alk/calicum q/a!

[mikid]

before going to hawaii on vac first of the month my calcium level was 450-460,ph-8.0-8.1,nitrates <5ppm, starting dosing a differant way and left my tank to be dosed buy someone esle,come back and contiued to dose,just tested my tank the first time in 2 weeks,but no problems yet and found my calcium at
520-540,alk 5dkh,ph 8.0,how can i raise my alk,using kent pro buffer dkh,not dosing at his time,how long should the buffer take?,should i go ahead and do a large wter changing,advise please,thxs mikid

 

[kdblove_99]

I use baking soda to raise my ALK


http://www.reefvideos.com/

select the video that has the dowflake on it

 

[kevin95695]

I don't know if this is your problem... But I overdosed on calcium once and it drove down my dkh. Did a regular water change and added the buffer (I use same brand). Worked itself out after a few rounds of that.

If your tank sitter is not experienced it would be easy for them to get off on the dosing and your chemistry can change quickly.

 

[mikid]

alk

alk

i think that the calcium might have been the problem,what % of water change did you do to aleaviate the problem,and how many days did it take?,txs mikid

 

[Justin74]

What salt are you using Mike? A 30% water change my suffice, maybe even less depending on the brand. If your using a high calcium supplemented salt it will be difficult unless the perctentage of water being changed is greater or smaller ones in greater frequency.

-Justin

 

[kevin95695]

I typically do 5-10% every Sunday. I that case I did 10% daily and if I remember correctly it was only a few days before things stabilized.

 

[mikid]

alk

alk

i normally use reef crystals but in this case ill go to crs and buy thier per mixed water for a quick fix,i dont want to have any problems right now,everything is doing to well,thx jus/kevin for your advise

 

[matttaylor]

I am a firm believer in sticking to one brand of salt. I've used Red Sea since day one with the exception of one single water change. That one wc caused enough problems to make me never switch again. Don't do anthing crazy here. Do a wc add some extra buffer wait an hour or so then test. Repeat if neccssary.

Not to knock any lfs (especially one like crs with a good rep), but you never know what salt they are using. Some stores use "cheaper" salt to save some money and you may not get what you are expecting.

[I've worked at a store in the past that made their own salt mix from scratch! For someone who obviously cares a great deal about his wards, i wouldn't take the chance!] Unless of course you get positive confirmation that they are using a quality salt.

 

[matttaylor]

And to clarify a little more, while your numbers a little bit off, they are not THAT bad. If your inhabitants look ok, take it slow and the calcium and alkalinity will bring itself into equelibrium. I'm not familiar with your setup/livestock, but unless you're all sps relax and think carefully before you act.

 

[MrMikeB]

To pick up on what Matt was eluding to, the real key is not the parameters themselves at this point but the delta in those parameters over time. Often we see something wrong and our knee-jerk reaction is to correct it right away, but in the process of correcting we introduce a new problem. Man, have I had to learn this the hard way. Our saltwater friends like stability more than anything else.

My longstanding advice is to always do whatever it is you are planning to do - slowly. Do not adjust your params one way or the other too quickly or it will cause stress and likely lead to more problems - especially if things seem to be doing well. I would stick with the salt you are using, and add a bit of soda ash (diluted in water) and Calcium over a period of a couple days to raise your kdh and Ca levels, ensuring your calcium stays proportionate to your ph and kDH. A couple successive smaller water changes might also help bring our params back to norm over a week or two.

 

[mikid]

alk!?

alk!?

i reguards to your questiom matt,my tank is mostly sps(25),zoos(6),palys(2-3),star poylps,green cloves,yumas(3),and after a 15 gallon water change,alk(6dkh) up from4-5,calcium(480-490) down from 560,ph(8.1), slowly but shirley! as some will say,my concern is that when i had my tank in the 90"s,we mostly had soft,lps corals and our die off rates were different from todays standards,the hobby has changed dramaticlly in 7 years so when something goes wrong you would usally have a die off,it just made my nerves jump,got alot of money and time invested,not to meantion the lifeforms that depend on our expertice to survive!well ill keep this posted to see how long it take to stablize the alk and cacium,thanks guy mikid :rollface:

 

[matttaylor]

You look to be on the right path. You also appear to have a healthy understanding of your inhabitants. Good luck, i'm sure you won't need it though.