? about alk

timi hendrix · 02/06/2019, 12:53 PM

My tank is roughly 150 gallons with all soft corals. my calcium is around 480-500 but my alk is 6.5 roughly . I only do water changes every 2 weeks using Coralife salt mix. I wanted to raise the Alk using the arm and hammer baking soda. How much should I use and how often. Thanks. Or should I raise it at all having only softies.

mcgyvr · 02/06/2019, 01:08 PM

In general alk should be in the 7-11dkh range..
8dkh IMO is a good target to shoot for (ocean on average is 7)

Numerous calculators out there like this....
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator

In general don't raise alk more than .5dkh a day..

bertoni · 02/06/2019, 04:27 PM

I agree that 8 dKH is a reasonable target. You could dose 1 dKH at a time in a soft coral tank. This calculator will help with a dose:

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

It requires a guess as to the total water volume, so I'd be conservative for a first dose, maybe ½ dKH.

Many tanks require daily supplementation. The only way to know how much to dose is to test and dose regularly to get a trend line.

lapin · 02/07/2019, 05:20 PM

http://www.melevsreef.com/content/ra...ke-baking-soda

bertoni · 02/07/2019, 09:50 PM

Baking soda will lower pH a tiny bit when dosed, but aeration quickly brings the pH back up to equilibrium. If you want to raise pH with your dosing, you can convert baking soda to sodium carbonate, but the effect still is temporary.

timi hendrix · 02/08/2019, 09:45 AM

so if I want to raise my alk up a point I need 15 table spoons? right now I am adding 1 table spoon a night

hkgar · 02/08/2019, 03:31 PM

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

bertoni · 02/08/2019, 10:44 PM

I get about 2 tsp to raise the alkalinity by 0.5 dKH, which is what I would target for a first dose. I'd measure before and after, to see what the actual effect is.

NaClH2ODave · 02/13/2019, 10:46 AM

Tagging along as I have similar alkalinity and calcium numbers, but I'm also dosing 2-part as well as magnesium. Would baking soda be a safe way to bring my alkalinity up from 6.5 to at least 7?

dkeller_nc · 02/13/2019, 06:40 PM

Yes, but as Bertoni and others on the thread suggest, you really, really want to use an accurate calculator to figure out how much to use to avoid rapidly raising the alkalinity. By the way, 2-part dosing is using either sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or sodium carbonate (sometimes called "washing soda") as the alkalinity part. So if you want to raise the alkalinity, you can simply increase the amount of the alkalinity part of your 2-part solutions.

But again, it's important to calculate the amount to avoid a drastic change. As the saying goes, nothing good in a reef tank happens quickly, and there's a lot of truth to that.

bertoni · 02/13/2019, 07:41 PM

Baking soda should be fine. The calculator link above should be fine. Here it is again:

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

02/06/2019, 12:53 PM	#1
timi hendrix Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 339	? about alk My tank is roughly 150 gallons with all soft corals. my calcium is around 480-500 but my alk is 6.5 roughly . I only do water changes every 2 weeks using Coralife salt mix. I wanted to raise the Alk using the arm and hammer baking soda. How much should I use and how often. Thanks. Or should I raise it at all having only softies. __________________ 105 Gallon AGA 30 Gallon Sump Euro-Reef ES5-3 2- 175 W 10K MH 3- 110 vho Actinics quiet one pump

02/06/2019, 01:08 PM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	In general alk should be in the 7-11dkh range.. 8dkh IMO is a good target to shoot for (ocean on average is 7) Numerous calculators out there like this.... https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator In general don't raise alk more than .5dkh a day.. __________________ Who me?

02/06/2019, 04:27 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I agree that 8 dKH is a reasonable target. You could dose 1 dKH at a time in a soft coral tank. This calculator will help with a dose: http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html It requires a guess as to the total water volume, so I'd be conservative for a first dose, maybe ½ dKH. Many tanks require daily supplementation. The only way to know how much to dose is to test and dose regularly to get a trend line. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

02/07/2019, 05:20 PM	#4
lapin Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Austin Posts: 801	http://www.melevsreef.com/content/ra...ke-baking-soda __________________ Tank sizes, 2-10's a 55 and one that's about 500gal Current Tank Info: Interior decorating happening

02/07/2019, 09:50 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Baking soda will lower pH a tiny bit when dosed, but aeration quickly brings the pH back up to equilibrium. If you want to raise pH with your dosing, you can convert baking soda to sodium carbonate, but the effect still is temporary. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

02/08/2019, 09:45 AM	#6
timi hendrix Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 339	so if I want to raise my alk up a point I need 15 table spoons? right now I am adding 1 table spoon a night __________________ 105 Gallon AGA 30 Gallon Sump Euro-Reef ES5-3 2- 175 W 10K MH 3- 110 vho Actinics quiet one pump

02/08/2019, 03:31 PM	#7
hkgar Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Dewitt MI Posts: 5,051	http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html __________________ Gary 180 gallon, 40 gallon sump, 3 250 W MH + 4 80W ATI T5's, MTC MVX 36 Skimmer, Apex controller Aquamaxx T-3 CaRx Current Tank Info: A 2 Barred Rabbitfish, Red Head Salon, Yellow/Purple, McMaster Fairy, Possum, 2 Leopard Wrasses, Kole, & Atlantic Blue Tangs, 2 Percula Clown, 3 PJ and 1 Banggai Cardinalfish , Swallowtail, Bellus and Coral Beauty Angels

02/08/2019, 10:44 PM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I get about 2 tsp to raise the alkalinity by 0.5 dKH, which is what I would target for a first dose. I'd measure before and after, to see what the actual effect is. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

02/13/2019, 10:46 AM	#9
NaClH2ODave Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Upland, CA Posts: 101	Tagging along as I have similar alkalinity and calcium numbers, but I'm also dosing 2-part as well as magnesium. Would baking soda be a safe way to bring my alkalinity up from 6.5 to at least 7?

02/13/2019, 06:40 PM	#10
dkeller_nc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Central NC Posts: 5,062	Yes, but as Bertoni and others on the thread suggest, you really, really want to use an accurate calculator to figure out how much to use to avoid rapidly raising the alkalinity. By the way, 2-part dosing is using either sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or sodium carbonate (sometimes called "washing soda") as the alkalinity part. So if you want to raise the alkalinity, you can simply increase the amount of the alkalinity part of your 2-part solutions. But again, it's important to calculate the amount to avoid a drastic change. As the saying goes, nothing good in a reef tank happens quickly, and there's a lot of truth to that.

02/13/2019, 07:41 PM	#11
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Baking soda should be fine. The calculator link above should be fine. Here it is again: http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html __________________ Jonathan Bertoni