Alkalinity And Ph Worries

[Alex Brown]

The levels in my tank were always very stable since I set my tank up for around 10 months now.

Lately I have had a real low Alk, dropping from around 2.5 down to around 1 over two months (I stopped testing for a long time). I perform a 25l water change in my 225l system every two weeks without fail. I have lately startted to add hard corals to my reef.

Last tank stats were:
Temp 26c
S.G 1.0245
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0.5
Ammonia 0.25
pH 8.0
Alk 1
Ca 450
Mg 1260

I have started to dose bicarbonate of soda in tiny amounts per day, resulting in a slow rise in Alk (now around 1.6) but an alarming raise in pH to an 8.4-8.6.

Can anyone advise me on my methods please. I dont feel I am in control of my system right now!

 

[garry_boyd3]

Hi, I have a nano but they suggested to me to do at least a 10% water change per wek. You ar doing lss than that evry two weeks. I may be wrong but could be worth you inceasing the waterchanges?

 

[rabbut]

What is the alkalinity reading of the water you use for water changes, and how many hard corals do you have in there?

ATM, the Ammonia and Nitrite readings are also concerning, both are highly poisonous, and each needs to be zero What test kit(s) are you using and how old are they? Could you have at least the Ammonia, Nitrite and Alk readings double checked with other kits?

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Crazy fishes]

Rabbut has some really good advice there. Get the water checked at the LFS and if those reading are correct then do a massive water change. I would also start thinking about possibilities to why you have these increases like what could have died in the tank or changes that could have stressed/killed off your 'biological filter'. The plummet in alk could be because you are buffering the acid produced from dead livestock which also accounts for the NH4 and NO2 spikes. Any fish not seen for a while or an anemone etc. Once you find the cause then you can start treat that. Once you are back on the straight and narrow then we can discuss alk maintainence more fully.

Hope this is of some help

Regards

 

[Alex Brown]

I can source another test kit to re-check - my levels however have never changed since the tank cycled from these readings, something that doesnt worry me atall. Everything is 100% healthy in my tank, from the fish to anemones and hard corals. I have not had anything die either, not even a snail! Right now I use the red sea marine lab, all in date.

Just to repete, my levels have not changed, only the Alk. Plus the pH from dosing the bicarbonate of soda.

In the last two months I have added 3 frags, montipora confusa, acopora and seriatopora.

Just want to add that I dont add any supliments such as a reef buff or anything else for that matter. Are the corals really draining the Alk that fast?

 

[TigerIssey]

To be honest, I would get all levels that Crazyfish mentioned retested using a Salifert test kit.

Red sea are really not the best.

I will point out that alk can test lower on test kits that have been open a while. From my old kit to new (both salifert and in date) there was a difference of 2dkh, which is quite significant in a reef setting.

I would not add any more bicarb until these have been checked.

 

[Anguilla82]

i have a similar problem as you at the moment in that all my levels are good except alc which is low. i've been advised to ensure that my magnesium levels are good and then to sort out my alc my using bicarb (in my case i've already got some KH buffer so am using that) important not to raise alc by more than 1 dKH per 24 hours.

your low alc level is puzzling though, as although you do have some hard corals there aren't many for the size of system. looking at your pic it seems they are mostly soft corals which wouldn't put as big a dent in your alc levels as you are experiencing. best to double check your test results then follow the above to raise the alc level slowly. It should be bewteen 8 and 12 if i remember correctly.

 

[Crazy fishes]

Alex, I would be surprised to see a tank that looks as vibrant and healthy as yours and to have a level of nitrite 0.25ppm. Nitrite and ammonia (less so the ammonia in marine) are extremely toxic to wildlife and a nitrite that high would be exceedingly detrimental. Just to reiterate once more recheck all levels using preferably Salifert or JBL kits, I don't like red sea as I used it myself and found it was useless. One way to maintain alk which is incredibly easy is using Seachem carbonate suppliment (a solution of 'ALk' and water) it is what I primarily rely on. At the moment I am having a try with various things to maintain the alk and so far have found nothing as effective and easy. A tank of 200l requires 16g of this stuff to raise the alk 1meq/L which is 2.8 dKh. On the bottle instructions are very comprehensive directions that a chimp could follow which is good for me !! Give it a go after the recheck and if you follow the instructions and get alk up over several days you shouldn't have that massive pH spike.

All the best

Regards

 

[rabbut]

Woha!!! Don't touch it yet

I think if Ammonia and Nitrite ave been raised for a prolonged period of time we can safely say the test kits are not accurate or are dodgy Nitrite is harmless to fish but highly toxic to any invertebrates. If you have had a Nitrite reading of 0.25, there would be no Corals, Crabs, Shrimp or Snails left in the system. With an Ammonia reading of 0.5, there would be no fish left either. If all the kits are from the same batch and stored in the same place, they cannot be trusted. Before you even think about doing anything about your readings, I'd advise you to replace your test kit with a complete new one, as the current one clearly isn't correct

A lot of people will say that you can't increase Alk by more than 1dKH a day. If this was the case, most of my stock would be dead. 5dKH is doable without ill effects IME HOWEVER, it depends on how you are upping the Alk levels. If you use Seachem's Alk stuff for instance, 1dKH is the maximum that's safe, as it dips the pH when added... Supplements may not even be needed, so before you run off to buy them, I'd check the new water you use for water changes with that new test kit you are running out to buy Oh, and once you have the new kit, test the main tank, you may get a pleasant surprise

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Crazy fishes]

Woha!!! Don't touch it yet

Touch what yet ??

Regards

 

[rabbut]

Alkalinity If it was that low the corals would all be stropping and all that Ca would have precipitated out... There are at least three readings there that I'm very doubtful of when it come to accuracy. Actually, make that four, you'd expect to see Nitrate in most tanks... If the corals had closed up, I'd say dose the Alk, but if stuff looks OK, I'd say get the new test kit first, as you could end up overdosing the Alk, and that's just as bad as under-dosing...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Alex Brown]

OK, new tests show 0 on all levels, alk now at 1.6 after dosing some bicarbnonate of soda. Ph however rose to 8.2/8.4 and has sat there ever since.

Mg also raised up to 1335 from 1200 over the past 2 days.

Just to add, over half my cactus algae turned white and died today and my large toadstool mushroom has been closed for around a week now. I belive the algae died due to the 4degree raise from 26c to 30c in temp this week...

Currently have a desk fan cooling the water to a more stable 28degrees over the whole day.