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PH and ALK help pls
- Thread starter SnowManSnow
- Start date
SnowManSnow":d31ts4u9 said:
Looking at the description of that production it shows color ranges in .5 meq/L, which would mean you're at 6meq/L if thats the case!
How old and how stocked is your tank?
If the Alk is reading in meg/l and it reads 6meq/l= 16.8dkh thats pretty high.
PH and Alk are independent
Ph tells you the acidity/basic of the solution and this will be influenced heavily by CO2 content of the water and surrounding air. You can have a dkh of 30 and a PH of 3. This is exactly how a calcium reactor works. You pump CO2 into the water to lower the PH which in turn dissolves the reactor media and raises the alkalinity of the solution.
The affect Alk has on PH is that the more alkaline(basic) the water is the more resistant it is to changes in PH.
I would suggest not adding any more alk part of the two part untill it fall back to normal levels and throwing away the PH test kit.
As long as you Alk is within normal levels (7dkh to 12dkh) your PH should never go below 7.8 or above 8.6. If you really have to try to control PH just drip a little Kalk solution and this should keep it up some. Never try to adjust PH by adding Alk buffers or even PH buffers (they are both the same thing).
And give this a read http://www.reefaquariumforum.com/water- ... t3558.html
PH and Alk are independent
Ph tells you the acidity/basic of the solution and this will be influenced heavily by CO2 content of the water and surrounding air. You can have a dkh of 30 and a PH of 3. This is exactly how a calcium reactor works. You pump CO2 into the water to lower the PH which in turn dissolves the reactor media and raises the alkalinity of the solution.
The affect Alk has on PH is that the more alkaline(basic) the water is the more resistant it is to changes in PH.
I would suggest not adding any more alk part of the two part untill it fall back to normal levels and throwing away the PH test kit.
As long as you Alk is within normal levels (7dkh to 12dkh) your PH should never go below 7.8 or above 8.6. If you really have to try to control PH just drip a little Kalk solution and this should keep it up some. Never try to adjust PH by adding Alk buffers or even PH buffers (they are both the same thing).
And give this a read http://www.reefaquariumforum.com/water- ... t3558.html
What i meant about throwing the test kit away was to throw your PH test kit away( i know a little extreme). You cant really control PH. PH will rise and fall constantly depending (largely) on CO2 levels. This is why your PH is highest at the end of your light cycle, the algae in your tank have used as much as they can. Then your lights go off and photosynthesis has stopped and CO2 starts to rise again and the PH drops.
Keep your PH kit but just dont chase a PH number because you will never catch it.
Keep your PH kit but just dont chase a PH number because you will never catch it.
ok it is indeed meq/L (ummm what does that MEAN)? so i put my test water in my little dish.. put drops in there and then divide the number by 2 to get the total alk. Each drop is = .5meq/L.
That being taken into account.. how many drops is an acceptable level? = ? meq/L?
and... if i let it adjust down on it's own.. how long SHOULD it take to drop that far in a 130g system?
Thanks,
B
That being taken into account.. how many drops is an acceptable level? = ? meq/L?
and... if i let it adjust down on it's own.. how long SHOULD it take to drop that far in a 130g system?
Thanks,
B
SnowManSnow":1bwwhj2z said:ok it is indeed meq/L (ummm what does that MEAN)? so i put my test water in my little dish.. put drops in there and then divide the number by 2 to get the total alk. Each drop is = .5meq/L.
That being taken into account.. how many drops is an acceptable level? = ? meq/L?
and... if i let it adjust down on it's own.. how long SHOULD it take to drop that far in a 130g system?
Thanks,
B
How fast it will drop will depend on how fast your aquarium uses Ca, Alk and Mg.
If you subscribe to 7dkh and 12dkh to being acceptable levels then using meq/l you would want to keep your alk between 2.5meq/l and 4.3 meq/l
This will convert between meq/l=dkh=ppm http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/AlkConv.php
MartinE":1ocmtb8m said:SnowManSnow":1ocmtb8m said:hmmm also I've been noticing if I dose the ALK part of the 2 part that it immediately goes to participate of some sort..
what's going on?
B
This sounds like Calcium being precipitated in the water column.
I have been using the Two Part Solution for about a year. Whenever Alk is added, It always makes a giant white cloud. I just always add it to the sump as far away from the return pump as possible.
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