RobB'z Reef
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I'll check it out, I'm not opposed to doing the installation myself, just a little burnt out on home remodeling projects at this time.
Dosing Kalk methods??
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m.kristoff
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thank you for the article. I have a question that I am confused about
pH and the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION
by Randy Holmes-Farley For many aquarists, pH is not something that they have much experience with aside from their aquarium. For many, pH is almost a black box measurement: something to be considered, but whose physical meaning makes little sense to them. This article will Read more here...www.reefedition.com
The Aeration Test
Some of the possible causes of low pH listed above require an effort to diagnose. Problems 3 and 4 are quite common, and here is a way to distinguish them. Remove a cup of tank water and measure its pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. Its pH should rise if it is unusually low for the measured alkalinity (Figure 2). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If its pH also rises, then the aquarium’s pH will rise simply with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise in the cup (or rises very little) when aerating with indoor air, then that air likely contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should). Be careful implementing this test if the outside aeration test results in a large temperature change (more than 5°C or 10°F), because such changes alone impact pH measurements.
Limewater (kalkwasser) is the best choice as an additive for raising pH. Since it is a hydroxide additive, it has the largest possible pH rise per unit of alkalinity. It also ads a balanced amount of calcium so alkalinity does not rise relative to calcium
How does this statement apply when my Alk seems to already be at a high level. 9.3 to 9.6.. my calcium is around 425.
What I am thinking is that since my alk is high, should i turn off kalk dosing and let it drop to get a balance? not sure i understand how it relates
arking_mark
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Alk/Ca consumption is almost balanced in a reef aquarium. The actual consumption will slightly favor Alk. How much depends on your tank setup and inhabitants.
But generally speaking 1dKH consumption corresponds to 7ppm Ca consumption.
Once you have your tank at target levels, just do balanced dosing to maintain.
After several months, you may need to adjust with some unbalanced alk dosing.
Be aware that Ca measurements are typically +/- 20ppm. So you could consume roughly 3dKH and still read the same Ca levels...and wrongly conclude that your tank isn't consuming Ca as expected.
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what alk level do you want to maintain?
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m.kristoff
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I am thinking 9. My salt mix is 9 -Tropic Marin
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Then I’d probably reduce the concentration of calcium hydroxide in the water to let the alk drop back a bit.
