Help! I need some suggestions to fix my dKH levels

[reeferaddict]

I couldn't agree more with Ruth here. If your livestock is showing no signs of distress, I would do it this way until all your levels are where you want them. My system uses controlled evaporation to adjust the amount of Kalk I dose daily, but eventually it ends up Magnesium deficient like yours, and Calcium and Alk are hard to maintain once your Magnesium goes under 1000pm.

I would liken it to pouring your Ca+ and Alk supplements down a drain if they are precipitating to where Mag is supposed to be. The Randy Holmes Farley article posted is about as explanatory as it gets too... I would do water changes with extra Mag in the water and once these levels get back up to 1250 - 1300 ppm I am almost certain your Alk and Ca problems will go away.

One other thing - getting your S.G. up to 1.025 from where you are at should take your Calcium concentration up around 20ppm due to the extra dissolved salts in the water. Your dKH may be a little higher because of this as well.

As for making your water the right levels... I use Kent Osmo-Prep Marine with my RO/DI water and Instant Ocean salt. After mixing, Calcium is right around 400ppm and Alk is at 8-9 dKH. Maybe try this before you change salts?

[kwirky]

when my tank's levels were way outa whack (6.0 dkh and 330 calcium) I dosed baked baking soda and quick kalk over the course of a week to get it back on track. Needed almost 1/2 a cup of each to correct it.

Don't know how to correct the magnesium though, as I use a salt that's super high in Mg already.

[michika]

Today's levels are:
Temp 81.2
pH 8.2
SG 1.023, I'm still raising this slowly, and its on the verge of 1.024
Ca 400ppm
dKH 6
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Mg 1110ppm

The only thing that has changed is that I added Seachem's Carbonate to raise my dKH, and that was before I posed the original post. Calcium is up 60ppm, dkH is up 2 points, and Mg is up 150ppm. My tank is confusing me!

So my tentative plan is to do nothing for the next few days, as it seems like most of the levels are starting to fall into place. I'm also moving tomorrow, so it wouldn't be practical do to anything.

So my plan after moving is:
- get my SG back to 1.025
- adjust my top off water so that it has the appropriate dKH, I worry though because my kalk. reactor is in my topoff pail and draws directly from there.
- if needed then I'll raise my Mg levels, and finally my Ca levels.

Does this sound like a good plan?

If I raise the dKH in my topoff water can I still keep drawing that water for use in my kalk. reactor?

[reeferaddict]

Originally Posted by michika

Today's levels are:
Does this sound like a good plan?

If I raise the dKH in my topoff water can I still keep drawing that water for use in my kalk. reactor?

Yes I think you're on the right track... just go slow...

Check on dosing an Alk supplement... baking soda or whatever you are using... with Kalk... if my memory is correct I think Calcium Hydroxide and Sodium Bicarbonate will precipitate out of solution when mixed to form Calcium Carbonate just a little too soon for our corals...

[michika]

I didn't have any luck on finding my answer on the Seachem website in regards to using topoff water with a higher dKH for my kalk. reactor. I sent off an email asking this, so hopefully I'll hear something back.

I know you need to leave at least 30 minutes between dosing alk, and ca, at least according to the bottles. But that being said, it doesn't help me with my question.

I'm thinking I will try to raise the dKH levels in my topoff water over the course of two or so weeks. I need to first figure out how the move to a new environment will affect my tank, e.g. evaporation levels, etc.

[andresont]

The best tactic has always been to leave you tank alone and do a small regular no more then 5% water changes.
the more you try to fix something the more you affect something else.

[michika]

Originally Posted by andresont

The best tactic has always been to leave you tank alone and do a small regular no more then 5% water changes.
the more you try to fix something the more you affect something else.

If I only do water changes and don't address my low dKH, Mg, and Ca levels, aren't I only going to make the problem worse in some areas?

I don't understand how just doing water changes will fix my levels? Can you explain it further?