Low ALK and baking soda?

[AquaAdam]

So I've had my tank for over a year now but I still consider myself a newbie to the hobbie. I'm not sure exactly what happened but I'll explain,

My tank was fine for the longest time, did my regular water changes and all was well, then one day I looked at it and all my coral is almost dead. (SPS) This change happened very quickly as it looked great one day and the next day everything was very poor.

I did a water change as soon as I could, as it was coming due, and I thought that might help.

I forgot to test the water before changing it due to being extremely busy but, I tested everything the next day and my ALK is the lowest its ever been. KH is 15 and ALK is 5.37. Magnesium & Calcium are at 1380 and 435. It also looked like there was more than the average amount of algae in my tank.

I also realized before doing the water change my power bar showed the surge light on, making me think that there was a power surge at some point over the past week, so I swapped out the powerbar.

So, I'm not sure if this happened because of a power surge or what exactly caused it but Ive been researching this baking powder trick. My concern is the variance in how much to add and how to add it. It seems as though a lot of people have tried this method but the amount to use seems to be all over the place, from what i've read. Does anyone have a tried and true method for this, and a formula to calculate the correct amount to use?

Any help on this would be appreciated as I'm about to loose all corals I've accumulated over the past year.

Thanks!

 

[nereefpat]

Here is a calculator that you can use. Just input your water volume, current alk, desired alk, and what chemical you are using to raise it.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

In your post you mention baking soda and baking powder. Make sure you use soda, as it is a tried and true method of raising alk. Baking powder has some extra elements that you don't want.

Also, make sure your units are accounted for(meq/L, dKh). kH and alk, for our intents and purposes are the same thing.

 

[AquaAdam]

Hi thanks for the response. I tried that website before for baking soda and it doesn't compute anything for me, so I was hoping there was another way.

 

[hkgar]

Baking soda is added as a solution. On the calculator you used it is Randy's rcipe 1 or 2. Here is the link to making a solution, http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

A dKH of 15 is too high and should be brought down. Is your ALK number actually meg/L? SPS do not like rapid changes of ALK and a quick rise could have hurt them. dKH should not move more than about 1 a day, so if bringing it down go slow.

 

[nereefpat]

I snooped through your profile, and it looks like you have a 60 gallon tank.

Using the calculator, it will take about 6.8 grams (or about 1.4 teaspoons) to raise alk 1 dkh. Dissolve it in RO water, and add it slowly throughout the day. As dkgar said, don't try to increase more than about 1 dkh in 24hrs.

 

[mcgyvr]

my ALK is the lowest its ever been. KH is 15 and ALK is 5.37

There is your problem.. You don't know whats low and whats high..
Its not low.. Its high..

When measuring the alkalinity in aquariums meq/L and dKH are exactly the same thing.. Its just a units/conversion thing.

1 meq/L = 2.8 dKH


So.. 5.37meq/L which is (high) times 2.8 = ~15dKH (high)

Recommended ranges are
2.5-4 meq/L
which converts to
7-11 dKH


So DON'T add anything.. Let it come down naturally from consumption and monitor it and when its in a range you want start dosing again as needed to maintain stability.. Stability in parameters is KEY to keeping corals..

 

[hkgar]

There is your problem.. You don't know whats low and whats high..
Its not low.. Its high..

When measuring the alkalinity in aquariums meq/L and dKH are exactly the same thing.. Its just a units/conversion thing.

1 meq/L = 2.8 dKH


So.. 5.37meq/L which is (high) times 2.8 = ~15dKH (high)

Recommended ranges are
2.5-4 meq/L
which converts to
7-11 dKH


So DON'T add anything.. Let it come down naturally from consumption and monitor it and when its in a range you want start dosing again as needed to maintain stability.. Stability in parameters is KEY to keeping corals..

Imagine how high his "KH" could have been if "ALK" at 5.37 is the lowest it has ever been

 

[Elricsfate]

There is your problem.. You don't know whats low and whats high..
Its not low.. Its high..

When measuring the alkalinity in aquariums meq/L and dKH are exactly the same thing.. Its just a units/conversion thing.

1 meq/L = 2.8 dKH


So.. 5.37meq/L which is (high) times 2.8 = ~15dKH (high)

Recommended ranges are
2.5-4 meq/L
which converts to
7-11 dKH


So DON'T add anything.. Let it come down naturally from consumption and monitor it and when its in a range you want start dosing again as needed to maintain stability.. Stability in parameters is KEY to keeping corals..

Being somewhat new myself I was reading this thread and thinking...are ALK and dKH the same thing? lol And then I got to this post.

This situation is one of those big "ooops" moments. Where you not only realize you made a booboo, but then you realize you did it in public.

Fortunately there are good resources here, and the situation can be fixed.

 

[mcgyvr]

Imagine how high his "KH" could have been if "ALK" at 5.37 is the lowest it has ever been

7 x 2.8 = 19.6dKH :eek1:
11 x 2.8 = 30.8dKH :crazy1: