skip0211
01/23/2006, 09:41 AM
Randy,
Really need some help !! I was away on business 2 weeks ago. During my trip, my tank was overdosed with Kalk by my tank care taker through a dosing mistake. 4 galons in an half hour vs 40 drips per minute.
When I got home, the following was what I found.
Sal= 1.022 (1.025.normally)
Temp; 78 normal
Mg; 750
Alk; 2.5
PH; 7.8
Cal; 250
Tank stats;
265 gal
90 gal fuge
Running 2.5 yrs
DSB
Calc reactor; effluent PH 6.9
PH meter (ultralife)
Auto top off using float switches
3x250 DE HQI plus 4x 28watt PC's
Here's my problem... I've slowly raised the tank peramiters to the following, measured this AM.
Sal; 1.025
Mg; 1200
Alk; 3.5
Cal 350 to 400 ... 2 new test kits .. Go figure !! Sera and Salifert.
PH; 7.7 !!!!!
During the last 4 days I've been dosing Kalk to raise the PH .. It only raises from 7.9 to 8.0 and then falls back. I actually had to remove 6 gallons of water from the system as evaporation couldn't keep up with the additions.
I've also added Washing Soda as a buffer with similar results. Temp up and then back down.
I had the Gas Company come Saturday to check for leaks and test the air .. they tested Carbon Monoxide and found none. They did find a very small gas leak, but it was undetectable in the room air.
My tank is in a basement room I built for it and all the sump, fuge and equipment is in the garage open to the air.
My PH probe is 2 years old but calibrates to 7.0 using a one year old 7.0 solution(used 3 times). The calabration was off .03 when I checked it after returning home ... It's possible it was off for a while as my records indicate that I calibrated it 7 month earlier. My Bad.
My thought this morning was maybe the probe was bad (how long do they last?) I've cleaned it with vinegar when calibrating.
The PH was reading 7.7 at 8 am this morning(new low). My skimmer wasn't skimmimg until I added some Washing Soda leading me to beleive the probe may be allright.
As you can see ... I'm stumped .. I have lost 1 acro due to bleaching and have another that is stressed. All other corals are ok at this point .. Ich has broken out with the fish though and I detect some ragged fins. Also had my secound huge spauning of a 12' ball of Star Polups yesterday ... Thousands of little red balls, that look like Cyclopeeze on strings ... wonder if this is a sign of low PH.
Help !!
Skip
Really need some help !! I was away on business 2 weeks ago. During my trip, my tank was overdosed with Kalk by my tank care taker through a dosing mistake. 4 galons in an half hour vs 40 drips per minute.
When I got home, the following was what I found.
Sal= 1.022 (1.025.normally)
Temp; 78 normal
Mg; 750
Alk; 2.5
PH; 7.8
Cal; 250
Tank stats;
265 gal
90 gal fuge
Running 2.5 yrs
DSB
Calc reactor; effluent PH 6.9
PH meter (ultralife)
Auto top off using float switches
3x250 DE HQI plus 4x 28watt PC's
Here's my problem... I've slowly raised the tank peramiters to the following, measured this AM.
Sal; 1.025
Mg; 1200
Alk; 3.5
Cal 350 to 400 ... 2 new test kits .. Go figure !! Sera and Salifert.
PH; 7.7 !!!!!
During the last 4 days I've been dosing Kalk to raise the PH .. It only raises from 7.9 to 8.0 and then falls back. I actually had to remove 6 gallons of water from the system as evaporation couldn't keep up with the additions.
I've also added Washing Soda as a buffer with similar results. Temp up and then back down.
I had the Gas Company come Saturday to check for leaks and test the air .. they tested Carbon Monoxide and found none. They did find a very small gas leak, but it was undetectable in the room air.
My tank is in a basement room I built for it and all the sump, fuge and equipment is in the garage open to the air.
My PH probe is 2 years old but calibrates to 7.0 using a one year old 7.0 solution(used 3 times). The calabration was off .03 when I checked it after returning home ... It's possible it was off for a while as my records indicate that I calibrated it 7 month earlier. My Bad.
My thought this morning was maybe the probe was bad (how long do they last?) I've cleaned it with vinegar when calibrating.
The PH was reading 7.7 at 8 am this morning(new low). My skimmer wasn't skimmimg until I added some Washing Soda leading me to beleive the probe may be allright.
As you can see ... I'm stumped .. I have lost 1 acro due to bleaching and have another that is stressed. All other corals are ok at this point .. Ich has broken out with the fish though and I detect some ragged fins. Also had my secound huge spauning of a 12' ball of Star Polups yesterday ... Thousands of little red balls, that look like Cyclopeeze on strings ... wonder if this is a sign of low PH.
Help !!
Skip