baked baking soda

[beanoil]

Hi,

Is it OK to bake baking soda in a gas oven? Do I have to worry about fumes or anything? I'm trying to raise my alk from 9.6 to 12 and my pH is at 7.69. Is this OK or are there any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Grant

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That is fine.

[oct2274]

why exactly are you trying to raise your alk to 12 dkh?

[oct2274]

balanced calcium at 12dkh is around 600. if your ph is low i would try aerating your water more or opening up the house to lower co2 levels. Maybe try running a line from the outside to your skimmer.

[bertoni]

I would ignore the "balance" concept for alkalinity and calcium. It doesn't make any sense. 12 dKH is a bit high, but not enough that it's usually a problem.

[oct2274]

what really doesn't make sense is holding alk at 12 dkh. it would be a total pita

[oct2274]

also as far as the balancing the alk to the calcium i was just pulling that from one of randy's articles

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

you can ask him if it makes sense, maybe i was reading it wrong?

[beanoil]

What I got out of one of Randy's articles (I can't remember which one 'cause I've read quite alot lately) is that to raise pH, try to elevate your alk to 12. My pH kit has been reading 8.0 for a while, and I've always wanted to get that up, but I just got an AC jr., calibrated the probe, and it fluctuates between 7.61 and 7.79. I had no idea that it was that low. I've got a few corals not looking good--maybe that's why. I can't get any more air in the system. I have a decent skimmer (ER RS80), but can't run a line outside. The tank sits next to a window and my house is old. You can see the curtains moving when the wind blows. Plus, I have a tunze 6025 agitating the water surface, uncovered tank and uncovered sump. Is elevating the alk a bad idea? What else should I try? Thanks again.

Grant

[oct2274]

hmmm, that does sound a bit strange having pH low in the conditions you have stated. What solutions did you use to calibrate your AC jr? after you calibrated did you put the prob in the solutions to see if they matched or were close? Typically you would use 7 and 10 calibration solutions for reef.

[beanoil]

I used Pinpoint 7 and 10 solutions. After calibration, the 10 solution read 10.0 and the 7 solution read 7.19 (I did wonder why it didn't read 7.0). It seemed like raising the alk is the only solution. Isn't 12 the high end of normal? Should I try 11? Or is there another fix?

Grant

[bertoni]

I don't see the quote in that article that promotes the "balance" you're recommending, and I believe there are a number of threads in which he's stated that calcium and alkalinity are fine as long as both are within the recommend levels.

[oct2274]

there is no quote, just a chart that he put in there = scroll 3/4 way down page to see chart and I believe the paragraph above that might pertain to that. Maybe i'm looking at the chart and interpreting what he is saying incorrectly or maybe you are? Either way, i don't think the solution to this persons low pH is raising his alk to 12 dkh, there has to be something else going on here. Could be the pH reading is incorrect, could be the alk reading is incorrect, or something else. Instead of trying to make me look wrong, why don't you ask questions like me and try to help the guy since you probably are more experienced then I.

[bertoni]

The article requires very careful reading. I'm fairly tired of reading about people trashing tanks trying to "balance" calcium and alkalinity, so I tend to comment when I think people misquote. I don't think the original poster has a problem anymore.

[mixed_reefer]

Originally posted by beanoil
Should I try 11? Or is there another fix?

Grant

I would try 11 and see what it gets you, If the pH does not come into normal ranges i would look into other methods of raising it. I think you might be getting a bad reading from the meter, are you sure there is no electrical interference maybe giving you false readings? Try taking the water and the meter to another room away from electronics and testing it.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What brand of fluid did you use to calibrate the probe?

Did you try the aeration tests in the low pH article?

[beanoil]

They were Pinpoint solutions. I haven't tried the aeration tests yet as I don't have an air pump or stone. Guess I'll need to get them.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

OK, if you do, let us know what happens. The fluids should be OK, however (not all brands are acceptable).

[Icefire]

the alk 12 and ca 600 was from the output from a Calcium reactor.

Also the PH won't rise because you have more alk, and between 7.8 and 8.5 the Ph is fine