Alk super high

[brownsalt92]

Hey Randy happy valentines day
I got a question real quick. My dad's 300 he's been trying to keep his calcium stable with 2 little fishes 2 part. Well in doing so he doesn't check his alk. I checked for him this morning his alk was at a 24.4 it used 175 ml of solution from my red sea test kit. Ahhhhh he just did a 10 percent water change any thing else to help drop alk?? Thanks

 

[brownsalt92]

Bryan

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Well, first is to stop dosing, and it may come down on its own.

How much of the alk part of the two part has he been dosing daily or weekly?

 

[brownsalt92]

It sounds like he added half the bottles over a week on a 32 oz bottle set. A 10%water change dropped it from a 24.4 to a 23.2. He read vinigar will drop the alk?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It sounds like he added half the bottles over a week on a 32 oz bottle set. A 10%water change dropped it from a 24.4 to a 23.2. He read vinigar will drop the alk?

No that is incorrect. It doesn't impact alkalinity once the vinegar has been metabolized to CO2 and water.

Adding 16 ounces of the Two Little Fishies Liquid Two part system will only boost alk in a 300 by a couple of dKH, so perhaps it has been accumulating a lot longer?

This thread from today has more on discussion of ways to reduce alkalinity:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/water-chemistry-question.234819/

 

[brownsalt92]

So my dad got muratic acid.. How much should he dose for a 300 gallon? Thanks randy

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The thread I linked has a link to a discussion on amounts, but it definitely is not an "add it and you are done" issue. It lowers pH way to much to just dump it into the main tank all at once, so read the whole discussion.

 

[brownsalt92]

@Randy Holmes-Farley its at a 8.3meq and I need to get it to a 3.2 meq. On a 300 gallon system how much would I have to add?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Fwiw, using muriatic acid to reduce the alk by 1.4 dKH will drop the pH into the mid 6's which is way too low, so you need to go super slow, or treat outside the tank and return the water to the tank after aerating to boost pH.

 

[brownsalt92]

Sorry for bugging you Randy one more question on my math.

300 gal=1135.5L

1135.5÷5100=
.22264
So is that gonna mean I need to add:
222.64 ml??
so add 150 ml to a 5 gallon bucket of tank water add air stone and get ph back to a 8.2-8.3 before adding to tank?
Thanks @randyholmesfarley

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Sorry for bugging you Randy one more question on my math.

300 gal=1135.5L

1135.5÷5100=
.22264
So is that gonna mean I need to add:
222.64 ml??
so add 150 ml to a 5 gallon bucket of tank water add air stone and get ph back to a 8.2-8.3 before adding to tank?
Thanks @randyholmesfarley

No. I didn't check the math, but that cannot work to put all the acid in a small amount of seawater. You can drop the alk to, say 1 dKH in that water, but adding that much you'd have a hugely negative alkalinity and the pH will be about 1 even fully aerated.

 

[aaron23]

I think the best solution is to let it drop on its own and continue to do massive water changes. Whatever coral etc in the tank is already a goner why are you looking for the fastest treatment possible when it's best for the inhabitants like fish to slowly drop the alk through water changes not a huge dump of muriatic acid for a drastic reduction in pH

 

[aaron23]

I think the best solution is to let it drop on its own and continue to do massive water changes. Whatever coral etc in the tank is already a goner why are you looking for the fastest treatment possible when it's best for the inhabitants like fish to slowly drop the alk through water changes not a huge dump of muriatic acid for a drastic reduction in pH

 

[brownsalt92]

Lol well its my dad's tank and he wants to get it down asap I told him let it go on its own I felt with it in a 29 when I never did attention to it.

 

[brownsalt92]

@Randy. My dad had used acid. he added 22ml of muratic acid to a 5 gallon water of seawater.he then added a airstone and 4 tablespoons of Kent ph buffer. The level prior to adding acid was a 23.2 and it is now close to a 31. Did it have some type of chemical reaction?

 

[brownsalt92]

How in the world dit it rise?

 

[brownsalt92]

Correction testing error a 26.2

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy. My dad had used acid. he added 22ml of muratic acid to a 5 gallon water of seawater.he then added a airstone and 4 tablespoons of Kent ph buffer. The level prior to adding acid was a 23.2 and it is now close to a 31. Did it have some type of chemical reaction?

OK, sounds like he is out of control.

The pH buffer is an alkalinity additive. They all are and must be.

He reduced it with acid, then added it back.

Not a very useful process.