water still messed up... help

[reefinmike]

well, before my water was bad but the ph was normal... it did have 320ppm calcium, 5dkh alkalinity and 8.2 ph and 1,125ppm MG

well, i dosed everything according to the little calculator thing and things are much worse...


ph is 7.8:eek: :eek: :eek:
calcium is 400
alk is 6dkh
mg is 1,125


so... i read a few of randy's articles and it seems i have two different options... decrease the levil of co2 by means of areation(dont want to take lids off my tank, have jumpers) or increase alkalinity


if i use regular baking soda will it work, or should i use baked baking soda?

mike

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'd use baked baking soda to give a pH rise in addition to the alkalinity rise. Limewater would be an even better choice. :)

[reefinmike]

i have lime, but i have heard of too many people killing off their whole tank due to limewater. i want to keep it simple.

ill go ahead and use baked baking soda.

thanks

mike

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

i have lime, but i have heard of too many people killing off their whole tank due to limewater. i want to keep it simple.

Really? IMO, that is incredibly rare and easy to avoid. You know such people personally, or just rumors? Reasonably sized overdoses of limewater are fairly common, turn the tank milky for a few days, and usually cause no problems.

[reefinmike]

i have heard of hundreds of people using lime forever with great results , however it seems that half the time someone has a major tank die off, it is due to a kalk overdose. is there an easy way to do kalk??

i have a float valve in my sump(no snails in it) it would be cool to just put a kalk reactor on that, but can it be overdosed that way... my 125 gallon sps tank, with a 50g sump, and 30g fuge is a fairly well stocked sps tank and evaporates 2 gallons a day

also, what does baking baking soda do, does it remove the water molecules to make it a anhydrous powder? i baked some today, and got two gallons of ro, setup a drip for overnight and then added the baking soda... it all precipitated in clumps to the bottom of the bucket. i was playing around with it again and noticed it got hot when water was added like CaCl2 does...



and then on the other hand, i may be getting a calcium reactor soon because my dad said i could sell our 180 gallon(currently taken down) and keep the money...

[BLockamon]

I have an aqualifter pump controlled by the JBJ Auto Top Off controller in my sump. The pump draws water from a 5-gallon carboy of limewater. I need to put an airline valve on the sump end to keep it from dripping when the pump shuts off, and I have to clean the valve every now and again to keep the lime buildup in check.

I have had a few hiccups, mostly due to the valve getting clogged with kalk and shutting down flow. With the JBJ, I have a 3.5 minute pump shutoff if the float fails. So the most it could add at any one time is about a gallon, which won't destroy a 120 gal system.

(Now if I can just get my Mg in line, I'll be all set. Oh, and get the Mg kit sooner rather than later.)

[tonyscoots84]

y dont u try raising ur magnesium 1st so the alk and cal when added dont precipitate :)

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

however it seems that half the time someone has a major tank die off, it is due to a kalk overdose. is there an easy way to do kalk??


IME, there are far, far more tank die offs from power failures, but I certainly don't want to convince you to do something that would worry you, so go with whatever you are most comfortable with.. :)

is there an easy way to do kalk??

I have an auto top off system that delivers it from an 88 gallon reservoir (in the basement) and is controlled by a float switch. The pump (a Reef Filler) is set to deliver just a little more each day than evaporation, so it cannot significantly overdose even if the float switch were to stick on. Float switches are better than valves for limewater.

also, what does baking baking soda do, does it remove the water molecules to make it a anhydrous powder? i baked some today, and got two gallons of ro, setup a drip for overnight and then added the baking soda... it all precipitated in clumps to the bottom of the bucket. i was playing around with it again and noticed it got hot when water was added like CaCl2 does...

It drives off CO2 and water:

2NaHCO3 ---> Na2CO3 + H2O + CO2