I thought you were trying to get your alk lower than that?
i was but what i expected to get out of balance did not happen. i decreased my Ca+reactor flow(and bubble rate because if the ph went up i did not want my alk and Ca+ that high "lower ph's keep things in solution so you can run higher Ca+ and alk levels then you could with higher ph's) the Ca+ levels came down and the alk started to, but because of dosing balance the alk still went up. so i decided to run the Ca+reactor as it was set to maintain levels. the Ca+ level stayed the same but my alk went up(with dosing balance). then i decided to give balance another chance and continued to dose until either the ph went up or my alk went to 3.80. the alk went to 3.77 thats close enough, no ph change, so i stopped dosing. balance did not work...the only reason i wanted the alk lower was because i wanted to be ready for any increase in ph that could lead to percipitations(snow storms) in my tank.
ex.
ph 8.0
Ca 410
Alk 4.0
no issues here, these are normal levels
ph 8.4
Ca 410
alk 4.0
likey to get percipitates here. due to the higher ph.
same Ca+ and alk only the ph differs, this is why i started to reduce the alk, thinking that balance was going to bring the ph up, since it did not raise my ph i am cool with the higher alk level balance caused, but if the ph did go up i would need/want that alk lower for sure.
Without additional Balance dosing, are you expecting that to drop a bit?
yeah but it will take some time. couple months to get it back via water changes,...no worries though its ok where it is as long as the alk dosent continue to go up and the ph doesnt start shooting upwards.. if the alk goes to 4.0 with my current alk and Ca i will have do something about it, my reactor is set so the alk will not come down much with it running. it will take some time to come down. i could just turn off my reactor and let the alk fall and add CaCl- to keep Ca+ levels good until it comes down where i want it then start the reactor back up, that would take about two days. but thats more work(testing, dosing, ph changes to deal with ect..) besides slowly lowering levels is better anyway
. i could just leave it there, it is ok, but during the summer i will have to make adjustments beause then the doors and things will be open and no heater running either so my CO2 levels will be better(lower) and teh ph will rise..IME the ph will go up about 0.2 overall. so i have a few months to get the alk down before summer comes and my ph starts to go up. i hope i said that so you get it.......
pH was 7.82 this am, so I figured I really should test:
136 alk
380 calc
I dosed 60 ml each of Randy's Two Part.
Not sure what adjustment I should make to the reactor, but obviously I need to make an adjustment!
easy, but first stop dosing other additives. you will never get the reactor dialed while adding other things.
you do need to turn the reactor up(increase Ca+/alk additions). just add five bubbles(CO2) per min more and adjust the effluent flow so the ph is right (it will need to be increased). then check it the next day and see where you are at. if still on the low side with alk and Ca+, do the same. if its too much reduce CO2 bubble a couple bubbles per min and reduce effluent so ph is right for the reactor. as the alk goes up the ph should come up some with it.
