high kh

[goldie]

I am new to sw, and I just found out that I should test for calcium and kh. The calcium is 400(which I believe is ok) but the KH was 15, which I think is high. How do I lower this?...or is it not a problem. I don't add anything to the tank and it has been running for 3 months

[untamed]

#1...double check that result. It is unusual.

If you are not adding anything to the tank, it begs the question..."how did it get that high?".

Mix up a fresh batch of SW and measure it. See if that is where the problem lies. If the new mix has more appropriate levels, then do a partial water change to get things back somewhat in line. I don't know of any brand of salt that mixes to readings like that, so suspect your test kit/procedure as well.

All in all...high DKH isn't a serious problem. It should correct itself over time with regular water changes, but you do need to figure out why it got high in the first place.

[xtreme]

What brand of test kit are you using?

[goldie]

It is part of my master reef test kit made by API

[goldie]

ok, so I just checked a fresh batch of saltwater and the result was 21. Could this be because I am on well water? Is this going to be a problem, because I tried the bottled water method and it was so irritating with how often I would have to go to the store to get more water. And as far as I heard you can't get an RO/DI unit when you are on a well?

[JDigital]

You can get a RO/DI unit with a well, but you need to add in a booster pump to raise the pressure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_1KfDx2W3Y

This guy has a well... he describes his ro/di unit in detail.

[midgetwaiter]

ok, so I just checked a fresh batch of saltwater and the result was 21. Could this be because I am on well water? Is this going to be a problem, because I tried the bottled water method and it was so irritating with how often I would have to go to the store to get more water. And as far as I heard you can't get an RO/DI unit when you are on a well?

How old is your kit? Double check with a new one before you spend a bunch of $.

[Doug]

ok, so I just checked a fresh batch of saltwater and the result was 21. Could this be because I am on well water? Is this going to be a problem, because I tried the bottled water method and it was so irritating with how often I would have to go to the store to get more water. And as far as I heard you can't get an RO/DI unit when you are on a well?


If your test kit is reading correct, then the well water may be the culprit. My previous lace had the same problem and I have a friend in the country also with high alk.

An RO unit alone wont remove the high alk. so as mentioned before and RO/DI is the answer, with the DI resin doing the job on the high well alkalinity.

[Robw]

You could also check the kh of the well water and determine if that really is the source.