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08/06/2018, 08:52 PM | #51 | |
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Yes it appears to dissolve. |
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08/06/2018, 10:26 PM | #52 |
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I'd ignore it, then. It's very normal. My tanks did that from time to time, depending on the indoor air quality.
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08/11/2018, 11:47 AM | #53 | |
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Ok so I’ve made a couple of batches of alk mix using baking soda and cooked it in the over for 70min @ 305 degrees. However; I’m having an issue where the alk is at 5.6 right now and ph is at 8.15...if I start to add, via a doser so slow enough, alk to raise it 1dkh, the ph shoots up to 8.4-8.5. Is there any way to raise the alk without adversely affecting the ph and without dosing vinegar...I’d have to dose a lot of vinegar to keep things at bay and that would seriously deplete the oxygen in the water. Thoughts? Up to what ph level am I ‘safe’.... |
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08/11/2018, 03:25 PM | #54 |
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Don't worry about the ph going up. Within 24-48 hours it will be back down. Ph may momentarily raise when adding alk but will always settle back down. You cannot control it, it has a mind of its own. I call it the tank brat because it always thumps its nose at you and does what it wants. You can only gain some control by removing co2 from the surrounding air.
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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 |
08/11/2018, 04:02 PM | #55 | |
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Wel the issue is that it gets way too high. The other day it got to 8.6+ which ended up costing me two angels. Removing co2 is not an issue for me as I not only take air from outside but I have a co2 a rubber rat or setup as well - so maintaining ph is never been an issue, issue is raising low alk which raises my ph at the same time. I’m going to remove the co2 scrubber and just leave the protein skimmer sucking air from outside and I’ll see how that works. My co2 scrubber is so effective that it will raise my ph value by a factor of .2 and sometimes more depending on outside air quality and if the media is fresh. I think that should help keep the ph at a max of 8.3-8.4 where I would think all the fish should be happy. I’ve noticed I have a consumption of 1dkh per day so that equates to about 350ml of all dosing per day which as I said has raised my ph way too high. Let’s see if my theory works, and if still too high I’ll let the skimmer suck air from inside the house which will drive the ph even lower, allowing me to dose alk to maintain at least 7dkh, preferably higher. At least that’s my theory at this point. |
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08/11/2018, 04:52 PM | #56 |
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Why did you bake the baking soda ? buy doing this you turned it into sodium carbonate. sodium carbonate will raise ph (temporarily). the bicarbonate (baking soda) will only slightly lower ph (temporarily)…... try making an alkalinity solution with the baking soda right from the box (it will not be quite as effective as the carbonate so you will need more)
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Please don't feed the bears because the bears will become dependent on free handouts and forget how to take care of themselves …... Current Tank Info: 75 Gal. Mixed reef mostly sps |
08/11/2018, 05:12 PM | #57 | |
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Good question - I don’t have an intelligent answer other than I was have a senior moment. I’ll mix a match as I have a ton of baking soda. I’m going to see where this puts me at now and see which way is more beneficial, of recipe 1 or recipe 2. I see recipe 2 lowers ph a little so I need to see if I can find that happy medium. I suspect by removing the co2 scrubber our fo the picture and still sucking outside air I ‘should’ be where I want to be, we’ll see. I’ll post some results in 24-48 hours for those interested. |
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08/11/2018, 10:04 PM | #58 |
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The pH effect from recipe 2 is tiny, and aeration brings the pH up very quickly. If you want, a mixture of about 85% baking soda and 15% sodium carbonate by volume should be almost exactly pH neutral, but I wouldn't bother.
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08/11/2018, 10:24 PM | #59 | |
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Ok good to know, I want sure if I was going to have a big ph swing in the opposite direction by going with recipe 2. I’ll see how removing the co2 scrubber works and post results tomorrow. So far so good, ph is at 8.05 right now and alk has risen by .4dkh, I suspect that by tomorrow at 2pm (which is when I took the measurements) dkh will hopefully be up to 6.6-6.9 and I’ll continue to rise it until I hit 8 to 8.5 and try to keep it there, then we’ll see where the ph sits at and if the co2 scrubber is still needed. As long as my ph stays above 7.9 and below 8.4 I’m happy. |
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08/11/2018, 10:25 PM | #60 |
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Obviously without having a large ph swing of during the day which I suspect with a doh value of 8+ the swing should be normal and minimal.
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08/12/2018, 01:44 PM | #61 |
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Some updates:
Ok I think were finally maybe going in the right direction. Lights come on at 11am Measured at 3:30pm Ph - 8.07 Alk - 6.7 (was 5.6 yesterday at 2pm) Mag - 1230 (I’ll slowly raise this after I get the alk at a 8) Calcium - 380 (not currently dosing and since I have no corals I’m ok with 380) Co2 scrubber is disconnected. I’ll see once I get to the desired level of alk where I am ph wise and whether I even need to use the scrubber, I’m guessing I won’t but it certainly won’t hurt it to have it. Questions, does alk have a direct impact on o2 available in the water column? |
08/12/2018, 02:00 PM | #62 |
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Interestingly enough my ph probe (which is maybe 2 months old) reads 8.07, but the api kit which is new says ph is at 8.4...that’s a huge difference.
I have calibration fluid coming but I sure hope the probe is not that far off - and I’ve taken that reading with the apex and a pinpoint meter. I’d expect a -/+ .1 differential but a .3+ is excessive. |
08/12/2018, 04:03 PM | #63 |
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So here is an api kit and salifert kit test - I don’t know understand why such a huge difference.
Pinpoint ph meter says 8.2 Apex (same probe) says 8.10 I realize the probe may need to be recalibrated but the other two test kits are so far off... |
08/12/2018, 04:04 PM | #64 |
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By the way, the second picture of the api is with the tube right up against the paper, whereas the first one is 1/2” away from it.
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08/12/2018, 04:18 PM | #65 |
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I have a hard time reading pH test kits. I went with a meter for that reason. I'm not sure how to read the API kit. The issue might be the indoor light source. I think the kits work better if read with natural light, but all of the levels are acceptable, in my opinion.
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08/12/2018, 04:22 PM | #66 | |
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Right they are, but I need to try and see where I am so it doesn’t drive too high. I’ll wait for the calibration fluid, I will then have two digital meters to compare. Apex and pinpoint - I sure hope they are within .1 of each other, these test kits are just impossible to read plus they differ so much in a reading. To me, Salifert looks to be 7.9 and api looks to be 8.4 - that’s crazy. |
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08/12/2018, 04:26 PM | #67 | |
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Please don't feed the bears because the bears will become dependent on free handouts and forget how to take care of themselves …... Current Tank Info: 75 Gal. Mixed reef mostly sps |
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08/12/2018, 05:14 PM | #68 |
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I would have interpreted the Salifert as 8.2-8.4, and I have no clue as to the API. Sigh!
If you get calibration solutions, the Oakton one-shot calibration packets are a bit pricier, but very consistent, and since they're one-use, drift is isn't much of an issue.
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08/12/2018, 05:16 PM | #69 |
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So frustrating.
Yeah on the Salifert both wife and I took it as 7.9 Leave too much up to interpretation. Can’t wait for the calibration fluid to come in. |
08/12/2018, 05:48 PM | #70 |
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08/13/2018, 08:12 PM | #71 |
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Ok so i now have the alk at 8.5, roughly where I want it. However; my calcium is low down to 360. How should I go about raising the calcium so that the alk doesn’t get affected? I know that the tank consumes 1dkh per day so should I dose enough in one day to raise to say 400 if that’s where I want itand continue dosing the alk at 342 (enough to accommodate for 1 dkh per day consumption) or how should I dose it? I don’t want to cause it to precipitate. |
08/13/2018, 08:55 PM | #72 |
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Just dose the calcium part by itself. That'll be fine.
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08/13/2018, 09:11 PM | #73 |
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08/14/2018, 03:50 PM | #74 |
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keep dosing the alkalinity. dose the calcium too...but not at the same time. If you're using 1 dkh a day of alk you will need to dose calcium too daily to keep them steady. don't forget to dose magnesium, it will get used up at about 11 % the rate of your calcium usage.
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Please don't feed the bears because the bears will become dependent on free handouts and forget how to take care of themselves …... Current Tank Info: 75 Gal. Mixed reef mostly sps |
08/14/2018, 04:02 PM | #75 | |
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Can calcium be dosed all at once or during a short period of time without hurting anything? This way I can change schedules around of the alk dosing which is over 24 hours and calcium which I can dose in the sump vs the display tank and dose it all in a shorter amount of time? Thoughts? Yes, I am also dosing mag daily to keep up. |
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