Lowering KH

[Tron87]

My new Salifert test just informed me that my dKH is 13.4 and meg/L is 4.91. A far cry from the recommended readings.

As I am colorblind and this test is a titration process I do not guarantee my readings but I came to similar conclusions in two tries.

How do I take care of this problem and how severe is the problem itself? Things in the tank seem fine except my GSP is looking a bit poorly.

[dragon_slayer]

just stop adding whatever you're using for supplementation and let it slowly deplete on its own and have someone else lend a helping hand (or eye) when you do your test to be certain.

good luck
kc

[Tron87]

I add fish food.

[Hop]

Did we ever find out if there is a specific lot number of the salifert tests that is reading high, or has that problem been resolved?

[dragon_slayer]

Originally posted by Tron87
I add fish food.

'Normal' fish food isn't increasing your dKH.

kc

[Tron87]

I sure hope "that problem" has been resolved.

lso, what is the severity of my problem? The lady at the LFS said I should be not worried but she also said that dKH testing is only relavent for FW tanks. and that my PH should be 8.5 Sheesh.

[dragon_slayer]

obviously she hasn't a clue.

dKH is very important in a reef setup, and your 13 isn't overly high but is at the upper end. pH should be 8.2 and not fluctuate more then 0.2 throughout the light cycle (24 hours)

kc

[drummereef]

Wow, sounds like you need a new LFS. Alkalinity testing is essential, don't believe the bull they are throwing. There has been issues with recent alk kits from Salifert. If you are dosing any suppliments I would stop and let the alk fall on its own. A water change wouldn't hurt either. Maybe get some help with your alk test since you have issues in seeing the color. I'm sure a fellow reefer friend would love to help out. pH is a seperate issue. Recommended levels are between 7.8-8.5.

[sickyute]

isn't reef alkalinity supposed to be maintained at 4-5 meq/l OR 11-14 dKH ??? closest bottle to me says so (checking it now) .. it's a seachem reef carbonate bottle ... says the same thing ..

that's what it says on most of the products/books i have at home ...

Reef = above ...

the salifert test however says that sea water = 8 dKH

so reef dKH is different than regular sea water dKH ??

i try to keep my reef at 11-12 ... haven't had an issue yet ...

[dragon_slayer]

Originally posted by sickyute
isn't reef alkalinity supposed to be maintained at 4-5 meq/l OR 11-14 dKH ???

No those are considerably elevated over NSW But allot of reefers keep them elevated to promote growth and help with pH swings. I've ran as high as 17 dKH with no problems but also no benefit that was noticeable, at higher levels I've noticed stressed corals.

kc

[Tron87]

I recently added about two gallons of tap to my tank to counter evaporation(a return was blowing air into the water cuz it was close to the surface). I suspect that I have very hard water where I live. Could this have been the cause of the high readings?

[seapug]

Dragon Slayer is right. You are better off with a dkh of 14 than 4. I keep mine between 12-14 all the time. Like Tron87 said, the quickest way to knock it down is to add some oily/fat fish food. Otherwise, it will go down with time as the water acidifies with food and poop from the critters.

[Travis L. Stevens]

I might have missed it, but what is your Calcium?

[Tron87]

Don't have that test kit yet

[MeuserReef]

Originally posted by Tron87
Don't have that test kit yet

Dont think in terms of "correct" alkalinity, but try to view it in terms of "balanced". You cannot tell if your Alk is unblanaced without testing for both Alk and Calcium.

I personally believe that Salifert should sell a single kit that covers both Ca and Alk for reef tanks since they are both so important to reef life.

I have used this calculator in the past to help with balancing my Alk and Ca.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

[MeuserReef]

Your 4.91 Alk is fine.......

..... if your calcium is in the range of 459 ppm

(according to the calc.)

[sonic1634]

if ur dkh is that high ur ca is low i easy way to lower ur dkh is add ca ur dkh should be around 11 to 12 just add ca and check it again in a day or so

[Hop]

Sonic... Please keep in mind that a lot of our members are children, my eleven year old included. If you want to debate, then please by all means post a reply, but using those terms and subject matter is not something I want to explain to my children for a few years

Thanks.

[Hop]

Thanks sonic for editing your post

[Reefcherie]

Originally posted by Hop
Sonic... Please keep in mind that a lot of our members are children, my eleven year old included. If you want to debate, then please by all means post a reply, but using those terms and subject matter is not something I want to explain to my children for a few years

Thanks.

Exactly! I removed a couple of out of line posts here!


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[Peter Eichler]

1.) Salifert Alkalinty have been pretty faulty lately and have been reading quite high. Unles you've been adding a lot of buffer lately I doubt your dKH really is above 13.

2.) Even if it as high as the Salifert test says there is absolutely nothing wrong with having dKH at that level. It's actually better than the people that teeter on the brink with levels closer to natural seawater. Alo, keep in mind that there was a time in this hobby that people maintained their dKH as high 18.

3.) The lady at the fish store was right about one thing. Having a PH of 8.5 is a good thing in home aquaria IMO. In an ideal world we would all be able to maintain our tanks around 8.2 all the time. However our tanks are going to fluctuate and I think it's better to be on the high end of the range than it is to be on the low end.

4.) Topping off with a few gallons of tap water would never be enough to elevate dKH much.

5.) Even if his dKH is that high is does not mean his calcium is low, and simply adding calcium is not necessarily going to lower his dKH.