Alk Drop- Need to slowly raise to avoid disaster

[jayblock]

Hey guys,

Recently i was not aware that my Alk dosing stopped due to an oversight. Last time i tested i was at 5.7DKH while i was stable for well over a year at 8.7-8.9. I want to slowly raise my Alk. at what rate should i be aiming for without causing corals to be in distress. how fast and how much should i raise in a weekly or half week basis so when i test i can adjust the dosage.

Thanks in advance
J

 

[shaggydoo]

Slower is better. I've also found an additive called eight.four by aquavitro is a good alk only additive. It is designed to not mess with your ph as much (from my limited understanding) while you raise alk. For whatever reason, my tank uses alk a lot faster than ca or mg (though everyone says they are used in a balanced way). I've repeatedly tested my water using multiple test kits (and other testers to avoid user error), and my tank continuously depletes alk while Ca stays between 450-500.

I've accidentally raised my alk from mid 7 range to 15 in two days with eight.four and did not notice any long term ill effects on my tank. Though I would not recommend going that fast. I would try to raise it over the course of 1-2 weeks with the changes you are looking to make.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

@shaggydoo take the marketing materials from Aquavitro with a grain of salt. They make a product called balance which supposedly raises pH without affecting carbonate alkalinity. This is impossible. Raising pH in reef aquaria requires decreasing CO2, increasing alkalinity, or some mixture of the two.

@jayblock I had a simlar incident occur when I was traveling for work. I realized my alkalinity was in the low 6's, high 5's. I increased the alkalinity by 0.25 dKh per day for the first 4 days, then increased it by 0.1 - 0.2 dKh every day thereafter. That's probably a bit slower than most would take it, but there was no rush. Slow and steady was my aim.

 

[Jeff Hall]

How about a water change?

 

[shaggydoo]

@shaggydoo take the marketing materials from Aquavitro with a grain of salt. They make a product called balance which supposedly raises pH without affecting carbonate alkalinity. This is impossible. Raising pH in reef aquaria requires decreasing CO2, increasing alkalinity, or some mixture of the two.

Not sure what marketing material you are referring to. It says right on the bottle it raises alkalinity, so maybe you are talking about a different product. I am using a product called eight.four, and I use it as an alkalinity supplement. I find it superior to other products on the market when you want to raise alk only. But to be fair, I've only tried a few alk supplements. So there are probably other good ones out there.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Not sure what marketing material you are referring to. It says right on the bottle it raises alkalinity, so maybe you are talking about a different product. I am using a product called eight.four, and I use it as an alkalinity supplement. I find it superior to other products on the market when you want to raise alk only. But to be fair, I've only tried a few alk supplements. So there are probably other good ones out there.

I am talking about a different product. The product to which I'm referring is called "balance." They claim that balance raises pH without raising alkalinity. That is not possible with a liquid additive.

This relates to eight.four because Aquavitro makes very specific claims about eight.four maintaining pH, which is also impossible in the long term. If the additive contains mostly sodium carbonate, it may elevate pH in the short-term, but as the carbonate and bicarbonate species balance out in the long run, CO2 reaches equilibrium and the pH will drop again.

My point was to be careful believing what Aquavitro tells you their products will do. Best case scenario, they are only telling you half of the story. Worst case scenario, they are flat out lying to you about how their products work. If you want to use eight.four to raise your carbonate alkalinity, it will likely work just as well as any other alkalinity supplement. I would not, however, believe any claims that Aquavitro makes about it maintaining pH.

 

[shaggydoo]

I am talking about a different product. The product to which I'm referring is called "balance." They claim that balance raises pH without raising alkalinity. That is not possible with a liquid additive.

This relates to eight.four because Aquavitro makes very specific claims about eight.four maintaining pH, which is also impossible in the long term. If the additive contains mostly sodium carbonate, it may elevate pH in the short-term, but as the carbonate and bicarbonate species balance out in the long run, CO2 reaches equilibrium and the pH will drop again.

My point was to be careful believing what Aquavitro tells you their products will do. Best case scenario, they are only telling you half of the story. Worst case scenario, they are flat out lying to you about how their products work. If you want to use eight.four to raise your carbonate alkalinity, it will likely work just as well as any other alkalinity supplement. I would not, however, believe any claims that Aquavitro makes about it maintaining pH.

Yeah different products then, and you are 100% correct about being careful what you believe. I am using eight.four a bit off label (not trying to maintain pH), and I agree, a lot of the Aquavitro claims you reference above make no sense from a chemistry standpoint. I am generally leery of claims from any product. I just found eight.four works well to raise alk without messing up other levels in your tank such as pH.

 

[jayblock]

Thank you all for all your input.

I have decided to just raise the alk with my normal dosing pumps of soda ash. No casualties yet. Will keep you updated