Question about alk and 2 part

[redwingrob40]

I have a question about alk, and 2 part. Yesterday I measured all of my params:
Sg- 1.026
Alk- 8.9 salifert
Ca- 445 salifert
Mg- 1425 salifert
Alk- 8.4 red sea pro
Ca- 500 red sea pro
Mg- 1600 red sea pro
pH- 8.4 API

So there is a little difference between the salifert and red sea pro test kits. I would like to raise my alk, and I have some b ionic 2 part that I have not started dosing yet. Should I start to raise the alk with the 2 part or start by raising it with a baking soda/ro di solution? I would like to get my alk up to about 9.6 ish. Tank is stocked with mostly sps, a few Lps and some rics and zoas.

[jporter]

You could dose just the part 1 which is the alk suppliment. Your CA looks fine.

[kgross]

If you just want to raise the Alk, you can use either the alk part of your two part, or baking soda, they will both do the same thing. Myself I would use the baking soda and save the 2 part for your normal dosing

[redwingrob40]

If you just want to raise the Alk, you can use either the alk part of your two part, or baking soda, they will both do the same thing. Myself I would use the baking soda and save the 2 part for your normal dosing


Thanks, that is exactly what i was thinking of doing, I just wasn't sure if it is okay to add the alk portion without adding ca as well. The reef calculator says to add 56.1 ml of recipe 2, which is what I was gonna mix up with some arm and hammer baking soda. Would it be okay to add all at once or break it up and add some in morning and some in the evening? Don't wanna shock any of my corals, and I'm really new to this doing stuff :worried:

[kgross]

I would add it in two to three doses about 15-20 minutes apart in a high flow area. Raising your alk 1.5 dkh in one shot is not that major of a change. The biggest issue is going to be a localized high alk and precipitation, which is why I would spread it out over an hour or so..

[redwingrob40]

I would add it in two to three doses about 15-20 minutes apart in a high flow area. Raising your alk 1.5 dkh in one shot is not that major of a change. The biggest issue is going to be a localized high alk and precipitation, which is why I would spread it out over an hour or so..

Thanks again, I will give that a try, I just mixed up a gallon jug of ro/di and arm and hammer, so I will probably try to add it later this evening. Would tomorrow morning be too soon to test again or should I give it 24hrs?

[kgross]

I would actually suggest testing about 30-60 minutes after dosing. A tank can easly use 1-2dkh of alk a day just from calcification in the tank. So if you wait 24 hours you will get a lower result since some of that alk you added was used up,

What I would suggest you do since you have sps in your tank, is do the large dose to bring your tank up, measure within a hour, then measure at 24 hours, and start dosing your 2 part (both parts) to keep your alk up. You will find the calcium drops very slowly in comparison to the alk, but the 2 part has the same ratio's to keep them level. If I remember correctly 2.8 dkh is equal to 20 ppm of ca when used to form CaCO3, and 20 ppm is below the noise level in most test kits.
Kim

[redwingrob40]

I would actually suggest testing about 30-60 minutes after dosing. A tank can easly use 1-2dkh of alk a day just from calcification in the tank. So if you wait 24 hours you will get a lower result since some of that alk you added was used up,

What I would suggest you do since you have sps in your tank, is do the large dose to bring your tank up, measure within a hour, then measure at 24 hours, and start dosing your 2 part (both parts) to keep your alk up. You will find the calcium drops very slowly in comparison to the alk, but the 2 part has the same ratio's to keep them level. If I remember correctly 2.8 dkh is equal to 20 ppm of ca when used to form CaCO3, and 20 ppm is below the noise level in most test kits.
Kim

Thanks, Kim I appreciate all of your feedback!!