dKH and alkalinity - high - please help

bunnyfunny77 · 10/11/2010, 12:43 PM

Hi reefers,

I have my 130g tank setup for more than 4 months now. I have been neglecting testing the dKH and alkalinity for a long time. today when i checked it using the salifert test kit i got the following reading
KH value in dKH - 12.5 (should be approx 8 as mentioned in the kit)
Alkalinity in meq/L - 4.46 (should be approx 2.6 as mentioned in the kit)
What should I do to reduce the levels in my tank.

Here is another problem that I am facing - recently I have noticed that "flower pot" coral has stopped extending its tentacles. I have 4 of them and all 4 have stopped. Here are the other test results

ph - 8.3
Ammonia - 0
Nitirite - 0
Nitrate - almost 0
Calcium - 460
lights - 4 T5 48" tubes ( 2 actinic, 2 white)(4 X 54W)

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks
Bunny

garygonzales · 10/11/2010, 02:43 PM

are you dosing any thing...if so maybe stop....it will come down on its own.....i run mine at 11 ..so i dont think 12 is too high.imo

bunnyfunny77 · 10/11/2010, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garygonzales

are you dosing any thing...if so maybe stop....it will come down on its own.....i run mine at 11 ..so i dont think 12 is too high.imo

Yes I have been dozing with B-Ion. I will stop that and monitor the calcium and PH regularly.

Is there any reason why my flower pot coral will not open up. I maintain the temp at 79F constant. Do you think another set of 4 T5 will help. At present I have 4 T5(4 X 54W)

1976 · 10/11/2010, 06:29 PM

Check your phosphate level

rsuplido · 10/11/2010, 06:57 PM

FYI, KH = alkalinity. The good news though is if you are using two different test kit brands, they're measuring correctly.

Here's the conversion tool: http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/AlkConv.php

bunnyfunny77 · 10/11/2010, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1976

Check your phosphate level

First thanks for the reply
Yes my phosphate level seems to be high (0.25). Is there a product which can reduce phosphate. I am running phosban reactor but it does not seem to help. Any suggestions

albano · 10/11/2010, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunnyfunny77

Here is another problem that I am facing - recently I have noticed that "flower pot" coral has stopped extending its tentacles. I have 4 of them and all 4 have stopped.

IMO, very few people, do well with flower pot coral, for any amount of time. Would never purchase them (again).

bunnyfunny77 · 10/11/2010, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albano

IMO, very few people, do well with flower pot coral, for any amount of time. Would never purchase them (again).

Ya I agree with you. i have read about it at a number of places. But initially when I started my aquarium I was really attracted to them and it was an impulsive buy. Now my habit has changed. If I like a coral I research about it and then take a decision. Guess I learnt a lot about life in this hobby (patience, analysis ...just a side note

)

bertoni · 10/11/2010, 09:35 PM

A GFO reactor could lower the phosphate level. I'd start out slowly, though. I agree that flower pot corals seldom survive for long. That includes my ignorant attempt at keeping one.

It did teach me not to listen to LFS employees.

aniceplace · 10/24/2010, 06:28 PM

Flower pots, or goniopora, is difficult to keep but I doubt yours is suffering from your high alkalinity. I too was misled by a LFS employee who sold me a flower pot with the promise that they are easy to keep. Mine almost died, it receeded for two weeks before I came across a method that brought it back. Read this article,
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/nftt/index.php

I target feed mine with rotifers, cyclopeeze, and oyster eggs. The best method for target feeding them is to cut the bottom of a two liter soda bottle off and place it over the coral and then add the food via a turkey baster through the top of the bottle. My coral is doing fine now 2 months since its apparent decline.
Good Luck.

nbsdsailor · 10/24/2010, 06:59 PM

Just to let you know, I had a bad batch of reef crystals, and it made my nano have 16dkh. only thing that happened is my acros lost a little color. Nothing died. I just waited until the dkh came down naturally through weekly WCs.

wickedfish · 10/24/2010, 08:38 PM

Goniopora from my experience was a trooper but it was put into my already seeded 3 yr old tank so it wasnt thrown into a new tank. I had a pretty filthy/low light/high phosphates and it thrived like no other it grew 30% in 4 months until I switched it to do sps. I also tested with salifert today your alk from the sounds of it is pretty dead on or at least pretty close not dead on my bad. There is a thread that says salifert and elos alk/dKH tests read it and you'll be good[/B]. Mine read 14.4dKH and one of the reef chemists was like dont worry it will be fine. Goniopora is mostly for advanced reefers but alot of reading wouldnot hurt. We had a guest speaker at our club meet talk about Goni and it was facinating the amount of colors and sizes of these guys. GL

10/11/2010, 12:43 PM	#1
bunnyfunny77 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 5	dKH and alkalinity - high - please help Hi reefers, I have my 130g tank setup for more than 4 months now. I have been neglecting testing the dKH and alkalinity for a long time. today when i checked it using the salifert test kit i got the following reading KH value in dKH - 12.5 (should be approx 8 as mentioned in the kit) Alkalinity in meq/L - 4.46 (should be approx 2.6 as mentioned in the kit) What should I do to reduce the levels in my tank. Here is another problem that I am facing - recently I have noticed that "flower pot" coral has stopped extending its tentacles. I have 4 of them and all 4 have stopped. Here are the other test results ph - 8.3 Ammonia - 0 Nitirite - 0 Nitrate - almost 0 Calcium - 460 lights - 4 T5 48" tubes ( 2 actinic, 2 white)(4 X 54W) Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Bunny __________________ Bunny Current Tank Info: Tank Size : 130G \|\| Tank Type : Reef \|\|Tank Fish : Powder brown, yellow, sailfin, blue Tangs, percula clows, blue damzel, Chromis, reef beauty angels \|\| Tank Lights : 4 X 54w T5 48" lamps

10/11/2010, 09:35 PM	#9
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	A GFO reactor could lower the phosphate level. I'd start out slowly, though. I agree that flower pot corals seldom survive for long. That includes my ignorant attempt at keeping one. It did teach me not to listen to LFS employees. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

10/24/2010, 06:28 PM	#10
aniceplace Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Dade City, fl Posts: 161	Flower pots, or goniopora, is difficult to keep but I doubt yours is suffering from your high alkalinity. I too was misled by a LFS employee who sold me a flower pot with the promise that they are easy to keep. Mine almost died, it receeded for two weeks before I came across a method that brought it back. Read this article, http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/nftt/index.php I target feed mine with rotifers, cyclopeeze, and oyster eggs. The best method for target feeding them is to cut the bottom of a two liter soda bottle off and place it over the coral and then add the food via a turkey baster through the top of the bottle. My coral is doing fine now 2 months since its apparent decline. Good Luck. __________________ "Feed your head." Current Tank Info: 210 AGA w/4 drains, 110ga sump, Dart return, Lumatek 250-400watt ballast, LumenMax Elite reflectors, Phoenix 14k lamps, 454 VHO's

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10/11/2010, 02:43 PM	#2
garygonzales Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: WEST ALLIS ,WI Posts: 922	are you dosing any thing...if so maybe stop....it will come down on its own.....i run mine at 11 ..so i dont think 12 is too high.imo

10/11/2010, 06:29 PM	#4
1976 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: richmond Posts: 11	Check your phosphate level

10/11/2010, 06:57 PM	#5
rsuplido Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hurricane, WV Posts: 646	FYI, KH = alkalinity. The good news though is if you are using two different test kit brands, they're measuring correctly. Here's the conversion tool: http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/AlkConv.php

10/24/2010, 06:59 PM	#11
nbsdsailor Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 109	Just to let you know, I had a bad batch of reef crystals, and it made my nano have 16dkh. only thing that happened is my acros lost a little color. Nothing died. I just waited until the dkh came down naturally through weekly WCs.

10/24/2010, 08:38 PM	#12
wickedfish Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Southbay Posts: 2,167	Goniopora from my experience was a trooper but it was put into my already seeded 3 yr old tank so it wasnt thrown into a new tank. I had a pretty filthy/low light/high phosphates and it thrived like no other it grew 30% in 4 months until I switched it to do sps. I also tested with salifert today your alk from the sounds of it is pretty dead on or at least pretty close not dead on my bad. There is a thread that says salifert and elos alk/dKH tests read it and you'll be good[/B]. Mine read 14.4dKH and one of the reef chemists was like dont worry it will be fine. Goniopora is mostly for advanced reefers but alot of reading wouldnot hurt. We had a guest speaker at our club meet talk about Goni and it was facinating the amount of colors and sizes of these guys. GL