Elevated PH, Elevated consumption. How much?

[Shinister]

I would be surprised if you had that much consumption. I also use the hydroxide version and had precipitation although it wasn't very visible at first I unplugged my doser to see if it was really that high of consumption and it wasn't. I let my alk drop to around 7 before I started dosing again. I would stop dosing for a few hours and see what happens to alk, at 4dkh per day if the tank is really consuming that much alk you should see alk drop every hour.

Thats where Im at now. I turned the doser off this morning and will check cal&alk when I get home. I did a wc on saturday and tested at 8.8dkh. Dosing at 250ml, my alk went down to 7dkh (this morning).

What is your dosing schedule?

I just set the DOS with the ml that I want and let it do its thing. I had it set to dose throughout the day. When I had it set to 320ml, I believe it was dosing 3.8ml every 17 minutes. I have the cal & alk dosing 5 minutes apart.

 

[Shinister]

Something I neglected to ask, how r u testing. Also, I agree with above, maybe we need to go back to basics. Stop the Dos and manually add 2 part to get parameters at a steady state, and then test parameters. Then test again the next day and see if you do in fact have a 4dkh drop. Trying to come up with something that might help.

Either way, we will help you figure this out.

Thank you!
Im testing with Salifert. I used to test with the hanna checker but found out it was giving me low and inconsistent readings.
Is one day enough or should I stop dosing for a few days before making the corrections?

 

[Billldg]

Thats where Im at now. I turned the doser off this morning and will check cal&alk when I get home. I did a wc on saturday and tested at 8.8dkh. Dosing at 250ml, my alk went down to 7dkh (this morning).



I just set the DOS with the ml that I want and let it do its thing. I had it set to dose throughout the day. When I had it set to 320ml, I believe it was dosing 3.8ml every 17 minutes. I have the cal & alk dosing 5 minutes apart.

I dos my alk at night and my cal in the daytime.

 

[Billldg]

Thank you!
Im testing with Salifert. I used to test with the hanna checker but found out it was giving me low and inconsistent readings.
Is one day enough or should I stop dosing for a few days before making the corrections?

I only said one day because I didnt want your levels to get to low. If you can keep the levels up above 7 dkh and go 2 or 3 days then that will be fine. I usually wait at least 2 days myself.

Also, where r u dosing at, I dos at the base of my return pump, plenty of water movement to keep it from participating.

 

[Brew12]

I just set the DOS with the ml that I want and let it do its thing. I had it set to dose throughout the day. When I had it set to 320ml, I believe it was dosing 3.8ml every 17 minutes. I have the cal & alk dosing 5 minutes apart.

I would double check to make sure you aren't adding both at the same time at any point in the process. The DOS can do some crazy things with dosing rate and how it spaces if you use the auto setup. Especially when you get to larger amounts like you are adding.

 

[Shinister]

I dos my alk at night and my cal in the daytime.

I may have to give that a try. Its one thing I havent tried.

I would double check to make sure you aren't adding both at the same time at any point in the process. The DOS can do some crazy things with dosing rate and how it spaces if you use the auto setup. Especially when you get to larger amounts like you are adding.

I checked my apex log to see if doses were being delivered on time (5 minutes apart) and also did a visual verification. I wasnt sitting there for hours but I did confirm that it was 5 minutes apart. They are dosed around the same spot. I have a small powerhead pointed to the point of dosing. The calcium chloride is clear but the sodium hydroxide can be seen as small clumps initially. I made sure the solution was cleared up before the next dose. Of course, its only visible verification but I didnt see any precipitation on the heater which is in the same spot the doses are being deliverd.

 

[Billldg]

I may have to give that a try. Its one thing I havent tried.


I checked my apex log to see if doses were being delivered on time (5 minutes apart) and also did a visual verification. I wasnt sitting there for hours but I did confirm that it was 5 minutes apart. They are dosed around the same spot. I have a small powerhead pointed to the point of dosing. The calcium chloride is clear but the sodium hydroxide can be seen as small clumps initially. I made sure the solution was cleared up before the next dose. Of course, its only visible verification but I didnt see any precipitation on the heater which is in the same spot the doses are being deliverd.

I dos my alk after my DT lights r off, I did this, as many do, to balance the effects adding alk supplements have on ph, to try and keep ph as steady as possible.

 

[Rick.45cal]

@Shinister

Can we get a picture of the tank?

Where are the dosing lines running to? Sump? Tank? Are the Ca and alk lines running to the same spot?

 

[Shinister]

@Shinister

Can we get a picture of the tank?

Where are the dosing lines running to? Sump? Tank? Are the Ca and alk lines running to the same spot?

I'll try to get a full tank shot once I get home. Come to think of it, I never took a FTS. Just the individual corals. It's really nothing to write home about. Its a 125g but basically a frag tank.
The dosing lines go to my sump in the skimmer area, right before the return section. The sump is an Eshopps R200. both of the additives are added in the same area 5 minutes apart with a jebao rw-4 powerhead pointed at the point of entry.

 

[Brew12]

I only said one day because I didnt want your levels to get to low.

Agree with this.

If anything, I would stop dosing on a day you can test after 8 hours of no dosing. If you aren't dropping over 1dKH in 8 hours you definitely aren't needing all 4dKH per day you are adding.

Another thing to check is if your 2 part is mixed correctly. What chemicals are you using to make your 2-part and how much of each are you mixing to make your solution?

 

[Shinister]

Agree with this.

If anything, I would stop dosing on a day you can test after 8 hours of no dosing. If you aren't dropping over 1dKH in 8 hours you definitely aren't needing all 4dKH per day you are adding.

Another thing to check is if your 2 part is mixed correctly. What chemicals are you using to make your 2-part and how much of each are you mixing to make your solution?

Then today after work will be perfect as I stopped the dosing at 6am with a reading of 7.2dkh. I used the improved 2 part @Randy Holmes-Farley mentioned in this thread. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/second-new-diy-two-part-recipe-with-higher-ph-boost.357080/

I followed the instructions carefully using a scale for accuracy. I didnt mention it in this thread but my calcium has been steady at 430ppm and mg at 1500. These do not move much at all but I understand the movement will be too miniscule for a hobby test kit to pick up on. My alk was pretty steady when I kept it at 8 dkh and no co2 scrubber. All this happened after my co2 scrubber was installed and decided to up the alk to 9

 

[Brew12]

Then today after work will be perfect as I stopped the dosing at 6am with a reading of 7.2dkh.

Yup, that should work. If it isn't below 6dKH by the time you get home you have something else going on.

I used the improved 2 part @Randy Holmes-Farley mentioned in this thread.

Where did you get the sodium hydroxide from?

I didnt mention it in this thread but my calcium has been steady at 430ppm and mg at 1500.

Calcium is constant when dosed at the same rate as alkalinity?

How much of the magnesium solution are you adding a day?

 

[Shinister]

Yup, that should work. If it isn't below 6dKH by the time you get home you have something else going on.


Where did you get the sodium hydroxide from?


Calcium is constant when dosed at the same rate as alkalinity?

How much of the magnesium solution are you adding a day?

I’ll keep y’all posted.

I got the sodium hydroxide from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Hydro...s=gateway&sprefix=Sodium+,aps,216&sr=8-3&th=1

Yes. Calcium is constant dosing at the same rate. I have the magnesium solution made but never had to dose it as it’s constant at 1500. I do weekly wc at about 10% with Reef Crystals. It mixes at 1350 but use magnesium sulfate to raise it to 1500

 

[Brew12]

I’ll keep y’all posted.

I got the sodium hydroxide from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Hydroxide-Pure-Grade-Caustic/dp/B06W57NL8S/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1BM1O6H4OO5SJ&keywords=sodium+hydroxide&qid=1553535448&s=gateway&sprefix=Sodium+,aps,216&sr=8-3&th=1

Yes. Calcium is constant dosing at the same rate. I have the magnesium solution made but never had to dose it as it’s constant at 1500. I do weekly wc at about 10% with Reef Crystals. It mixes at 1350 but use magnesium sulfate to raise it to 1500

I can't help but think that your calcium and alkalinity are precipitating out from being dosed at the same time (or similar cause). Magnesium should be dropping noticeably if you had that much actual consumption.

 

[DarkSky]

Since no one else asked, I'll be that guy.

How much powder are you mixing into RODI for your two part solutions? If your mixing at 1/10 the BRS concentration, 300+ ml of solution a day would be perfectly reasonable.

 

[Shinister]

I can't help but think that your calcium and alkalinity are precipitating out from being dosed at the same time (or similar cause). Magnesium should be dropping noticeably if you had that much actual consumption.

Its the only logical explanation but I see no visible signs of precipitation. And , as you mentioned, dropping 4dkh/day I should see a noticeable decrease in calcium and magnesium. Can alkalinity be the only thing precipitating? From what I understand, precipitation or consumption, levels would drop equally.

 

[Shinister]

Since no one else asked, I'll be that guy.

How much powder are you mixing into RODI for your two part solutions? If your mixing at 1/10 the BRS concentration, 300+ ml of solution a day would be perfectly reasonable.

BRS doesnt have the mixture for sodium hydroxide. I followed the instructions on that thread I posted earlier. It has the same alk concentration as the original #1 recipe. 283g of sodium hydroxide to 1 gallon of rodi. I made 2 gallons of it to last longer so 566g to 2 gallons of rodi. With recipe #2, you would need double to dosage.

 

[DarkSky]

BRS doesnt have the mixture for sodium hydroxide. I followed the instructions on that thread I posted earlier. It has the same alk concentration as the original #1 recipe. 283g of sodium hydroxide to 1 gallon of rodi. I made 2 gallons of it to last longer so 566g to 2 gallons of rodi

Got it, missed that

 

[Billldg]

Its the only logical explanation but I see no visible signs of precipitation. And , as you mentioned, dropping 4dkh/day I should see a noticeable decrease in calcium and magnesium. Can alkalinity be the only thing precipitating? From what I understand, precipitation or consumption, levels would drop equally.

Not necessarily, depends on the cause. Brs mixes their 2 part for a 1:1 ratio. You mixing your own changes that.

 

[Brew12]

I should see a noticeable decrease in calcium and magnesium.

Maybe I missed something. Do you dose calcium at the same rate as alkalinity?

How much calcium are you dosing?