DKH????

[fishcrazy]

What is DKH, I haven't seen a test kit for it. I've had a nano for 6 months and I just got my 135 gal set up 2 months ago and everytime I turn around it seems I have to buy a bottle of something! Purple-up, success calk, strontium, magnesium, I have 5 different bottles in the stand under the tank, DO I NEED ANOTHER? What about a PH buffer? My ph has always seemed to be within limits, but then again After testing nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphate, calcium, alkalinity, I get alittle tiried of testing!!!!! All this Chemical stuff is making my head spin!

[GaryP]

DKH is just a different unit of measurement for alkalinity. Your test kits probably just gives it to you in meq or ppm. Alkalinity and buffering are basically the same thing.

Head spinning? It goes in the tank, you don't snort it.

1 meq = 2.8 DKH = 50 ppm

http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/AlkConv.php

[Richard]

While I have never use it, Success Calk is supposed to be a balanced additive (calcium & alkalinty) so you should have no reason to dose Purple up at all.

You'll have far less problems and enjoy this hobby MUCH more if you don't start dosing all kinds of things to your tank.

Some people have told me they like Success Calk but I prefer B-ionic. It would be the ONLY thing I would dose to your tank.

As far as testing...I rarely check ammonia/nitrite on an established tank. Occasionaly testing nitrate too make sure they are not getting too high is a good idea.

You can test calcium/alk to while using something like B-ionic to determine how much and how often you should add it. After that you can just check periodically to make sure nothing is getting too far off.

Many people will just do a 5-10% water change per week and never test anything. You can have a great tank that way sometimes but I still like the idea of testing sometimes to have an idea of what is going on. That way can fix something that may be out of whack before things start dying or looking bad.

Dosing a bunch of different things all the time is a great way to have problems so keep it simple and be patient. This hobby really doesn't have to be difficult and you don't need to become a chemist to have a great tank.

[GaryP]

Richard,

Maybe you have the resources to find out something about this product. It seems to me that it is another one of these finely ground aragonit based products such as what's in Purple Up. I've read their product Lit on the RedSea site. It all sounds good in theory, except for one small problem. It makes it sound like an "in situ" calcium reactor. Where does the acid come from to convert it to free ions? That's the fly in the buttermilk. I'm sure they have some sort of theory about bacterially produced organic acids or something on LR and LS. I'd just like to see some data or something to back up their claims. The skeptical side of me just can't see it.

[Richard]

No I really have no clue what is in Reef Success Calk just what they say. You may be right about that since I don't see how they could packeage calcium chloride and carbonates together without making some sand.



Where does the acid come from to convert it to free ions? That's the fly in the buttermilk.


EXACTLY! That's why we don't sell those products. I don't see how they could work well. I "tested" some liquid reactor (same idea) once by squirting a bunch in a container of saltwater. After two days it had all settled like a little sandbed. Alk and Calcium did not change at all.

[GaryP]

Richard,

Thanks for the feed back. I'm glad I was not the only one thinking along those lines. I was actually going to ask if you could get me a sample to see if I could run a test along the same lines you conducted. We'll just start calling CB The Reefkeepers Underwriters Laboratory (RUL). Ya'll are about the only LFS I know of that actually takes a hard look at new products rather then just accepting manufacturers claims at face value. I think this was unfortunately the cause that has led to the problems that were recently described in another thread with a similar product. I try to keep from using the term that refers to reptile fluids in conjunction with these products, but sometimes I think its justified. Water chemistry is an area that is probably most misunderstood among newbies to the hobby and I'm afraid a lot of manufacturers unfortunately take advantage of this.

[jap1]

Yup. I was violated :( (hangs head in shame) I now vow to always consult this forum before buying products again.

[GaryP]

Lesson learned. Don't worry, we were all there at one time or another. Imagine going through that before place like this existed on the net, or there was even a net, and you will know how some of us feel. You learned something through one business transaction that took some of years (and possibly thousands of dollars) to figure out for ourselves.