Ph problem

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Ok, I am not disagreeing with anyone just saying what works for me. I use I/O and actually prefer a salt that is a little low in Ca to one that is too high. It is very easy for me to adjust Ca up along with Mg and Alk. For my newly mixed SW I use Calcium Chloride to up the Calcium and baking soda to up the Alk. If necessary (only had to do this once) I use Seachem's Mg to up the Mg. BTW I adjust Mg first, Alk second and Ca third to prevent the Ca precipitating out as calcium carbonate. On the other hand if the Ca is too high there isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t much that can be done except do as Justin does and let your corals remove some or mix with another brand that is low in Ca as Tristan suggested. However in the mean time if the Ca is really high I worry that the low Alk (which seems to me in limited experience goes along with high Ca) may cause some stress in my SPSââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s. I have read the Alk level is more important to corals calcifying than the actual Calcium level. To maintain the Ca and Alk I use a Ca reactor with some dolomite in it to maintain the Mg and a Kalk drip or Anthony Calfoââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s slurry method. I usually run my Ca at about 430, my Alk at a dKh of about 10 and my Mg about 1300. So far at least I have had pretty good luck with my SPSââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s. BTW I also run my salinity a little higher than some at a specific gravity of about 1.026. Would it be better if the SW mixed ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œcorrectlyââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ right out of the box, of course; but this seems to work for me and I actually like fussing with the SW to get things ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œjust the way I want itââ"šÂ¬Ã‚. Sorry for the long post, just my $.02.

-- Edit --

And boviac the Aquacontroller II, sounds really neet. How cool to be able to track and chart your tank params.

 

[Reefugee]

Great thread guys! I am learning alot from this thread.

CaliforniaDreamer - I never thought about adjusting my water prior to adding it to the tank. I finally ordered a Salifert Mg test kit, and tested my water last night. My Mg level was 900 PPM! Unfortunately the 1 gallon ESV B-Ionic Magnesium supplement that I purchased was backordered. Water chemistry was so much easier when I used to keep only softies.

Minh

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6884708#post6884708 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mn95616
Unfortunately the 1 gallon ESV B-Ionic Magnesium supplement that I purchased was backordered.
Minh

Minh, I have some Seachem Mg supplement you can have if you want. Let me know.

 

[Reefugee]

Thanks for the offer. I will just wait and see how long it take for my order to ship. If it doesn't arrive by the end of this week, then I might just buy it locally.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6889301#post6889301 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CaliforniaDreamer
Minh, I have some Seachem Mg supplement you can have if you want. Let me know.

 

[Sheldon337]

Ok I got a alk test done. The results were a dKH of 6 or 107ppm.

I am not sure if this is ok or not.

I took out about half of my chaeto and increased the water flow and the Ph appears to have stabilized. Can anyone comment on the test results? Do I need to add buffer?

Lee

 

[arson420]

That alk is pretty low. What did your PH stabilize at? You need to raise your Alk to about 8-10 DKH some people may even say higher to about 12DKH.

 

[pepe.king.prawn]

agreed, 8-10dKH is good, I personally shoot for 10-12dKH. I'd add a small amount of baking soda to raise the alkalinity. I believe you're looking at ~1 teaspoon per 50 gallons to raise the alkalinity 1dKH, but I'm not positive. Easiest to use the guess and check method from 5th grade .

 

[arson420]

I use Reef Builder and I just followed the instructions on the back. It says that your not supposed to use more then "X" amount of grams in one day to raise up the Alk. I am not sure if you have to do the same thing with Backing Soda. What I would personally do is dissolve about half a teaspoon of baking soda or reef builder in some RO water and add that into your sump. Do that once a day until you have reached desired Alk levels. What I did with my 100 gallon tank was dissolve 1 heaping teaspoon in some topoff RO water a day until I reached 9DKH.

 

[Sheldon337]

My ph is now 8.2 - 8.0 or so.

I will add a teaspoon of baking soda every few days to my top-off. And see what develops. My xenia are looking better already.

Thanks for the help.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I agree that your Alk is very low. However as Tristan and arson420 have stated, adjust slowly. You may very well get Ca precipitating out when you add baking soda or another form of Alk buffer. With your Alk so low take care that you don't add a lot of a buffer with boron in it as you could easily get your boron levels too high. Some of the ph stabilizers contain boron (I think Seachemââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s does) which would give you a false Alk reading. I would also do some water changes with saltwater that has balanced Ca/Alk levels. One other thing is you really havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t said what you have in the tank (or I just missed it). Much of the water chemistry manipulation that is critical for an SPS tank is much less critical for a Fish Only or softy tank. Also don't look at the Ca and Alk levels as exact numbers but as items that must be in balance in your tank. If your dKh is 10 but your Ca is 500 there is still a problem, at least in my humble opinion, I am new to a lot of this stuff.

 

[Sheldon337]

I have only softies, a horn coral, two RBTAs and four fish. Right now my alk is 6 but my Ca is 500. I will definitely do some water changes tomorrow and add a very small amount of Baking Soda to my top-off. I am concerned, but not overly so, as everything has been continuing to grow and thrive so far.

 

[Sheldon337]

I have completed several water changes and added approximately 3 teaspoons of baking soda to the tank, but the alk remains at 6dkh. An suggestions? Should i try using another product?

Lee

 

[arson420]

What was the DKH of the water you were putting in the tank?

 

[Sheldon337]

Thats a good question! I'll tell you tomorrow!

 

[thereefgeek]

You know you're supposed to bake the baking soda to release the CO2, right (sodium bicarbonate). Not doing so could lower pH slightly.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/april2004/chem.htm

If you add on the order of 0.5 meq/l of alkalinity (with baking soda) then the pH will drop by about 0.04 pH units immediately upon addition. The pH may later rise if the aquarium is permitted to blow off excess CO2.

 

[Sheldon337]

Ok, I had no idea I was supposed to bake the baking soda!

Good thing I only added a little bit. My Alk has remained at 6dkh.

I tested my top-off water. It has 3dkh.

I have the article Rich linked. Now I am more confused than ever.

I dont want to raise my Ph. It is at 8.2 perfectly during the day.

I just want to raise the alk from 6 to around 8 or 10. How can I accomplish this? I am inclined to purchase a product from the LFS, however i am unsure if these methods will have side affects to the Ph as well. Any help would be appreciated.

Lee

 

[arson420]

Go into the Reef Chemistry section of Reef Central and do a search for "raise alk" or something to that affect. You will find an s-load of information and different methods that different people use. Find the one that's best for your situation.

Good luck!