Do high levels of KH/Alk harm fish?

xenon

Owner of Canada Corals
My KH/Alk is so high its off the chart with my Salifert test kit.

So Its well over 16dkh

Will this harm my fish?
 
At the last step of the test make sure you're reading it right. I was doing it wrong and got a reading over 15 dKH when it was really about 10 dKH.
 
I am reading it right thats for sure.

I add the entire 1ml syringe with the KH reagent and the color of the test vial solution never changes color.
 
My question was not about the test kit but more about high Alk effecting the heath of my fish.
 
Fish are not sensitive to high Alk. You should still bring it back toward normal because excessively high Alk affects some inverts. I don't know how much of the invert detriment is from the high Alk and how much is from the low Ca usu. associated with high Alk.

I believe 16dKh + 470ppm Ca is unlikely. With an Alk that high your Ca should be very low.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9271372#post9271372 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dr_d02
I believe 16dKh + 470ppm Ca is unlikely. With an Alk that high your Ca should be very low.

That is just what I'm about to say, 470 ppm Ca + 16 dKH just sound fishy to me, likely that either of the Ca or the KH reading is off.

My calcium is 420 ppm and I have trouble keeping carbonate hardness at 9 dKH, despite my Mg is at 1600 ppm region.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9271453#post9271453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Navyblue
That is just what I'm about to say, 470 ppm Ca + 16 dKH just sound fishy to me, likely that either of the Ca or the KH reading is off.

My calcium is 420 ppm and I have trouble keeping carbonate hardness at 9 dKH, despite my Mg is at 1600 ppm region.

I agree. Are you sure you are taking the reading from the location of the little black hub on the end of the syringe rod, rather than the reading from the location of the reagent fluid level? There is an air space between the two and your reading is determined by the location of the black tip of the syringe rod above the air space.
 
I dump the entire 1ml syringe of reagent into the test vial and no color changes.
 
I think you have a bad test kit. I don't think it would be possible to have alkalinity above 16dKH and calcium of 470. I would post this on the Chemistry forum and see what Randy says.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9271768#post9271768 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xenon
I dump the entire 1ml syringe of reagent into the test vial and no color changes.

Have you tried a second syringe?

Anyway it doesn't mean anything. Either of your calcium kit, KH kit or both are faulty. In your other thread you said that your KH kit froze when it arrives?

Reputable test kits are not infallible, when in doubt double check with another kit.
 
Did you ever see the colour change? Even if you need more than 1 syringe? Or else probably the indicator (seems unlikely) or the titrant turned bad.

If you have a reefer friend you can borrow both his Ca and KH kit and try it out.
 
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