ph alk and cal

[Mimi]

why is it when i add alk and cal my ph goes to 8.3 then in a few hours drops back to 7.9. where does the calcium and alk go if the tank is new and empty.

i did test and the cal is still low at 350 even after adding it a few hours ago.

 

[Mimi]

thanks for the quick reply

 

[TopNotchCorals]

What kind of salt mix are you using?
What is your parameters at before adding the water to your tank?

 

[Mimi]

alk 2.7 cal 350 ph 7.9 then after adding they went up 400 cal alk to 3.2 and ph to 8.3
then back down to first set of readings.

 

[TopNotchCorals]

alk 2.7 cal 350 ph 7.9 then after adding they went up 400 cal alk to 3.2 and ph to 8.3
then back down to first set of readings.

These are your readings after letting your salt mix with RO/DI water for at least 12 hours?What kind of salt?

 

[cee]

Check your Mg, I bet it is low.

 

[Mimi]

i did its at 1200 then dropped to 1000

 

[TopNotchCorals]

You also need to give it more then 3 hours before it really starts to take effect.I usually wait at least 24hrs before testing when dosing anything.You might check tomorrow and your ca is gonna be at 800 and your dkh will be 15 just let it settle in.I really wouldnt be worried about dosing ca to an empty tank anyways.

 

[Mimi]

this has been going on for a week

 

[Mimi]

any ideas

 

[cee]

If your Mg is that low it is going to be hard to maintain balanced levels of Alk/Ca as the Mg prevents the Ca and carbonate ions from precipitating out of solution.

 

[Mimi]

cool thanks i will raise the mag and see what happenes.

 

[cee]

I wouldn't go over 100 ppm per day and try and get it over 1300 before trying to balance your Alk/Ca, so don't expect parameters to be in line for about a week.

 

[novazul1]

Calcium reactor

I had a same problem when i'm dosing it manually and then, i have my calcium reactor ,it fix everything ,,,,and save you a lot in long term.....

 

[cubi]

make water change or you can add Mag.....

 

[RBursek]

First get your Mg to at least 1350, then get your Ca to about 400ish, then check your Alk and PH. If Alk is low you can add baking soda to raise it and at first that will drop PH then it will come back to where it was or raise it a bit. If the PH is low before needing to raise Alk you can bake the baking soda on a cookie sheet for about 2 hrs at 350*F. Now adding baked baking soda it will raise Alk and PH. What are you using to test your water params with? Here is a good read.
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 1: The Salt Water Itself
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php

The "How To" Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 3: pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners,
Part 4: What Chemicals May Detrimentally Accumulate
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/rhf/index.php

 

[Reefnjunkie]

As I understand, and it was true for my tank, to get your Mg into the 1350-1500 range your SG needs to be at least 1.024.

 

[RBursek]

I can not a test to that but I will try to post a map here of the SG of the oceans, and 1.024 is low for a tank.

There is no coral reef on this planet with a Salinity that low

That is 30 ppt. Reefs run from 32 ppt up to 37 and the Red Sea ~ 40 ppt. That 1.023 is a Salinity for FOT. Many coral reef inverts do not fare well at those Salinities. Most reefs are 34 - 36 ppt

See any 30 ppt here

Here is a calulator for dosing
Reef Chemistry Calculator


__________________

 

[Reefnjunkie]

LOL-Thanks I had no idea, not sure about the conversion from ppt-I currently run my tank at 1.025 as do a lot of folks I know-I dont think I will run higher than that unless I was to read somewhere that is where I should be?????

So whats your opinion on needt he SG at 1.024+ in order to hit those Mg levels-

And for those like myself who can not convert SG to PPT;

SaltyZoo's Salinity Conversion (Specific Gravity / PPT)

 

[RBursek]

How precise is salinity determined via specific gravity? If one measures specific gravity to 2 significant figures, SG or PPT,then the uncertainty in the salinity is ± 0.7 (assuming that the specific gravity is correctly and accurately measured). For example, if the specific gravity were 1.027 (assuming the uncertainty of ± 0.0005 implied by 2 significant figures), then the corresponding salinity will be 35.2ppt ± 0.7. Similarly, a specific gravity of 1.023 corresponds to a salinity of 30ppt ± 0.7. I would say your 1.024 is about 32PPT.
I do not understand your Mg question? You can add/dose Mg to get there and your 1.024SG has nothing to do with it, unless you are trying to get higher MG out of your salt mix which most test on the forums gives the MG Ca and Alk levels at 1.0264SG=35PPT