badlands25
Non-member
Mag 1360 cal 430 alk 2.7 I have the 2 part b ionic cal & alk but only need to raise alk. are there any quick home made alk supplements?
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Raising alk
- Thread starter badlands25
- Start date
MikeG
Non-member
MikeG
Non-member
?
There are calcium supplements out there like Dowflake or Prestone Driveway heat that are Calcium Chloride. He is looking for a supplement for alkalinity only which would be sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda).
MikeG
Non-member
kalk is a balanced additive that will raise calcium and alkalinity. His calcium is good so he does not want to raise that. Don't know why I diodn't recognize that, I was just thinking of individual supplements as that is what he needs.
badlands25
Non-member
re-checked everything again tonight with weird results. cal 435, mg 1150, alk 3.0 ph 8.2 phos .50. I noticed a dead emerald crab this morning so hoping this would be why my phos have risen alittle. U don't understand the huge drop in mag though. I am making the arm & hammer alk tonight . What should my ideal alk be 3.5 -4.0 ?
with the low mag, did u just do a water change?
I'm assuming your Alk is 3.0 meq/l which would be 8.4DKH (3 x 2.8). Your alk is good, try to keep it stable. I would be more worried about the .50 po4 reading. Most recomend keeping it below .10 (.03 for sps) so a few large water changes would definately help. Depending on your salt mix, this would probably help balance all your other parameters too.
badlands25
Non-member
Using reef crystals. Been doing wc every 2 weeks. 10%, using gfo in can filter with a phos pad. Phos have been .25 which I didn't think was terrible but my sps haven't been super happy. I will do another wc tonight, cjange gfo and phos pad. Plus have some phos ban to put in can filter. I will let you know the results
badlands25
Non-member
Did wc and changed all media in canister filter. Phos readings are still .25 !! I don't understand what i'm not getting here. Feeding every other day. mh's on from 11am-7pm. atinics on from 7am 10pm. Using gfo carbon and phos guard, plus phos pad in can filter. Is there anything else that i can do to get phos down to 0. I already use ro water... Maybe do a few more wc?
badlands25
Non-member
could you be more specific? I have about 20 nassarius snails, and 2 conchs cleaning the sand. plus 3 turbos 15 hermits and 3 emeralds cleaning the rock and glass.
badlands25
Non-member
Woried about phosphates now. This hobby can be soooooo frustrating!
Good luck! Just to "help" a little more, Some people claim GFO lowers your ALK. Just something to keep an eye on (my tank's Alk didn't seem to decline when using gfo, but I use 1/2 the rcm'd dose). Here's a good post tracking gfo/po4 decline:http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1182318
badlands25
Non-member
would I be better off buying a phosban reactor?
A canister filter will work just like a "reactor". A 50% water change should reduce your po4 by 50%. I usually do a couple 50% changes a year, but make sure your wc water and tank water have similiar ALK levels. You can spread that 50% over a few days too. Salts cheaper than gfo, and has many more benefits.
