How to baking soda dose?

[Treenk]

So both my kh is low and ph is high. I've read that baking soda would take both of these in the right direction. How do I do it just add the amount in the calculator in my case 2 tsps to 5 gallons of top off water? Or do I need to do something extra that I've missed?

 

[lapin]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

 

[Kzang]

So both my kh is low and ph is high. I've read that baking soda would take both of these in the right direction. How do I do it just add the amount in the calculator in my case 2 tsps to 5 gallons of top off water? Or do I need to do something extra that I've missed?

I think you have to bake it for a certain amount of time to turn it into soda ash or something like that

 

[Treenk]

That's wanting me to add other things besides just baking soda which is going to raise my calcium and magnesium which are too high as is. So you can't just do baking soda?

 

[Kzang]

What are you trying to do? Why do you want to use baking soda for? Are you trying to raise your alk/calcium/mag? What size tank. Why not just do water changes? How are you testing for parameters? What are your parameters?

 

[Treenk]

I had a feeling there was more to it. So friend had me just add it now some coral are struggling any advice side from water change?

 

[homer1475]

You mix the baking soda in a gallon of RO/DI(randy's diy recipe 2 just the alk part). It does not raise PH like soda ash(baked baking soda or soda ash(randy's recipe 1 the alk part)).

You read the entire DIY recipe. If you only need to raise ALK, baked baking soda/soda ash(recipe 1 to raise PH) can be used. Or you can use just plain baking soda(recipe 2) to have a slightly lowering effect to PH.

EDIT:
Forgot to add, in this calculator you can choose recipe 1 or 2:
Reef Chemistry Calulator

 

[Kzang]

Annnnnd this is what I get for browsing forms at work....why use baking soda/soda ash? Why not use kalk to raise dkh? If your dkh is low, I bet your calcium is low too. You can mix it into your ATO.

Better yet, get some b-ionic. Its pretty cheap. Use marine depot's reef calculator to measure the dose. It also includes trace elements. Using kalk in your ato will cause some to come out of solution and make a bed of nasty crap in your ATO container.

ESV B-Ionic Calcium Buffer System

Each ESV B-Ionic Calcium Buffer System has two components - Alkalinity and Calcium. When used in equal parts, easily maintain calcium and alkalinity levels with no mixing of powders, disruption of ionic balace or addition of organic chemicals. Formulated to provide all the proper ratios to...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[homer1475]

Why use baking soda.....

Its about 1/3 the cost of commercially available products to do the same exact thing.

32$ for 2 gallons of mix. if you only need to raise alk, do you know how much baking soda I can buy for 32$? I don't think I would ever need to buy baking soda(alk supplement) for quite a few years.

 

[Treenk]

Pretty much because I didnt know better. I read that and it wants me to mix a bunch to make a bottle that can be added but that is not what i did. I added a tsp to 5 gallons and over 4 days mixed it in now that it's all in my kh is still 7 and ph 8.4-8.5 nothing changed but suddenly corals are doing significantly worse. I have no idea what to do now. obviously from here on out I'm just buying the additives. But that doesnt help me now I dont know if what I did was the problem, I dont know if I should do something to try to fix. It seems anytime I try to fix something I make it worse lol.

 

[Kzang]

Pretty much because I didnt know better. I read that and it wants me to mix a bunch to make a bottle that can be added but that is not what i did. I added a tsp to 5 gallons and over 4 days mixed it in now that it's all in my kh is still 7 and ph 8.4-8.5 nothing changed but suddenly corals are doing significantly worse. I have no idea what to do now. obviously from here on out I'm just buying the additives. But that doesnt help me now I dont know if what I did was the problem, I dont know if I should do something to try to fix. It seems anytime I try to fix something I make it worse lol.

You can use this calculator. You maybe did it too fast, and shocked the corals.

Aquarium and Reef Calculators - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Treenk]

I appreciate the help sorry I'm a little panicked.

 

[Treenk]

Would you suggest a water change? Or let the cards fall and see if they level out?

 

[Kzang]

I appreciate the help sorry I'm a little panicked.

Its cool. Just don't over react. It wouldn't hurt to do a water change. Check out the B-ionic. I've heard good things. I just ordered some. I used to use red sea's alk/calcium/mag liquid solution, but the B-ionic has trace elements that I don't have to dose extra, and its cheaper