carbonic acid, kh dropping over a full point if dkh daily :/

[catiebartholomew]

hello,

I run the triton method and carbon dose with vodka. Within the past few months I've needed to dose large amounts of kh daily. Ive done some research and I believe its because there is a buildup of carbonic acid in this system. However, I don't know how to fix this in order to maintain an equilibrium. If anyone better versed in chemistry would be able to help me out I would really appreciate it.

would a co2 scrubber help?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Carbonic acid (hydrated carbon dioxide) cannot lower alkalinity. It does lower pH when present in excess.

 

[catiebartholomew]

Carbonic acid (hydrated carbon dioxide) cannot lower alkalinity. It does lower pH when present in excess.

any suggestions on how to stabilize kh? its dropping over a full point of dkh daily

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

any suggestions on how to stabilize kh? its dropping over a full point of dkh daily

Dose alkalinity. There are lots of different methods that are suitable.

 

[catiebartholomew]

Dose alkalinity. There are lots of different methods that are suitable.

I've been dosing 50ml of kh daily for more than 4 months and i haven't gotten kh to stabilize :/

 

[CoralClasher]

What are your other parameters? How old is the tank? Maybe some pictures so we can see how many coral and how they look? Are you dosing the triton core7 in equal amounts?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I've been dosing 50ml of kh daily for more than 4 months and i haven't gotten kh to stabilize :/

What does not stabilize mean? Dosing alkalinity every day is expected in most reef tanks.

 

[catiebartholomew]

What are your other parameters? How old is the tank? Maybe some pictures so we can see how many coral and how they look? Are you dosing the triton core7 in equal amounts?

coral are dying; skeletons are starting to show (especially when kh dips). nitrate<10ppm, nitrite and ammonia are 0ppm, kh is currently 9.1dkh (just dosed, but it will drop to below 7dkh in less than 24 hours), ca is 450, ph is 8.2, phosphate is <.2ppm, salinity 1.026, mag is 1350ppm. the tanks is 115 gallons with about 10 relatively small frags, some zoas and a few lps. tank is a year old but the live rock is 3 years old

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What are you dosing?

Can you post a picture of the tank?

2dKH per day is not unusual if there is good coralline or hard coral growth.

 

[CoralClasher]

coral are dying; skeletons are starting to show (especially when kh dips). nitrate<10ppm, nitrite and ammonia are 0ppm, kh is currently 9.1dkh (just dosed, but it will drop to below 7dkh in less than 24 hours), ca is 450, ph is 8.2, phosphate is <.2ppm, salinity 1.026, mag is 1350ppm. the tanks is 115 gallons with about 10 relatively small frags, some zoas and a few lps. tank is a year old but the live rock is 3 years old

If corals are dying I would make a new thread with emergency heading. Try to list as much as you can on the first post. There are so many great people on this forum that will help. I’m no expert.

 

[catiebartholomew]

What are you dosing?

Can you post a picture of the tank?

2dKH per day is not unusual if there is good coralline or hard coral growth.

red sea liquid kh. relatively no coralline algae or hard coral growth :/

 

[CoralClasher]

red sea liquid kh. relatively no coralline algae or hard coral growth :

That’s a lot of KH buffer do you add that all at one time?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’d suggest stopping dosing today, and let’s track the alk over the next several days, measuring once a day.

9 dKH is not needed and 7 dKH is plenty.

 

[catiebartholomew]

That’s a lot of KH buffer do you add that all at one time?

yeah:/ diluted in 5 gallons of tank water, dripped into sump over the course of a day. anything lower and my kh falls below 6 dkh within the week

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

yeah:/ diluted in 5 gallons of tank water, dripped into sump over the course of a day. anything lower and my kh falls below 6 dkh within the week

What? You are added alk to seawater in a concentrated form, then dosing that? If so, stop. You may well be precipitating it into a useless form (calcium carbonate particles) that will look like alk in the water until they settle out.

 

[catiebartholomew]

What? You are added alk to seawater in a concentrated form, then dosing that? If so, stop. You may well be precipitating it into a useless form (calcium carbonate particles) that will look like alk in the water until they settle out.

are you saying i should just let my alk bottom out and let all lps die? i only add kh to tank water when my salinity doesn’t permit the addition of rodi. there is no precipitate present at the bottom of the 5gal jug. kh rises after dosing but drops by more than a point after 24hours. if i leave it for 2 days it drops to 6dkh. i dose in the same way in all of my other systems but no other system is having this issue

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

are you saying i should just let my alk bottom out and let all lps die? i only add kh to tank water when my salinity doesn’t permit the addition of rodi. there is no precipitate present at the bottom of the 5gal jug. kh rises after dosing but drops by more than a point after 24hours. if i leave it for 2 days it drops to 6dkh. i dose in the same way in all of my other systems but no other system is having this issue

Hard to know where to start with that sort of sarcastic statement.

Do you want help?

 

[catiebartholomew]

Hard to know where to start with that sort of sarcastic statement.

Do you want help?

no sarcasm intended; yes i want help.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

no sarcasm intended; yes i want help.

Then don’t suggest the plan is to kill your corals.

The way you are dosing is inappropriate and should be stopped. If you feel the need to dilute the additive (which is not typically necessary) you should use ro/di, and dissolving a daily dose into 5 gallons is never necessary.

Let the alk drop and let’s see how far and how fast it drops. 6 dKH does not kill corals.

if the demand is driven by in tank precipitation (not uncommon) then here’s my standard recommendation to deal with it.
:


1. Stop all efforts to boost pH.
2. Stop dosing alk for a bit and let it decline.
3. Reduce pH by switching to a low pH alk mix like sodium bicarbonate, or a calcium organic such as Tropic Marin All for Reef.
4. Ensure magnesium is normal to high.
5. Keep organics and phosphate on the high side.

After a few days of not dosing alk, restart slowly, adding additives to a very high flow area so it mixes in fast.