Issue dosing Kalkwasser

[Jman72]

I only have 1 test kit right now and thats a red sea kit. Red Sea test kit is the only accurate and reliable kit that I'm aware of. Is there another good kit I can try?

 

[mr9iron]

I only have 1 test kit right now and thats a red sea kit. Red Sea test kit is the only accurate and reliable kit that I'm aware of. Is there another good kit I can try?

I think folks have had good success with the Red Sea kits. I wonder if your reagents are expired? I use the Hannah DKH for Alkalinity and it works fine for me.

You may consider taking a sample of your water to the LFS or another reefer to compare your results.

 

[Jman72]

just check the exp date on the kit and its still good. I'll see if I can find someone else I can test my results against.

 

[biophilia]

If your pH is staying between ~7.8 and ~8.4 within each 24 hour period, I'd personally stop testing it and never think about it again, though if you're concerned about having high indoor CO2 levels you could always maintain a slightly higher alkalinity level (say 10DKH) to help elevate the pH. All of the pH values (and fluctuations) you've posted so far are completely normal. The fact that your empty tank seemingly has a 2DKH+ per day alk draw almost certainly means a testing error or expired test kit. The Salifert alk kit is extremely inexpensive and has been consistent batch-to-batch for me if you're looking for a backup testing method.

 

[Jman72]

Ok, I'll have to try that test kit out. Yeah, everyone has been saying that my PH is fine. I guess I'm just a little OCD. I just want to make sure my tank has good parameters for my coral to grow and flourish, especially for SPS which is what I'm aiming for.

 

[biophilia]

Ok, I'll have to try that test kit out. Yeah, everyone has been saying that my PH is fine. I guess I'm just a little OCD. I just want to make sure my tank has good parameters for my coral to grow and flourish, especially for SPS which is what I'm aiming for.

OCD is a good quality to have with an SPS tank so I'm sure you'll do great, but just make sure it doesn't cause you to make too many arbitrary changes too often! As a fellow OCD-type reefer, that's where most of my struggles in keeping SPS has come from. Get things relatively stable (mainly nutrient levels and alkalinity) and then avoid making unnecessary changes -- or if you do -- make only one change at a time so that you can really get an idea of what the effect is.

 

[Instigate]

Precipitation maybe?

 

[Jman72]

how can I tell if I have precipitation? Correct me if I'm wrong but precipitation occurs when your overdose correct? I guess my kalk dose is higher than it should be with my empty tank but my parameters have been pretty consistent and I've started out with 1/4 tsp of kalk and slowly increased to 1.5 tsp until I was able to hold a stable 8.1-8.2 PH. Is there some other factor I'm not thinking of?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

does anyone else have any input?

Not sure what else you want to know, but the results in your first post seem entirely normal.

pH swings daily due to photosynthesis, whether you use limewater or not. Limewater dosing just tends to move the range upward.

pH is always a CO2 issue, assuming alk is normal. It cannot ever be anything else in seawater since pH is determined mathematically by CO2 in the water and carbonate alkalinity of the water. The only question may be where is the CO2 coming from or going to.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

how can I tell if I have precipitation? Correct me if I'm wrong but precipitation occurs when your overdose correct? I guess my kalk dose is higher than it should be with my empty tank but my parameters have been pretty consistent and I've started out with 1/4 tsp of kalk and slowly increased to 1.5 tsp until I was able to hold a stable 8.1-8.2 PH. Is there some other factor I'm not thinking of?

You should not base the dosing of any product (including limewater) on the pH. You should base it on the tank alkalinity. Focusing on pH can lead to excessive alkalinity.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Not sure what else you want to know, but the results in your first post seem entirely normal.

pH swings daily due to photosynthesis, whether you use limewater or not. Limewater dosing just tends to move the range upward.

pH is always a CO2 issue, assuming alk is normal. It cannot ever be anything else in seawater since pH is determined mathematically by CO2 in the water and carbonate alkalinity of the water. The only question may be where is the CO2 coming from or going to.

Agreed.

My ph drops down close to 8 at night then climbs close to 8.2 at the peak of the day. No dosing

 

[mcarroll]

Ok, I've now setup my kalk to slow drip[...]to stabilize my ph[...]my tank is empty. Is this normal?

Chasing pH is not advisable.

I'm not the one to say what normal is tho.

You might have to do some water changes to normalize your water now.

And stop watching pH.

Alkalinity testing should guide your dosing, if you do any at all.

There won't really be much need for that testing until you get stony corals growing.

Even then you might get away with only doing water changes for a while.

Chemistry And The Aquarium: How To Select A Calcium And Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme is a great read. It's even a great re-read if you've read it ten times already. ;Bookworm;Bookworm;Bookworm

That should get you started on the right foot with kalk, or dosing in general....and then you can read everything else @Randy Holmes-Farley has posted!