Alkalinity Question

[Northstar24]

Okay folks, I know that you want Alk to be between 8-12 DKH. I'm currently battling cyano due to high phosphates (which I'm working on removing)

The question is the Alk in my tank is only 1-2 DKH. I just tested my make up saltwater, and after going through my R/O unit and being mixed with Salt, it is also 1-2 DKH

I need to raise this, but what kind of timeframe to I need to use to raise it, obviously I can't go and raise it from 2 DKH to 8-12 DKH overnight.

My ph is fairly stable at 8.2-8.4 (the colors look the same to me). I thought that Alk was partially dependent on PH.

Also, would raising the Alk to where it is supposed to be help the never ending war with Cyano?

Other Water Parms:
Temp: 78 F
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0 (I doubt this is acutally the case, as my entire sandbed is covered in Cyano and I am also seeing some growth of Chaeto in my fuge)
Calcium: 420 PPM
Phosphate: .25 - I know this is an issue, I think its leeching out of the Dry rock I used to start the tank. I have Filter Cylinders and Phosguard on order from LifeReef for my sump. Also doing water changes as fast as my RO unit makes water

 

[d2mini]

As far as raising the alk, if you are using a supplement from Kent or something like that, just follow the directions on the bottle. Instead of that stuff, I does 2-part from BRS for alk and calcium using their dosers which drips it in small amounts throughout the day.

Here's a good calculator that will tell you what to dose with and how much for alk, mag and calc.

'Reef Chemistry Calculator FV'

 

[Piratefish]

Are you sure your test kit isn't bad? Thats really really low! What kind of salt are you using?

I think you only want to raise it 1 dkh per day. If you use the reef calculator you will be shocked at how much you will need to dose. Check out Bulk Reef Supply they have a vid of their Alk Ca and Mag solution.

 

[Northstar24]

I use an API kit, I'm planning on going to the LFS tomorrow to have them test it and see if they confirm the result. I've used a few different types of salt, I read somewhere on the net that it's beneficial to switch salts. I started with Oceanic Salt, then ran a bucket of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, and I'm currently using Coralife Salt

I have not dosed anything for DKH yet, I want to verify my test kit isn't bad first. The problem with the 180 is that it will take a ton of whatever i need to use to dose the tank.....

 

[Piratefish]

Whats your tank stocked with? I have to dose 50ml of Binonic everyday to keep mine at 9dkh and thats in a 55g. I have mostly SPS.

 

[Northstar24]

Piratefish, I assume you're talking corals and not fish

I have the following corals:
2 zoa colonies that each have about a dozen heads
2 headed branching hammer coral
Mushroom rock with 5 red mushrooms
Small Kenya Tree
2 inch piece of 'Green Slimer' Acropora
Pulsing Xenia rock

I change out at least 10% of my water a week, more recently because of the cyano. It's odd that my alk is so low, but my cal stays in the 400's. The low Alk would also at least partially explain why I haven't seen much coral growth. I'm going to take a water sample over to the LFS and have them test the alk and the phosphate. I'll post the results when I have them

 

[Piratefish]

Have them check your Mag too. It really sound weird that its that low with doing a 10% water change a week. Are you have a lot of coralline growth? That can use up the Alk , but usually the Ca as well.

Im betting bad test...

Hey Northstar, love those green slimers

 

[Northstar24]

The Green Slimer is actually the only thing that has shown any growth.

I got back from the LFS, and the Alkalinity was 160 PPM or ~9 DKH. I had them test Phosphates as well and their Sailfert test read 0, which corresponds to my API test. It was reading 0 -.25 its hard for me to tell because the colors are so damn similar.

I've got filter cylinders on the way, going to run Phosguard and Carbon, and keep vigilant on water changes as fast as my R/O makes it and hopefully beat the cyano

The only other thing I can think of is my lights being out of spectrum, but the fixture has only been running since August and it was brand spanking new when I bought it.

 

[tankedchemist]

Glad you took your water to the LFS for testing... for future reference, I've never seen dKH lower than 5 (with salinity being at 1.025), and that was in a tank that hadn't had a water change in MONTHS, and had coralline on every surface. So... yeah. Even tap water is harder (ie, has more alkalinity) than 1.

As for beating cyano, increasing flow can help. How old are your bulbs and what type do you have? Also, do you have a lid of some kind on your tank? do you run a refugium?

Also, I just noticed your tank was started in August, so that means it's only been running for 5 months. How long have you had cyano? It is a natural part of the algae cycle, so if you keep up the water changes and whatnot, it could just go away once all the nutrients are used up. Assuming you use 0ppm TDS RODI water, anyway.

 

[Piratefish]

Thats good news Northstar, I thought that didn't sound right.

 

[Northstar24]

The bulbs are the ones that came with the Marineland pro system - 3 150W 14k Metal Halides, and 8 39 Watt Actinic bubls. They're 5 months old. I run the MH bulbs for 6 hours a day, and the T5's for 8

As far as flow, I've got a two Koralia's along with the flow from the sump return, with a total flow rate of 2400 GPH from the Koralias, and probably another ~500 from the return pump, so about 15x an hour. The only place I've really seen the cyano at this point is on my sand, mostly in the front of the tank, which gets plenty of flow

I do use RO water, I assume its low TDS, but I don't actually have a meter to test it. I have noticed a slight rust color in the line leading to the RO unit, so I suspect there is some iron content in the water, I haven't been able to test for that yet.

The tank is 5 months old, I've had the cyano for about a month. It broke out after my skimmer went out of commission due to dosing the tank with Pimafix for a sick fish.

The frustrating part is I know I have nitrates, and I assume I have at least some measurable Phosphate due to the cyano, but the tests never pick it up.

As far as feeding ( I suspect this is the next question) I feed a small amount of flake or frozen twice a day, only what the fish will consume in a minute or two. I also keep a sheet of seaweeed on a clip for the tangs, as they've pretty much decimated algae in the tank (save the cyano)

 

[sen5241b]

Yeah --that test kit sounds bad. There is no way make up water could be 1-2 dkh.