ph high, alk high, cal norm.

DAC · 03-28-2005, 12:07 AM

so ,my kh is ALWays above 12.0 and my ph has never been below 8.6 that i have seen. How do i get it a bit lower.. even after water changes its still about the same. ive been using kent a and b.
200 gallons,
200 lbs lr, 20 lbs sand and a lil cc,
20 % weekly wc's

Xerxies · 03-28-2005, 11:48 AM

I think maybe I would buy a new (different brand) PH test kit if I were you. See if it wasn't just a test-kit anomoly. If your kit is reading accurately... where are you getting your water for changes/topoff? Maybe it's very alkaline?

DAC · 03-28-2005, 11:51 AM

ro from thelocal ralphs.. the machine says its cleaned every week and it is a brand new unite, just installed a month ago/

Geoff · 03-28-2005, 12:25 PM

slow down on the additives. double check the make up water and make sure that it is in line. there is a chance that the salt mix may be off.

G~

DAC · 03-28-2005, 01:15 PM

salt mix off? how could that be? to much or something my salinit it is at 35.. I havent been adding additives all that much..maybe once a week.. if that... my calicium gets sucked up... whic one on the kent a and b is for calcium and which is for alk?..

LISound · 03-28-2005, 04:20 PM

Part a is calcium
Part b is bi carbonate...Alkilinty...that's the white cloudy stuff

LISound · 03-28-2005, 04:22 PM

on a side note...part b works for me but part a sucks.
i can never get my ca up to normal levels.
I've been mixing turbo calc to makeup water and testing those levels to 450ppm is reached.

DAC · 03-28-2005, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LISound

Part a is calcium
Part b is bi carbonate...Alkilinty...that's the white cloudy stuff

that's what i thought... i have been adding different qaunities of capfuls trying to find good combo.
my calcium stays around 410-440 and my alk is way high all the time... above 12

tdwyatt · 03-28-2005, 05:14 PM

I would check your pH measurements or methodology as well. What time of day are you measuring the pH? What kit or meter are you using?

Just a side note, my Ca and alk will run at 425 PPM for calcium and 12 dKH for alkalinity on a really good day when I am using both the Ca reactor and the Kalkreactor in a SPS dedicated system, and I am smiling after the tests, but my pH range is more on the order of 8.2 to 8.1 depending on time of day, and occasionally I will see a 7.98 in the early mornings before the lights come on. Remember that pH will cycle during the day depending on how many algal species and misc photoautotrophs are in the system, and how long your lights run during the day. pH in marine water columns is driven almost exclusively by the amount of CO2 in the water column, although indirectly it is affected by alkalinity in terms of the ability of the buffer system to remove and add CO2 and protons to the water column.

DAC · 03-28-2005, 05:22 PM

i usually test at night.. after about 8-10 hours of llight.. although i have tested in the A.M. before the lights came on and it was 8.6 according to the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals inc ...Salwater MAster liquid test kit 5000........j/k about the 5000

liquid drop test kit.. i want to get a ph meter pin point but need to wait for uncle sam to take his chunk 1st..... ammonia, trate, trite and ph are all tes with the AP test.
ca and alk are with salifert.

tdwyatt · 03-29-2005, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAC

i usually test at night.. after about 8-10 hours of llight.. although i have tested in the A.M. before the lights came on and it was 8.6 according to the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals inc ...Salwater MAster liquid test kit 5000........j/k about the 5000

HEH!

Good that you're using the Salifert on the alkalinity and calcium, and it's OK to use the AP kits for the nitrogen products, as they are really only an issue if you have ammonia and nitrites, and nitrATES that are in the sensitivity range of the AP kit help pinpoint issues in algal blooms in mixed-biotope tanks, although insufficient in systems dedicated to SPS reeftop biotopes. However, don't put a lot of stock in the AP pH tests, as they are subject to wide variances in interpretation as well as lacking in precision (repeatability) as they age. If you have a local buddy that will test the sample using a meter (or a LFS nearby), take the sample by totally submersing the sample continer and fill it to the top, then cap underwater without any air and take it directly to the test with as little agitation or temp change as possible, as atmosphere, agitation, and temp changes will all affect the results of your sample.

I wouldn't sweat this too much for now, remember that early morning pH levels will be low, and evening pH levels will be high. So long as the residents look good, I wouldn't sweat this at all, as every system has its own little quirks, so long as you're within a reasonable range of values and everybody in the tank is happy.

HTH

DAC · 03-29-2005, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdwyatt

HEH!

I wouldn't sweat this too much for now, remember that early morning pH levels will be low, and evening pH levels will be high. So long as the residents look good, I wouldn't sweat this at all, as every system has its own little quirks, so long as you're within a reasonable range of values and everybody in the tank is happy.

HTH

thats just the thing... the one rocl of slightly fuzzy mushromms are not looking so good,. and really havent looked good since the week after i added them to the tank... the get worse as the day goes on....

i am thinking of buying a pin point tester/// same place as the skimmer tom??

tdwyatt · 03-30-2005, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAC

thats just the thing... the one rocl of slightly fuzzy mushromms are not looking so good,. and really havent looked good since the week after i added them to the tank... the get worse as the day goes on....

i am thinking of buying a pin point tester/// same place as the skimmer tom??

yup, he's a great guy and a TRT sponsor to boot. If it turns out that the pH values are skewed, we'll need to go into depth about the way you keep your tank, source water, feeding patterns, and means of supplementing the calcium and alk in your tanks.I'm sure the info is here in the thread, but it wouod rolly be best for us to reevaluate everything once we know what the actual values are for the pH, then we can pursue the rest of the info.

One of the biggest issues you have still comes back to the skimmer, although I believe you're addressing this even as we speak. Once your skimming the tank efficiently, issues with many topics at hand should resolve, so until we get that under control, it may be a little crazy to chase the numbers until that is fixed.

Lemmeno when you're up to speed, or post your progress as the equipment comes in.

HTH!