Top Off And Water Changes

[SHAKEEL]

Hi i had my water tested today at the lfs and the lady told me that my ph was down to 7.8
And asked me. If i used any buffers? I told her that i used one before to raise the ph in which it did.
but i quess i went back down to 7.8 so she tested my alk and said that it was also low and that i need to use a product by seachem called reef builder.
Now im totally lost when it comes to the whole dosing additives stuff can someone lend me a hand.
I have the additive to raise the ph and i have the reef builder by seachem i quess thats to raise the alk and lock in the ph and do i also
add this stuff to my water changes and top off water what ever help you can give will be helpful.

[masonicman]

I used a lot of chemicals in my time, including seachem. They all seem unstable. I use B-ionic 2 part solution and my ALK and PH has been steady for the past year. I've gotten to the point were I check my parameters maybe every month or so.

[sedor]

Ya don't let the LFS fool you into thinking you need all that stuff. Your pH should take care of itself when the rest of your parameters are in check. Go to bulkreefsupply.com and see about getting one of their 2 part total packages. This will take care of your Ca, you Alk and you Mg. Its just a matter of finding out how much your system needs to be dosed of each per day.

Also, if you don't have your own test kits, get those ASAP. You can't really trust most LFS's testing.

[Michael]

the good news is 7.8 is fine providing its stable, id agree if the alk is low a buffer is needed, but baking soda for a few cents is as good as reef builder and theres no doubting that imo.

the lfs needs to sell to survive, i can understand that as well but always ask here first before spending your dollar.

as for raising ph should you need to theres a few methods, but surface agitation and fresh air is a good method alone and a preferred method by a lot of reefers.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Stop, get your own test kits, and read this:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php

Then read this:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/chem.htm

It is likely that low alkalinity could be causing your problem, but it could also be the carbon dioxide content in the air at the LFS that did your testing! You MUST be informed and you MUST know the conditions in your tank BEFORE proceeding with ANY dosing scheme. You my or may not need to supplement alkalinity, or calcium, or anything else.

Many people assume that a two-part or kalk dosing regimen is automatically right for everyone, but depending on your tank conditions, it could do more harm than good. That's why it is important to understand your tank's conditions before doing anything.

[sedor]

Many people assume that a two-part or kalk dosing regimen is automatically right for everyone, but depending on your tank conditions, it could do more harm than good. That's why it is important to understand your tank's conditions before doing anything.

+1

Dosing is generally unnecessary unless you have an SPS dominated or mid-high stocked reef (stocked with corals). Thats why we usually don't start having to worry about dosing until we go off the deep end and start spending all our money on SPS :)

I just assumed you had a reef of some sort seeing as how you were getting your Ca, Alk, and Mg tested.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15395388#post15395388 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ryandlf
+1

Dosing is generally unnecessary unless you have an SPS dominated or mid-high stocked reef (stocked with corals).

Totally agreed, though even people with low coral loads can easily run into problems if they are using a salt with low calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium, so it's important to test, regardless.

And, seemingly subtle things like the time of day or how well ventilated your house is can cause pH differences, so again, it's important to know the details of a particular case before trying to solve the problem.

[goldreef]

I test every week and dose 2-part as needed, works for me.

[eric@tampa]

And don't forget...Do not dose anything that you arent testing for.

[SHAKEEL]

Thanks yal for the help but i alraedy have the stuff and most lfs don do returns so should i used the buffer to raise my ph to 8.3 then used the seachem reef builder to lock in that ph and after all that is done do i continue dosing this stuff to my top off and water change water for life to keep the tank stable oh and the lady at the lfs said that 7.8 is extremely low and that i should get it up asap im just trying to put together this reef tank and everywhere i go im getting told to do something diff. thanks.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15395327#post15395327 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by der_wille_zur_macht
Stop, get your own test kits, and read this:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php

Then read this:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/chem.htm


We can't tell you what to do without more information. ;)

Test your water for calcium, alkalinity, and pH - then, let us know the results, or read the above articles and figure it out yourself.

[Hornet]

7.8 is on the low side but most would not consider it extremely low. 7.8 being an acceptable range for ph is discussed on the link reefkeeping link that somebody posted above. If you are not testing your ph at home you need to invest in a ph kit. An accurate ph reading depends on aeration/ventilation of the water. So I would assume that if your bottling the water up and taking it to the lfs you will likely see a lower reading.

As far as adding buffer to your ro/do all the time, it kinda depends on what you observe. In the first few months of my tank I had to buffer my topoff. But I used baked baking soda and stayed away from buying the cure all buffers at the lfs. If you use them you'll notice that they only last for a few days then your adding more. That's why some just use baking soda and monitor thier ALK readings.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15397265#post15397265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hornet

As far as adding buffer to your ro/do all the time, it kinda depends on what you observe. In the first few months of my tank I had to buffer my topoff. But I used baked baking soda and stayed away from buying the cure all buffers at the lfs. If you use them you'll notice that they only last for a few days then your adding more. That's why some just use baking soda and monitor thier ALK readings.

It is important to note that adding buffer or other chemicals to your RO/DI topoff water should ONLY be done to deliver those chemicals to the display tank's water column - there is absolutely no reason to try and control the chemistry of the topoff water itself.

In other words, you shouldn't buffer topoff water to get the topoff to some ideal value. You shoudl buffer the topoff water because your display tank needs bugger.

[Hornet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15397375#post15397375 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by der_wille_zur_macht
It is important to note that adding buffer or other chemicals to your RO/DI topoff water should ONLY be done to deliver those chemicals to the display tank's water column - there is absolutely no reason to try and control the chemistry of the topoff water itself.

In other words, you shouldn't buffer topoff water to get the topoff to some ideal value. You shoudl buffer the topoff water because your display tank needs bugger.

Not sure about the bugger part at the end but everything else you said is what I was getting at but you said it clearer than my rambling statement

[der_wille_zur_macht]

:lol:

You know, bugger. . . some display tanks need it, some don't. Yeah, that's the ticket. . .

[Hornet]

:lol:

[SHAKEEL]

thanks again its just my test kit is an api master reef kit but it doesnt include alk,ph, or mag. i quess im going to have to find a kit that does all but thanks you for all the responses to my question.