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Large Clam and Alk Swings


CaptainK

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So I have a 57g sps tank with a squamosa clam thats about a foot long, no exaggeration. Its more than doubled in size in a couple years. I have been struggling with stn from the base up for the past month. I thought it was cyano related but thats all gone now. It seems to be from Alk swings but I'm not positive. No sign of parasites. The only sps not affected are the Birdsnests and Pocilloporas. I'm dosing with Seachem Calcium and Kent Marine Buffer. I recently started using Kent Marine Kalkwasser in auto top off reservoir. Could a clam this size in tank this size cause that many problems? I haven't seen too many medium sized tanks with large clams.

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Captain, I guess the pertinent question is have you been tracking your alk values and if so, what have they been at? How much does it fluctuate? What test kit are you using?

If you haven't been testing the alk, then I highly recommend doing so. I'd be hesitant to keep SPS without tracking at least your alk values.

STN from the bottom up could be a number of issues but is often related to low alk.

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I been testing pretty regularly. I use Salifert for Alk and API for Calc. Alk seems to stay around 7.3 - 7.7. I dose 2 tablespoons of buffer every other day. I have gotten it up to between 9-10 but the next day it will be back down to around 7. Calcium has been around 400 but I'm slowing trying to get it higher. I alternate days between calc and alk dosing.

Here's a pic from today. Lights just came on, so clam was is not fully open yet.

post-2179-0-20296600-1424360493_thumb.jp

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With the clam and the amount of SPS you have in that smaller volume of water, I can easily see how you could lose 2 dKh per day in that system.

I'd really look into 2-part dosing via peristaltic pumps or possibly even a CARX to keep up with the demand. Hand dosing with that type of usage rate is never going to be stable enough for the SPS and I believe they are already telling you that, by the STN.

I say either get the dosers, a CARX, or ditch the clam.

I'm assuming again that there are no external factors that could be causing the STN and that all other parameters are in line.

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+1 on that being a pretty heavy swing. I keep my Alk around 150ppm or about 8.4-8.5. I have noticed reactions with a 1 dKh swing, let alone 2 to 3 dKh. Automating doesn't have to be expensive. A light timer set to go off 2-3 times a day should be enough. You could also try a gravity fed method, but make sure you use a glass bottle instead of plastic.

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Nice tank! I say get some dosers or a small calcium reactor. Don't get a large calcium reactor, I bought one used on the forums because I know I'll eventually upgrade to a larger tank that will fit the calcium reactor and I'm having trouble controlling the alk swings with a larger calcium reactor that either dumps a ton or nothing at all.

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Thanks for the input and compliments everyone. I haven't looked into dosers that much, any recommendations?

I know a lot of people have used the BRS dosers with success. I know Jaebo released a cheap dosing unit but you might want to research more on its build quality and how well its been holding up for people.
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