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View Full Version : Alkalinity to high.....14.....! !HELP!


clowns101
10/04/2009, 07:24 PM
Well I have a friends tank and his Alk is at like 14(WAY TO HIGH!)How do I lower it.All levels are good exept the Alk.So what do I do.All the other levels that work with the Alk are also good!

speedstar
10/04/2009, 07:38 PM
how is alk and ca currently supplemented? Also are there many moni's in tank?

belgian_waffleman
10/04/2009, 07:40 PM
make sure that the alk test kit is OK. get another testkit, maybe different brand to compare results, or take a sample to your LFS.
How do the corals look?

Waffleman

brandon7491
10/04/2009, 07:43 PM
in the store i work at we get this all the time. just do a water change and modify the current dosing regement( if you are dosing, for example: if Calcium demand is higher than alk demand keep dosing Calcium but do a lesser dose of alk. here are examples of what im talking about in numerical values: 30mls of Ca 20mls of alk component) or dial the calcium reactor down. If he or she is doing something else regarding to methods of dosing, please, tell us so we can further assist you. Mentioning what brand of 2 part or 3 part or even homade solution will help us further assist you in order to give you the most accurate answer

Nanook
10/04/2009, 08:28 PM
[moved]

HighlandReefer
10/05/2009, 05:41 AM
clowns101,

Stop adding any alkalinity supplement until it drops down to the desired level.

If your friend is adding a buffer to increase the pH, this will lead to high alk. levels. You don't want to do this. There are other ways to increase the pH some, which will not lead to high alk. levels.

FWIW, you can use the Reef Chemistry Calculator to determine how much alk. supplement you will need to use for the tank once the levels drop. Using baking soda will work fine, as long as you don't need a boost in pH. If you do need a boost in pH then using "baked baking soda" will do this.

Randy goes into more details in this article:

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

Reef chemicals calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html