PH, dK and Calc Problems.. any help would be nice!

[RyanJ]

Hey there guys.. So i have a slight problem with my water.. If anyone has experienced this please let me know what you did to fix it!
My PH is 8.0 But my dK is close to 380 mg/l (21.0 dHK) and my calcium was < 300ppm I have corrected the calcium.. but I have no idea how to bring down the dHK.. Dose anyone know how to bring this parameter down?? without causing a huge PH issue??
I have heard the Carbonated soda will drop the dHK.. But wont that effect the PH as well??


Tank Info
125G FOWLR tank & a 15g nano.. on the same system!
PH 8.0
dHK: 21.0
Calcium: 450ppm Was under 300PPM but adjusted!
I haven't tested the rest in ages..
What started me on this wonderful adventure, I bought a Neptune apex and i have been trying to Get my PH to 8.3 using eight.four from aquavitro (Seachem) And Balance, Witch is meant to bring up the PH without effecting the dKH... But When i get it to 8.3, it drops right back down to 7.5-8.0 overnight! is there anything im missing here???

Thanks for the help guys~!!

[reefwars]

Hey there guys.. So i have a slight problem with my water.. If anyone has experienced this please let me know what you did to fix it!
My PH is 8.0 But my dK is close to 380 mg/l (21.0 dHK) and my calcium was < 300ppm I have corrected the calcium.. but I have no idea how to bring down the dHK.. Dose anyone know how to bring this parameter down?? without causing a huge PH issue??
I have heard the Carbonated soda will drop the dHK.. But wont that effect the PH as well??


Tank Info
125G FOWLR tank & a 15g nano.. on the same system!
PH 8.0
dHK: 21.0
Calcium: 450ppm Was under 300PPM but adjusted!
I haven't tested the rest in ages..
What started me on this wonderful adventure, I bought a Neptune apex and i have been trying to Get my PH to 8.3 using eight.four from aquavitro (Seachem) And Balance, Witch is meant to bring up the PH without effecting the dKH... But When i get it to 8.3, it drops right back down to 7.5-8.0 overnight! is there anything im missing here???

Thanks for the help guys~!!



first things first sit back and take a slow look at what your doing your trying to correct things with a quick answer sometimes its easier to just go slow and fix problems slowly.

i wouldnt worry about your ph tooo much 8.0 isnt that bad and its expected to drop and fluctuate threoughout the night.so trying to keep it stable is sometimes a losing battle and to be honest not many people worry to muich as long as your not constantly in the high or low its when you add things to correct it thats when youll get problems all that stuff you add has to have some effect on your systems balance.

is your system already fully stocked???? i would think about doing some large water changes to get your levels corrected out with the wrong water params and in with the new.

how did you raise your calcium??:):)

[reefwars]

test for mag if your calcium was that low then your mag was probably low as well if your magnesium is not high enough your cal or dkh could rise really high while the other falls really low:):) if your magnesium is low you can correct it using epson salt:) cheers

[christyf5]

what test kit are you using for alkalinity??

[RyanJ]

I have been doing some watcher changes... 50G so far! 25 G for the last 2 days! But I i know what your saying! And i did test me Mag, and it was 800 with a Elos kit, and for the dHK, I was useing Elos, and a hagart or whatever there name is! And i did add some Seachem aquavitro (Ion), Like a full bottle lol! I need to test again tomorrow! and the system is stocked lol,
Clown trigger
Huma Huma trigger
Asfer Angel
Zebra Eal
Lunar Wrasse
Potters Angel
Carpet anemone
and a breeding pair of clowns!
100lb live rock
So it is kinda stocked, would large water changes Cause New Tank Syndrome??

[Edmonton newbie]

thats gotta be a fowlr system so why are you getting stressed about the cal and mag??? stabilize the system and watch

[RyanJ]

The 15g thats attached is a Coral tank, Has some zoa and mushrooms, I have a 150WHQI on it, Im trying to get things right, and Learn what I am doing wrong, so when i wanna put corals in the other tank, I will not kill them all lol! Plus.. isnt a hobby to keep yourself busy.. I am trying to make it right, and keep it that way! but its much harder then I thought!

[reefwars]

The 15g thats attached is a Coral tank, Has some zoa and mushrooms, I have a 150WHQI on it, Im trying to get things right, and Learn what I am doing wrong, so when i wanna put corals in the other tank, I will not kill them all lol! Plus.. isnt a hobby to keep yourself busy.. I am trying to make it right, and keep it that way! but its much harder then I thought!



its not hard at all i think your thinking about it to much first off lots of water changes...everynight do a little water change. next dont add anything to your tank that will change your water parameters. you need to find out where your tank is sitting at naturally and what it uses before you can dose anything.


get test kits for everything you can think of but mainly nitrate,phosphates,calcium,magnesium,alkalinity,am onia.


if your mag is high you can use epson salts to bring it down if its low water changes will bring it back up again but alot of salts are relatively low in mag so you may want to have some on hand to bring it up.

your calcium and alkalinity are hand in hand so if ones off or way out of whack the other may be as well so if you bring one up too fast or down to fast the other will feel its effects.

it will take some time to bring them all together but water changes is a good place to start and once your levels are stable then you can start trying to fix other problems but keep in mind everything you add has an effec t on something else .

[reefwars]

another thing to mention i guess is how are your corals doing in your nano??? if there not showing any damaging signs i wouldnt get to stressed about it and like christy mentioned make sure your tests are accurate and not out of date:):)

[christyf5]

your pH is fine, not every tank runs at 8.3 mine has run at 8.0 or less for years with no adverse problems and its a full blown reef tank. Turf the hagen alkalinity test kit they're not the most reliable so I wouldn't stress out about a high alk reading (I didn't even think test kits could read that high) I would imagine your alkalinity is probably fine. In fact I would stop and stop testing altogether for now. Regular water changes will keep everything happy and test say in another 3 waterchanges or more. If you don't actually have anything in the tank that requires elevated calcium and alkalinity levels I wouldn't worry about it.

[reefwars]

heres a link with some helpful information :)



http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Freefkeeping.com%2Fissues%2F2004-05%2Frhf%2Findex.php&rct=j&q=mag%20levels%20in%20a%20reef%20tank%3F&ei=RjEUTcKLG8amnAfTj8HRDQ&usg=AFQjCNFkJ_2hW7tWuMAsZVCft8Z6QWfeCQ&sig2=3f_XTb6L5C2I5R9PAA827w&cad=rja

[RyanJ]

The Corals in the 15 are Great.. the Fuzzy mushrooms is Spread right out.. the Zoa's, A few are closed, and one of my other mushrooms are curled up abit.. But no signs that they are going to die by any means!
Christy, I hear ya, But i tested my fresh saltwater and it was 8 drops with the kit.. and when i tested my tank it was 28 drops.. thats what Kinda set me off to figure this all out!

[RyanJ]

But won't a high alk level, stress my fish out?? I do want to get a bigger coral tank.. and i will and just plumb it into the system! but id like to learn why these chemicals do what they do lol.. i was telling a buddy today.. i want a 4 foot purple/blue birdsnest! and I will get it oneday lol!

[reefwars]

But won't a high alk level, stress my fish out?? I do want to get a bigger coral tank.. and i will and just plumb it into the system! but id like to learn why these chemicals do what they do lol.. i was telling a buddy today.. i want a 4 foot purple/blue birdsnest! and I will get it oneday lol!



have you tested it more than once ??? if so what things do you add to your tank on a regular basis and how long has it been set upfor??

[PoonTang]

If your using a elos alk test kit then your alk is 14. Its .5 Dkh per drop. Not all that bad considering that your cal and mag are so low. Low cal and mag can cause this. Do not try to adjust for ph! only for alk. Once you have your alk at the right level your ph will find it's own natural balance. Slowly bring your cal and mag up to spec and leave the alk alone until it falls naturally. This may help
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

[Seamazter]

If u must do it fast try waterchanges daily of 5 gallons to get your dkh lower, try a brand of salt with low dkh. As its a fish only system you can lower your salininty to 1.020 slowly, this will help you get your dkh lower.
Sometimes its best to do nothing at all, if you livestock are not affected just take your time and wait.