ALK 12! Burning my corals?

[huskysglare1]

I'd recently added an Ora red planet and in 1 day. the flesh got white. It's not dead yet, but almost all the colors has disappeared from the trunk. however, the polyps are still there.

My Alk is 12
Cal 380
Mag=unknown. i'll take a bottle to my LFS for testing later.

I have a K2R calcium reactor and whenever i turn it on, the ALK SPIKES!

Cal Reactor turned off= 7 =8 alk
Cal On = 12+ ALK, but Calcium is still 380.

Please Help.

[guitar8222]

slow down the bubble count or speed up the effluent.

Your alk can't swing that much. Are you testing near where the effluent mixes in?
I am pretty sure that low alk would cause the recession like that. The tips get burnt with high alk.

[chuckreef]

IMO, An alk of 12 won't do this.

Lights to bright?
Lights, temp., pH, or alinity changed too fast?

[huskysglare1]

No, i test the alk from the DT, not at the drip point. I increase the effluent to a slow stream and i have the bubble count to 2 bubbles per sec. It's still at 12 ALK.

I acclimate it for 1 hrs before i put it into the display tank. However, i did take it out to glue it onto a piece of rock after i got it. I got a total of 7 Frags together, but it's the only one that turned pale white.

When i got it, it was at night. the next morning, the color has already turned pale.

[guitar8222]

No, i test the alk from the DT, not at the drip point. I increase the effluent to a slow stream and i have the bubble count to 2 bubbles per sec. It's still at 12 ALK.

I acclimate it for 1 hrs before i put it into the display tank. However, i did take it out to glue it onto a piece of rock after i got it. I got a total of 7 Frags together, but it's the only one that turned pale white.

When i got it, it was at night. the next morning, the color has already turned pale.

Slow down the bubbles to 30-45 bubbles per minute. 2 per second is too fast.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

As I mentioned in your other thread...

If you were trying to use that rector to boost the calcium, then yes, the alk will spike. That is not a suitable way. It adds about 20 ppm of calcium for each 2.8 dKH of alkalinity, so a 50 ppm rise in calcium would necessarily push alkalinity through the roof.

You need to get the calcium to the right level before using the reactor to maintain it and alkalinity. Use calcium chloride once to accomplish that bump.

This shows how much to use:

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


and this may help:

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

[chuckreef]

Slow the effluent on the ca rx to get alk down a little.

This sounds more like a frag that just did not make it through shipping, acclimation, handling. gluing, etc. than a chemistry probelm.

[guitar8222]

Slow the effluent on the ca rx to get alk down a little.

This sounds more like a frag that just did not make it through shipping, acclimation, handling. gluing, etc. than a chemistry probelm.

Slowing the co2 supply is a better way to lower the alk. If you slow the effluent, the co2 builds up higher in the reactor and will raise the alk more. I agree though that it sounds like the frag didn't like the glue or something.

[huskysglare1]

Thanks randy, chuck, and guitar for replying. I'd just shut down my Cal Reactor and started Dosing Cal Chloride to get up to 430-450 using BRS mix.

will the higher Cal will eat away at my High Alk and keep Alk in check?

Do you think that the problem could also be low magnesium? I haven't tested it yet.

[chuckreef]

No Ca does not "eat" alk.
The cause of teh high alk is oeprator error on the ca. RX.

It is good that you turned the rx off and will dose 2- part solution to get parameters back in check/ in balance.

In general, the RX should use one bubble every 1 to 10 seconds. You were pumping much too much Co2 into the Rx and hence the system.
When you start the RX again, take it slow. Despite the name, it is best if you view the ca rx as an "alkalintiy reactor," and use it to slowly bring up your alkalinity to your target level and keep it stable there. You will decrease your dosing regime as you bring the RX online. Once the RX is maintianning a steady alkalinity you can make a few adjustments on ca manaully if you desire to do so.

I think the one frag just did not make it through the stress of moving to a new system.

[huskysglare1]

I am dosing Calcium Chloride(Dihydrate). That's the same as 2 parts right? I am not dosing any Alk mixtures(Soda Ash). Do i need to dose Soda Ash as well?

[chuckreef]

If you are going to dose manually for a while to maintain both alkalinty (carbonate hardness) and Calcium concentration, you need to dose both in proportion. Usually Part 1 or part A is the bicarbonate (i.e.,the alk supplement) and part 2 or part B is the ca++ supplement.

The substance you just referreed (CaCl2) to is only the "part 2" or part B solution.

For short term & adjusments (a day or two), its OK to just dose one or the other as needed.

[bertoni]

As long as the alkalinity is high, skip the soda ash.

If you want to do some water changes, that'd help reduce the alkalinity, although I agree that 12 dKH usually doesn't cause problems, except in ULNS systems. If you are very worried, you could use some muriatic acid to reduce the alkalinity of the water used for changes, which would help pull down the alkalinity a bit more quickly.

[CorkPullerPHL]

Bertoni,

Is the idea behind adding muriatic acid that the addition will cause a drop in PH and therefore some precipitation?

Sorry for the hijack. Just trying to follow the train of thought....:reading:

[bertoni]

The muriatic acid will destroy the alkalinity. It'll also drop the pH, but that's secondary, in this case. The low pH will reduce precipitation problems, actually.

[CorkPullerPHL]

oh boy. I need to go back and read Randy's articles....and chemistry used to be so easy in highschool.... :spin3:

[huskysglare1]

I think my light is too strong. the guy i bought the corals from has a small tank and he uses 150w MH. I use brand new 250w MH with lumen bright reflectors. I place the coral down further and it's recovering it's flesh.

[bertoni]

Okay, that makes sense. :)