FRUSTRADED!!! Chem help... AGAIN!!

bdare

Salty Dude
Premium Member
Hey all,

I'm really having a hard time keeping my params in check.

I have a 40 Breeder with a 20H sump. I use a 5 gallon bucket filled with saturated Kalk for ATO. I also have a Litermeter III I recently added to keep up with Ca and Alk.

I've had the LMIII for 1 week now. Previously I was doing daily additions of 2 part. I started with about 100ml / day and worked up to 200 based on how much it would drop each day.

Last night I added only FRESH water to my ATO.

Today I came home... the tank was cloudy with precip. Not SUPER cloudy... but cloudy.

My alk is 8 with API and Ca is 425 with Salifert.

***!!! How can I have precip with numbers like this? I'm SOOO frustrated!

I just shut off the LM pumps.

Please help.

Ben
 
Here are a few pics I snapped last night so you can have an idea of stocking levels. I'm new to SPS, but it SUUURE seems like I'm adding WAY more 2 part and kalk that I need to....

Right:
Picture377.jpg


Center:
Picture376.jpg


Left:
Picture375.jpg


LM:
Picture373.jpg


My sump before upgraded skimmer:
DSCN7234.jpg
 
What was the pH? It might have risen too high. That's not uncommon with limewater.

Also, was the limewater fully settled?
 
I just recalibrated my 3 month old probe last week. Ph is usually between 8.0 and 8.17.

I refill the bucket every 3-4 days. I dump the water in, stir for 2 minutes and put the lid back on. I imagine the first couple times the ATO comes on it's not settled, but after that its good. Last night after cleaning all my pumps, I refilled the bucket but did not add more kalk. If there was some undisolved Kalk on the bottom it could have mixed with the water, but that's it.

The peculiar thing is... no water from the ATO made it to the tank today. I tied the tube in a knot so my sump was low when I got home. I've sinced fixed THAT problem, but the tank is still cloudy...
 
The pH in the tank might have risen temporarily due to the limewater. That might cause precipitation. If the limewater has vinegar in it, that might be fueling a bacterial cloud.
 
Mg is at 1365. There is no vinegar in the limewater and I've been adding it this way for about 2 months now.
 
Hey Billy,

Thanks for checking in. It's not totally cleared up, but better than yesterday. I've removed the Kalk and reduced the amount of 2 part to 50ml / day.

Ben
 
I just checked the Alk... it's at 125ppm. On the LOW end. Assuming it was precip, how soon do I need to wait to start raising it?
 
You could use some baking soda now. I'd check calcium, too, out of general worry, but it's probably okay.
 
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