Low ALK

[CoralBeautyII]

I'm having trouble raising my alk

calc 420
ph 8.2
alk 2 meq/l

I use Seachems Reef builder alkalinity according to the directions 1/2 tsp per 40 gallons twice a week, my tank is 220 gallons so I use 5 tsp (because actual water volume is less due to rocks etc so i dose for 200 gallons)
But it doesnt seem to be going up much
Should I double the dose? or use it more often? daily?

and how come everytime i add the alk my star polyps get mad and close up for a few days?

[AJDuran]

what are your magnesium levels at i think if your mag levels are low it is harder to keep your alk up. i also use the reef builder no problems here.

[CoralBeautyII]

I dont have a mag test :(

when you use the reef builder do you dose higher than it says?

[AJDuran]

Usually i dose what the directions say but sometimes i put a little more when i feel i need to raise it a little. does your LFS do mag tests maybe they can do one for you.

[CoralBeautyII]

so can i just increase the dosage safely?

the only petstore here is petsmart and petco, i dont even think they would know what mag is lol

[HighlandReefer]

As long as you have confidence in your alk. test kit, you can use this calculator to determine how much you need to add to your tank to increase the level where you would like. You want to increase your alk levels slowly over the course of several days. (usually no more than 2 dKH per day).

Reef chemicals calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

[AJDuran]

as long as you don't overdose the bottle says what the max per day is and also a formula so you can setup a drip.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

As long as your tank is using it, there is nothing wrong with adding more than the bottle says. Especially if you are trying to raise levels that are already low, you will normally HAVE to dose more than the recommended dose for the initial correction.

[CoralBeautyII]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13864818#post13864818 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
As long as your tank is using it, there is nothing wrong with adding more than the bottle says. Especially if you are trying to raise levels that are already low, you will normally HAVE to dose more than the recommended dose for the initial correction.

Thanks, i will do a little bit of a higher dose next dosing schedule.
instead of 5 tsp i will try 8 tsp...does that sound safe?

[snorvich]

But, get a magnesium testing kit.

[CoralBeautyII]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13868318#post13868318 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snorvich
But, get a magnesium testing kit.

hehe ok :)

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Using this calculator, you can see that 12 teaspoons in 220 gallons boosts alkalinity by 1 meq/L. That is a fine amount to dose in one day if necessary, especially starting at 2 meq/L.

Reef chemicals calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html