does anyone know why?????

[brady816]

I have a question about alk....Why is it that it drops everyday??? I dose the 2 part alk/cal every morning test it at the end of the day and its 8.0dkh 420cal then i get up in the morning test it and the alk is 6.7dkh?????? Im using the sail test kit..Im not dripping kalk or anything...

 

[brady816]

anyone???????

 

[Curtswearing]

do you have a lot of coralline algae, a lot of stony corals, a lot of LPS?

 

[brady816]

Yesssssssssssssssssssssss coralline algae all over!!!!! And 3 frags of stony and the rest are soft corals..

 

[Curtswearing]

coralline algae all over!!!!! And 3 frags of stony

There ya go!!! Both lay down a Calcium CARBONATE skeleton. (The carbonate hardness is what your test kit is reading for alkalinity and it's going down because it's being used).

Dripping Kalk will be cheaper in the long run over two-parters but that's a personal decision.

 

[brady816]

So to keep my levels up i will have to dose or use the kalk right or scrape all of the coraline off and then it will be easy to care for...

 

[burning2nd]

the tank feeds off the alk,

your droping overnight?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Scraping will only move it from the glass. It also is growing on your rocks. You need to either change water or dose calcium. A little Kalk dissolved in your RO water should do the job if you don't want equipment. A drip bag works just fine on a small tank and you can make it yourself.

 

[returnofsid]

All of your top off water should be mixed with Kalk. Dripping it every night to replace evaporation will keep your Alk up. Use the 2 part to get balanced. Once you're balanced, just drip Kalk to replace evaporation.

 

[CarlaW]

All of your top off water should be mixed with Kalk. Dripping it every night to replace evaporation will keep your Alk up. Use the 2 part to get balanced. Once you're balanced, just drip Kalk to replace evaporation.

He only has 3 frags of stonies, I think you might be playing with fire here

 

[scytale]

He only has 3 frags of stonies, I think you might be playing with fire here

I have zero SPS frags, but I still have to drip KALK nightly to maintain my ALK levels and do go through about 10 gallons of saturated Kalkwasser a week...
...If he's got rampant coralline growth, he may need the KALK....

But I DO agree that KALK is a serious addiitve--and should be researched throughly before use.
Because there are MANY horror stories on this board (and others) about over-dosing KALK and killing a reef!

BTW: You never listed your CA or Mg levels?!!?
(Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium are all "peas in a pod" when it comes to chemistry swings--if our MG level is too low you may never be able to balance your Alk--no matter how much 2-part or Kalk you use....)

 

[brady816]

Here is the tank with the coralline growth i tested last night and it was
8.0dkh and the cal was 420. In the mornings before the lights come on i test and there 6.7dkh 380cal. Magnesium i have never tested i will take a sample of the water to lfs to see what they say...

 

[Snowboarda42]

looks good!

I have no coral in my new tank and I dripped Kalk a couple of times to try to get the calcium up. Calcium stayed the same (350), but my dkh is now 16.5 :shock:
Ph is 8.1.
No fish or anything yet...