I have ick in my reef what can I do

[robertloop]

Hey John,

I've been using b-ionic for 7 years. It is great stuff. However, I only dose enough to maintain 10 dkh. Sometimes the CA will drop a little even though I use the two parts of the suppliment evenly. If the ca gets a little low I just give the tank a jolt of reef adv.

Good luck John! We all want to see you succeed! (as you can see by the traffic in your thread) We you figure it out, it will be something simple and likely easy to correct.

 

[MandM]

Yes, good luck John. There is a good forum here on RC for reef chemistry.

Glad to see you will be using QT in the future. I think you will see the benefits.

 

[jlfnjlf]

All,

My plan for the chemistry is to get the parameters back in line before returning to the B-inoic. With the kh through the roof (15 +) and the ca low (300) I think I need to get those parameters in line before I return to the B-ionic. It is my understanding that with the kh so high I may never get the pH to stay up where I want it to be.

My understanding is that the ca and kh are a bit inversely related not necessarily proportionally. Therefor my thinking is that I need to get the ca back up in order to get the kh to start working its way down. once the kh is down I can then buffer the pH up and it should stay there if I keep the kh in line. now once the pH, kh, and ca are stable and predictable then I return to using the B-ionic.

How does this sound to you veterans out there.

Thank you all for all the food for thought, and encouragement.

John

 

[dots]

At the point you are at in Alk, you are in the danger zone for your critters....esp invertebrates.

I would suggest a large water change with no buffering in the water....just salt mix to bring it back down, but a large/ downswing can be just as harmful, so do your normal water change and don't add any powdered buffer, you won't need it again unless you fall way low in alk. ......top off using only water and wait for the alk to fall, (a week or so depending on uptake of the tank), test alk daily and pick values that you want to hold your Ca/Alk at, I find picking a specific value of say 10dkh and dancing around that point more stable than bouncing between 7 and 11dkh. As the Alk dips towards your target number you should begin using the B-ionic once again two part once again. Note how much you are adding, and check that against the reading of your alk daily, if the alk is increasing back off on your dosage....conversly if falling. Soon you will know how much your tank requires and will be able to get away from testing daily....however, I still do it daily and takes about 2mins to run the titration. Please remember that as you stock your tank your demand will increase and you will need to add more, so if you are on a buying spree of clams that use alot of alk/ca...then you will need to redetermine your uptake rate.

Last note, if you find your Ca is depressed before your begin adding the two part again, and need to bump it up a 100 or so....use something like the turbo Ca to jump it up.....so the B-ionic can be used for daily maintence only. Be carefull, though that stuff is like powdered buffer and is concentrated, and you could swing the other way.

 

[jlfnjlf]

OK so I have 2 pH meters I calibrated both tonight and one is reading 7.7 and the other is reading 8.3. The 7.7 is coming from my Milwaukee SMS122 controller, and the 8.3 is coming from my Hanna HI98103 pH meter that I use in my discus tank. I use to have 2 of the Hanna HI98103 meters but one sank in my reef tank. I got the Milwaukee used to control the CO2 on my planted discus tank, but I have been using it in the reef tank because I soaked the other Hanna.

I am so frustrated I could just spit. I got that from my grandmother.

So I am still focusing on the low Ca. I do trust the Salifert test kits. Perhaps I should just get a Salifert pH test kit and toss the meters. The issue I have had with other pH test kits is with the shades between OK and OH CRAP...

Has anyone have a similar experience with different pH meters? I have been considering upgrading to the Hanna pHep4 so if I drop it in will be OK. Anyone use this meter?

That's all for now,

John

 

[Reefugee]

How did you "calibrate" your meter? You should be calibrating the meter against pH calibration solutions (pH 7.00 and pH10.00). If you want to get a rough idea of how accurate your pH meter is, you will want to measure the pH of fresh RODI water. The reading should be 7.0.

Also remember that you do need to do routine maintenance on pH meter. Everyone once in a while, clean the glass probe with vinegar. Don't use anything abrasive to scrub against the glass probe. Instead - use eyeglass tissue to lightly blot the probe. Also - the probe must be store moist - so if you let it dry out, it could be damaged. Last - on the PinPoint meter - replace the battery. I had really varied reading when the battery went low.

Minh

 

[dots]

Question:

I know that we use Ph monitors to use with controllers mainly, because there isn't an alkalinity probe.......but isn't alkalinity a better metric of water quality and what is going on?

The only real thing that ph tells me if its off is my water quality is in the toliet, but since I learned what to look for in the livestock when water quality is bad, I havn't tested Ph in a long, long time.....however, the alk tells me "why".......and havn't tested the ph for that reason.......is my logic off?

what about using vinegar.....I thought that could be used as a standard?......poor mans...that is if you don't have any calibration solution?

 

[wombat2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8303373#post8303373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sacramentodots
Question:

I know that we use Ph monitors to use with controllers mainly, because there isn't an alkalinity probe.......but isn't alkalinity a better metric of water quality and what is going on?

The only real thing that ph tells me if its off is my water quality is in the toliet, but since I learned what to look for in the livestock when water quality is bad, I havn't tested Ph in a long, long time.....however, the alk tells me "why".......and havn't tested the ph for that reason.......is my logic off?

what about using vinegar.....I thought that could be used as a standard?......poor mans...that is if you don't have any calibration solution?

For the pH ranges you'll be meauring in SW you'll want to calibrate against 7 and 10, not in the acidic ranges. I also don't think vinegar is a standard pH.

 

[dots]

So there isn't a convienent home product to calibrate the meter.........?........I thought there was something?.......ie vinegar, di water? And you were mentioning the SW ph range range because the readable range of the meter isn't across the whole range of from basic to acidic.....as in it wouldn't test something in the acidic ph range hence couldn't specificly use the vinegar as a standard?

I rember from chem 1A a long time ago about some standards that were around the house......thats why I was bringing it up.....

 

[jlfnjlf]

I use pH calibration solutions (pH 7.00 and pH 4.00). I will have to order the pH 10.00. I keep my discus pH at 6.5 so low accuracy has been more critical than high in the past. I have replaced the battery in the pinpoint meter within the last 3 months. I have been reading that when the Milwaukee probes start going out they will give erroneously low readings. Just what I am seeing.

I want to get a new pinpoint meter or two, but I am just not sure which one is the best choice.

John

 

[wombat2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8303575#post8303575 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sacramentodots
So there isn't a convienent home product to calibrate the meter.........?........I thought there was something?.......ie vinegar, di water? And you were mentioning the SW ph range range because the readable range of the meter isn't across the whole range of from basic to acidic.....as in it wouldn't test something in the acidic ph range hence couldn't specificly use the vinegar as a standard?

I rember from chem 1A a long time ago about some standards that were around the house......thats why I was bringing it up.....

When you're taking readings in the basic range you calibrate using the 7 and 10 standards to get a more accurate reading. I don't know why, it's just what the meter's instructions recommend doing.

I don't remember hearing that in chem class about household items. The few times I've used calibration fluid it's been with satchels that are immediately disposed of afterwards. Things like O2 in the air will affect the pH once it's been opened. This gives you a very accurate calibration. The satchels are cheap and easy to find.