Alk has me scratching head

[snowmansnow]

As of yesterday evening my parameters were:
DKH : 10
Ca: 420
Mg: ~1400
This morning my alk is

7.3

Why is it swinging like this?


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[snowmansnow]

Nearly every morning it reads in the low 7s...
Is the new tank just not balanced yet?
I also run a kalk reactor w ATO soooo...

Geez


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[jbdreefs]

That's a big swing in 12 hours!

 

[snowmansnow]

It always settles in the 7s


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[grouper therapy]

That is why I drip the kalk instead of ATO. Much more stable. Not sure that is it but it could contribute.

 

[snowmansnow]

But the kalk SHOULD bring the alk UP r


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[snowmansnow]

Even so... What could be making it take such a swing. I do have 43 sps in there, but they are frags... Can't imagine using that much in a night


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[reefkeeper]

Brandon I have a kalk stirrer feeding my ATO and I don't have these issues. How often are you stirring the kalk in the stirrer? I have a GEO Kalk reactor and I have it connected to my APEX and use a OSC command so it stirs the kalk every 4 hours. Every 4 hours is the GEO recommended stir time.

How much evap are you experiencing a day? I average around 4-5 gallons a day with approx. 390 gallons of water volume.

 

[snowmansnow]

I only have about a gallon of evap a day. It stirs all the time . It is one that spins in the bottom and one with a water pun for stirring.

I have an idea for the reactor I'm going to try.



So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[grouper therapy]

How often does it come on? I was thinking it might be dumping too much at once thus the spike and then adversely the lower side later. Some of the ATO that add asmaller amounts at the time may be a little more stable.

 

[snowmansnow]

grouper therapy;1068905 wrote: How often does it come on? I was thinking it might be dumping too much at once thus the spike and then adversely the lower side later. Some of the ATO that add asmaller amounts at the time may be a little more stable.

No I have to dose to get it off the bottom side of things.
Being that low just makes me nervous


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[snowmansnow]

My ATO is an Osmolator btw


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

What about the fact that you probably are evaporating more during the day. You could try dripping small amounts of kalk during the night to keep the alk stable.

 

[davidinga]

barry_keith;1068909 wrote: check your substrate, make sure it hasn't solidified

Very possible ^


Also, how often are you dosing alk?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[grouper therapy]

SnowManSnow;1068912 wrote: My ATO is an Osmolator btw


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

SnowManSnow;1068911 wrote: No I have to dose to get it off the bottom side of things.
Being that low just makes me nervous


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

yeah that pretty much kills my theory. HMM

 

[grouper therapy]

SnowManSnow;1068912 wrote: My ATO is an Osmolator btw


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

SnowManSnow;1068911 wrote: No I have to dose to get it off the bottom side of things.
Being that low just makes me nervous


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

yeah that pretty much kills my theory. HMM

 

[snowmansnow]

Well. Then consider the following
I just discovered my ATO has been off a few days.
DRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[jennm]

Does the livestock look stressed?

Are you dosing a lot of stuff?

Sometimes you can tinker (and overthink) something right to death.

If stuff isn't unhappy and your basic parameters are stable, back off of the tweaking for 2-3 weeks and just do normal maintenance and let the tank find its equilibrium.

Jenn

 

[russ-iv]

JennM;1068984 wrote: Does the livestock look stressed?

Are you dosing a lot of stuff?

Sometimes you can tinker (and overthink) something right to death.

If stuff isn't unhappy and your basic parameters are stable, back off of the tweaking for 2-3 weeks and just do normal maintenance and let the tank find its equilibrium.

Jenn

probably the best advice.

when things swing like you are experiencing. i do a massive 50% wc. usually it cures what ails what we cant test for.

 

[snowmansnow]

Everything looks fine. Polyp extension and all is fine. Nothing is pissed.




So long, and thanks for all the fish.