Struggling too keep my tank stable , alk drops no matter what I do ?

[Aaronsreef]

Hey , as the title I’m really struggling too keep my tank stable , I thought I had it few months ago but over the last 4 weeks my alk continues too drop

I have coralline growing (not much ) but noticeable

Tank has around 12 sps frags in it around 2-4 inch with slow growth signs

I currently dose reef z elements pH plus 60ml per day over 24 hours (which is 10ml higher then a buddy’s tank and he’s has full grown colony’s, and stacked with lps/sps ) yes I know every tank is different


Tank is 400 litres
Tests today

Alk 7.1 (I want 8.0) was 7.4 yesterday and 8.1 last week .
Cal 330 (raising today) too hit 440
No3 9.6
P04 0.03
Ph 8.3+

Any ideas really bugging me why I can’t peg that alk


Cheers Aaron

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Have you tried dosing afr (all for reef)? It’s what I’ve used in my tank to maintain calcium and alk and it works great

 

[Aaronsreef]

Have you tried dosing afr (all for reef)? It’s what I’ve used in my tank to maintain calcium and alk and it works great

Yea I tryed it but didn’t get on with it , I like the 2 part . And adds ph which is a plus

 

[CHSUB]

Are you adding magnesium in the proper ratio to your 2 part, or WC? Otherwise the simple solution is keep increasing 2 part. My tank is 8 months and dosing kalk, I’m at 4x what I started at in May after adding consumers.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Yea I tryed it but didn’t get on with it , I like the 2 part . And adds ph which is a plus

Have you added anything in the last 4 weeks?

 

[Aaronsreef]

Are you adding magnesium in the proper ratio to your 2 part, or WC? Otherwise the simple solution is keep increasing 2 part. My tank is 8 months and dosing kalk, I’m at 4x what I started at in May after adding consumers.

I’m guessing the mag is in the part 2 as I don’t add it , and I do 10% every other week wc

I could try increasing my dose ,just worried on adding too much if there’s a current issue as 60ml seems a lot to my current corals . Comparing other tanks if if that makes sense

 

[CHSUB]

I’m guessing the mag is in the part 2 as I don’t add it , and I do 10% every other week wc

I could try increasing my dose ,just worried on adding too much if there’s a current issue as 60ml seems a lot to my current corals . Comparing other tanks if if that makes sense

2 part does not include mag. I do 15% WC weekly and still find the need to add a small amount of magnesium. I would increase 2 part, add 7% of magnesium to your 2 part addition maybe in ATO. There is a calculator to determine mag supplement if you do a search, and maybe increase WC(which never hurts).

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hey , as the title I’m really struggling too keep my tank stable , I thought I had it few months ago but over the last 4 weeks my alk continues too drop

I have coralline growing (not much ) but noticeable

Tank has around 12 sps frags in it around 2-4 inch with slow growth signs

I currently dose reef z elements pH plus 60ml per day over 24 hours (which is 10ml higher then a buddy’s tank and he’s has full grown colony’s, and stacked with lps/sps ) yes I know every tank is different


Tank is 400 litres
Tests today

Alk 7.1 (I want 8.0) was 7.4 yesterday and 8.1 last week .
Cal 330 (raising today) too hit 440
No3 9.6
P04 0.03
Ph 8.3+

Any ideas really bugging me why I can’t peg that alk


Cheers Aaron

Folks should expect to have to dose alkalinity and calcium in a reef tank. While the additive you are using is likely a fine one, I'd recommend a lower pH alkalinity additive as the first one to use. Hydroxide based additives, including my DIY and the one you are using, are a little trickier to use, requiring you to rapidly mix it in and to dose it slowly. The pH boost will be small with any alk additive when the demand is low (as yours is). Thus, I'd use an easier product.

I'd just use your kitchen baking soda for a bit until you get a handle on the demand. AFR is also a good choice.

 

[Aaronsreef]

Folks should expect to have to dose alkalinity and calcium in a reef tank. While the additive you are using is likely a fine one, I'd recommend a lower pH alkalinity additive as the first one to use. Hydroxide based additives, including my DIY and the one you are using, are a little trickier to use, requiring you to rapidly mix it in and to dose it slowly. The pH boost will be small with any alk additive when the demand is low (as yours is). Thus, I'd use an easier product.

I'd just use your kitchen baking soda for a bit until you get a handle on the demand. AFR is also a good choice.

Thank you ,

The solution I buy is already premade I don’t have have to mix anything , and doseing thou a doseing pump (Red Sea) over a 24 hour period ,

Question is in simple terms is it normal to doseing such amount this early in the hobby with my 12 frags when other tanks with 10x my coral amount are doseing less ?

Is there anything what effects alk more then simple coral growth,

Like an unbalanced system ,Lower cal ,calcium carbonate (if any) etc etc