ALK cant pass 6 dkh, help!

[zigginit]

so i have been doing 2 part now for about 2 weeks. when i first started i was able to bring my alk up to 9 (from 7) with no problem. i was working on getting my CA up to 420 (it was in the 200's) then once i got the ca up to 420 over a few days i tested and my ALK was now 6 or 7dkh. i though that was weird and i started to pick up on the dosing of the alk but after several days i still cant get it to go up. its still testing the same! whats going on? why would alk not change even after adding 2 part? i know im dosing right because i could change it the first time around. i know my test kit is old but it still proved accurate when tested against my buddies kit. and my test kit was reading just fine about a week ago.

i dont get any crazy snow storms when adding the alk portion. i get a little cloudiness but it goes away super fast, like seconds. i dose right into the pump to spread it fast too. any input would help thanks.

oh im using bulk reef supply recipe 1.


ph-8.4
alk-6~7
CA-400
MAG-1250

 

[joker295]

what kind of live stock you have in your tank? and what test kit are you using? you might not be dosing enough for the usage of the tank

 

[blairdawg]

You could have an ionic imbalance. Try a 20% water change. Then test and dos again accordingly. Just my initials thoughts

 

[jason142]

Try bringing your mag up to above 1300, not sure if that would make a difference but it is a little lower then most would like.

 

[james-lee]

+1 on mag. When I set up my 225 my pH stayed at 7.8 and calc was at 200. Added DKH/pH buffer and it raised but a day later fell again. Tested Mag and it was at 1100. Dosed mag and got it around 1380-1400 and edosed DKH/pH buffer and the pH stayed (DKH rose as well to 10). Checked Calc and was now 500 lol!. Anyways if I remember mag percipitates calc. A low mag would cause a low calc which could affect DKH.

 

[JOSE CASAS]

1+++ on mag and just add more alk.

 

[Puffalicious]

your mag is prolly low...

 

[zigginit]

well thanks for the input, i just did a 15 gallon water change. i would have done more but thats all i had on hand. i will retest later tonight once things balance out.

i have no problem bringing my CA levels up, just the ALK. The CA looks to be droping 20 a day. i have a lot of frags of sps but nothing too big yet. i am seeing more growth though. i could understand if it was just using it up but i would think i could bring it up faster then its being used. im adding 100ml of alk solution which is the max/day for my water volume. it should jump by 1 dkh with 100ml. i dont think a bunch of frags are burning up 1 dkh every day. and if that was the case i would think it would drop a lot lower but its holding at 6 or 7. (hard to tell the color but its close to 6 or 7)

im using an API master test kit.

i think it may just be time for a bunch of water changes to flush out the tank sorta speak.

ill work on the mag too. but i have no problem with CA so im not sure MAG is the problem but it should be higher anyways.

 

[jessesoto33]

+1 add mag, and alk!

 

[blairdawg]

When I had this issue I used kalkwasser to raise my alkalinity becuase it is " ionically balanced" When i got it close to where i wanted, i took over with alk buffer to maintain it around 9.5. Sometimes when you use buffer or alk solution like two part to bring alk all the way from 6 you will gt an "Ionic Imbalance" from the lage quantity of buffer used. All tanks are different and have different chemical issues although i have found that this issue tends to happen with newer/less established tanks. Just my 2cents

 

[Armen]

30% water change and im sure it will work

 

[zigginit]

i did the 15 gallon water change and i just tested again.

ph - 8.26
alk - 7 dkh (seemed to be more of a solid 7 this time)
CA - 380

maybe ill do more water changes and see if that helps. ill keep dosing and see if it goes up too.

 

[JOSE CASAS]

What salt are you using? What test kit are you using to test the mag?

 

[zigginit]

What salt are you using? What test kit are you using to test the mag?

im using Instant Ocean Salt Mix and Elos Mag test kit

 

[rroselavy]

i did the 15 gallon water change and i just tested again.

ph - 8.26
alk - 7 dkh (seemed to be more of a solid 7 this time)
CA - 380

maybe ill do more water changes and see if that helps. ill keep dosing and see if it goes up too.

You are balanced now. Just make sure your Mg is 1300-1350, and raise your Ca and Alk equally to get into the center of the center:

http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

Randy's article can help to when things are whacked:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

[jason142]

Think of magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium like the fire triangle. Each one directly impacts the other and if one is out of whack it is going to affect the others.