Alk / Calcium Dropping

[North Bay 101]

So far in the last month my Alk has dropped from 10 to 7 and my calcium level has dropped from 450 to 375. I am replacing the evaporated water with Kalkwasser. Dripping about 4 gallons a week. I have lots of coralline algae, medium acro and 3 small acro frags. pH is 8.4 . I would like the alk to be closer to 10 and calcium above 425. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[somethings fishy]

Test for Magnesium. I had a similar problem and magnesium was the cause. You could also be dripping your kalk to fast which i believe makes it have the opposite effect that you are looking for.FWIW

 

[jmeader]

If alk and cal become unbalanced, the first thing I check is mag. However, it appears that both have come down together and are still fairly well balanced. I would first suspect that you are not dripping enough kalk to compensate for the rate of depletion.

 

[jdeets]

What's your SG? It's possible that your SG has dropped, which will result in a corresponding drop in Ca and alk.

 

[North Bay 101]

Thanks for the quick response...

SG holds steady at 1.0225

Any more thoughts??

 

[jdeets]

Check your mag. Also I'd tend to agree with jmeader--your rate of consumption is exceeding the rate of addition.

You mention that you have "lots of coralline." Jmeader probably has hit this one right on the head. You'll either have to increase the amount of kalk you're dripping or use other supplementation protocols to keep up with it.

You can check mag, but I doubt that's the issue on this one. I'd bet on jmeader's response.

 

[North Bay 101]

I also put Kent Essential Elements into the sump weekly. This stuff has Calcium, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum and Potassium. I put in one capfull per week. I have a 46 bow.

Thanks