Alkalinity Swing

[hucci]

I have a Water box 65.4 AIO. I got my water tested on Friday and my Alkalinity came in at 11 dKH. On that same day I bought two more fish, a gonipora, and the AI Glow blade (48). Saturday I bought 3 acans and a tiger tail cucumber. I also tested my water again that night and my Alk came back at 11.5. I’m just trying to figure out why my Alkalinity is increasing when I haven’t been dosing it. My pH is at 8.0-8.2. My PO is at 0.02 and my Mg is at 1500. Ca is 446. NO is at 0.00. I currently do weekly water changes. I was also told that I should maybe be do bi weekly water changes to get my Alk down because my tank is probably too clean. I just wanted to know if there is another way I can decrease my Alk without having to wait to do my water change. Any help on how I can lower my Alk would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advanced.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

How old is the tank? Which testing kits are you using? How many times did you test, .5 difference could very easily be a testing error? Can we see a full tank pic? This really helps to show the status of a tank.

 

[fishguy242]

Welcome to the reef...
let it fall naturally, water changes are overrated IMO,unless needed...
EDIT: No3 not good at 0, feed more...

 

[VintageReefer]

You got water tested at the store (with their kit)

Then you tested at home (with your kit)

If so this is perfectly reasonable. I use a high end tester and that has a “acceptable range of + / - .3

So I could test twice in a row, with the same kit, and if the water was actually 9.0 it could read a 8.7 - 9.3. And that’s not even comparing to another brand which is a whole different variable

Use one kit. Test the same time of day/night. Daily. Weekly. Watch for patterns. It will go down on its own as corals grow. It will go up from additives and possibly water changes, if new sw is higher than your water

Do you add anything for alkalinity supplementation ?

 

[Dburr1014]

I have a Water box 65.4 AIO. I got my water tested on Friday and my Alkalinity came in at 11 dKH. On that same day I bought two more fish, a gonipora, and the AI Glow blade (48). Saturday I bought 3 acans and a tiger tail cucumber. I also tested my water again that night and my Alk came back at 11.5. I’m just trying to figure out why my Alkalinity is increasing when I haven’t been dosing it. My pH is at 8.0-8.2. My PO is at 0.02 and my Mg is at 1500. Ca is 446. NO is at 0.00. I currently do weekly water changes. I was also told that I should maybe be do bi weekly water changes to get my Alk down because my tank is probably too clean. I just wanted to know if there is another way I can decrease my Alk without having to wait to do my water change. Any help on how I can lower my Alk would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advanced.

Okay, let's breath.

1) what test kit?

2) is about trends not the actual number, though your number is high, but this also depends on your test kit.

3) slow down, no more purchases until we get this sorted out.

4) I do see your nutrients are low. Let's add some more food to feed the fishes. They will feed your coral. PO4 at 0.02 needs to come up. Don't worry to much on NO3 yet. If your feeding the fish that will come in time.

5) salt mix?

 

[hucci]

How old is the tank? Which testing kits are you using? How many times did you test, .5 difference could very easily be a testing error? Can we see a full tank pic? This really helps to show the status of a tank.

The tank is roughly 4 months old. I use the Hanna Marine Master and API Marine test kits. I tested it twice. I thought it could’ve been a testing error as well. I got my Alk down by using Brightwell saltwater that had a lower dKH. Thank you for your help!

 

[hucci]

Welcome to the reef...
let it fall naturally, water changes are overrated IMO,unless needed...
EDIT: No3 not good at 0, feed more...

Thank you. I just ended up doing a water change with Brightwell saltwater that had a lower dKH.

 

[hucci]

You got water tested at the store (with their kit)

Then you tested at home (with your kit)

If so this is perfectly reasonable. I use a high end tester and that has a “acceptable range of + / - .3

So I could test twice in a row, with the same kit, and if the water was actually 9.0 it could read a 8.7 - 9.3. And that’s not even comparing to another brand which is a whole different variable

Use one kit. Test the same time of day/night. Daily. Weekly. Watch for patterns. It will go down on its own as corals grow. It will go up from additives and possibly water changes, if new sw is higher than your water

Do you add anything for alkalinity supplementation ?

I was able to lower it by doing a water change with Brightwell saltwater that had a lower dKH. I have the reef fusion for Ca and dKH, but I haven’t been using the dKH supplement because of it being so high. I appreciate the help.

 

[hucci]

Okay, let's breath.

1) what test kit?

2) is about trends not the actual number, though your number is high, but this also depends on your test kit.

3) slow down, no more purchases until we get this sorted out.

4) I do see your nutrients are low. Let's add some more food to feed the fishes. They will feed your coral. PO4 at 0.02 needs to come up. Don't worry to much on NO3 yet. If your feeding the fish that will come in time.

5) salt mix?

lol I was able to get it lowered by using Brightwell saltwater. I use the Hanna Marine Master and the API test kits. I started feeding the fish three times a day and I spot feed reefroids to the corals three times a week. I still need to add two or three more fish.