.5 dKH daily drop, post cycle, no coral. Plan??

[Bartanto]

Howdy. I’m ~6 weeks post cycle, 4 happy fish, Marco rock, Arag-‘alive’ sand, pods, dosing phyto, no coral, super limited slow ramp up photoperiod. 140 gal. total system. I had insanely low Alk at ~ <4 on Hanna (outside of range on Trident) until I started using a Sodium Bicarbonate slurry per BRS calcs to increase Alk by 1 dKH daily topping out at ~7.5. Since then I’ve noticed .5 dKH consumption daily. Hanna and Trident are tracking similarly. TM Pro salt, so low ~6.3 dKH to begin with. 2 gal daily AWC. No apparent precipitate. I’ve read a lot of posts here and it looks like the consensus is keep dosing to a lower Alk and wait for everything to settle/balance. Okay to continue on with Sodium Bicarbonate slurry daily or every other day? All parameters are stable aside Alk per above. Should I be doing anything else?

THANKS for your input and advice.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What do you mean by bicarbonate slurry. If there a reason you are not dissolving it in Ro/di for dosing?

 

[Bartanto]

By slurry I mean 3.5tsp. (my approx necessity to raise 1 dKH) mixed into ~2 cups RO/DI, mixed to oblivion and added to DT in-front of a powerhead.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

By slurry I mean 3.5tsp. (my approx necessity to raise 1 dKH) mixed into ~2 cups RO/DI, mixed to oblivion and added to DT in-front of a powerhead.

Did it dissolve during that mixing?

 

[Bartanto]

Did it dissolve during that mixing?

Cloudy but no sediment and no visible particles at all when adding to DT. Are you seeing a problem here? Thanks for your time. Greatly appreciated.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Cloudy but no sediment and no visible particles at all when adding to DT. Are you seeing a problem here? Thanks for your time. Greatly appreciated.

The solution should be clear. If not add more water.
Is this BRS Sodium Bicarbonate?

You should add slowly into a high flow area.

 

[Bartanto]

The solution should be clear. If not add more water.
Is this BRS Sodium Bicarbonate?

You should add slowly into a high flow area.

Copy that, thanks. It is BRS and I do add slowly right in front of gyre. I’m trying to figure out why Alk was testing so low prior to adjusting and the best course of action to maintain what I’d consider an okay Alk around 7 dKH as tank continues to stabilize in it’s infancy while consuming Alk without corals.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Copy that, thanks. It is BRS and I do add slowly right in front of gyre. I’m trying to figure out why Alk was testing so low prior to adjusting and the best course of action to maintain what I’d consider an okay Alk around 7 dKH as tank continues to stabilize in it’s infancy while consuming Alk without corals.

I would measure the Alk of some freshly mixed saltwater, just to check that the test kit is okay.

Also double check your salinity.

 

[Bartanto]

I would measure the Alk of some freshly mixed saltwater, just to check that the test kit is okay.

Also double check your salinity.

My fresh Tropic Main Pro is testing at ~6.2 on my Hanna. Hanna is tracking with Trident.

Salinity, both tank and mixing bin is good (1.026) on my Hanna conductivity meter and cross checked with refractometer and lastly cross/cross checked with Apex.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If all checks out and alk still is declining, check for calcium carbonate deposits such as hardening sand, excessive deposits on pump impellers etc. if that is not a problem, just keep dosing and expect to also need calcium.

 

[Bartanto]

If all checks out and alk still is declining, check for calcium carbonate deposits such as hardening sand, excessive deposits on pump impellers etc. if that is not a problem, just keep dosing and expect to also need calcium.

Thank you. Sand looked and sifted ‘normally’ and don’t see any visible deposits on any pumps, wave makers or heaters. Could deposits accumulate on the under side of Marco rock? I moved some pieces and noticed a few pieces of what looked like large sand falling to the bottom. Is precipitate white? If I am getting deposits on the underside of rock work what’s the play? Pull CO2 scrubber offline, stop dosing and continue business as usual letting alk go how far down? Thx again for the assistance.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Underside of rocks is not likely sucking up appreciable and calcium.

 

[Bartanto]

Underside of rocks is not likely sucking up appreciable and calcium.

Hi sir. Started noticing sand clumping/precipitation. Stopped dosing ~ two weeks ago. Alk consumption is much less, but still on a steady cyclical decline. I dose 3.4 tsp dry sodium bicarbonate to keep Alk > 5 dKH (so I can stay in range w/ Trident) which is about every 4-5 days.

Is the ideal course of action to just keep on with that course? I’ve got a few new corals in the tank that are fine, but I presume they won’t be growing until I’m at a place to hold a higher dKH stable.

TIA!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If maintain 7 dKH with baking soda, and don’t try to boost pH it lower phosphate during this period.

 

[Bartanto]

If maintain 7 dKH with baking soda, and don’t try to boost pH it lower phosphate during this period.

Well, that explains another facet! My N and P are near zero (staving off the uglies). Cant move either with additional feeding and pulling skimmer and fleece roller offline.

So basically I’m dead in the water with what to do (if anything) about low Alk and zero N and P.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Well, that explains another facet! My N and P are near zero (staving off the uglies). Cant move either with additional feeding and pulling skimmer and fleece roller offline.

So basically I’m dead in the water with what to do (if anything) about low Alk and zero N and P.

It’s easy to dose N and P.