Well I had a boo boo on Sunday: Read a test wrong and super elevated the Alk. Which has killed the snails and crabs and all the pods, worms and dusters. (no fish, corals, etc in tank at the time, or now)
It made the pH drop to 7.4 (from avg 8.0) and precipitated calcium on the glass, rocks, pumps and such.
We did a 80% water change that same day and removed all dead inhabitants we could.
pH has gradually risen to 8.17 today, and I feel it's going to go super nova in the next week or so.
How can I get the Alk down? I thought that adding vinegar would do it, but reading several articles it seems that in the end, vinegar would increase (or maintain) the carbonate; net effect, no change in Alk.
I normally dose Kalkwasser, but don't want to with the Alk in the state it's in, as that would add to the Alk problem. We tried Kent Marine Super Buffer as the Alk was generally really low. (And here is the start of the problem, but reading the test wrong was the reason and dosing too much)
Current readings today are:
Water Density: 1.024
Salinity: 35 ppt
pH 8.17 (rising both day and night)
Temp: 83° F / 28.3° C
Ca: 60 ppm (due to precipitation)
Alk: 26 meq/L (73 dKH) 8 times target value
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate 40-50 ppm
(Sorry no Mg as I am out of tests, can assume to be low)
Alk test had to be continued with 5 ml of KH reagent as the first 4 showed no change, thus dKH was calculated (5-remaining amount) * 16 (16 dKH is the max value for 1 ml of reagent)
If this method is wrong, one can assume the Alk is AT LEAST 16 dKH / 5.7 meq/L
System (4 years old):
10 Gallon Nano (6-7 gallon net)
7 lbs Live Rock
10 lbs Live Sand
Prizm Skimmer
Basic filter loading with floss and carbon
96w 50/50 PC (10,000K & Atinic) on for 8 hours / day.
The test kits I use are Saliferts, brand new, and tested against know solutions.
What can I do about the Alk? Nothing is a viable option as long as it's a reasonable time line, as I'd like to get this corrected.
Best regards,
Rick
It made the pH drop to 7.4 (from avg 8.0) and precipitated calcium on the glass, rocks, pumps and such.
We did a 80% water change that same day and removed all dead inhabitants we could.
pH has gradually risen to 8.17 today, and I feel it's going to go super nova in the next week or so.
How can I get the Alk down? I thought that adding vinegar would do it, but reading several articles it seems that in the end, vinegar would increase (or maintain) the carbonate; net effect, no change in Alk.
I normally dose Kalkwasser, but don't want to with the Alk in the state it's in, as that would add to the Alk problem. We tried Kent Marine Super Buffer as the Alk was generally really low. (And here is the start of the problem, but reading the test wrong was the reason and dosing too much)
Current readings today are:
Water Density: 1.024
Salinity: 35 ppt
pH 8.17 (rising both day and night)
Temp: 83° F / 28.3° C
Ca: 60 ppm (due to precipitation)
Alk: 26 meq/L (73 dKH) 8 times target value
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate 40-50 ppm
(Sorry no Mg as I am out of tests, can assume to be low)
Alk test had to be continued with 5 ml of KH reagent as the first 4 showed no change, thus dKH was calculated (5-remaining amount) * 16 (16 dKH is the max value for 1 ml of reagent)
If this method is wrong, one can assume the Alk is AT LEAST 16 dKH / 5.7 meq/L
System (4 years old):
10 Gallon Nano (6-7 gallon net)
7 lbs Live Rock
10 lbs Live Sand
Prizm Skimmer
Basic filter loading with floss and carbon
96w 50/50 PC (10,000K & Atinic) on for 8 hours / day.
The test kits I use are Saliferts, brand new, and tested against know solutions.
What can I do about the Alk? Nothing is a viable option as long as it's a reasonable time line, as I'd like to get this corrected.
Best regards,
Rick
careful though while you add Ca it and the alk will get used, so more will be needed then calculators will indicate. you will need to watch both Ca and alk and keep them balanced. read the links