Low alk

[TommyP]

Nice

 

[troywalkerphoto]

nice thread

 

[lnevo]

So my mag measured 1160 a month ago and thus I first dosed magnesium which I brought i from 1250 to 1350. I double checked that number and got 1120. My calcium also dropped down to 325 which I also double checked. My alk has been very stable at 8dkh. I would like to get those params double checked. I'm just so surprised to see so much mag consumption....cal too since thats always been pretty stable as well...

 

[oh207]

So is it the rule that you have to first dose to get mag to the correct level before you can start to dose the others?

 

[TommyP]

So is it the rule that you have to first dose to get mag to the correct level before you can start to dose the others?

Yes that's what I've read.

 

[Dan_P]

Interesting that calcium seems steady but alkalinity is falling.

I have the same situation in my 40 gallon Long Island Sound aquarium, essentially an aquarium full of a fearsome clean up crew. My creatures don't consume calcium but I suspect that bacteria metabolism is producing acids in addition to CO2.

I add about 7 grams NaHCO3 dissolved in a gallon of RO water every one to weeks to bring the alkalinity back up to around 4 mg/L. The pH does slide upwards a little with the increased alkalinity.

 

[SI REEF]

Picked up a couple good tips.. Thanks for posting.

 

[lnevo]

My cal has always been stable. This was first time getting such a low calcium in 2 years of measuring on this tank. Alk is stable now, been extremely consistent for almost a year since I started dosing.

So I measured calcium again today with a hanna checker and API. I got 589 on the hanna lol and 450 with the api kit. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong with the hanna, but at least it's consistently super high.

 

[vio]

"So I measured calcium again today with a hanna checker"
I don't thing that Hanna checker, works, I got one, I pay $ 60 I will try to sale for $ 20, I use it ,once, never like it.

 

[Dan_P]

"So I measured calcium again today with a hanna checker"
I don't thing that Hanna checker, works, I got one, I pay $ 60 I will try to sale for $ 20, I use it ,once, never like it.

If it still works, I would like to buy it and have a look inside. Would you PM me with transaction details. Thanks!

 

[lnevo]

So, I got my new Red Sea test kits last night. I re-tested alk, calcium, and mag.

Alk was at 7.0dkh and double-checked with hanna and 125ppm (7.0dkh). I never had a match like that so I'm happy about that. RSP was always lower than hanna.

Calcium - I did the test twice, first time was 470 second time was 450. I recorded 460 and this is inline with the 450 I got with the API test.

Mag - I did this test twice also and measured 1560-1580. This is high, but I just dosed +100ppm (20 ounces of mag solution) after my water change on Sunday and the same the month before. So, let's see what it looks like a month from now. My duncan does look a bit happier since adding some extra magnesium/and water change though. He's been having some troubles lately with a few heads dying off. So this is good news.

So, once again, the error is in the test kits, probes, or what-not. This definitely seems to be a recurring theme for me Either way, I'm happy my parameters are in-line with where I want them. Will continue to update this dosing adventure...

 

[lnevo]

Calcium 450, Mag 1500, Alk 7.67dkh

A bit of mag consumption but a reasonable number at least. Everything else is nice and stable.