Unresolved Sharp turn for the worse

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by andru1313, Jun 26, 2014.

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  1. andru1313

    andru1313 Purple Spiny Lobster

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    Water has cleared up a bit and things have seemed to stabilize. Doing twice a week water changes still but may start to slow down.. My levels are staying somewhat consistent. I want to start feeding a bit more corals are looking a little hungry. I wanted to start to does with kent a and b to keep my Alk and ca levels stable. my Alk goes a bit low. Not sure how much and what the best way to dose is. I was looking into a doser but didn't want to spend the money just yet. So if i was to dose 10mls of each per day (hypothetical) would I dose all at once at night or does it have to be spread out through out the day. I dont' want to create chaos in the tank again. Here are my current levels as of yesterday

    CA 430
    Nitrate 2
    Ammonia 0
    Alk 7.3 (2.62)
    Mg 1470
    ph 8.0
    Salinity 1.025
     
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  3. Billme

    Billme Eyelash Blennie

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    I dose twice a day. As you said numbers look good except for alk. I would suggest starting half or less of recommended dose and test. I test once a day when adjusting. Best to be too low than too high on chems.
     
  4. Vinnyboombatz

    Vinnyboombatz Giant Squid

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    Remember your Alk. will rise naturally in the daytime so testing at the same time every day is VERY important.
    It is best to dose in the morning before the lights come on as this will be when your Alk. is at its lowest point.
     
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  5. Billme

    Billme Eyelash Blennie

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    How did the lights out/on work out?
     
  6. TravisVT

    TravisVT Fire Worm

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    Did you end up changing salts? If so, did it seam to make a difference? Only reason I ask is that I swapped from instant ocean to red sea pro about 6-7 months ago, and after reading this thread I checked and had my LFS double check my nitrates and they are way to high (60). I have a 2.5 year established tank and do 15% water changes every 2 weeks so I dont think the nitrates is due to lack of maintenene. I will be switching back to instant ocean and will see if it will reduce my nitrates.
     
  7. Billme

    Billme Eyelash Blennie

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    What levels were nitrates before you changed salt?
     
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  9. TravisVT

    TravisVT Fire Worm

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    I was always around 10-20 at most before
     
  10. Billme

    Billme Eyelash Blennie

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    any other changes since changing salt ( water changes frequency, additional fish/feeding, dosing chemicals, ect.)?
     
  11. TravisVT

    TravisVT Fire Worm

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    Not really. Water changes every two weeks as normal. No added fish or corals. Same amount of feeding of PE mysis any nori sheets. I have never dosed anything. I always have run carbon in a bag in the sump. I did add a phosban reactor to the sump about 2-3 months ago, that would really be the only change in the past year.
     
  12. Billme

    Billme Eyelash Blennie

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    I'll be curious to see what happens to the nitrates if you decide to change back to IO, though it may take a while to see the difference.