Low alkalinity all the time , but high calcium and magnesium.

[Grkgod36]

I've bee having a hell of a time keeping alk up. My calcium levels are high like 480 and mag is at 1500z

Tank has a few sps buy not over stacked .
What's the deal here .. why is my alk keep going down ? And the rest are fine ?

I've been dripping kalk and still [profanity]!

[Potatohead]

Kalk will bring up you calcium and your alk. Try dosing some baking soda mixed with RO and that will bring alk only up. BRS has a calculator for the amount to use.

[Martin Kuhn]

Dosing "Kalkwasser" adapts both Ca AND Alk in a fixed ratio to each other.

The thing is, that a lot of tanks "consume" more Alk than Ca.
The logical consequence of Kalk dosing is that either:
- Ca gets too high or
- Alk gets too low
(whatever you wanna have.... depending on how much Kalkwasser to dose)


This exactly is one of several reasons why dosing 2-part is the better solution than dosing Kalkwasser.

You can also "combine" Kalkwasser and 2-part, but in my eyes it is better to switch consequently to 2-part dosing.
....less effort... clearer dosing instructions

[Spiffy]

I am having the same issue with kalk as well. I want to wait till I see what my parameters look like now that I have started dripping kalk instead of using my ATO before I switch to 2-part.

[nereefpat]

What is the alk reading?

The Ca is fine, so you could keep dosing limewater along with adding some baking soda here and there.

[BlackTip]

It could be precipitation problem or ionic imbalance. You should stop dosing kalk. It increases the localized PH and promote precipitation. You can try baking soda instead. It will reduce the PH slightly.

[Martin Kuhn]

It could be precipitation problem or ionic imbalance.
at least i don't agree.
at the levels described, there isn't a risk for precipitation.

what ever you regard as "ionic disbalance" ;)
Ca vs Alk as described is already disbalanced now and you will correct only by "dis-balancing the dosing" in exactly the "opposite direction".
if you do this succesfully.. the ionic balance (Ca/Alk) will return

[bertoni]

I agree that baking soda is fine to raise the alkalinity. We need to know what the daily alkalinity drop is like before saying much, but corals and coralline consume calcium and alkalinity at a ratio of about 2.8 dKH per 20 ppm of calcium, so it's very common to see alkalinity drop measurably while the calcium appears to remain the same.

I suspect the tank just needs more supplementation, although I'd just dose alkalinity for a while to let the calcium level drop a bit.

[Arthur1]

As always, I agree with Bertoni. If the kalk is being dosed into an area of significant water movement, I wouldn't ever worry about localized pH swings. I am not sure of how significantly kalkwasser (Calcium hydroxide) precipitates phosphate, but I've always been fond of the "idea" :beer:

[neiltus]

Also, look at the Ca and Mg levels of the salt your using (or have been using) for water changes.

I prefer a non-reef salt and bringing the levels up.

[sharpset62]

I am also having the same issue but I am utilizing a Calcium Reactor. :headwallblue:

Would you recommend supplementing some baking soda with the use of the reactor?

[nereefpat]

I am also having the same issue but I am utilizing a Calcium Reactor. :headwallblue:

Would you recommend supplementing some baking soda with the use of the reactor?

if alk is low, yes.

[BlackTip]

I am also having the same issue but I am utilizing a Calcium Reactor. :headwallblue:

Would you recommend supplementing some baking soda with the use of the reactor?

CaRx provides balanced calcium and alkalinity. You shouldn't need to supplements with anything else other than Mag, if you need it.

You need to figure out why the calcium and mag are high.
Do you dose anything? Check the salt you are using. What is the CA and Mag values, and how often and how much you change water.

[zsuman101]

it is possible to strip alkalinity if dripping kalk too much too fast, but as above two part will get you there, btw my reef consumes alkalinity like mad, but im lucky and can keep it stable using kalk only, but it is pretty rare

[sharpset62]

I've used REEF CRYSTALS since reef tank inception, 2014. I have a very large bio load and do my water changes every Sat or Sunday (30 gallons). The Calcium reactor went down for awhile and most recently I got it up and running, running for the last three days. I also recently started a Phosban reactor. Ive been testing everyday and this is what my numbers were this am.

Alk 7
Calcium 520
Mag 1280
Nitrate 10 ppm
Phos 0.25 ppm
PH holds around 8.0 but I need to re calibrate, havent in awhile

[sharpset62]

I have a 150 high display with a 45 gallon fuge and a 60 gallon sump. So Im pushing roughly 255 gallons.

[BlackTip]

I've used REEF CRYSTALS since reef tank inception, 2014. I have a very large bio load and do my water changes every Sat or Sunday (30 gallons). The Calcium reactor went down for awhile and most recently I got it up and running, running for the last three days. I also recently started a Phosban reactor. Ive been testing everyday and this is what my numbers were this am.

Alk 7
Calcium 520
Mag 1280
Nitrate 10 ppm
Phos 0.25 ppm
PH holds around 8.0 but I need to re calibrate, havent in awhile

It is probably because your CaRx was down for a while. Tune it to your tank demands, then up alkalinity using baking soda to your desired level. I did that exact thing when I tuned my reactor twice.

[bertoni]

There are a few processes that can change the relative levels of calcium and alkalinity:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rhf/index.htm

There can be issues with batches of salt products, and other such issues, so I wouldn't worry much just yet. I agree that some baking soda will fix the alkalinity issue.

[timnem70]

Mag. is 1500, DKH is 8, Calcium is 440. Have all softy corals. Only thing that I dose when needed is Alk. When mag is stable, I have found the other two pretty much stay the same or just a little low on alk.

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[sharpset62]

Ok so here were my numbers this am.

Alk 11
Calcium 440
Mag 1300
Nitrates 0.5
Phos 0.10
PH 7.8

So now my Alk is up high and Im losing PH?? Any suggestions?

[bertoni]

That pH is fine, and is a fairly common level for tanks in houses with the windows shut. All those levels are fine for at least a very wide range of animals, although some stony corals might do better with a bit less phosphate in the water column. That seems variable, though.

[bgoldb21]

Ok so here were my numbers this am.

Alk 11
Calcium 440
Mag 1300
Nitrates 0.5
Phos 0.10
PH 7.8

So now my Alk is up high and Im losing PH?? Any suggestions?

Randy Holmes-Farley recommends using "washing soda" to lift alk for tanks with ph lower than 8.2.

[bertoni]

We don't recommend washing soda any more because someone ended up using a product that had some surfactant or perfume in it. You can bake baking soda in an oven to convert it to sodium carbonate (washing soda).

pH 7.8 is a very common level for a tank in a house with the windows shut. A lot of Tanks off the Month have run at that level. I suspect the change in pH is due to the carbon dioxide level in the air. Measurement issues also are fairly common.

[bgoldb21]

We don't recommend washing soda any more because someone ended up using a product that had some surfactant or perfume in it. You can bake baking soda in an oven to convert it to sodium carbonate (washing soda).

pH 7.8 is a very common level for a tank in a house with the windows shut. A lot of Tanks off the Month have run at that level. I suspect the change in pH is due to the carbon dioxide level in the air. Measurement issues also are fairly common.

I recently used Arm & Hammer washing soda with great success.

[bertoni]

I used it for a while, too, but I did eventually switch to baked baking soda. I never had a problems with the washing soda, though.

[Martin Kuhn]

Depends in which Time of the day you measure. If in the morning (close to switching lights on ) this isn't bad at all as you haven't photosynthesis for some hours.

anyhow you shouldn't plan to "raise ph" by adding something. This is just a very temporary effect e.g. Coming from Kalkwasser

If your ph is too low
- better Ventilation of your water surface
- more fresh air in your room and even better air inlet for your skimmer = fresh air
- remove any potentially fouling stuff from your tank (in case your nutrients are high ..... this might be the reason)


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