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View Full Version : Any thoughts, ideas?


skyler78
12/16/2012, 12:24 PM
I upgraded from a 29 gallon w/ 1G HOB fuge - to a 45 gallon with 20L sump. At first the transition went ok corals had color and were still growing. It has been about a month- 2 months and at this point it seems like everything is going down hill. I'm getting close to loosing sps frags / small colonies i've been growing out for close to a year. I just can't get the chemistry right and it's quite bizarre. If I get the alk and ca balanced alk around 10, ca at say 450. 10 hours later my alk is barely at 6, it will not hold and neither will my mag levels. I've tried adding vinegar to my kalk stirrer (avast K1), I've tried keeping the kalk changed out more often, I've tried water changes (50%). Nothing is working and the problem keeps getting worse.. I'm not super new to the hobby and my last tank had perfect water chemistry.

edit, need to add one thought. I have been blowing through ca and alk, my tank tanks a very large amount to make detectable adjustment. The amount suggested on the label never even registers when testing.

downbeach
12/16/2012, 12:37 PM
What are you using for test kits? You might want to get a second opinion.

bertoni
12/16/2012, 05:31 PM
10 hours is a fairly short time for the dKH to drop that much, but depending on the kit accuracy, it might be accurate. A lot of tanks consume 2-3 dKH per day. I'd get a second opinion on the test kits, and start measuring and dosing alkalinity every day at the same time, to develop a trend line. If you dose a 2-part, you shouldn't need to test alkalinity all that often.

Magnesium should drop slowly, so I suspect testing error or water changes are shifting that parameter.

skyler78
12/16/2012, 06:08 PM
salifert mag, api - ca / alk.

robertcedgar
12/16/2012, 06:50 PM
I'd get rid of the API. They are notoriously unreliable. I had two API kits that produced significantly different results. Go with Salifert or Red Sea. I am using the Red Sea Ca/Kh/Mag kit. This has much more accurate results and are consistent with that of my LFS's testing of my water (Salifert). Also, there is more precision with Red Sea versus API. Red Sea will allow you to get within two hundredths in the aforementioned test and API gives you a color which you must try to place within a range that is much larger. Get a new test kit and then you may be able to get a more accurate picture of what is going on......