Randy's Alk part ?

Mr. Roboto · Jun 19, 2018

I am restarting an existing tank that has been set up for aprox. 8 years. The alk on this tank has dropped significantly since the last water change from around 7.5 to around 6.

Last night I mixed up a batch of Alk, 1 1/8 cups of baking soda to 1 gallon of RODI. I used the calculator to come up with aprox 1.3 ounces to bring Alk from 6 to 7 diluted it in a cup of RODI and dosed it careful to watch the PH swing.

About an hour after dosing I figured I would test to see if it had changed as expected. Did the test again and nothing had changed. Now, me being me and this tank having virtually nothing in it but a Nem and some straggler softies, I hit it again with the same amount. An hour later, nothing..... No change.

I left it overnight and went back to test it this morning and not to my surprise... Still nothing. I even checked the mix to make sure it was high in Alk as I was starting to question what was going on.

System is around 310g and the dkh is sitting still at around 6 with a Red Sea kit @ around 4ml of titrant used.

Am I missing something?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 19, 2018

reefmann said:
Am I missing something?

I think so.

My recipe #2 ( 1 1/8 cups per gallon of RO/DI) takes 15 fluid ounces (443 mL) to boost 310 gallons by 1 dKH.

The amount you added (1.3 ounces??) sounds too small to be detected.

Use this calculator and Randy's #2:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

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

chipmunkofdoom2 · Jun 19, 2018

There's no way 1.3 fluid ounces of the supplement is going to do anything to your tank. It sounds like you used this calculator and chose baking soda as the supplement. You're not using baking soda, you're using Randy's DIY alkalinity supplement. Choose Randy's Recipe 2 Alkalinity Part from the list.

If you use a tank size of 310 gallons and want to boost alkalinity from 6 dKh to 7 dKh, the calculator will tell you to dose 442 mL, or 15 fl. oz.

Mr. Roboto · Jun 19, 2018

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I think so.

My recipe #2 ( 1 1/8 cups per gallon of RO/DI) takes 15 fluid ounces (443 mL) to boost 310 gallons by 1 dKH.

The amount you added (1.3 ounces??) sounds too small to be detected.

Use this calculator and Randy's #2:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

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

This makes more sense. I knew I was missing something simple. Its been a while since I have dosed anything in this hobby. Thanks for the explanation.

chipmunkofdoom2 said:
There's no way 1.3 fluid ounces of the supplement is going to do anything to your tank. It sounds like you used this calculator and chose baking soda as the supplement. You're not using baking soda, you're using Randy's DIY alkalinity supplement. Choose Randy's Recipe 2 Alkalinity Part from the list.

If you use a tank size of 310 gallons and want to boost alkalinity from 6 dKh to 7 dKh, the calculator will tell you to dose 442 mL, or 15 fl. oz.

I was using the wrong choice from the drop down. That's exactly what I was doing. I will try it again today and see if I cant get it up over the course of the day.

Thanks guys!!