How to lower alk?

Jaysushi · May 30, 2018

@Randy Holmes-Farley So do you recommend that I clean and wipe down my 5 gallon water change bucket each time to prevent this from happening?
Also where is a good place to get a more concentrated bottle of muriatic acid?

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 30, 2018

There’s no benefit to a higher concentration except cost. Wiping it down might help reduce precipitation, but folks who have lowered even normal IO to 7 dKH with acid do not seem to have precipitation, probably due to the very low pH.

Do you see any?

Jaysushi · May 30, 2018

I actually haven't tested my pH at all. I do run an airline from my protein skimmer intake tube to the outside of my window.
I need to grab a pH test kit to see where it sits.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 31, 2018

My best guess (if the alk rise is real) is that the pH is so low that, like a calcium carbonate reactor, you are dissolving more solids, if there are any there. If you see deposits, maybe dissolve them away with acid between batches of salt water.