Kalk Overdose

[AmherstReef]

Came home last night to find my tank a milky white and my ATO suck on. Not sure how long it was on but it dumped three gallons of limewater into the tank in a short period of time . PH went up to 8.9 from its normal 8.2
I added some vinegar which brought the PH down to 8.5, within another hour it was at 8.4 and this morning it was at 7.9 which is my normal morning PH. Hopefully I dodged a bullet, what a way to end Thanksgiving. The lights are still off but the tank looks like its clearing up.

 

[grcforce327]

Does your ato have dual shutoff switches incase one fails? After getting my tunze lined out,I like the fact that it has two different sensor/switches.

 

[AmherstReef]

Yes, there are two shutoffs but the second would not have kicked in until a few more gallons had filled the sump.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

how is it that your ATO is drawing milky limewater...?

Only the clear limewater should be dosed. It sounds like you already know what you need to do to fix the situation. What kind of ATO and why did it stick on?

 

[AmherstReef]

The ATO is drawing clear limewater from the reservoir. The Kalk overdose caused calcium carbonate precipitation which turned the tank a milky white. The ATO is from autotopoff.com it's been doing a good job but maybe it's time to upgrade.

 

[blanden.adam]

Did you get the 12V relay option? The default autotopoff.com ATO, although really good, has 120V AC running through the float switches, and although the float switches are supposed to be able to handle 120V switching voltage, it's kinda just asking for an on-position failure. Using a 12V relay to switch on your pump only runs 12V DC through your float switches, (and 120V AC to your pump of course) much safer.

 

[AmherstReef]

I'll have to check on that

 

[tmz]

I've never trusted float switches for limewater dosing;just me. I use still reservoir and a peristaltic pump which doses a preset amount every 24 hours spread out incrementally ;that amount approximates daily top off needs.

Sorry for your trouble. Watch your sps closely. They often react to precipitation events badly after a day or two.

 

[AmherstReef]

The precipitation cleared by yesterday morning, so far all the coral including SPS look good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I've never trusted float switches for limewater dosing;just me.

NOT just YOU :wave:

The precipitation cleared by yesterday morning, so far all the coral including SPS look good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

After the kalk spike you MIGHT just see a growth spurt!

 

[AmherstReef]

After the kalk spike you MIGHT just see a growth spurt!

That would be a very unintended benefit