Dosing B-- Ionic

[samksy]

My alkalinity is very low, around 1. I used the salifert test kit, which should be accurate. So i'm trying to dose B-ionic alkalinity and calcium. The alkalinity went up to around 2.0 and my ph dropped like crazy...what's happening, what should i do? I did a change of 5 - 10 gallon of water change and the ph is back to 8.2......how can i increase alkalinity without a drop in ph? Thanks

Oh, when i was trying to test for calcium using the salifert test kit. I follow every instruction on the paper....the color of the water is suppose to turn from pink to a clear blue...after the whole 1ml of Ca-3 was gone, the color is still pink? What could be the problem? Thanks in advance. : )

 

[jackson6745]

Sam your cal is > 500ppm, that's why the color didn't change. How are you measuring your PH? Adding the Alk part of Bionic never lowered my PH.

I would continue adding the Alk component of bionic and maintain it at 3.5meq/l. The calcium will eventually come down on its own.

 

[samksy]

The traditional way. I have the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals testing kits. testing kit It's always been working. The ph was always around 8.0 - 8.2 and dropped like crazy after i dose B-Ionic alkalinity and calcium. I'll continue to dose the alkalinity, hopefully the calcium level would go down. Thanks rich.

[ August 28, 2004, 05:29 PM: Message edited by: samksy ]

 

[ShaunW]

You may have a Mg problem. Mg acts as a buffer to help maintain the pH at a constant level. Adding the alk portion of B-ionic could cause a pH swing if you Mg levels are extremely low.

Do you use Crystal sea salt by any chance? it is extremely low in Mg and causes extreme pH swings.

If your Mg is low, buy some Epson salts (make sure USP) and dissolve some in RO/DI water. Then add it SLOWLY to the tank until your Mg levels rise to normal as measured with a good test kit.

 

[4angel]

What time of the day are you testing and are your lights on when your testing your PH?

[ August 28, 2004, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: 4angel ]

 

[samksy]

I'll definetly try the Epson salts, hopefully that will stablize the Ph. Thanks solby

Angel, i did the ph test at night....the light was off but the the ph level was between 7.4-7.8 so i did a water change right away. The ph went back up and i dose alkalinity today again, ph went down to 7.8 (with lights on at night). I'll get some Epson salts and see if it'll help.

Thanks guys

 

[House of Laughter]

Samsky,

Be careful when adding the epsom salts - Solbby is right if your Mg is causing the swing.

Read the thread I posted about making your own 2 part buffer, in there is a recipe for making exactly what Solbby is referring. After a good read, you will see that it only recommends adding this very infrequently.

I would also borrow someone elses test kit and get a second opinion. I remember when I first started, I messed up the tests so bad that I though my reef was dead. When I read your thread, I found it hard to believe that your DkH was 1 - that would be a very unusual case and more than likely, your animals would be dead (including fish) - I would ask someone to come over to make sure you're doing it right -

If you'd like I can walk you through the test just to make sure.

House