Yes, a CA-Reactor is an expensive set up but save alot of headache and time.
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Struggling to get my Alk up
- Thread starter meemoo
- Start date
delta
Impatient Reefer
definately stop dosing part 2 for a few days your way out of balance and your calc is driving your alk down
i would dose just part 1
you will see you calc will stay put till you get close to a balance between calc and alk then it will start to drop then you can start to refigure your dose.
test before and after the doses and see what your tank is using daily this is very helpful and write it down.
i would dose just part 1
you will see you calc will stay put till you get close to a balance between calc and alk then it will start to drop then you can start to refigure your dose.
test before and after the doses and see what your tank is using daily this is very helpful and write it down.
Matt L.
Non-member
What does Bob Dole have to do with this?
! Sorry, I just had to make that joke. I'm surprised no one else did
Anyhow, I apologize for missing your initial thread, but we can solve this problem without resorting to a calcium reactor.
The first thing you need to realize is that a dKH of 7 to 8 isn't necessarily that bad for a number of reasons:
Over on RC's Water Cehmistry forum, Dr. Randy has some of his most useful articles conveniently listed in one thread. There is one article from Advanced Aquarist Magazine that has a very famous chart in it of the relationship between calcium and alkalinity:
Like any good scientist, Dr. Randy uses the units of meq/L instead of dKH for measuring alkalinity! But we know that there are 2.86 dKH per meq/L, so converting your low reading of 7 dKH to meq/L, you get 2.45meq/L. As you can see from the graph, a reading of 2.45meq/L and Ca++ concentration of 400ppm to 425ppm is basically the same parameters as would be found in natural sea water! So the bottom line is: There's no need to panic -- you're parameters are a-ok!
Now it is true that many people observe reduced nuisance algae growth and better calcification at higher alkalinity. If you do want to try to fight your system by continually dosing alkalinity, then I would not dose regular baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). I would use one of the prepared reef alkalinity boosters. I have used the SeaChem one with great results.
Despite what some people believe, it is not advisable to dose with pure baking soda fresh out of the box. For sure, it will raise your alkalinity (as will adding any carbonate species), but it will pull your pH down. It is not true that alkalinity rises with pH and visa versa. There is a connection between alkalinity and pH, but it does not mean that if you raise alkalinity, you will raise pH.
Placing baking soda in the oven converts it from sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) to sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). While the chemistry is complex, a main equilibrium state in your reef tank is that between bicarbonate and carbonate. If you add bicarbonate, you will pull the pH down, while if you add carbonate, you will tend to raise the pH. However, if you add the two in a proper ratio, you will have little or no effect on your pH, and at the same time, raise alkalinity. And you don't want to see the equations that would be needed. So, again, the take-home message is: unless your comfortable doing the chemistry and crunching the numbers to determine the optimum ratio between sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate, use a commercial alkalinity supplement.. I hope this helps,
Matt
You know, they have medicine you can take for that nowadays. Hey-ohmeemoo said:
! Sorry, I just had to make that joke. I'm surprised no one else didAnyhow, I apologize for missing your initial thread, but we can solve this problem without resorting to a calcium reactor.
The first thing you need to realize is that a dKH of 7 to 8 isn't necessarily that bad for a number of reasons:
- Home test kits are notoriously inaccurate and imprecise, so don't take what it reads as gospel. The only way to truly get a handle on your alkalinity is to come over to your house and do an actual alkalinity titration on a sample of water from your system, as even transporting tank water will affect its alkalinity.
- You may have a high degree of nitrification. Are you overfeeding? The process of converting ammonia to nitrate (nitrification) consumes (a small amount of) alkalinity.
Over on RC's Water Cehmistry forum, Dr. Randy has some of his most useful articles conveniently listed in one thread. There is one article from Advanced Aquarist Magazine that has a very famous chart in it of the relationship between calcium and alkalinity:
Like any good scientist, Dr. Randy uses the units of meq/L instead of dKH for measuring alkalinity! But we know that there are 2.86 dKH per meq/L, so converting your low reading of 7 dKH to meq/L, you get 2.45meq/L. As you can see from the graph, a reading of 2.45meq/L and Ca++ concentration of 400ppm to 425ppm is basically the same parameters as would be found in natural sea water! So the bottom line is: There's no need to panic -- you're parameters are a-ok!
Now it is true that many people observe reduced nuisance algae growth and better calcification at higher alkalinity. If you do want to try to fight your system by continually dosing alkalinity, then I would not dose regular baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). I would use one of the prepared reef alkalinity boosters. I have used the SeaChem one with great results.
Despite what some people believe, it is not advisable to dose with pure baking soda fresh out of the box. For sure, it will raise your alkalinity (as will adding any carbonate species), but it will pull your pH down. It is not true that alkalinity rises with pH and visa versa. There is a connection between alkalinity and pH, but it does not mean that if you raise alkalinity, you will raise pH.
Placing baking soda in the oven converts it from sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) to sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). While the chemistry is complex, a main equilibrium state in your reef tank is that between bicarbonate and carbonate. If you add bicarbonate, you will pull the pH down, while if you add carbonate, you will tend to raise the pH. However, if you add the two in a proper ratio, you will have little or no effect on your pH, and at the same time, raise alkalinity. And you don't want to see the equations that would be needed. So, again, the take-home message is: unless your comfortable doing the chemistry and crunching the numbers to determine the optimum ratio between sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate, use a commercial alkalinity supplement.. I hope this helps,
Matt
Matt L.
Non-member
I was writing my response while you posted this. Is this correct? The test kit is requiring four drops, and telling you that is 2meq/L?meemoo said:
In the mean time, see if you can get someone else with another test kit to test your alkalinity for you? I would strongly recommend the Salifert test kit.
I can not stress enough to everyone that test kits are notoriously innacurate and imprecise.
If you are in fact requiring four drops, that could be anywhere from requiring two to six drops in actuality, which makes a huge difference (having a big problem versus having no problem at all).
If you're trying to solve alkalinity and calcium problems, the first step, before any other step, is to try and get as accurate as possible a picture on what your alkalinity and calcium readings really are.
Otherwise, going with the test kits described (which are good for doing spot checks quickly), you're just shooting in the dark,
Matt
reefphreak
Non-member
Hi Meemoo,
If need be I can go by this weekend and test with my salifert.... I should be 100% better by then.... Let me know....
If need be I can go by this weekend and test with my salifert.... I should be 100% better by then.... Let me know....
