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bdbernard 
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 Topic: Alkalinity
Posted: November 20 2005 at 12:32am |
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Has anyone ever heard of lime water causing you're alkalinity to rise? I am knew to keeping corals and trying to learn the correlation between lime water addition and alkalinity. My water is regeristing at 15 Dkh and I don't understand what is causing it to be so high.
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jfinch
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 12:34am |
Limewater can increase alkalinty. Lime water is:
Ca(OH)2 = Ca + 2OH
You're going to get two units of alkalinity for every unit of calcium.
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bdbernard
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 1:07am |
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What do you suggest to lower the alkalinity and to keep it balanced?
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jfinch
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 12:10pm |
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If your calcium levels are ok, just stop adding any alkalinity supplement and it will come down on it's own. You may want to add a little calcium (such as Turbo Calcium) as you go 'cause it'll drop a little while this is happening.
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Weimers
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 12:25pm |
Jon is the King of all things Chemical... I would do whatever he says. Alkalinity is terribly important. Once we got the alkalinity/calcium balance figured out, our tank really came together. If you don't understand how the alkalinity/calcium/pH balance comes together, keep asking questions. It really is That Important. Those 3 things will make a world of difference to your tank.
Renee
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Renee and Damon Weimer
Tankless in Hawaii
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bdbernard
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 2:21pm |
Jon,
When you say, "just stop adding any alkalinity supplement and it will come down on it's own", are you implying for me to stop topping my tank off with lime water, and to add calcium as needed? Will this cause any problems with maintaining my ph levels? How do you suggest maintaining alkalinity/calcium/pH?
Thanks for help,
Brandon
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 2:52pm |
It appears to me that you are adding too much of a good thing to a small tank.
Why did you start adding Kalkwasser? Were Alk and Ca low? What is the Ca level currently?
In tanks less than 6 months old and tanks with few stony coral there is usually little or no need for supplements. 
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jfinch
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 3:12pm |
are you implying for me to stop topping my tank off with lime water, and to add calcium as needed?
Yes and yes.
Calcium and alkalinity are both consumed is reef tanks. If you stop adding anything your calcium will be lower then desired by the time your alkalinity drops down. That is why I suggest adding a calcium only additive, but test to know if and how much to add.
Will this cause any problems with maintaining my ph levels?
I don't know, have you had pH problems in the past?
How do you suggest maintaining alkalinity/calcium/pH?
Kalk is fine, I think you're just using too much. Once you get your calcium and alkalinity where you want (I'd suggest calcium between 350 - 450 and alk between 6-10 dKH), a balanced additive is preferred. B-ionic, kalkwasser and calcium reactors are all balanced. But you must keep an eye on both calcium and alkalinity to know how much to add. And as Mark said, some tanks do not need much if any supplementation.
pH of marine water is pretty much just a function of dissolved CO2 and alkalinity.
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bdbernard
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 10:54pm |
You guys are great, thanks for the input.
I started to drip lime water to raise my pH (7.8) level. I added 2 tablespoons Mrs. Wages pickling lime to 4 gallons of water and used this mixture for all top of water, which is about 1 gallon per day, which is added by a float valve. After a week of dosing my levels were; pH (8.2), KH (15), Ca (450).My system is a 30 gallon tank with a 10 gallon refugium. How do you suggest for me to keep my pH levels up? Which do you prefer B-ionic, kalkwasser or calcium reactor for Ca addition?
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jfinch
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 11:23pm |
Ok, your calcium is fine. Just stop adding kalk and eventually your alk will drop down to about 9 dKH and your calcium will be around 410 ppm. At that point resume kalk additions, but just add about 1/2 tsp per 4 gallons. If you notice after a week or so of doing this that your alk is dropping then go to 1 tsp. If your alk is increasing then drop to 1/8 tsp. Keep adjusting until your alk stays constant.
pH can be a bit of a bugger for some people. Do whatever you can to increase tank circulation. Low pH is caused by excessive CO2 dissolved in the tank water. I'd try to get it above 7.8, but I wouldn't worry too much if I couldn't. My tank spends all evening at about 7.8.
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bdbernard
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Posted: November 20 2005 at 11:36pm |
I will put this information to work.
Thanks again for your help.
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