Need Urgent Help with Alk

[Revaltion131]

Topic title pretty much says it all.  My alk has slowly been falling over the past week, bottoming out at 5.3 dKH today.  I finally got my 2-part and did the first dosing right away.  Besides dosing carefully and slowly as not to shock anything, is there anything else I can or should do to raise the alk back up safely and efficiently?  Thank you!

[verper]

No.  Dosing too fast with the Alk will bring your pH up too high too fast.  Next time if you don't have the baking soda, you can do a water change to help out.

[Revaltion131]

Thanks Scott.  I talked to Justin and he was pretty sure but said it'd be a good idea to ask anyway, so I did.  I wanted to make sure there wasn't something crucial I was missing besides making sure not to do it so quickly.

[verper]

You can dose morning and evening to bring it up a little quicker than normal.

[Revaltion131]

The directions on my 2-part are basically like medication where it tells you what to not exceed in a period of 12 or 24 hours, basically says you can dose twice a day to bring up like that if need be.  Thanks again.

[Logzor]

Once you get your levels up by dosing each morning/evening test frequently to find out exactly how much your tank is consuming. It can be tricky but it is nice once the guess work is over.

I highly recommend topping off with limewater. There is tons of information out there on it! (its super cheap to make, too).

[Revaltion131]

Thanks, Logzor.  I've actually be topping off with a diluted lime water for a few weeks now and love it.  I will definitly need to monitor and figure out just how much I need to dose.  I dosed the first night the recommended amount, with my dKH at 5.4.  I tested again that night, about three hours after the dosing and it was at 5.6.  Tested the next morning about 8 hours later, 5.6, dosed again...then I got home after work around 4 and it was at 7.8.  I tested three or four times to be sure and yep, it's that high.  So, lesson learned, I need to figure out just how much to dose because doing a full dose just to keep a consistent level is going to bring it up a lot, apparently.  So far, it has remained at 7.8.  I run on zeovit, so my goal is 7.  I'll let it dip down and start toying with tiny amounts.  My only question whether or not I can dose the Ca component without the alk one.

[verper]

You can dose either Alk, Calc, or both.  They can be used to keep levels the same or to bring a low level up to ideal parameters.  Just remember that Alk and Calc work together and too high of a reading in one will surpress the other.

[Revaltion131]

Right, thank you.

[UDJustin]

So how is everything doing in your tank?

[Revaltion131]

I've lost just about every acroporiid.  I have a digi that's trying real hard to die, the cap is missing flesh in spots, large colony of zoas trying to melt.  GSP are great though.   I have a couple (2-3) acros that might make it.  I'm really afraid I'm going to loose this awesome one I got at Marine Solutions last summer.  It's colored up amazingly and I have yet to see another coral with this color.  It held out a long time, but it's dropping fast.  Of course, the only health issues seem to be with corals, clams are good, inverts are good, fish are good, so that's a bonus.  Too bad it's not killing aiptasia...

[UDJustin]

Well that sucks sorry to hear

[Revaltion131]

Yeah, thanks.  I lost most of it when I first started having somewhat unrelated problems, the rest in the last couple of days.  At least everything minus my Plum Crazy were frags for the most part, so it's not like I've got all kinds of bony fingers sticking out of my rock.  I have time to get used to my new 2-part and don't have to worry about killing too much stuff while I get a good feel for it.