PH & Calcium Question

[shaginwagon13]

I did some checks today and my PH is around 7.95 and my calcium is a little low at around 300. I want to raise my calsium level to 420. If I add a calcium supplement to do this will this lower my PH even lower?

Thanks!

[Avi]

Use the gadget that this link will get you to and follow its direction for additives....

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

[stingythingy45]

What are you planning on using to raise you calcium?
The alk drops as you raise the calcium level.
You have a 225 gallon tank?lol
Man,you're going to freak at how much it's going to take to raise your calcium.It took me like 300 ML of B-Ionic to raise a 55 gallon up from 360 ppm calcium to 450-480 ppm.
BTW..300 ppm is really low for a reef tank.

[shaginwagon13]

Well i have a calcium reactor but right now its hooked up to my PH monitor so its not activated because of the PH level. Yes i do have a 225 gallon reef however the reef part isn't set up yet. It finished cycling not too long ago. How can I raise the PH? According to the site given by Avi I can add 2.4 tbs of baking soda to raise it. Should I do some water changes as well and then try to increase the calcium level to 450 ppm?

Thanks!

[stingythingy45]

I'm not familiar at all with calcium reactors.I do know that the baking soda will definitely raise your alk and your PH some.I know that baking soda will raise the PH more if it's baked in an oven for a while at like 300 deg.
Airation will also bring your PH up pretty fast.If you have a PH with a venturi tube,open that up and get some bubbles going.
If you're running a venturi skimmer,try to get air from the outside plumbed to it.
*Also Kalk will raise the PH up.

[shaginwagon13]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11873734#post11873734 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stingythingy45
I'm not familiar at all with calcium reactors.I do know that the baking soda will definitely raise your alk and your PH some.I know that baking soda will raise the PH more if it's baked in an oven for a while at like 300 deg.
Airation will also bring your PH up pretty fast.If you have a PH with a venturi tube,open that up and get some bubbles going.
If you're running a venturi skimmer,try to get air from the outside plumbed to it.

Ok sounds good....ill raise the PH till i get it around 8.10-8.15 and then the PH monitor will turn the Calcium reactor on. Ill keep the reactor running until the calcium hits 450 ppm all the while adding some baking soda to make sure the PH does not drop too much.

Thanks guys!

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hold on. Those are going to be worse than useless solutions.

A reactor cannot be used to boost calcium much because alkalinity will go through the roof, causing precipitation of calcium carbonate and accomplishing nothing. For every 18-20 ppm rise in calcium they boost alkalinity by 1 meq/L (2.8 dKH).

Use calcium chloride to boost the calcium. It will have no impact on the alkalinity or pH.

Baking soda is not a good suitable way to boost pH unless you bake it first and use it every day only as much as is needed as an alkalinity supplement.

Limewater and more fresh air to the tank are much, much more effective ways to boost pH.

These articles have more:

Low pH: Causes and Cures
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.htm

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

[stingythingy45]

"Hold on. Those are going to be worse than useless solutions."

Yikes,take it easy on a fellow New Englander will yah,Randy?
At least I mentioned bringing in fresh air,and baking the Baking Soda first.And if it wasn't so late I would have linked him to your site.

[shaginwagon13]

Hey guys thanks for both your posts. I learned something new from both of them. I think im going to do a water change today and see where that takes me and then go from there. After i do the water change ill do some tests and let you both know where im at.

Thanks!!

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yikes,take it easy on a fellow New Englander will yah,Randy?

Sorry. :) It wasn't your advice that went wrong, it was his implementation of it along with his own part of the plan. Baking soda to boost pH to a fixed pH value and then using the reactor to boost calcium is extraordinarily bad. I know it isn't what you recommended either, but it is what he said he was going to do. :)