Help control PH and Calcium

[dannynguyen3573]

Hi All,
How do you raise your PH and calcium as the same time. My current PH is 7.8 w/o light, 7.9 w/light. Calcium is about 300ppm

[Randall_James]

My choice of weapons is kalk. Not the best at raising CA levels but sure does a good job of ph control over night with the lights out. You could go with b-ionic 2 part to get your CA up along with alkalinity. After you have it up where it belongs, the kalk will help hold it there. I only dose at night when the lights go out. Kalk is a PH 12+ so my tank never gets below 8.2

[dannynguyen3573]

I do have kalk drip to the sum 24/7 days. But thanks for you respond.

[alten78]

kalk isn't going to raise your calcium as randall said, use calcium chloride to do so, but also be safe and use it with a 2 part supp for the alk part.

7.8 ph is low but it is an accepted level, suggest taking this question over to the chemistry forum and let r.holmes answer it, that guy is a genius.

[bertoni]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php

That article might help.

Low pH is often caused by excess CO2, if your alkalinity level is okay. Also, you might want to double-check your test kit. 7.8 is low, but not too bad. I'd try to raise it. Using kalk as your should be helping. Do you mix any vinegar into your kalk?

[dannynguyen3573]

No, I;m not add any vinegar in kalk. Yester day I just add about 5 tea-spoon of calsium buffer and my PH drop at 7.7 in the morning. How do I raise my Ph at 8.0-8.3 and Cal at 400ppm-450ppm ? Please help

[alten78]

calcium buffer isn't going to raise ph, did you take the ph reading while the lights were out? Also have you checked your magnesium levels?

Heres more good reads:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

and a 2 part supplement article
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/iss...il2004/chem.htm

[Randall_James]

Actually a buffer will raise the PH, the main function is to grab falling ph and stop it. Hence the "Buffer" name. However it will also raise PH in a tank that has low numbers.

Adding all the buffer in the manner he is however is not a good idea. Again you can shock a tank with rapid ph swings and also precipitate the calcium out of suspension. This puts you further behind than you already were.

You can use Kalk for all of your makeup water (evaporation losses) but you need to be aware of the ph again. By adding the vinegar that bertoni referred to, you can raise the calcium level in the tank without blowing the ph thru the ceiling.

I would not drip kalk 24/7 myself as PH once again is the issue. PH drops at night, kalk raises it, so I only run it at night. I use an aqua lifter pump and on the hour I run it for a couple minutes. This bumps PH and tops off tank levels

Not sure what the magnesium levels have to do with PH but I will read up and see if I can find the connection...

[alten78]

How does a calcium buffer raise ph? Supplementing only calcium will drive down alk and low alk will cause low ph. This is why a 2 part supplement system is safest.

Mag is directly relative to cal and alk, yes mag is replaced by water changes but its a thought, also thought he had a 2 part question...to raise both calcium and ph...

Again, dosing kalk is not going to raise your calcium substantially without a huge ph swing as mentioned...with or without vinegar. A calcium chloride product would be needed to safely raise calcium to what is desired/needed over a day or two, at which time a mix of baking soda or the sort would be needed to make up for that alk (there is that 2 part system again.)

The question I have is what is the alkalinity readings at now?

[Randall_James]

A buffer reacts to low PH. Just as aragonite substrate does. If low PH water is subjected to aragonite sand, the sand dissolves and raises ph.

Mag is directly relative to cal and alk

Magnesium is a trace element present in tanks. It can be dosed, and it is separate from calcium and alkalinity.
I still am not sure what the link is here. Low magnesium levels can affect coraline growth and maybe some other stuff but not sure I see the connection to ph levels or calcium levels. Maybe you could list your reference material

[alten78]

I agree a buffer reacts to low ph but not a calcium buffer, ph or alk buffer yes...

taken from http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

"Finally, if you are adding large amount of calcium and alkalinity supplements, but just cannot maintain the desired values, you might want to measure the magnesium level in the water. Magnesium plays an important role in preventing the abiotic precipitation of calcium carbonate1, and if it is substantially depleted, you may be experiencing excessive amounts of calcium and alkalinity loss to this route. Magnesium gets the blame far more frequently, in my opinion, than it is likely responsible, but since it is easy to check with a test kit and easy to supplement if necessary, there’s no reason to not see if it is a problem. I’d advise aiming for a natural seawater level of about 1300 ppm."

As mentioned its not often magnesium is depleted (unless you get lazy with the water changes) but it is a thought.

[bertoni]

I don't know how much, if at all, a calcium supplement addition will change the pH. I suppose it depends on what's in the supplement, but I don't think any of the calcium chloride or the polygluconate products I used had all that much of an effect.

An alkalinity measurement for the tank would be interesting. I missed that, somehow.

[jimbo045]

You can add this 16oz. stuff aragaMILK I think it is good.