Alkalinity

rs1831

New member
I would like to get my alk in the 8.5 range but I am having problems getting it about 8 and maintaining it there. My calcium is around 390 which I would like to get up to 420 or so. My ph is at 8.42. I am using soda ash at this point but I am wondering if I should switch to plain baking soda? Is there a specific way that I should be doing this to get to the levels that I want and to maintain them? It feels as though dosing one just pushes down the other and vise versa.

Thanks
 
You may wish to read this article, it will explain the relationship between calcium, alkalinity and magnesium.

Some info that would help us diagnose the issue: what size tank do you have, are you making your soda ash and calcium chloride solutions according to the "standard" concentration as outlined here, and if so, how much volume of each solution are you using daily, and how are you dosing it (bolus dose once per day, several small additions, dosing pump, etc...)
 
I agree that some more information would be useful, but I suspect that the tank just needs more supplement. A lot of tanks go through 2-3 dKH per day.
 
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