Alk off the chart! Fish dying! Help!

[Meaty24]

In the last 24 hours, I lost my blonde naso, flame angel and a wrasse. So, I tested my water and my Alk is almost 14.5! Which is so strange because my Calcium is 420. Also, my ph is 8.4, Mg is 1200 and water temp is 78, and salinity is 1.024.

How in the world can my KH be so high? I thought it could be my salt mix which is Reef Crystals. So, I made some new water and it tested at 11, which is a little high, but not terrible. Then I tested the tap water, which tested very low, something like 4. So, two questions... what do I do in the short term so I don't kill all my animals with such high KH? I am making R.O. water now for a water change. I am going to buy a new salt mix. Any suggestions on brand? Other than a water change, what do I do? Any thoughts on why my KH is so high????

 

[KathyC]

What are you dosing into the tank?
Please list ALL of the additives you add to the tank. The Alk could not get that high on its own.
I've heard you should 'mix' your salt container to make sure all of the ingredients are mixed well, but to have simply a salt mix cause your alk to get that high would be extremely unusual considering how jostled those containers get by the time we use them.


If you animals are dying I would suggest asking anyone local to you to see if they have ready made rodi or SW or go and purchase some at a LFS or a Petco type store.
Do you also have corals in the tank?

btw - what size is the tank?

 

[Meaty24]

The tank is a 175. I have a Geo calcium reactor running and periodically dosing Mg. I also have a phosban reactor running. That is it.

 

[NYreefNoob]

turnm cal reactor off and do large wc, your calcium reactor isnt dialed in proper hence reason for alk being where it is

 

[KathyC]

Have you checked the reactor - something is wrong there.
Is it already shut down?

You need to complete some large water changes to lower that alk asap.

 

[Meaty24]

I just shut it down. How could it be dialed in wrong. The Calcium is at 420. Any thought on this issues? I have an APEX controller keeping the PH inside the reactor at 6.5 and I have drips coming out at about 60 drips a minute.

 

[Meaty24]

The only thing I can think of is that my tank is 30 inches deep and when I work on it, my armpit gets wet sometimes... Maybe my deoderant gets into the water? Could that be enough to kill the fish?

 

[Zuska]

The only thing I can think of is that my tank is 30 inches deep and when I work on it, my armpit gets wet sometimes... Maybe my deoderant gets into the water? Could that be enough to kill the fish?

that might be the case but what test kits are you using? Some test kits are crap and can give you false readings

 

[KathyC]

The only thing I can think of is that my tank is 30 inches deep and when I work on it, my armpit gets wet sometimes... Maybe my deoderant gets into the water? Could that be enough to kill the fish?

That happens to me all the time, and it has never raised my alk levels or killed my fish.

You need to understand the relationship between a calcium reactor and how it directly affects the Alk level in the tank. Don't be fooled into thinking that because you are not dosing a bottle that says 'alk' on it that it cannot be affected by what that reactor is doing
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/

 

[Josh]

Do a WC as stated. It is because of the reactor, leave it offline.

Recalibrate the probe, also check your Ca test kit, it is probably not working.