Can't get alk up from 5.5dkh. Help please.

[J.guokas]

I dosed last night and tested this morning and it didn't budge. I dosed this morning and it went down from what it tested at before I dosed. My calcium is at 450 and pH is 8.0. What now?

 

[jahmic]

What's your magnesium?

 

[J.guokas]

1250.

 

[fishguy69]

what are you dosing with?

 

[J.guokas]

BRS two part.

 

[mathewkofalk]

Use a second test kit and don't dose anymore till you know yours is accurate

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[J.guokas]

Used my test kit and the LFS test kit which are both salifert and same results.

 

[fishguy69]

kind of agree. We have used BRS stuff before but better results with the generic stuff. Do you dose often?

 

[J.guokas]

Not at all until now. I ran out of chems that I was dosing about a month ago. Just recently was able to order more. I am working on setting up my dosing pumps so until then I am dosing manually.

 

[jahmic]

Try testing within an hour of dosing...that way you're certain that the level is going up and dropping afterwards.

If it isn't going up at all...there's either something wrong with the 2part our it's precipitating out of solution...but that's usually noticeable.

 

[fishguy69]

If you stopped dosing for a while then it may take time to gradually bring levels back up to normal. A deprived tank tends to suck up nutrients faster than we can compensate with. Need to find that happy level again.

 

[J.guokas]

I tested about an hour after I dosed earlier today and that's when I noticed it went down from what I tested before I dosed. Don't see any precipitation on pumps or heaters.

 

[fishguy69]

Continue to dose normal amounts daily and test 12-24 hours later.

 

[J.guokas]

But it doesn't make sense that it went down after just an hour after I dosed. How much is too much to dose at once and could it be possible that the amount I'm dosing just doesn't make it into solution? I dosed about 1fl oz.

 

[Andrew_bram]

I personally would retest mag. That is borderline and may be an inaccurate test. Just my 2cents

 

[J.guokas]

I'll retest it but it will have to wait until tomorrow when I can go to the LFS. Haven't had the cash to get my own mag test. But what throws me off about the mag is that my cal is OK. Don't you think I'd be having cal issues as well if my mag was low?

 

[fishguy69]

If you haven't dosed in a while then levels will sometime drop. I have a display tank that is a full reef with sps and lps thriving at 6dkh. I dose once a week.

How big is the tank again?

 

[J.guokas]

Its a 30 gallon mixed reef. Sorry meant to mention that.

 

[CRW Reef]

From reading a few things looks/sounds like you might need to use a dKh buffer to help in getting back up, when you are Bottoming out on Alk and starting to Top out in Ca. Also just for S&Gs what is a fresh batch of Saltwater (say for a water change) reading?

Fairly decent read http://netclub.athiel.com/dkh/dkhca.html

and just a good read for those following http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

 

[J.guokas]

Fresh batch tests out at about 7 dkh but drops within a couple days. That's why I had to start dosing. I honestly haven't tested a fresh batch of saltwater in a while but when I did that's the number I got. I will have to test next WC.