HELP! alkalinity is too high

[weirdbeard]

my tank is a 90 gal.,custom internal filter box, corner overflow and a 40 gal. fuge. ..i cant get my ph over 7.9 and my calcium is around 280, only things in it are 7 seahorses, 4 small pipefish, a 6" sandbed, about 30 snails and hermits and plenty of macroalgea...but the real problem is my alalinity is off the charts.....any ideas or suggestions?

 

[straightjiggy10]

Waterchange, use RODI

 

[weirdbeard]

i only use r/o and pre mixed salt from a trusted pet store

 

[ming]

mix the saltwater yourself so you know what salt you're using and you can adjust what salinity the new saltwater is.
If thats not possible, then test the premixed saltwater from the 'trusted pet store' and see what the alk is. It could be the new water, could be your test kit that is off.

Also, stop dosing anything that may raise the alk, perhaps something you're doing to try increase the PH may be increasing the alk?

 

[weirdbeard]

mix the saltwater yourself so you know what salt you're using and you can adjust what salinity the new saltwater is.
If thats not possible, then test the premixed saltwater from the 'trusted pet store' and see what the alk is. It could be the new water, could be your test kit that is off.

Also, stop dosing anything that may raise the alk, perhaps something you're doing to try increase the PH may be increasing the alk?

thanks for the info

 

[Awibrandy]

Adding to what Ming posted.
What test kits are you using? Have you checked their experation date? What are Magnesium levels?

Your calcium levels are really low.

 

[flipit13]

also are you dosing any 2 part and like awi said what is your mag level ?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

7.9 is not bad at all.Try the Magnesium to get it balanced.Sometimes Ferric oxide can lower PH.

 

[weirdbeard]

i have'nt tested the magnesium, but i use a ph probe , a calcium probe and a nitrate probe, all are brand new and just calibrated ...also tested against 2 other tanks and fresh test kits.....the ferric oxide is being used in my phosban reactor though....i think i'm going to check the magnesium and then spend the day doing a gradual 50 gal water change to see if that helps......

 

[LongIslandAndy]

What is your alkalinity and how does your tank look. With sea horses and pipefish I imagine you must feed frequently and you will always be fighting the PH with the amount of waste produced. IMHO I think we tend as a group to worry too much about test kits, if your animal look good I would set up a regular water change schedule and enjoy the tank.

 

[weirdbeard]

thankyou all for the advise, i tested at a total of 3 stores and my probes, and the conclusion was the alk was high and the mag was low, so i am doing a 50 gal water change over the weekend and go bat to using kalk2 in my ato system.....

 

[Awibrandy]

You need to regulate the mag before you do anything else from what I understand your magnesium will throw everything else off.

 

[weirdbeard]

and the winner is......magnesium was only 800.....did a major water change and i'll be paying more attention to the mag in the future!

 

[Awibrandy]

Hehehehe:splitspin

 

[skimmerman100]

thro a phosban reactor and monitor ph, calcium, alk, and mag, the alk will go down with the phosban reactor because the media is ferric acid based aka rust