alkalinity......

[puffdaddy_1]

Randy,

After dosing kalkwasser consistently, I was able to get my alkalinity up to 3.09 meq/l with a 7 dkh. However, sometimes I tend to miss a few days with my busy schedule. If I miss a few days, my alkalinity drastically drops back down to like 2.0 meq/l. Calcium is stable around 400.

Someone explained to me that I am only fighting with myself by not buffering my top off water that is evaporated each day. My tank evaporates around 1.5 gallons per day. When I miss dripping kalk, I end up just topping off with ro water. He said I need to start buffering this top off water because I am just diluting all the alkalinity that was added to the system.

Because of my schedule, I cannot always drip kalk for all my evap water and therefore sometimes dump 3 gallons of straight ro water in my tank for 2 days worth of evap.

Randy, if all this holds true, what would you suggest I do(about maintaining alkalinity) in the case I have to miss a few days with kalk? Maybe add some baking soda to the top off water?

I appreciate your response





I appreciate your insights

[krucial]

thats a good question I cant wait for the answer...

[jgsensor]

I've never heard of buffering your make up water. Maybe that's why i have a hard time growing coraline. Should be interesting to hear this answer.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Most likely, the scenario that you describe is the reason that I wrote this article:

When Do Calcium and Alkalinity Demand Not Exactly Balance?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rhf/index.htm

In short, you almost certainly need more of both calcium and alkalinity despite the fact that calcium "seems" stable. Adding only buffer in the top off water will slowly drop the calcium level, and then require significant additions of calcium. Perhaps if you are using Oceanic salt with excessive calcium, that is a good plan. Otherwise, I wouldn't typically do it.

That said, if you want to add buffer in top off water that is fine. The fact that there is no alkalinity in evaporation replacement water is not a cause of alkalinity dropping. The water that is evaporated contains no alkalinity, so the replacment need not contain any. It is also not necessary to try to control the pH in purified water, regardless of what it reads.

[puffdaddy_1]

So, what I got from the article is that I should be using more additive to push the calcium and alk higher than what I have it. Since alkalinity seems to drop very fast in my system, I should be trying to keep it at the higher end of the scale.

Randy, I have 2 lps corals and 2 soft corals and various zoos only in my 72. Does this sound normal to you to have this kind of alkalinity drop in a weeks time?? Im talking going from 3.00 meq/l to 2.00meq/l in a week. Is this normal?? Or does my system seem to have a high demand for alkalinity?

I also read your article on the relationship between ph and alkalinity. I have determined that my room has excess co2 in it. I understand the chart how that shows as alkalinity rises, so does ph. However, since Im fighting excess C02 in my air this would cause the ph to be lower. Would this cause the alkalinity to drop faster because of its relationship?

I appreciate your response

I appreciate your response

[comatose]

you really must take care of that high CO2 in the tank room, cause no matter how much you dose the indoor air is just gonna drive the PH down again. is your tank anywhere near a window?

take care of the root of the PH problem first, then you can start working on the ALk problem. if you try and fix all the problems at the same time you just may make things worse.

[puffdaddy_1]

My tank is near a window, but Im in ohio and its below zero, lol.

[comatose]

you don't have to leave your window open, all you need to do is run airline tubing from your window to your Skimmer, or like i have in my photo gallery running airline tubing directly to both my durso overflows.
i had a PH problem also, during the winter months i would see my PH drop to 7.7-7.8 and i was dosing tons of Kalk, now i don't even need any Kalk at all and my PH stays 8.1 (morning) to 8.25 at night.
as a matter of fact the cold air coming in the airline tubing has lowered my tank temp about 1.5 deg. also. help keep the heating from my MH lower.

i live in Philly and it gets pretty cold here too, down in the teens the last few nights.
i started a little project around my area with other reefers of adding 1.25 pvc tubing as vent pipe from the outside to my tank and putting on airline valves on the pvc pipe and running all air off of that to my overflows and skimmer.

[puffdaddy_1]

Yeah, but how does your airline tubing get into your window?? Do you have a hole in your window?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So, what I got from the article is that I should be using more additive to push the calcium and alk higher than what I have it. Since alkalinity seems to drop very fast in my system, I should be trying to keep it at the higher end of the scale.


Yes, that seems appropriate. :)

Im talking going from 3.00 meq/l to 2.00meq/l in a week.

Yes, that is reasonable in the absence of ongoing additions. Coralline algae and abiotic precipitation can take up a lot as well as the corals. In a heavy SPS tank, you might get that drop in a day or less.

. I have determined that my room has excess co2 in it. I understand the chart how that shows as alkalinity rises, so does ph. However, since Im fighting excess C02 in my air this would cause the ph to be lower. Would this cause the alkalinity to drop faster because of its relationship?

No. If anything, lower pH causes alkalinity to drop more slowly as abiotic precipitation and even calcification by corals may be slower, all other things except pH being equal.

What is your usual pH range, puffdaddy_1?

[puffdaddy_1]

Without any additives, ph will be 7.8/7.9 during the day. It will drop down to 7.6/7.7 at night. Since I lose 1.5 gallons per day its really hard for me to keep up with the limewater to keep ph. I only have a kent aquadose 2.5 gallon that will only last a day and a half, lol. The only thing I guess I have to do, is figure out a way to get fresh air into my tank. I am lucky enough to be by a window. I am expermenting right now. There is a cable socket next to the electrical plug. I removed the entire plug and it goes down into the wall, where if I leave it off I can feel a nice cold breeze coming through the socket. I went to the home depot and got some extended vinyl tubing and and connected my skimmer to this air. I am seeing if it will make a difference with my ph. Hopefully, if I'm lucky, lol.

[comatose]

Originally posted by puffdaddy_1
Yeah, but how does your airline tubing get into your window?? Do you have a hole in your window?

At first yes, i drilled a small hole thru the window frame and slipped a piece of airline tubing thru it, but currently when i get a nice day(which may not be till spring) i'll be running a vent pipe thru the wall to outside for future use.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I am seeing if it will make a difference with my ph. Hopefully, if I'm lucky, lol.

Let us know if that helps. :)