kH a little high on all tanks... why?

[xXch0dyXx]

just tested all my tanks yesterday

on my 90g i had to add 10 drops which seemed a bit high... everything else was almost perfect

on my 24g nano i had to add 9 drops and the ph was a litttttle low

my QT tank had like .5 ammonia and 8.8 ph, a small amount of nitrates which i contribute to over feeding the new fish i put in there while making sure they eat

question is why would they all be high? and whats the best way to fix it. I am going to do 20-25% water changes on all of them today/tomorrow (need more jugs, only have enough to do one at a time)

i tested the kH in the jugs and it took 12 drops.... ***?

 

[tazman71]

What brand of salt?
I don't know of any salt that would give that high of a reading. What brand of test kits are you using.?What is your salinity?
Each of these can affect your readings?
What are your calcium and magnesium levels?

 

[xXch0dyXx]

its reef crystals salt

api test kit i just bought a couple months ago

salinity was around 1.025 when i tested it.

didnt test calcium in the jug on the new mix, but the nano was 420ish and thats the only tank i have corals in

dont have a magnesium test kit

i was trying to lower my kH with the water changes, but with that water having a higher reading its just going to make it worse.

should i add my prime to it then test it again?

 

[tazman71]

I do not think that a kh of 10 is too high. I try to keep mine close to that. Sometimes goes over.
Not many people test for magnesium, but after having a tank crash because of very low magnesium, I won't go without one anymore.
What are you checking salinity with. A friend with a coralife floating type had his set at 1.024, but on my refractometer it was at 1.03

His KH and CA test kits were off quite a bit also. I am using salifert test kits, but have read goot things about the Elos kits.
Much more accurate than the api kits you are currently using.

 

[xXch0dyXx]

i can bring some of the water from my 90 if you wanna do a refracto measurement for me : - )

im just using a coralife dipping/type to check my salinity. phil gave it to me when i started up my nano

if 10 isnt too high that makes me feel better.

i mixed 1/2 cup to every gallon as recommended, so i would hope my mix isnt too high

 

[LornaS]

Also ph will affect the kh also.....all these parameters work in harmony with each other...one goes out and there could be a cause and effect elsewhere.....test all your parameters and then adjust based on the overall goal.... this is a good calculator to use

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

 

[Gondore]

Take a look at this thread:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1287118&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

RC will mix up right around 12 for Alk.

 

[xXch0dyXx]

lorna, the ph and everything else tested fine on the new water, just thought the kH seemed a little high... if tazman says 10 is fine then it makes me feel a little better, but the RC i mixed is testing at 12.

i only thought it was high because in my test kit it said i could keep "most tropical fish" up to 11, but a kH of up to 7 i believe could keep angels and such... i am a n3wb so feel free to correct that if it is wrong, or has been proven wrong

thanx for the help thus far