I’m new to the hobby and need some help! (1 Viewer)

[Makatiel1978]

I’m new to the hobby and need some help!

Setup:

50 gal w/ 40B sump
Timer Control 165W LED Aquarium Light Dimmable
2.5” argonite sand bed
approx. 120 lbs of live rock
approx. 55 snails and hermits w/ 2 tiger conchs
system has been running for 2 months

Parameters:

• Salinity: 1.023
• PH: 8.2
• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrite: 0
• Nitrate: 0
• Mg: 1480
• Kh: 7.8 dKH
• Ca: 555
• Phosphates: 0

So my issue is that I cannot get my Alk. to stabilize. I’m using API test kit for Ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. For the rest I’m using Red Sea test kits. I have had a LFS and my brother-in-law confirm for me. From my understanding with no corals or fish in the tank the parameters should be pretty stable. The Alk. steadily drops right at 1 dKH in a 24 hour period and all the other parameters are pretty stable.

Any advice/help with the Alkalinity would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Clownfish Chris]

Is coralline algae growing?

 

[Makatiel1978]

No Coraline but I am getting just a bit of brown algae.

 

[Clownfish Chris]

I can't see any reason for that kind of drop in alk alone. The production of calcium carbonate should decrease your cal levels as well. Are you dosing anything? What are your water changes like? How much, how often, and with what salt?

 

[webster1234]

IMO, your Ca is too high. High calcium can depress alk. Not sure what you're doing to get your calcium to 500+ but allowing it to come down to 400-420 will allow your alk to come up. I like to use a seesaw analogy, with Ca on one side and alk on the other. You want it to be balanced. Pushing up or down one side or the other will cause the other side to move the opposite direction. What some people will do is, for instance, see the alk dropping and add more, trying to bring it up, never checking their calcium.

In reality, it can be the higher Ca that is pushing the alk down and adding more Alk isn't necessarily the right thing to do. They work together and need a proper balance. 8.2 dKh Alk would be properly balanced with a calcium level of 420. To have a balanced ratio of Alk with your Calcium at 555 would put your Alk off the charts.

Therefore allowing your Ca to come down to 420 will allow your alk to rise, without changing the amount you are dosing.

I'd like to know a little more about the size of your tank and what and how much you are dosing. Also you said your alk won't stabilize but I didn't see you mention what readings you are getting or what you are doing to try and stabilize it.

 

[Makatiel1978]

I’m using the Kent Reef salt and doing roughly 10-15% water changes monthly. I have used the Red Sea Foundation B to dose alk but it does not seem to stabilize.
My brother-in-law has been maintaining reef tanks for many years and he’s unsure of what’s going on as well. According to what everyone is telling me, my tank should have relatively stable parameters since I have no fish or corals in my DT.
This weekend my DT is due for a water change. After I complete this change I will closely monitor parameters and see what happens.

 

[Clownfish Chris]

As Webster says, alk and cal are related. Test both daily and chart the results. After a week or two, begin to correct the imbalance. Here is a good article on correcting imbalances.

Another option would be to do a 100% water change. As you have no livestock, it wont affect anything negatively to do so.

At any rate, you should not dose anything at this point.

When you mix the salt for any water change, first, be sure you are using 0 TDS water to avoid any future problems. Then mix the salt slowly. If you dump it all in at once, you can cause the alk and cal to precipitate. This article explains it well. Test the salt water for alk and cal before you do a water change and then again after. I recommend always following these steps. I no longer do though as I have found my salt (IO) to be consistent when I follow the correct mixing procedures. The testing process will verify that you are not seeing a precipitation event.

 

[PorpoiseHork]

First off, if you're dosing anything in the tank. Stop.

Kent salt lists the calcium at 425-450 ppm, so be to sure check the Cal level of the your mix water before you put it in to see what the level is there. Also check your unmixed top-off water Cal levels as well. This should be zero if you're using RO/DI water. If you detect any level of calcium in the fresh water then this would explain the increase. Especially if your mix water has a calcium level of 500+.

Once you have verified the source and mix water is in check the next step is lowering the calcium levels. Try switching to a different salt at least temporarily. Instant Ocean Cal is around 400 ppm compared to Kent's. If you switch to this perform a 25% water change every couple days checking the Cal and Alk levels. It should start to come down to where you're inline with natural sea water in about a week or so. At this point you can start adjusting the Alk if needed. You can use baking soda or another Alk increasing agent but you will want to keep a close eye on the PH.

 

[Makatiel1978]

Well I believe I have found the issue. I think my Kent Salt mix is a bad batch. I purchased a new 200gal box and followed PorpoiseHork’s instructions. My RO/DI water is clean but when I mixed approximately 30 gallons I got some really bad numbers.

Ph: 7.8
Mg: 1580
Alk: 14.7 dKH
Ca: 605

im going to pick up some Instant Ocean and mix another batch and let you know how it goes.

 

[Tnconcept]

Cal at 605? Are you sure your test kit is correct? That's seem really out there for a salt mix only...Try testing with another test kit and double check your self.. Just my 2 cent

 

[Makatiel1978]

Okay not sure what’s going on but I purchased Instant Ocean Salt and got similar test results. Not sure what’s going on but I’m going to take samples tomorrow to my LFS.

 

[Makatiel1978]

Solved

After many many many tests and variations I found that the solution I use to calibrate my hydrometer is no good. Purchased a cheap Fluval Sea on to double check and it turns out I was mixing salinity around 1.030-1.031. So of course all my parameters were high. Finally back on track.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[webster1234]

lol. That'll do it.

 

[sneezebeetle]

Glad you were able to get things figured out!

Welcome to MARSH

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[PorpoiseHork]

After many many many tests and variations I found that the solution I use to calibrate my hydrometer is no good. Purchased a cheap Fluval Sea on to double check and it turns out I was mixing salinity around 1.030-1.031. So of course all my parameters were high. Finally back on track.

Thanks for all the advice.

Glad that you got it figured out and are getting things back on track.

I found that it's far easier to calibrate the refractometer using straight RO/DI water than relying on calibration solution that has an expiration date on it. Just a few drops of RO water and let it come to room temp then adjust the scale to zero if needed.