dKH at 16

[WaNeR]

Is it way too high?

should i change 20% water?

[jervismun]

I believe so... try to bring it down to 12dkH, not more than 2dkH daily recommended.

[WaNeR]

roger that

[subxero]

IMO, you don't have to do anything. Just turn off your CR if you're using one.

kH will drop gradually by itself

[WaNeR]

thanks 4 the info

[iantoh]

hi there bro waner,

theoretically, alk levels at 16dkh shouldn't exist, because its oversaturated, and has an immense propensity to precipitate. with normal levels of calcium (say 400ppm), once alk exceeds 14dkh, calcium carbonate and aragonite should begin to precipitate and cause a natural lowering of alkalinity.

could you kindly tell us your calcium levels? the high alk could be an indication of extremely low or biologically unable calcium, because calcifying corals consume both alk and ca in a specified proportion, and cannot build its calcium skeleton without either, so in case where calcium is very low and corals are unable to obtain calcium, alkalinity will remain high, with every additional alk supplementation raising alk levels further.

alternatively, you can try testing with a different test kit just to ensure your readings are right ya.

cheers bro, and hope you work our your alk issues,

ian

[WaNeR]

hi iontoh

my calcium measurement is way too low , only 300 no matter how

hard i try to add the additive. i tried to add everyday but it doesnt raise

at all. i used both tropin marine bio-caocium 4 level spoon n aquapharm two-part A

8 caps. my tank is 3x2x2 with sump 2x1.5x1.

magnesium reading is at 1400.

[WaNeR]

hi iontoh

just took the measurement

dkh now at 13 liao, cal 400 liao , mag at 1260

phew

[nakazoru]

Bro WaNer;

It is prefered to use Calcium and Carbonate hardness of the same brand to avoid the problem of ions imbalance. Now that u have solve the problem, you still need to monitor a pattern of not causing the imbalance.

I ran into this problem bcos of different brand and I stupidly follow the different set of dosing instruction as per the bottle not knowing that concentration may be different.

[WaNeR]

hi bro nakazoru

thank you for the info

i will take note of it n get same brand

thanks

[iantoh]

hi there bro waner,

its good to hear your low ca issues are resolving themselves. try just adding the ca portion of your part a part b additives till dkh steadies at around 9 to 10dkh, and ca at between 420 to 480ppm.

cheers,

ian

[subxero]

I'm using tropin marine bio-calcium to raise my calcium. I notice that bio-calcium not only raise Ca, it also raise kH. Or am I the only one who experienced this?

[WaNeR]

I'm using tropin marine bio-calcium to raise my calcium. I notice that bio-calcium not only raise Ca, it also raise kH. Or am I the only one who experienced this?

sure didnt, calcium alway low for me ,kh usually stay around 12, but last week suddenly shoot up to 16, had a shock. maybe due to tropic marine bio-calcium? i added 4 level spoon almost everyday last week .

[jervismun]

I'm using tropin marine bio-calcium to raise my calcium. I notice that bio-calcium not only raise Ca, it also raise kH. Or am I the only one who experienced this?

You are not alone

[jervismun]

maybe due to tropic marine bio-calcium? i added 4 level spoon almost everyday last week .

Yes that is a very possible cause... mine shot up to 14dkH when I first used the product

[subxero]

Yes that is a very possible cause... mine shot up to 14dkH when I first used the product

same same..

Initially I only did a Ca test and happily add bio-cal thinking it only raise Ca, until one day I decide to check the kH and got shock

I believe the reason for Tropic Marin to raise kH at the same time is because reef tanks deplete Ca as well as kH along with other trace elements.

[jervismun]

same same..

Initially I only did a Ca test and happily add bio-cal thinking it only raise Ca, until one day I decide to check the kH and got shock

I believe the reason for Tropic Marin to raise kH at the same time is because reef tanks deplete Ca as well as kH along with other trace elements.

Yupe... something like that I believe is your kH is very low... no matter how much Ca you dose... it will not rise

[WaNeR]

2day took sum measurement n cal still at 300 (tested twice).

dKH at 14, cal cant seem to raise.

[subxero]

Yupe... something like that I believe is your kH is very low... no matter how much Ca you dose... it will not rise

My kH is about 7-8 dkh and Ca about 340 ppm initially. It raise to an uncomfortable level (10dkh) and I had to turn off the CR for a few days and let the kH drop slowly by itself

[subxero]

By the way, I thought it is more difficult to raise water parameter such as pH, Ca, Mg with high kH? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[loster]

alvin, i m not too such whether it is difficult to raise ca, ph and mg with high kh. i know that kh and ph somehow relate... with high kh, you will have higher ph value.

if your mg is off range, no matter how you try to correct your ca and kh, they will always off range unless you correct your mg value

[loster]

hi iontoh

just took the measurement

dkh now at 13 liao, cal 400 liao , mag at 1260

phew

 

hi, what test kit are you using to measure your ca, kh and mg? is it new test kit? it seem that your kh drop from 16 to 13 and mg from 1400 - 1260, all within a day. that is too much of the drop. even with my full sps tank, mg wouldn't drop that fast rate something is not right from your measurement. or you took the measurement from many days apart?

[madmac]

By the way, I thought it is more difficult to raise water parameter such as pH, Ca, Mg with high kH? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

It is not difficult to raise. Can be done quite easily. If alk is toohigh, the all the 'spare' space will be alloted to carbonate ions. Its is the nature of seawater to balance them to equilibrium. i.e. Ca = 400, dKH at 7, Mg at 1350 and pH to 8.2.

pH values are mostly due to CO2 levels, in water as well as the surrounding air. A high alk prevents the volatile swing(buffers), but it won't prevent pH from going where it wants to eventually.

Now if you're getting consistently high kh relative to Ca, then its attributed to your dosing regime and your tank's unique consumption of these ions. I believe it would be better for you to set aside the balance TMCa additive and use a two part one for better control.

[WaNeR]

hi, what test kit are you using to measure your ca, kh and mg? is it new test kit? it seem that your kh drop from 16 to 13 and mg from 1400 - 1260, all within a day. that is too much of the drop. even with my full sps tank, mg wouldn't drop that fast rate something is not right from your measurement. or you took the measurement from many days apart?

the test was done a week apart not a day, pH at 8.3-8.6

cal n mg using Sera, pH using tetra

yes they are new test kits, bought in July 29th

[WaNeR]

Now if you're getting consistently high kh relative to Ca, then its attributed to your dosing regime and your tank's unique consumption of these ions. I believe it would be better for you to set aside the balance TMCa additive and use a two part one for better control.

yeah im using aquapharm Aand B and tropic marine bio-cal.

i've since stop adding part B but am still using dosing part A n adding bio-cal.