Help with keeping alk up.

[Reelknotty]

I just started dosing two part from brs for my alk an cal demands. I need to dose around 280 ml per day to keep my levels at around 9.5 dkh alk an 450 ppm calcium this seems like a lot for a 55 gal tank. My mag is at 1400. My phos at .03 no nitrate. Is this normal or do you think something is wrong. That's for any help out there.

P/s tank only has a few small lps and one small 3" monti

[Meanstreet5150]

That is extremely high.

[bertoni]

That's very high, I agree. What's in the tank, and are there any signs of precipitation?

[downbeach]

Even if you're using recipe #2 that sounds like too much for the load you have. How are you dosing, i.e. where and when?

[Reelknotty]

I have a few colony polyps, a small 3" monti, a small hammer coral, and lots of star polyps. A good amount of coralline algae which is not growing anymore. 4 fish. I do see calcification on the sump walls. I'm dosing using Aquatics Sentry dosing pump at 12 ml per hour.

[downbeach]

Are they dosing at the same time in close proximity to one another?

[Reelknotty]

They are in the sump about 8" away from each other. They dose about 30 sec apart, really no way to make that any longer because these pump just dose whatever dose you set at around the clock. I got them set at 12 mil per hour.

[bertoni]

Is there any off-white buildup on the sump walls?

[Reelknotty]

Yeah but only in the sump.

[bertoni]

Hmm, if there's a lot of buildup, that's probably supplement. I might try the low-pH formula, or try dosing into the display tank.

[Reelknotty]

My PH stays around 8.0 pinpoint tester just calibrated. My alk right now is 9.7 DKH & my cal is at 430 ppm. All checked with the Hanna testers. I'm dosing right now 240 ml per day of Randy option 1. My phos are at .03 my nitrates are 0 I just purchase about two weeks ago a Xenia coral was doing great until yesterday when it just died. I don't know if it from my dosing or from just moving it to a different location in the display tank. Also I have anther coral forgot the name in the same family as the Xenia not opening up like it used to.
I'll try moving the dosing to the display tank to see if it help lower the dosing.

[Reelknotty]

Can the problem be that I mixed it using only 2cups of soda ash like the instruction say on the BRS website. Went to Randy Homes web site an it states to use 2 1/4 cups.

[Ajskennels]

sounds like there precipitating to me, 30 sec is not enough time in my opinion try what bertoni said, dose 1 in the sump and the other in the display.

[bertoni]

Mixing less into the solution will reduce the precipitation, but increase the amount the tank will need. 2 cups is close enough as long as you're measuring the alkalinity each day. You'll need to adjust the calcium dose, theoretically, although water changes might make up the difference.

That's still a lot of supplement, even at 2 cups per gallon.