KH/Alkalinity Profi Test

[RBU1]

Can someone please give me a crash course on understanding an Alk test. I just did an Alkalinity test and got a reading of 0.16 in ml's. I think that is also a value of 13.4 KH value in dKH. and Alkalinity in meq/L is 4.80. Am I correct in saying my Alkalinity is high? I guess the crash course I need is WHY is the Alkalinity high. What causes that and am I understanding it correctly. I am using a Salifert test kit. My PH was 8.2 and I am checking the clcium now. THANKS in advance for any help. BILL

[RBU1]

OK calcium was 390. What should I do??????

[elephen]

dKH and meq/L are both measurements of alkalinity.


What are you dosing, any additives, calcium reactor, anything?

[RBU1]

WELL!!!!! Yesterday dummy me thought my alk was low so I added that Seachem alk increaser stuff. I have not been doing any regular dosing. THis is the first time in almost a year my water parameters are outside the normal range. I don't know what could have changed in my system to start to cause the numbers to change. I guess I don't know the details of all the test's I am performing. Like Alk for example what causes it to go up and down? Should I start dripping something? I have a 4 gallon tub filled with Ro/Di water and a hospital dosing pump hooked up to it dripping in my sump at a rate of 170ml an hour. I did that to compensate for evaporation. I was getting tired of coming home from work everyday and adding 4 cups of water to the sump. I guess if I fugured out how to properly do it I could add something to the plastic tub and have it drip into the sump.

[elephen]

Your alk will go down in a few days, I wouldn't worry about it. Don't add that alk buffer stuff unless your alk is low, then dose accordingly.

I wouldn't drip anything, maybe some calcium chloride to help raise up your ca level to over 400ppm and then bring your alk down a few notches. I keep my alk at 11 and my ca at 425ppm...

Don't add anything into your top-off water. I used to do that and then I tested my alk out of the blue one day and it was over 16dKH. So I stopped using any buffers at all unless it goes down. But I run a calcium reactor now so really don't have any problems.

Hope this helps, if you have any other questions, post a reply or PM me and I would be more then happy to help you out.

[RBU1]

Thanks Elph,

I have Seachems Reef Complete and Reef Calcium. Should I add some of these to the water? I am just afraid that it will cause something else to go out of wack.

[elephen]

Does the Reef Calcium bottle say it'll affect your alk at all? Alot of things will also buffer your alk to which is exactly what you do not want to do.

[RBU1]

All it say's is

DO NOT OVERDOSE Excess calcium may enhance the loss of carbonate alkalinity. So it sounds to me like if you put to much of it in it will lower your alkalinity???? RIGHT???

[elephen]

Well it'll cause it to precip.

Well, I'm not sure about that calcium you have. I know when my alk gets high for some reason and my alk is low, I use ESV calcium chloride and that helps lower the alk and raise the calcium levels. I would just leave it as is and test it tomorrow and the day after to see how it goes. If the alk goes down then try dosing a little bit of that seachem calcium you have (follow dosing directions) and then test to see how it affects it.

[RBU1]

Thanks Elph,


I am going to start reading about PH Alk and Calcium to try and help myself better understand. THANKS again for the advice. BILL

[elephen]

Hang on I have some helpful links for you

[elephen]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

Randy is amazing. If you are ever having any issues post in the Chemistry forum, he is very smart and knows his stuff. He has taught me a thing or two (or a lot more)

[RBU1]

Thanks Again, BILL