adding sand?

[seascape]

just added sang to my 180g tubed it in with a peice of 2"plastic pvc went easier than i thought it would gobies are loving it being they have been in bare bootom for a long time.My question is i checked my parameters and dkh and alkalinity are high is this normal i got the sand from an established tank rinced before using it .so is that normal?RJ

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

What kind of sand is it and what is your PH reading? Certain sands act as a buffer and with low PH (acidic) it can accelerate the break down of the sand and raise dkh.

 

[jlinzmaier]

What kind of sand is it and what is your PH reading? Certain sands act as a buffer and with low PH (acidic) it can accelerate the break down of the sand and raise dkh.

The pH required to achieve this is very low (Less than 7.0). That whole marketing ploy used on packages of aragonite is a bunch of bull! Yeah it will buffer your pH, however, the point at which that reaction takes place is low enough that everything is likely already dead.

Often tiny particles of aragonite will alter alk tests. Allow things to settle for a few days and recheck. For example, the tiny particles of aragonite within purple up often throw alk kits out of wack and give very high readings.

As long as your inverts aren't looking unhappy, give it a day (or a few days) and recheck. Maybe add (and/or change frequently) a 100 micron filter sock to pull out any aragonite dust which is likely interfering with your test.

Keep us posted.

Jeremy