Tank parameter

[Tim Marvin]

OK, lets see how many beginners, or intermediates can figure this out. Calcium is over 500, dkh around 6, and PH 7.8. What was I doseing to produce this over the last week? What am I doing to bring it back in? What will the reading most likely be in the next few days?
Hint: My calcium was sitting around 390-400 I wanted it in the 450-475 range.

[Tim Marvin]

Please allow a few responses before one of our pro's name it....

[SuperXdude]

I'm thinking an overdose/misuse of Kalkwasser since the calcium level is over 500 and pH is way too high. Not sure what the standard dkh is supposed to be off the top of my head, but since you are posting it, something's gotta be wrong.

So I'll go for the 2 out of 3 prize. :)

OD on Kalkwasser

SuperXdude

[don-n-sa]

Turned on your calcium reactor?? which lowered your ph due to the use of co2?

I know you asked what you were dosing but I thought that you were trying to sort of trick us.

you can bring it back in by using....hmm...pickling lime?

Your reading should stabilize to: calcium, 475 and ph to 8.2 - 8.3

[MikeDeL]

What was the dkh at before? Im guessing you were dosing with calcium and will use a buffer to raise your dkh and drop your calcium back down.

[Tim Marvin]

Mike Del is absolutely right!
Don-n-sa would be right if I used a reactor.
Super X you would be right, but the PH is slightly low at 7.8. You must have misread it.
I have been dumping in the turbo calcium to bring up the calcium, now I am adding buffer to stabilize it out. Yes I am shooting for the end results that Don-n-sa posted. PH 8.2-8.3 and calcium around 450-475, mag is around 1500. This should grow stoneys out of control.
This post is closed and one frag each will go to the winners. Are you coming to the meeting Don-n-sa? Do you want a hard or soft frag?
MikeDel, hard or soft frag?

[Tim Marvin]

By the way DKH for normal seawater is around 8.

[MikeDeL]

Wow I didnt know I was going to win anything! I'll take a hard frag.


Thanks,
Mike

[don-n-sa]

Tim,

I guess I overthought it...oh well :roll:

I really wish that I could make the meeting tommorrow, but I can't.
I have been looking forward to meeting you Tim, guess there is always next time.

Anyway about the frag, I run Pc's so soft will have to do, but I will have to find someone to bring it back for me.

thanks for making me think, it was fun :-D

[Reef69]

I dont even know what DKH is..LMAO!!!

[GaryP]

Tim,

Just for the record, I skipped over this one, as you had requested. Its good to see we have folks with a good grasp on water chemistry and calcium/buffer interactions. I think the pH threw a few folks.

Just a note: If alkalinity is low, generally pH will be low as well. Alkalinity is a measure of your buffering capacity. If your buffer is low, there is less carbonate to neutralize the naturally occuring acids in an aquarium. Carbonate is one of two major components in seawater buffer. The other is bicarbonate. Carbonate keeps pH from going to low, bicarbonate keeps it from going to high. Buffer is constantly being depleted by growth of organisms in your tank and by conversion to CO2 which bubbles off. Even if you don't have stony corals, things like coraline algae and snails are stiill using carbonate for growth. Soft corals like leather are also using carbonate. They don't make a hard shell, but they do have calcium carbonate spicules inside their tissues. That's what makes them "leathery."

Gary

[btacker]

So you use turbo calcium for calcium, what do you use for buffer?

[GaryP]

DKH is a measurement of alkalinity. When Tim refers to a an alkalinity of 8 for seawater, he is referring to DKH units. There is another unit that some people use, its meq/ml (milli-equivalents per milliliter.)

[Tim Marvin]

I'm just useing Kent turbo calcium, Kent super buffer DKH, and kent Kalk right now. I also use kent magnesium to keep it around 1500. If you use Oceanic salt you won't need to dose much of anything, but when I use the IO I do.