can't maintain alkalinity

[fishface]

well, after a week of testing on a daily basis and having some good concrete targets to shoot for, i've finally ironed out my issues with ca and alk imbalance.

i've been meticulous with testing and recording results: this is what i ended up with that works for my tank:
drip rate 185 dpm
bubble count 55 bpm
effluent ph 6.5

resulting ca, stable at 430
resulting alk, stable at 8.2 dKH

hopefully i'll be able to maintain these numbers and they don't go outta wack by tomorrow!

thanks agian for your help Marc and Marie!! patience is the key.
how's your battle there J? making any headway?

[michika]

Were you able to maintain everything?

[fishface]

yup, able to maintain those parameters...but now i'm battling a slight drop in pH. could still be salt. anyhow it's not too bad but it's dropped to 7.9-8ish so i started dripping kalk to see if it'll stabilize that problem.

if it isn't one thing it's gotta be another huh?

[michika]

What salt brand are you using?
I'm glad you were able to stabilize everything for the most part.

[fishface]

michika, i've been using oceanpure pro until last week but i'm really not happy with it and have since switched to reef crystals. only time will tell how that's gonna be, on a brighter note, the kalk seems to be working wonders at keeping my pH at bay, hopefully it'll bump that up a few points and i'll be laughin'.

[michika]

How about another update?

I'm following along because I suspect a similar problem is on the horizon for myself.

[fishface]

well...until this bucket's gone it'll have to just do. my numbers are in the vicinity of 7.95-8.1ish and i'm no longer dripping kalk as i'm just too lazy . i'm not into chasing numbers either so...i will go back to kent salt as i recall it had good Ca and alk parameters for reef tanks...