Alkalinity help

[charles-n-charge]

Keep a reef log. Use this template or one like it since it has the parameter goals at the top.
http://www.o-r-c-a.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14422

Everybody likes to talk trash about API kits but I've been using them successfully for years. And no, they don't have a test for magnesium. Salifert is the best one for that.

I went ahead and took your advice and set this up:






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[charles-n-charge]

For now, I'm going to do 10 gallon water changes daily for the next week, and see if that changes anything.


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[Aw3s0m3]

It might but since its a 400g, I doubt the difference will make a big impact. It would be better to just do one larger 40g wc, then test the next day. If they're still off, do another one.


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[charles-n-charge]

It might but since its a 400g, I doubt the difference will make a big impact. It would be better to just do one larger 40g wc, then test the next day. If they're still off, do another one.


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I don't really have an efficient way of doing that large of a water change right now. It would be an all day affair.

I'm looking into getting a 65-150 gallon container for mixing saltwater in so that I can start doing bigger changes more often


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[Aw3s0m3]

In that case, go with your original plan of doing 10g/day. As suggested earlier, keep a reef log and test everyday. Have your parameters changed at all since you first started the thread? By keeping a log, you might be able to see what the problem is.


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[charles-n-charge]

I plan on testing again in a few days.
I did a 5 gallon wc on the first day, a 10 gallon wc today, and I have 20 gallons of saltwater mixed for tomorrow's wc.
And I'll be doing 20 gallons daily until my levels are back down where they're supposed to be.
Plus I'm going to start supplementing more trace elements next week now that I've done some research on them.


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[charles-n-charge]

After doing approximately a 10% w/c over a period of 3 days, I've seen some dramatic results.

These are the results between today and three days ago with the small water change:



I'm really happy with the results I'm seeing, although the drop in pH has me slightly bothered. I haven't seen much of a difference in the corals, but I'm assuming that will take some time.

Any input?



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[Aw3s0m3]

Great job man. Just don't skimp out on wc's now. On a tank that size, id go with a wc every 2-3 weeks since your stock is pretty light. Don't worry about the pH cuz even though its a tad low, it's not enough to worry about. It'll all balance out once everything stabilizes. Just to be safe, I'd test every day for the rest of the week just to make sure everything is stable then test once a week after that.


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[duanes]

As an aside, you can hatch out artemia (brine shrimp) in your waste water change water, great way to get another use, and provide food for invertebrates.

 

[charles-n-charge]

After doing another test, it looks like my levels have changed a bit.
My nitrates went from 0 to 15ppm, my ca/mg/kh all went up a little bit, my ammonia is at 0.5, and my phosphates jumped back up.



This is the list of supplements I just bought that should be coming in tomorrow:



Along with the mg/ca/kh supplements that I already own.

This weekend I'm going to devote a day to removing all the rocks from my system to clean out the massive build up of detritus that I have, and I'll try to arrange the rocks in a way that doesn't collect as much debris. While doing a large water change.

I'm hoping that all this will get my system balanced out and get my corals healthy and growing


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