to buy it in huge qts as it can start to harden.

    In our stores your choices are io, io reef crystals, and possibly kent.

    I'd order coral pro but the $80 bucket is far more than a yrs worth.
     
  5. mr_tap_water

    mr_tap_water Astrea Snail

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    You could try if you can find it D&D H20 The stats are not as high as coral pro. And in my opinion coral pro is more suited for people that have a lots of SPSs ,as it promotes growth and colour.


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  6. Piano10

    Piano10 Aiptasia Anemone

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    Well i have been dosing and it seems that everything is hovering in normal ranges except my alk suddenly increased and that concerns me because I'm not dosing alk?
     
  7. mr_tap_water

    mr_tap_water Astrea Snail

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    What's your calcium level at the moment.


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  9. Piano10

    Piano10 Aiptasia Anemone

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    yesterday's test results:

    Alk 5.5 meq/L
    Ca 420
    Mag 1410
     
  10. mr_tap_water

    mr_tap_water Astrea Snail

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    I was thinking on the lines of pushing your calcium up a bit as this would help Force down your KH but your calcium is already in a good spot,
    You're not buffing your PH by any chance are you or added anything new to the water that you haven't told us.


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  11. Piano10

    Piano10 Aiptasia Anemone

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    No. The only new thing was the esv dosing and reef roids. I try staying away from adding things to the tank.

    I started having issues with lps receding. My dragon brain was losing flesh so I started monitoring more closely my params.

    My alk had been fine but ca had dropped to 360 and mag was 1040!
    I started dosing esv because water changes weren't increasing the numbers.

    I started noticing a trend after water changes my mag dropped. So all the dosing i was doing through the week would keep the mag between 1200-1230 but the water change would drop it to 1140-i do 1.5g wc in my 15g. Seems a big drop for only 10%.


    All the sudden my mag has stayed normal all week and same with ca-no dosing at all this week. But my alk went up? Its now dropped to 4.5 meq/L.

    Hard to determine the cause in fluctuations so I test 3 times a week to ensure the numbers stay in normal ranges.
     
  12. Kevin_E

    Kevin_E Giant Squid

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    What are you mixing your salt at? 35 ppt (1.026)?