Alkalinity question

[biecacka]

So I tested my alk because my corals were looking pretty rough and it's about 6.5 or so. I'm going to use baking soda to raise it, I know I bake it for an hour but how fast/slow do I dose it into my tank.
The BRS calculator says 17 teaspoons. Is this the total amount needed to get mine back up where I need it?
Corry

 

[disc1]

What's the target you're shooting for?

It's not advisable to raise it by more than about 1dkh per day. If you bake the baking soda you might need to go slower than that to keep from spiking the pH. If you don't bake then it won't have much of an effect on the pH.

 

[Sport507]

Not sure what you are shooting for as far as dKH level but don't raise it more than 1.5-2 per day. And since you baked it I would do it in 2 dose at leased 6 hours apart.

 

[biecacka]

I haven't baked it yet. I just was reporting the calculator results. Can it be done not baking it? Other products to use to raise it?
9-10 would be good to keep it at
Corey

 

[disc1]

You don't have to bake it. When making a big bump like that I wouldn't. But beware that baked or not are different in the calculator. Make sure you pick the right one from the drop down.

 

[biecacka]

Which one is NOT baked in the calculator? Or how much do I use? How much is safe a day?
Corey

 

[Sport507]

David has the safest method.

By the way welcome back Nikola, George just didn't fit you.

 

[Sport507]

Which one is NOT baked in the calculator? Or how much do I use? How much is safe a day?
Corey

Sodium Bicarbonate

Edit; If you look on the left under instructions on the BRS calculater it says not more than 1.4 dKH.

 

[biecacka]

So I just mix it with RO water and dose daily. How much do I dose? Sorry for the questions but I've never done this before
Thanks Corey

 

[Sport507]

So I just mix it with RO water and dose daily. How much do I dose? Sorry for the questions but I've never done this before
Thanks Corey

I make a gallon of solution in RODI water. It takes 1-1/8 cup of Baking Sode (un baked) for 1 gallon then use the BRS calculator on the Recipe 2 Alkalinity Solution. You will need to warm the RODI for it to dissolve properly and it will be clear when ready to use.

Only dose daily until you get the Alk. where you want it. Then check every couple days for 2 weeks to figure out what your daily up-take is going to be and dose that much each day.

 

[disc1]

Yup. Exactly what sport said.

 

[biecacka]

How much can I dose daily?

 

[disc1]

I wouldn't do more than about 1dkh per day.

 

[biecacka]

David does that come out to a gallon or how do I figure out how much that is?
Corey

 

[disc1]

I make a gallon of solution in RODI water. It takes 1-1/8 cup of Baking Sode (un baked) for 1 gallon then use the BRS calculator on the Recipe 2 Alkalinity Solution. You will need to warm the RODI for it to dissolve properly and it will be clear when ready to use.

Only dose daily until you get the Alk. where you want it. Then check every couple days for 2 weeks to figure out what your daily up-take is going to be and dose that much each day.

^^^^ That

I don't know how much it would take because you haven't told me how big this tank is. Even then, I would just send you to that calculator or one of the others to get the answer.

 

[biecacka]

220 gallon

 

[biecacka]

It says "need 857.1ml, 28.9 fluid ounces, 171.4tsp" I'm not seeing how often to dose this though. Am I missing something?

 

[disc1]

Oh, I think we're on slightly different wavelengths for a second.

I thought you wanted to raise your alkalinity. To do that, go to the calculator and put in how big your tank is, what you are using to raise it, and how much you want to raise it by. That will tell you how much to use to get that much rise.

If you want to know how much to use daily, well that's a whole different story. First you get the alkalinity where you want it. Then you test every day for a few days with no dosing at all until you can determine how fast it is dropping per day. For constant dosing that's how much you need to replace every day. Go to the calculator to find out how much you need for that much.


Using this one to calculate adding 1dKH.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

I put in 220 gallons, 1dkh and baking soda. (i used 6.5 for current and 7.5 for desired, but it's the same for any 1 dkh difference)

I get 24.9 grams. Lets round. You can add up to about 25g per day of baking soda to the tank until the alkalinity get's where you want it. Then you let it fall so you can find the rate and set the dose.

 

[Sport507]

How else can we explain it and what are you asking.:deadhorse1:

 

[biecacka]

I'm not beating a dead horse sport. I'm asking if I make that amount on BRS do I just dump the amount made in my tank one time and it raises the alk to the right amount??
Nevermind tho I'll figure it out, your right no need to beat a dead horse on something I don't understand or maybe wasn't asking clearly.
I'll figure it out.
Thank you