High KH

[Neto]

So my next question will be: if my fresh mix water reads 10 how it goes that high? 19. What I'm doing to reach that level?

 

 

SEANTADEZ

thats because you have been adding B-IONIC 2 part....

 

• Part 1: Alkalinity Component 1 Gallon (Raises Alkalinity)
• Part 2: Calcium Component 1 Gallon (Raises Calcium)

Stop dosing part 1 immediately..  Dose part 2 untill calcium reaches around 420ppm

[seantadez]

thats because you have been adding B-IONIC 2 part....

• Part 1: Alkalinity Component 1 Gallon (Raises Alkalinity)
• Part 2: Calcium Component 1 Gallon (Raises Calcium)

Stop dosing part 1 immediately.. Dose part 2 untill calcium reaches around 420ppm

My calcium is already 420ppm

 

 

SEANTADEZ

[Neto]

And I highly suggest you monitor your Calcium and Alkalinity on a daily basis untill you get your parameters correct.... CAL and ALK are linked together..

[trockafella]

How much have you been dosing, and how did you come to that amount.? Why are you dosing to begin with.? Are you heavily stocked with corals clams etc.?

[Origami]

So my next question will be: if my fresh mix water reads 10 how it goes that high? 19. What I'm doing to reach that level?

 

 

SEANTADEZ

You're dosing two-part's bicarbonate part without testing, Antonio. That's how it crept up that high. I'd also say that something's going wrong with your dosing regimen as your alk has crept way up without your calcium going up correspondingly. Something's wrong with that.

 

You can do a large water change with a low alk salt, or you can use your Instant Ocean.

 

Your alk is high enough that I'd go ahead and make some bigger changes to bring it down. For such big changes, make sure that you're doing your best to match the temperatures and salinity. Also, add your water somewhat slowly over an hour or so, just to moderate the changes in the other parameters.

 

Day 1: Take 25% of the water out of your system. Replace it 25% of newly mixed water at 11 dKH. Resulting alk: 17 dKH.

 

Day 3: Take 50% of the water out of your system. Replace it with 50% of newly mixed water at 11 dKH. Resulting alk: 14 dKH.

 

Day 5: Do another 50% water change: Resulting alk: 12.4 dKH. At this point, let consumption draw it down the rest of the way.

[seantadez]

How much have you been dosing, and how did you come to that amount.? Why are you dosing to begin with.? Are you heavily stocked with corals clams etc.?

1 ml per each 4G

[seantadez]

You're dosing two-part's bicarbonate part without testing, Antonio. That's how it crept up that high. I'd also say that something's going wrong with your dosing regimen as your alk has crept way up without your calcium going up correspondingly. Something's wrong with that.

 

You can do a large water change with a low alk salt, or you can use your Instant Ocean.

 

Your alk is high enough that I'd go ahead and make some bigger changes to bring it down. For such big changes, make sure that you're doing your best to match the temperatures and salinity. Also, add your water somewhat slowly over an hour or so, just to moderate the changes in the other parameters.

 

Day 1: Take 25% of the water out of your system. Replace it 25% of newly mixed water at 11 dKH. Resulting alk: 17 dKH.

 

Day 3: Take 50% of the water out of your system. Replace it with 50% of newly mixed water at 11 dKH. Resulting alk: 14 dKH.

 

Day 5: Do another 50% water change: Resulting alk: 12.4 dKH. At this point, let consumption draw it down the rest of the way.

 

Sounds really good i will do that...

 

This it's  really crazy, i did the test that i post at the beginning... i did another one with all the lights on today and after 10% water change early this morning and it's a totally different results 

 

 

this is how i reads today:

 

Water change: 10%

temp: 78

Salinity 1.026

PH: 8.2

Alk: 14 

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 0

Calcium: 380

Phosphate: 0

Ammonia: 0

 

not sure if i'm doing something wrong but this is kind of weird PH seems to be stable but calcium and alk drop

Edited December 16, 2013 by seantadez

[trockafella]

My first advice would be to invest in a set of QUALITY test kits like saliferts. I used API's in the past and found them to be very unreliable.

[seantadez]

My first advice would be to invest in a set of QUALITY test kits like saliferts. I used API's in the past and found them to be very unreliable.

 

I notice that, thanks for the advice

[Sharkey18]

Read up on the relationship between pH, alk and calcium. pH and alk are NOT the same. But alk can affect your pH. Until you are clear you should not be dosing anything. I think you should do lots of small water changes until the alk comes down to 8 or 9. You don't want to drop it too fast either. What kind of coral do you have in your tank?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[seantadez]

Read up on the relationship between pH, alk and calcium. pH and alk are NOT the same. But alk can affect your pH. Until you are clear you should not be dosing anything. I think you should do lots of small water changes until the alk comes down to 8 or 9. You don't want to drop it too fast either. What kind of coral do you have in your tank?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I have few sps and lps, the thing is they look great and growing very well...

 

And yes you are right i though PH and ALK were the same or at least they affect each other

[Origami]

I've found API's alkalinity test reasonable, actually. There is some variation, but the results are consistent in my experience.

 

The fact that you tested both your change water and got expected results, and compared that to high readings from your tank water enhance the credibility of the test's relative accuracy.

 

That said, Antonio, there's a large change that needs to be noted from your original post to the most recent one.

 

From the first post: Alk = 19 dKH; Ca = 420 ppm.  From the latest (after a 10% water change): Alk = 14; Ca = 380

 

The decline in alk and calcium cannot all be due to a 10% water change using your regular salt. The change is too drastic. The drop of 5 dKH does correspond roughly to the 40 ppm drop in calcium, though. Do you have a lot of calcium-consuming corals in this tank? How large is it?

 

Do me a favor: Run 4 alkalinity tests, one right after the other. Do one on your tank water, then one on your change water, then repeat both. Log all the numbers and report back. I'm trying to calibrate out any procedural / handling variation from your measurements.

[seantadez]

I've found API's alkalinity test reasonable, actually. There is some variation, but the results are consistent in my experience.

 

The fact that you tested both your change water and got expected results, and compared that to high readings from your tank water enhance the credibility of the test's relative accuracy.

 

That said, Antonio, there's a large change that needs to be noted from your original post to the most recent one.

 

From the first post: Alk = 19 dKH; Ca = 420 ppm.  From the latest (after a 10% water change): Alk = 14; Ca = 380

 

The decline in alk and calcium cannot all be due to a 10% water change using your regular salt. The change is too drastic. The drop of 5 dKH does correspond roughly to the 40 ppm drop in calcium, though. Do you have a lot of calcium-consuming corals in this tank? How large is it?

 

Do me a favor: Run 4 alkalinity tests, one right after the other. Do one on your tank water, then one on your change water, then repeat both. Log all the numbers and report back. I'm trying to calibrate out any procedural / handling variation from your measurements.

 

 

Working on that right now, and yes that's the same concern i have it can't drop that drastic...

[seantadez]

this is so wrong 

 

1 test 

tank 12   water change 10

 

2 Test

Tank 14  water change 11

[BowieReefer84]

Where are you located? I think a home visit is in order...

[seantadez]

Burtonsville 20866

[Origami]

OK. So it's probably not the test. It's the tester (you). You've got to stabilize your test procedure before you do much more than water changes. (Water changes won't hurt unless you're not preparing your salinity correctly.)

 

First, the API color change is normally pretty dramatic but I've found it easier to observe in sunlight versus dim or compact fluorescents. So take your sample to good light and run the tests.

 

Make sure that you rinse the vial well between tests. Rinse with RO/DI water, not tap water. Shake out the excess. Make sure that you fill the vial consistently each time. Fill it so that the underside of the "bow" on the sample just hits the line printed on the side of the tube. Sometimes this line is inaccurately placed, but if you fill it the same way every time, at least the results will be consistent.

 

Next, make sure that the drops are a consistent size. This requires a steady hand and even pressure because if you squeeze too slowly and your hand is shaking, you're likely to knock off an undersized drop. This is one advantage of Salifert's kits (which have you read off how much reagent was used from the syringe). Sometimes the first drop is screwy, so I'll tip the bottle over somewhere other than over the vial so that if I get a large or small drop out too early, it doesn't fall into the tube. Only when I'm convinced I'll get a standard drop size, I move the bottle over the tube.

 

Try testing in better light and working on getting consistent results.

[BowieReefer84]

I take 29 to and from work each day.  I would be more than willing to swing by with an assortment of reliable test kits.  We can get you all checked out.

 

Alk/Calc/Mag/ph/N03/N04/salinity...

 

Send me a pm if you want help.  I also dose B-ionic in my tank.  I have it on timers.  Runs for 1 min 16 times a day.  You need to know your consumption before you can dose.

[Origami]

BTW, I'm guessing that the 19 dKH reading was a measurement error now, given how this has gone. I'm guessing that your alk is still high, but not crazy high like 19 dKH.

[seantadez]

OK. So it's probably not the test. It's the tester (you). You've got to stabilize your test procedure before you do much more than water changes. (Water changes won't hurt unless you're not preparing your salinity correctly.)

 

First, the API color change is normally pretty dramatic but I've found it easier to observe in sunlight versus dim or compact fluorescents. So take your sample to good light and run the tests.

 

Make sure that you rinse the vial well between tests. Rinse with RO/DI water, not tap water. Shake out the excess. Make sure that you fill the vial consistently each time. Fill it so that the underside of the "bow" on the sample just hits the line printed on the side of the tube. Sometimes this line is inaccurately placed, but if you fill it the same way every time, at least the results will be consistent.

 

Next, make sure that the drops are a consistent size. This requires a steady hand and even pressure because if you squeeze too slowly and your hand is shaking, you're likely to knock off an undersized drop. This is one advantage of Salifert's kits (which have you read off how much reagent was used from the syringe). Sometimes the first drop is screwy, so I'll tip the bottle over somewhere other than over the vial so that if I get a large or small drop out too early, it doesn't fall into the tube. Only when I'm convinced I'll get a standard drop size, I move the bottle over the tube.

 

Try testing in better light and working on getting consistent results.

 

 

You are right about the tester i notice some of the issues that you mentioned, i will follow the instructions and do it again

[seantadez]

I take 29 to and from work each day.  I would be more than willing to swing by with an assortment of reliable test kits.  We can get you all checked out.

 

Alk/Calc/Mag/ph/N03/N04/salinity...

 

Send me a pm if you want help.  I also dose B-ionic in my tank.  I have it on timers.  Runs for 1 min 16 times a day.  You need to know your consumption before you can dose.

 

 

Thats so nice of you i will PM

[Origami]

You are right about the tester i notice some of the issues that you mentioned, i will follow the instructions and do it again

That's not to ding you at all. It happens to all of us. In some of my Six Sigma Black Belt training in years past, we focused some on test variation and sources of error. Users can be a big part of it and, in some cases can become the limiting factor in measurement results.

[Neto]

Are these test kits old? I have used API for CAL and ALK with no problems

[seantadez]

That's not to ding you at all. It happens to all of us. In some of my Six Sigma Black Belt training in years past, we focused some on test variation and sources of error. Users can be a big part of it and, in some cases can become the limiting factor in measurement results.

 

 

Don't worry i honestly appreciate all your comments and help

[seantadez]

Are these test kits old? I have used API for CAL and ALK with no problems

 

I got the CAL on black friday on The Fish Place in PA and the ALK from a member in VA it looks new, barely used