alk levels WAY too high! help plz!

Jamie1210 · #1 10/29/2006, 10:46 PM

So I finally invested in a salifert KH/alk and calcium test kit and realized, much to my horror, that my alk is at 5.37! corals look great, fish are fine, BTA is NOT fine. I immediately did a 20 percent water change ... and I will continue to do a 20 percent water change every day until the alk level is back to normal. Any other tips/suggestions would be GREATLY appreicated. Will my BTA survive this?

thanks in advance

nmprisons · #2 10/30/2006, 12:39 AM

If that is in Meq/L then you don't really have much to worry about, imo.

According to the SeaChem test kit, they say alkalinity between 4 and 6 is target for a reef tank. I wonder if there is another problem with your BTA (lighting, lack of food, etc.) that might be causing it to stress out.

somethingphishy · #3 10/30/2006, 09:53 AM

BTA? Sorry what's that?

That is not terribly high for alk but your calcium is probally pretty low. Have you checked that? OR.......Ph, that would be more for concern...what is that at?

j0tca · #4 10/30/2006, 10:47 AM

I agree that Alk of 5.3 or even 6 would not cause stress to corals. Unless it is a sudden change (which doesn't sound like the case), your BTA is probably suffering from some other ailment. If you would tell us your Ca level we can give you advice on how to bring back both to regular levels. What is your Ph swing day and night BTW? I have had trouble with a BTA in the past from a large swing.

Will

Jamie1210 · #5 10/30/2006, 04:06 PM

Oh, wow, I didn't realize that was ok. The salifert test kit said NSW is a lot lower, so, that's why I thought it was a problem. pH was at 8.0, and calcium (I'm at school right now) and I tested it last night to be in the mid400's (can't remember the exact number though). In that case, if it's not a problem w/the alk, then it may just be because I was stressing it out with multiple things all at once: lighting change, water change, rearranging rockwork, pretty much all in one day ... didn't think I could kill it like this! and when it staarted hiding btwn the rocks, I gave it a few days b/c I noticed it was starting to bleach, and moved it again.

Unfortunately, I don't know what to do. Corals, fish are fine. Lighing is 150 MH and 2 55W PC's. BTA looks very stressed, the foot is inflating, still trying to move around. I attempted to feed it, and the tentacles are not sticky at all.

Here is some other background info: prior to all this stress, the BTA had been in the same spot since I got it 6 months ago. Tank itself is established. 25 Gallon w/2 aquaclear 30 powerheads and an aqua c remora protein skimmer w/maixjet1200.

So, should I just leave it alone and let it wander until it's happy? even if it goes into hiding, all bleached and sad looking?

Thanks for the help, guys

Jamie1210 · #6 10/30/2006, 04:07 PM

somethingphishy, BTA = bubble tip anemone

j0tca · #7 10/30/2006, 04:13 PM

Leave it alone. A wandering BTA is an unhappy one but it definatley knows what is best for it. It's a pain because it can hurt other corals, put itself in places you don't want it and even (because they like higher flow) crawl into pump inlets and overflows (suicidal). Anyone of those three things you mentioned could stress out a BTA, the most important I think is moving the rocks. Lighting change without changing intensity will normally cause my corals to close up for a day. Everything is very sensitive. Leave it alone and hope for the best, any drastic change is likely to cause more problems. If all your other corals are doing well, it's likely to recover.

If it doesn't recover, get it out of the tank once it dies. A rotting BTA in a 25 G will kill everything pretty quickly. (like a day)

Will

Amphiprion · #8 10/30/2006, 04:28 PM

When you are able to look at everything, you need to find out what scale you were using on the kit, as nmprisons said. If it dKH, that would end up being slightly low, whereas if measured in milliequivalents per Liter (meq/L), it would definitely be on the high side. Regardless, the water changes should help anyway.

somethingphishy · #9 10/31/2006, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamie1210
somethingphishy, BTA = bubble tip anemone

thanks...you don't know how long i've been thinking about that

Jamie1210 · #10 11/01/2006, 12:18 AM

Here is the update on my BTA/tank situation:

Amphiprion, the calcium level was 440 ppm, and the alk was 5.37 Meq/L, ph is at 8.0. Those levels should be adequate, I'm thinking. The rose BTA finally found a spot. It's a pretty good spot, in the middle, and partly exposed to light, and , most importnatly of all, it hasn't moved

When I tried to feed it yesterday, although it was looking better (it was inflated), I tried feeding it a small piece of silverside but it wouldn't take it. Should I try feeding it again soon? Or would that just stress it too much? (especially what with the clowns constantly trying to steal its food!!)

I'm kind of treating it like a newly bought BTA, so I may just leave it alone for a few more days until it *fully* acclimates itself before attempting to feed again. What do you guys think?

~jamie~

j0tca · #11 11/01/2006, 01:23 AM

It definatley isn't going to starve in a few days without food. I've only had a single BTA so am no expert although I did a magnificent anenome for quite some time. My suggestion would be to ensure the system is stable and not do anything for the moment. Keep trying to feed once every 3 or 4 days or so and just wait it out.

Will