Slight Kalk overdose - Water change w/ Tap or leave alone

[MeuserReef]

My kalk reactor's timer and my ATO timer got out of sync and the ATO dosed freshly mixed kalk into my sump.

The tank is slightly cloudy and some of the corals have withdrawn their polyps.

Should I risk doing a water change with saltwater made from the tap or should I wait until my RO unit can make "good" saltwater?

I know my tap has no chlorine/chloroamines but probably has (25yr old) copper pipes in the walls.

What should I do? The pH was above 8.7 according to my Salifert pH kit.

I turned off all of the lights to stop photosynthesis in an attempt to naturally lower the pH.

[bertoni]

The pH should drop on its own fairly rapidly with good aeration. Some seltzer water would help it along. I wouldn't risk using tapwater.

[MeuserReef]

Bertoni,

I was hoping that you would answer soon. I will just add a powerhead with the venturi on it to help.

I dont think that a whole lot got doesed. I top off (through my kalk reactor) about 4 times a day on my ~38 gallon system.How much seltzer?

[bertoni]

Hmm, I don't know how much to use. I'd start with an ounce or so and see what happens. This is a 30g tank, right?

[MeuserReef]

Yes, this is a 30 gallon tank another 8 gallons in a 10 gallon sump.

I have 2 MaxiJet 1200's as my main flow and I have them both running right now with their venturi attachements. I think I will just try this and see how things go (I dont have any seltzer water on hand)

I will do my bi-weekly 10 gallon water change this evening so that will help too.

Thanks again for the fast response. I had the image of Batman seeing the Bat-Symbol overhead for some reason when I saw your reply so fast.

[carman9941]

how bout a lil vinegar? but i wouldnt worry about it myself

[bertoni]

Vinegar can cause bacterial blooms, which can and have done a lot of damage.

[MeuserReef]

Assuming that my pH spiked up over 9.0 for about an hour, what effect would you anticipate this incident having on my tank?

[Sk8r]

I did the same thing and it kind of dusted my rock and corals, but no lasting harm. IMHO, it's one of the more forgiving things you can blow up.

IME, truly transient events of a ph or temperature, or even reef chemical nature don't tend to bother corals as much as their real banes, a nitrate or ammonia or really bad saline event. That or lasting high temp under high lighting. If none of the latter happened, I'd stay it will shrug off the event.

[MeuserReef]

Thanks Sk8r. Thats what I was hoping to hear.

There was no other "extreme" event with any of the other parameters, only the kalk being dosed as slurry, not saturated water.

[bertoni]

I, too, have overdosed kalk with little long-term effect.