Back to basics- 29g adventure

pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
I tested my alk and cal last night. While my calcium looked good, my alk was considerably lower than the last test I ran (2 weeks ago). It was in the upper 9's, and last night it was 7.33 dKH. I went down to the basement to check on my alk and cal jugs, and there was 1/4 gallon of each left, but the alk was a little fuller. Since they both are dosed daily at 100mL each, I thought it was strange that both jugs didn't have equal amounts. When I inspected the end of the tubes in the return chamber, I found out why alk was going down. The end of the alk tube was clogged. I had submerged both tubes since alk mixes better if released underwater, as it tends to clump if dripped from above. Oh well, it'll just have to clump, since it'll be dripped from now on. The return pumps will do a good job of blending it once it hits the impellers... :cool:

Glad the tank is going well. Uhm... buy another jug of water? I thought you had an RO/DI unit.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Taking it easy today. I gotta get by the store and pick up a few supplies. I might go ahead and pick up my three part solution chemicals as well.

Can't wait until the end of next month. Baby boy will be here and I might have enough saved for a coral order. Priorities, . ..
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
snakeblitz33 said:
Taking it easy today. I gotta get by the store and pick up a few supplies. I might go ahead and pick up my three part solution chemicals as well.

Can't wait until the end of next month. Baby boy will be here and I might have enough saved for a coral order. Porites, . ..
Click to expand...
Fixed it for you...
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Lol.

Man, I've been busy getting the house ready and the stairs finished at the new house, so much so that I forgot to test my water this weekend. Maybe I can do that this evening.

We will just have to see.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
It's been a week since I have dosed anything in the tank. I'm gonna test the levels tomorrow and use the DIY two part mixes to help adjust it back up to proper levels.

Then again, I might do that after the monthly water change this weekend.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
No testing, no dosing... what next? No water changes??? LOL! Sounds like you've been a busy man, Seth! I know how it is when you have a baby on the way. Or should I say three babies? Fortunately, all mine are grown and have their own homes. That frees up a lot of time to do the things I want to do... when I can remember what it is that I want to do. LMAO!!! Hey buddy, I hate to break it to you like this, but... you've only two or three weeks before Junior gets here!!! :eek:
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Yeah. We are at the hospital right now getting some labs done. We had a sort of event happen this morning and its taken half the day for the hospital to do anything. Anyways...

I checked my calcium and alkalinity levels this morning. Calcium is at 300ppm and alkalinity is at 3mEQ/L. Whoops.

I'm gonna have to figure out how to raise it slowly today and tomorrow.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Just added 8floz of calcium and 1.5floz of alkalinity.

I'll test tomorrow to see where its at. The recipe called for three times that amount, but I didn't want to raise it that quickly.

All's good so far.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Wow... I hope everything's okay. I remember how stressful it is when the due date starts closing in. Be sure to keep us updated!

Yeah, your calcium is a good bit low, but your alk isn't so bad (3mEQ/L = 8.4 dKH). Personally, I wouldn't worry about alk until the cal level was close to specs. Of course adding calcium can drive alk down, so the ratio you used may keep it on an even keel. Well done... ;)

As long as you don't add more than 1/2ml of alk per day, you should be okay. Calcium can be dosed fairly high without any ill effects...
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I knew what Pegasus meant.

I don't understand it. I added calcium, alkalinity and magnesium to my tank yesterday and tested it again this morning and they are at the same exact levels as they were yesterday.

I'm wondering if the organisms in the tank just sucked it up that fast or if my test kits are majorly off? I'm banking on my test kits being off.

I'm going to have to buy new test kits probably. We will see.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
snakeblitz33 said:
I knew what Pegasus meant.

I don't understand it. I added calcium, alkalinity and magnesium to my tank yesterday and tested it again this morning and they are at the same exact levels as they were yesterday.

I'm wondering if the organisms in the tank just sucked it up that fast or if my test kits are majorly off? I'm banking on my test kits being off.

I'm going to have to buy new test kits probably. We will see.
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I wouldn't rush out and buy new kits just yet. Once levels drop (one or more element), it takes awhile to get it back up. I struggled with alk not long ago, and it took a couple of weeks before it finally came up and stabilized. Just dose the max on calcium daily, and enough to maintain alk, and once they get aligned, it should be easier to get both up to where you want them. Just my 2c...
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Wouldn't it be healthier for the tank to let Calcium drop low while trying to maintain a healthy Alkalinity level?
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
bang guy said:
Wouldn't it be healthier for the tank to let Calcium drop low while trying to maintain a healthy Alkalinity level?
Click to expand...
Calcium is already low, and alk isn't:

"I checked my calcium and alkalinity levels this morning. Calcium is at 300ppm and alkalinity is at 3mEQ/L. Whoops."
 
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