Reef nutrition

Tanks Alk consumption has increased 30% over the last 15 days

Blaise006

Blaise006

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My tank is approaching a consumption rate of about 5 dkh a day. It got me thinking about alk swings in sps tanks.

What are your alk numbers for a mixed/sps tank?

How much is the intraday swing?
What level do you keep alk?
Size of system?
Amount of sps?
Alk consumption?

Would really like to hear everyone’s stats.
 
Coral reefer said:
5 sounds like a ton...sure you’re not getting precipitation somewhere?
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Totally agree. Feels like a ton, I’m sure it’s precipitating some of that somewhere. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what I can do to stop it.
PH tops out at 8.42 around 6pm. I’m sure that’s when a lot precipitates out.
 
popper said:
What are you using to test? Cause I probably need it.
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Neptune Trident

A6E7182C-19B7-4789-8F62-FA8732BFC0C3.png
 
xCry0x said:
Do you have sand?

Is your sand turning into concrete?

I had huge alk consumption in my tank while my sand bed was turning into a giant rock
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I’ll double check tonight, but I blew some around while cleaning it a week or so ago. I would say the power heads and return are taking the brunt of it.
I am just not sure what the solution is. Kalk? I don’t like the idea of switching dosing methods. Seems like a recipe to stress the sps :/
 
Coral reefer said:
Are you seeing tons of growth in stony corals?
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That picture is from March 31st. It is covering the entire disk and moving down the side as of today. I would say all the frags are growing at roughly the same rate. Not sure how that compares with your experience, I thought it was moderate growth. Roughly 30 frags growing at that rate.
104BFF7E-72C4-41A6-8368-6F53F8B952EC.jpeg
 
i think 5dkh a day is a lot. id get a 2nd reading with a hanna alk checker.

before my calcium reactor, i dosed 50ml of kalk aka pickling lime every hour. 1200ml within 24hours.

How much is the intraday swing?
my swings are 8.2 - 8.6

What level do you keep alk?
i like to keep my alk at 8.4

Size of system?
rsr350 (73g display, 18g sump - 91 total)

Amount of sps?
about 100 sps mini colonies/frags

Alk consumption?
last time i checked, if i turned off my calcium reactor beginning of this year, my alk dropped ~1.6dkh in 24hours
 
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5 dkh is huge! I was losing 1.3 - 1.5 a day tops when I had my rugby ball sized hollywood stunner challice, and dosing ~230-250 mL/day of 2 part alk solution. I have a 168 gallon mixed reef with 220 total, currently I am dosing 130 mL/day of alk. I shoot for about 9.0 dKh in my tank.
 
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jhuynh said:
i think 5dkh a day is a lot. id get a 2nd reading with a hanna alk checker.

before my calcium reactor, i dosed 50ml of kalk aka pickling lime every hour. 1200ml within 24hours.

How much is the intraday swing?
my swings are 8.2 - 8.6

What level do you keep alk?
i like to keep my alk at 8.4

Size of system?
rsr350 (73g display, 18g sump - 91 total)

Amount of sps?
about 100 sps mini colonies/frags

Alk consumption?
last time i checked, if i turned off my calcium reactor beginning of this year, my alk dropped ~1.6dkh in 24hours
Click to expand...
I do a Hanna check every other day when I get home. I suspect it’s mostly precipitated out when ph hits 8.4. Maybe carbon dosing is an option. Would love to not have to dose so much.
 
H2OPlayar said:
5 dkh is huge! I was losing 1.3 - 1.5 a day tops when I had my rugby ball sized hollywood stunner challice, and dosing ~230-250 mL/day of 2 part alk solution. I have a 168 gallon mixed reef, currently I am dosing 130 mL/day of alk
Click to expand...
Agreed, it’s way to much. Wish I knew what to do. If I don’t counteract the swings they get to be .5 - .8 dkh swings between peak PH.
PH fluctuates around 8.08 to 8.42 a day.
 
One thing that I find interesting is that the ratio between low ph and high ph consumption is roughly 60% of the total consumption happens during the high ph photoperiod and 40% during the low ph period. Which seems like a pretty reasonable split and not solely indicative of a high ph precipitation event. Obviously just speculation and I’ll update tonight once I can fully inspect the sand.
 
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