Raising Alk Warning

[ishmael]

I have been in this hobby for quite awhile but I never realized the importance of supplying additives to a "high flow" area until now.

I maintained my alk no problem while I handled it myself. This is due to the fact that I added it by hand with a turkey baster right in front of my Tunzes.
Plenty of flow and the never a sign of snowstorm.

But while I was away I asked someone to add the same amount by just filling a cupful and dumping it in to the tank. Each time I returned from vacation or whatever I found the alk very low and usually thought the tanksitter had screwed up.

Until recently..... I got lazy and started to add it in a similar manner and lo and behold....LOW ALK!

So this is just a reminder how important it is to add the buffer to a high flow area. :thumbsup:

 

[Saltyllama]

I cannot seem to dose my alk without some sort of minor snow storm. I have been battling this for weeks and have now decided to raise my alk via MANY LARGE water changes. I wish there was a better option.

Anyone else have this issue.

All other params are in check.

 

[dava6711]

I've never had any probes with Alkalinity levels. I just ensure my Calcium & Magnesium levels are correct and dose my Alk with Bicarbonate Soda or Sodium Carbonate depending on my ph level at the time. As you may or not know Calcium/Alkalinity/Magnesium are all relative to each other and if say your Alk is low and when you try to raise it you get the "snowstorm" effect it's more than likely that your calcium is too high! Having the correct Mag level may help with this as it allows Calcium & Alkalinity to supersaturate (i.e reach higher levels). So you may need to double check your Calcium & Magnesium levels again and if your Calcium is too high let it come down by itself then resume increasing Alkalinity levels or execute some large water changes to reduce the Calcium level then you'll be good to begin raising your Alkalinity level.
Hope this helps

 

[mscarpena]

These issue are why following manufactures directions are so inmportant. Any ALK supplement I have used states to dissolve in fresh water the add to your tank. You should read the directions to be sure you are adding them properly.

 

[chris88]

I dissolve baking soda in a 1 gallon jug. when i dose it makes a white cloude but instantly dissolves. I dose right into the display into a high flow area. I also agree that keeping your calcium and mag balanced helps with keeping your alk balanced.

 

[Palting]

I am new to dosing so this may be a stupid question. I dose my alk at the return section of the sump. Pump puts out about 900 gph through 4 outlets aimed to have counter currents with 4 koralia 750's. That's about as high flow as I can find in my system. Is there any problem to doing this?

 

[fishnub]

I put mine in the overflow box

 

[chris88]

I try not to dose it around pump intakes because it does cause a local parcipitaion and can cause your propellar to clog over time. I just pour it in the high flow area of my display very slowly to allow it to dissolve.

 

[OrionN]

Add Ca and Bicarb into the sump or overflow box will cause calcification in your return pump. Best added to the tank directly in high flow area. My bicarb also clowd but also quickly disolved in a few seconds.
Make sure you measure your level and make sure the Mg level is high enough, to keed snow storm forming.

 

[ccLansman]

I dose my alk into the first side of the bubble trap since the water is speeding up to move over the top and go back down.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

I always add kalkwasser and buffer to my sump and never had any problems.
Magnesium is the only thing I put directly in the tank.

 

[etepperman]

I find that I get the mini snow storm if I add the buffer to fast. One trick I found was to dilute it in RO water, and then slowly add it to the tank. It seems to work.

I now use a dosing pump which adds in 20ml over 3 minutes, and that also seems to be slow enough. Though I could not imagine dosing at this rate by hand each night.

 

[jefathome]

Another good idea is to add your Alk to your top-off water (VERY diluted in fresh water this way). That way you are adding it a bit more slowly.

 

[Saltyllama]

Hmmmm, I use BRS which is disolved in RO into a gallon jug. I add this stuff SLOW. Like a 1-5 drops at a time. I may try the adding it to my ATO, but that seems like it could cause trouble.

I'll be running tests tonight to see if my calcium level is too high. Shouldn't be though.

I've been taking the "many large water changes" route in the mean time.