14 dkh :eek:

[dippi]

My alkalinity is 14 dkh. I have 50 gal cube with brightwell neomarine saltmix.

I had a kalk auto topoff, and it had a mishap and the drip opened up an apporx 3 gals went into my water, my calcium is 400-450.. What should I do, I already did a 13 gal water change, ( it was all the saltwater I had on hand).

My pH is perfect, and I heard I can use ph down to help with my alkalinity. What should I do.

 

[bertoni]

I would just wait. 14 dKH is safe enough for most tanks, and the level will drop on its own. If any animals are having trouble, some water changes might help. I suspect that any possible damage is done, though. Many people come through such situations without serious problems.

 

[johnnyb05]

i would do another water change and just let the alk drop naturally. each day it should drop a little. i would test alk and cal everyday. you may have to add calcium by it self (like calcium chloride) to maintain 400-450. also depends on the salt your using. if the salt has high alk your wasting your time doing water changes.

 

[dippi]

Yea I didn't know that the salt I had was high is alk..

But guys at my local fish store said I can use ph down, I didn't understand how that would fix my problem, and could I use acetic acid(vinegar)?

On a side note, when I made my kalk, it precipitated alot.. How can I prevent that next time... After my current unbalance gets mitigated.

 

[bertoni]

pH Down contain sulfuric acid, I think, so it will lower the alkalinity. I'd treat the water for changes before adding it to the tank, personally, rather than dose a display system. Vinegar won't work. It will reduce alkalinity temporarily, but when bacteria consume the organic acid, the alkalinity is freed again.

Only 2 tsp of kalk will dissolve per gallon of fresh water. If more is added, the extra falls to the bottom. It'll dissolve when more fresh water is added. Any other precipitation could be contaminants in the kalk or might be kalk that has combined with carbon dioxide to form calcium carbonate. This article might help:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

 

[dippi]

yea, ive read that....

Let me ask a different question then, How much precipitate is normal when people make 5 gal batches.

 

[dippi]

Will this high alkalinity hurt my corals? what about my fish and inverts?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I would just wait. 14 dKH is safe enough for most tanks, and the level will drop on its own. If any animals are having trouble, some water changes might help. I suspect that any possible damage is done, though. Many people come through such situations without serious problems.

x2

IME more damage is often done by trying to correct this situation.
I would stop kalkwasser additions and water changes while allowing dKH to drop on it's own.

 

[bertoni]

Well, I probably saw only a light coating at the bottom after one dose, after cleaning the container. The precipitates will build up over time. If there's a lot of precipitate, you could try getting a sample and adding some vinegar. If the sample fizzes a lot, some of the lime might have converted into calcium carbonate (fine sand). It'll be fine, but you'll have to add more to get a saturated solution.

I agree with stopping the lime until the alkalinity is lower.

 

[johnnyb05]

dont panic and try to change the chemistry quickly (the worst thing to do). when you stop dosing an alk supplement the alk will drop everyday. 14 dkh is high, but its not that bad. i have gone through the same as you, and the best thing is a couple of water changes (with better salt) and just wait and test.

 

[dippi]

Ok, im getting some great feedback, thanks guys...

Lets take this one step farther, SALT.... What brand do you guys prefer, and for what quality do you value that brand?

I am out of salt mix, and I was going to buy some.. I am going to be doing all kinds of corals. Buying online..

 

[johnnyb05]

theres alot of opinions on salt. i have been using the new seachem salinity salt. the main reason is that on each bucket there are test values for ph, cal, alk, mag and stron. all the #s are near to NSW. alot of people like the tropic marin salts. theres different types, some have elevated values for alk and cal and some have closer to NSW. i keep my system at NSW so the salinity salt is good for me. the salinity salt is $75 for 225 gal bucket.