Constant struggle maintaining Alk.

[outssider]

If you bake the baking soda you're changing the bicarbonate back to carbonate (soda ash).....is that what you want ? I thought the carbonate was what caused your problems to begin with ......

 

[zsuman101]

I really appreciate the tips! I have been doing 50% changes fairly often and wasn't seeing results. The alk would rapidly drop. However two weekends ago I completely cleaned my sump and did a 20% water change in the process. Fast forward to this weekend (and a large calc and alk dose later which I mentioned in my previous post) and my alk reads 9.5. I nearly cried I was so happy I looked at my apex and the last time I had all above 8.5 was august of last year that's nearly a whole year of this (obviously I could have responded better and done things differently...) anyways I'll continue to monitor and dose the sodium bicarbonate for a while and also did another 20% wc this weekend. Calc was still lower than normal but it had gone up since the previous week. I guess you can chalk my issues up to poor husbandry if you'd like. It was actually difficult to clean out the sump because it's at the ground level of my basement so siphoning it isn't an option plus it's too big to get out of the aquarium cabinet without completely breaking down the tank and moving the aquarium. I ended up doing it with a small pump. Think I'll invest in a shop vac for next time unless there are any recommendations to do this easily. As for my dosing routine I've slightly modified it to 60ml calc 2 part solution and 55ml of the sodium bicarbonate solution with 594 grams mixed into 1 gallon jug. Once I move back to the soda ash solution I'll keep the doses the same.

just remember to dose alk and ca equally or you will be in the same boat sooner than you think, good luck n stuff... zsu

 

[homer1475]

You want to use plain baking soda(bicarbonate) not baked baking soda(soda ash).

baked baking soda will raise your PH causing more precip.

I used to have the same issue until I switched to plain baking soda. Alk remains steady with no precip.

 

[PAXpress]

You want to use plain baking soda(bicarbonate) not baked baking soda(soda ash).

baked baking soda will raise your PH causing more precip.

I used to have the same issue until I switched to plain baking soda. Alk remains steady with no precip.

Ok well maybe my baking soda didn't cook enough. I didn't realize cooking the baking soda would turn it into sodium carbonate. When dosing my mixture that I've made it doesn't create that white cloud like the ash mixture does. What dissolution rate for the baking soda per gallon of water? And still dose the same ml of that mixture and calcium 2 part mixture?

 

[PAXpress]

Ok think I looked through that article better. Starting to make more sense now...please check to make sure I'm doing this right 297 grams of baking soda NOT BAKED just raw. With enough water to have 1 gallon of the mixture. And then what is a good amount to start dosing for 2 part using this as my alk portion? I'm currently dosing 60ml of calc so would I do 60 ml of this alk mixture or 120 since it's less concentrated as stated in the article?

 

[PAXpress]

just remember to dose alk and ca equally or you will be in the same boat sooner than you think, good luck n stuff... zsu

So if I mix alkalinity at 297 grams of sodium bicarbonate with 1 gallon of ro/di water and my calcium was mixed using this guide:
Calcium
Measure out 2 1/2 household measuring cups of Crystalline Calcium Chloride Dihydrate and add to a one gallon jug.
Fill this jug about 4/5th with RO/DI water, secure cap and shake until dissolved
Fill the remainder of the jug with RO/DI or filtered water
Label "Calcium" and let sit for several hours before use

Then how much of each should I dose to keep them balanced? Meaning if 10ml daily keeps my calcium in balance then the same for alk or a different amount? Thanks for the help.

 

[PAXpress]

Looking at that article maybe my alkalinity should be double the ml of my calc since my calc was mixed closer to the recipe 1 mixture and alk is mixed in accordance with recipe #2 meaning if I want to dose the same i should dose double the ml of alk over calc. Ex 20 ml calc daily and 40 ml of alk daily?

 

[bertoni]

That calcium solution is about double the strength of the standard recipe 2 DIY (the sodium bicarbonate version), so I agree with you.

 

[PAXpress]

That calcium solution is about double the strength of the standard recipe 2 DIY (the sodium bicarbonate version), so I agree with you.

Perfect I'll dose accordingly.