help with water tests

[tara_karan]

Here are the latest tests on my 90 gallon which has been going since June 17th:
temp: 77 F
Sp Gravity: 1.023 almost 1.024
pH= 8.0 (have had a terrible time raising it, never has been lower than this though since day #1 with no livestock at all)
KH= 9
NO2= <0.3 mg/L
NO3= 0 ppm
Calcium 360 ppm (adding purple up to try to raise it)
NH3= 0 mg/l

Using salifert and tetra test kits. Checking tests weekly at this point. All livestock okay. Need advice on raising pH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Current livestock are blackcap basslet, pygmy angel, 3 green chromis, 2 clowns, mushroom coral, peppermint shrimps, conches, snails (nassarius, cerith and astrea), emerald crabs and some scarlet hermits. Obviously not getting any corals or anything for awhile (am considering a feather duster)

[oyam123]

i think its all GREAT!
Ben will give his $0.02 as soon as he sees the post.
He knows his Ph stuff...

[Reefer Dude]

One question is do you have a sump on your tank? If so put some live rock in it and keep it lit when your main tank lights are off. The method I used to use for PH is from Anthony Calfo's book on Coral Propagation. Take a run to Wal-Mart and pick up a think of Pickling lime (they have it, I just picked up a bunch). Every night after the lights are out take a cup of RO water (or other filtered water) and add 1/16 of a teaspoon of the lime (or Kalk it is the same thing) shake it up really good and add it to your main tank, not sump. This will start to raise your PH and should be able to keep it up, and since it is pure calcium it will add all your tank neeks. Do not add too much though! If you add more then the 1/16 it will shoot your PH through the roof and could kill everything.

[Reefer Dude]

Also how long is your light cycle?

[tara_karan]

12 hours actinics, 6.5 hours MH

[Reefer Dude]

Try bringing up the MH's up to 8 and see if that helps.

[Ben]

Reefer Dude is correct.

A hang-on refugium will also work for an opposite light cycle, but you need to do something to keep that light from bleeding into the tank. Either way, the point is that pH fluctuates through the day based upon photosynthesis. If corals or algaes are performing photosynthesis, they draw CO2 out of the water. CO2 lowers pH.

Wal-Mart only has pickling lime in the fall, IIRC, so if it's out now, stock up on a year's worth since it is 1/10th the cost of so called "kalkwasser" and is identical. Also, to maintain pH once you raise it, use ~1/2 teaspoon of lime per gallon of top off water. Stir it well and let the lime settle to the bottom. Then use this as your top off water. Ideally, it should be in a sealed container and drip into your tank at about one drop a second. It doesn't have to be sealed, though.

[oyam123]

Frank has some IV pumps he is selling for About $25 each.
They come with the lines and all to drip the Lime.

[tara_karan]

thanks. Where is the pickling lime found at Wal-Mart. Love the store but have never bought this stuff.
I have a kalkwasser reactor right now collecting dust but will be using it to drip kalk someday. Need some float type things for it.
TK

[Ben]

I didn't see it last year in the North Walmart, but the South had it with the canning supplies: mason jars, pectin, etc. Most people who buy it use it to make pickles or corn meal (though it is usually called 'cal' in Mexican cooking). This stuff is all in the housewares section near pots and such.

[tara_karan]

is Mrs. Wages the name of the pickling lime from Wal Mart? I bought 4 bottles so I hope so. How the heck do I measure 1/16 of a teaspoon? So tiny I don't know how I can be so accurate? LMK on both.

[Ben]

Yep. Mrs. Wages is the right stuff.

You can buy measuring spoons that small, or you could just use a scoop from many test kits which are in the same size range for granular reagents. It you don't have that, either, take the smallest measuring spoon you have and guesstimate.

Personally, I prefer to raise pH a little more slowly via up to 2 teaspoons per gallon of RO top off water dripped in at about a rate of 1-2 drops per second. You can use airline hose with a knot in it to adjust the rate at which the siphon drips. The best time to start this drip is in the evening when the lights will be going off soon.

I will warn you, however, that priming a siphon of kalkwater tastes really nasty and if you do it very often, you'll want to invest in tartar control toothpaste on account of the 'coralline' being formed on your teeth.