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netsurge
01/08/2012, 08:01 PM
I posted this in the SPS forums, however, I believe it should be here..


OK, So I added about 10oz of the ALK portion to my 47g tank all in one session because I forgot to turn the manual override off. The water turned cloudy. etc.

In reaction I did a 5g water change, and mixed a few drops of muriatic acid to salt solution and added to the tank slowly to drop the PH.

I tested the DKH and it went from 8-10.

Now here is the question. I tested the cal, mg, and ALK two days later and they are all over the place.

CA - 320-330
Alk - 8.6
MG - 1320

The big question.. The cal dropped about 100 from where I was holding it and the ALK returned to normal. Is this possible just two days later?

-Mitch

DrBegalke
01/08/2012, 08:56 PM
Yes, the extra alk will utilize the ca and precipitate out. This is why you add equal parts of two part, even if you overdose, the extra will generally just precipitate out.

bertoni
01/08/2012, 09:30 PM
I agree that those numbers are possible. The precipitate in the water column will affect the test results, though, so until the water is perfectly clear, it'll be hard to be sure about the numbers, particularly the alkalinity.

netsurge
01/08/2012, 09:39 PM
OK, that makes sense. So, I'm going to return the values to that params. I want and will resume dosing. I'll bring the CA and ALK back up and resume dosing. Thanks!

netsurge
01/08/2012, 09:41 PM
I agree that those numbers are possible. The precipitate in the water column will affect the test results, though, so until the water is perfectly clear, it'll be hard to be sure about the numbers, particularly the alkalinity.

I tested two days later with the water clear. Let me test again now and I'll triple check.

DrBegalke
01/08/2012, 10:10 PM
Let us know the new results.

You may want to read this article by Randy on calcium and alkalinity:
http://web.archive.org/web/20021127040526/http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

netsurge
01/09/2012, 10:43 PM
OK, So the most recent tests are.

CA: 340
ALK: 7.9

Alk is still on the decline. I added more CA because it was too low for my liking. I think I am going to resume dosing and bring my levels back to normal.

Randy Holmes-Farley
01/10/2012, 07:17 AM
You can bump the calcium on its own with a couple of big jolts of calcum. This shows how much to use:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html

netsurge
01/28/2012, 09:02 PM
So everything seems to be doing just fine after the percep event. Now I need to find out why I cant keep monties. Pink lemonade and green slimer are beautiful.. all montis, just turn brown. This is in both tanks I have setup. I'm missing something.

Thanks everyone!

Randy Holmes-Farley
01/29/2012, 08:53 AM
The brown montis are an old problem, or from the precitation event?

netsurge
01/29/2012, 09:49 AM
The problem with the monites is an old problem. I have a really nice bretts purple rim, super bright green digi, orange digi all fade and turn brown over time. Usually over the course of two months. I'm thinking of starting vinegar dosing even though hannachecker is showing .00 or .01.