Im have alk problems.
 

Well i cant seem to get my alk above 6 dkh.
My calcium is about 400ppm
Ph is about 8.5

Now what can i do to get my alk up without screwing around to much.

how do you supplement alk and Ca? what are your NO3 levels like?

Which test kit are you using, and have you tried referencing with another test kit?

My NO3 is zero, i dont supplement but was considering it to raise the alk.
The test kits are aquarium pharmaveuticals, there not much else out there here unless i order online or buy hagen. Water changes is how i keep the calcium up. I think the test kits are correct i dont see to much growth from my SPS latly so i figure the alk was low so low and behold it was.

Sean, baking soda can raise your alk, I think Bev might have posted some links to articles that will tell you how much. My alk was down last week, so I disoolved 4 tbspn of baking soda in some RO and dumped it in, raised it enough for my needs. Go look forthe recipe though, just so you do it right.

Somebody mentioned posting reef chemistry articles :biggrin:

Sean,

Water changes will not keep calcium levels up, unless you are dripping kalk, and maybe not even then. It depends on the calcium uptake in your particular tank. Also to be considered in the grand scheme of reef chemistry is magnesium. Mg, along with Ca and alk, needs to be tested and corrected at least every other week.

But back to your low alk and high pH. Baking soda will raise alk but lower pH. I've got two tanks that have consistently high pH and sort of normal alk due to dripping kalk. To reduce the pH of the kalk, I add some vinegar to the kalk/RO mix so the pH doesn't rise when I drip kalk.

Anyway, about those reef chemistry links...... the list just gets longer :biggrin:

Aquarium System Volume Calculator:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/volcalc.html

The Reef Chemistry Calculator:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

Magnesium in Reef Aquaria:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

High pH: Causes and Cures:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rhf/index.htm

Low pH: Causes and Cures:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.htm

Whew! Posting them is the easy part. Reading and understanding any of it is where the blood and sweat come in :eek:

I knew you'd be right along....

Well after a little light reading, Im still a little lost on magnesium but untill i can get a test kit for it im going to assume its ok.

No with the chemistry calculator and the article on alk ive decided to do small doeses of back soda since my PH is a little on the high side, but in an accepatable high.

The reef chemistry site says i need about 20 TSPS of baking soda, so today ill start with 4 and take it from there.

Ill keep everyone informed.

Sean,

How big is your tank and to what level do you want to raise your alk? Remember when using the first link, the Aquarium System Volume Calculator - http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/volcalc.html
to measure your tank from the inside of the glass. If using standard outside measurements, you may be dosing too much.

Well the total volume of my tank is about 300g the actul display tank is 200.

Okay, then 20 tsps doesn't seem like that much with a total volume of 300g. What level of alk are you aiming for?

I was hoping for 9-10dkh. Does that sound like a good number to shoot for.

Perfect number.

I heard baking soda has phosphates in it. I use SeaChem's Reef Builder to avoid that.
Comments?

I haven't heard that, and it's a bit cheaper than reef builder. Where did you hear this?

LFS

Ah, never believe them!! :biggrin:

:lol: I hear ya, but I think I can trust this guy. He gives me the straight poop. For instance "Cycle". I used to use this stuff WEEKLY. When I asked him "Why should I have to add bacteria to my tanks (FW, now) when they already have bacteria in them?". Well, lets just say, I stopped buying "Cycle".

I know the guy, yes, he's straight up, I just haven't heard that. I'll ask Randy over at RC about it, but I think it might be urban myth.

A second opinion never hurts. Might call for a third, though, depending on the answer. DOH!

nah, Randy's word is good for me.

I'll be interested to hear what he says. :smile:

Cheers.

Well I have to disagree on this part I have a 20g thats 9 months and a 29g thats 4 months old I have been faithful with 10% water changes...anyhoo last Thursday I finally bought a calcium test kit ...I know I know everyone should have one, I tested at 460 ppm in the 20 and 440 ppm in the 29. From what the instruction says that between 400-500 is ideal. I have maybe used 3 teaspoons of Kent liquid calcium in this time, I was to scared to use it cause I didn't have a test kit :redface: I think it is maintainence and water changes or maybe my tanks do not require as much calcium and I maintain with water changes or maybe I'm a fluke....anyways where was a going with this?.... :confused: .......I forget I'll be back

Agreed on the Ca thing. Frequent regualr water changes can keep levles fine assuming the Ca consumption of the tank is less than or equal to the replacement value. If you have a couple of softies or zoos only, etc, the Ca cosnumption would be minimal. Water changes would replace that. Add some larger LPS or SPS, you start moving towrds requiring supplementation.

Murray, I don't want to say you are wrong because obviously you aren't. What Bev wrote is acurate for the most part though. Yes there will be systems that just do fine on water changes but for the most part the Ca, Mg etc etc in salts will be used up in a very short period of time. Types of corals you keep, additives, light, temp all will play a role in how quickly Ca is used up and of course frequency of water changes will play a role as well. God knows I'm no expert, I've scratched my head so many times over reef chemistry I'm surprised I don't have a bald spot.

Doug

In a reality type situation water changes cannot possably maintain original Ca levels or any other level for that matter, unless you are doing 100% water changes.

think about it if you deplete 100 gal of water from 430ppm Ca to 380ppm Ca and you do a 20 gal water change with 430ppm CA is it going to raise the Ca level to ~390ppm, a 50% waterchange would only raise it to 405ppm. so if your tank consumes 50ppm in 2 weeks and you do a 20% change ever two weeks (which is a lot more than most do) after the first two weeks you will be at 390ppm, afdter 1 month you would be at 358ppm, 6 weeks 332ppm and 2 months 312ppm. please don't bother with the math this is aproximate as I didn't want to work it out this lait befor I head to bed, but it does show you what will happen on a tank with a high Ca demand.

as you can see you will need Ca addition other than from water changes.

Alk will be afected in a simular mannor also.

now for a lightly stocked tank this could go slower but you are never never never and incase you didn't get that I will say it again NEVER :mrgreen: going to maintain your levels with just water changes unless they are 100% changes.

Steve

Depends on what you keep. My Ca was always over 400 with water changes, four years into the hobby, until I put those damn sticks and those awesome clams in... :lol: :razz:

Oh, I should mention I use Kent salt for the higher Ca.

the only thing that will be different is the rate at which your tank drops as you have observed your old tank had a very low requirement so the drop was very slow, once you raised your Ca requirement with fuzzy sticks and a clam it sped up and became more apparent.

just out of curiosity what is the Ca level on fresh Kent mix?

Steve

I conducted a simple test and obtained a strange result.
I tested straight Victoria tapwater for phosphates. Result: undetectable.
Then I mixed 1 tsp. of baking soda in 1 c. Victoria tapwater and tested that for phosphates. Results: Turbidity of the test sample matched that of approx. 1.00 mg/l, against the color chart.
Here's the strange part...the colour of the test result was yellow, not blue!
Test kit used was a basic Hagen kit.
I'm not sure why the result would be yellow and not blue, but the test obviously measured something. :confused:
Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Mark, high alk will skew the test kit.

Thanx Brad.

I think I'll still use Reef Builder just to avoid the pH issue that comes with baking soda, but that's still good to know about the soda now, once and for all.

Thanx for the info.

Cheers,

Mark, I think you'll find the same pH issue from reef builder. Essentially it's higher grade baking soda. Same chemical reaction ionce it hits your tank. And FWIW, the ph "issue" isn't really an issue.

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I hate these reef chemistry threads, they always make me second guess myself. :mad: Now I'm going to go home a test everything because I'm paranoid!! :confused:

Danny,

Testing is good :biggrin: Keeping records of tests and what and how much you add is good :biggrin: This tells you what your tank has utilized since your last test, and this too is good :biggrin:

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I know, its just that too much tweeking and adjusting can land you in a whole lot of trouble. I learned this the hard way in the spring.

Question: Since setting up the new tank my PH has been slowly but steadily dropping. From 8.19 to 8.07 over the past month is not much to worry about.....yet. I've done three water changes totaling about 50% since May 1st. Is this normal?

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Sure, but it's more likely variations in your meter. Anything between 7.8 and 8.4 is acceptable, and minor fluctuations are perfectly fine. Don't worry so much :biggrin:

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I've always wondered where the best location is for the probe. Low or high flow.....

doesn't much matter, but if you're using a full time probe, it will certainly fluctuate with time.

So what is the low down on those Pin Point probes, I've got the pH meter and need a new probe, should I just forget it then and buy a reagent test kit? Are the probes/meters accurate?

Doug