I could not find it

[Texreefer]

I could not find my "heres your sign" thread so I will post this here,
Everyone better come see my pretty corals in the next couple of days because I overdosed ALK and its over 6 meq/l
Now i'm just waiting for the burnt tips to start showing up:nerd:

[joelb]

WHAT!? that sounds bad. is it? if you need a place to store some of the coral until this is corrected....:ph34r: j/k. hope its not bad.

[captexas]

Water change?

[DBlackman]

...I overdosed ALK and its over 6 meq/l

WHY... :confused:

[Texreefer]

Water change?

doing it!

It was VERY low after the tank move, I re filled my kalk reactor and added some baking soda over the last few nights.. must have had the dosage wrong.. I will test again later

[Paul28]

Ouch :hypnotyized:

[aquasport24]

make sure you bring it down slowly, dropping it too fast will cause stress too.

[aquasport24]

what is your PH ?

[Bill S]

Mike,

Did you use anhydrous baking soda (baked baking soda)? I've noticed that when doing it, it takes about 8 hours for the test results to "settle down". I've freaked more than once dosing it.

[Texreefer]

No, I use a mixture of baking soda and washing soda.its still a little high but I'm seeing no ill effects.

[Bill S]

If you use anhydrous, it doesn't affect pH. Just bake it at 350 for an hour. Drives the CO2 out.

[Texreefer]

thats why I use the washing soda,, has a lowering affect on ph so I don't have to do any baking

[Bill S]

Uh...you mean RAISING effect? Baking soda will LOWER pH. Anhydrous baking soda should have little or no effect on pH, according to the reef chemistry calculator.

Anhydrous baking soda = sodium carbonate = washing soda - right?

[Texreefer]

Yes, sorry Bill, that is correct

[captexas]

Hmm . . . cook at 350 for 1 hour . . . Sounds like Betty Crocker has taken over reef keeping. Or a chemistry experiment that you just hope the cops don't raid your house while your doing it! :ph34r: lol, just kidding, interesting stuff

[Bill S]

Yeah - I believe the correct receipe is to cook until 1 lb (16oz) is reduced to 12.5oz. Yes, it's a white powder one is cooking!

Remember when Gary (I think it was Gary) did the bulk buy on Kalk, and was passing it out in gallon ziplocks?

[ErikH]

Yeah - I believe the correct receipe is to cook until 1 lb (16oz) is reduced to 12.5oz. Yes, it's a white powder one is cooking!

Remember when Gary (I think it was Gary) did the bulk buy on Kalk, and was passing it out in gallon ziplocks?

Was it in a parking lot? I always wonder how many people look at us wierd. I know my neighbors probably think something with all the different people leaving with a smile and a ziplock, lol.

[Kristy]

...not to mention the odd glowing "grow lights" that seep out our windows and doors!

[ErikH]

...not to mention the odd glowing "grow lights" that seep out our windows and doors!

Or carrying in a RO/DI unit and a skimmer at the same time, lol!

[Kristy]

Okay, to summarize this kitchen chemistry lesson, let me see if I have this right...

baking soda lowers your ph
cooked baking soda aka anhydrous aka washing soda raises alk without affecting ph

Any other handy tips like these?

[Texreefer]

sort of. the reason I use a mixture of both is the sodium bicarbonate or baking soda has an initial lovering affect but over the long term has tendency to raise ph a lot ,, sodium carbonate or washing soda has a Slightly lowering affect on ph, therefore is use a 6/1 ratio of baking soda/washing soda so I don't have to do any baking.
This excerpt from a Randy-Holmes Farley article should help explain that a bit.




The addition of bicarbonate as an alkalinity supplement is rather different. In this case, the bicarbonate partially dissociates into carbonate and H+, and the tank experiences an increase in bicarbonate and carbonate, and a drop in pH.:
15. HCO3- Ã* H+ + CO3--
Consequently, the immediate effect on pH is for it to drop. The drop is small because not much of the bicarbonate dissociates at normal tank pH, but enough does to drive the pH a bit lower (from 8.10 to 8.06 in the experiment above).
In the long term, however, the effect is different. Since a substantial amount of bicarbonate was added and the pH did not change much, the tank is now overloaded with bicarbonate with respect to what it would normally have in equilibrium with air. Some of the bicarbonate picks up a proton, becomes carbonic acid, and the pH rises as the CO2 is blown off to the atmosphere:
16. HCO3- + H+ Ã* H2CO3 Ã* CO2 + H2O
In the experiment above, this effect has caused the pH to rise from 8.06 to 8.33. So the long-term effect of bicarbonate addition (as it is for any addition to carbonate alkalinity) is to raise pH even though the short-term effect was to lower it.

Summary
Alkalinity and pH are two of what I would call the big 5 in terms of parameters important in keeping a reef tank (the others being calcium, salinity, and temperature). Alkalinity and pH are related to each other in ways that are obvious, and in other ways that are much more subtle. Unfortunately, these parameters are often problematic for people maintaining aquaria, and the relationship between the two is one of the biggest areas of concern. I have found that more than half of the questions posed on reef chemistry internet forums relate to pH or alkalinity. Obviously, these parameters are confusing to many aquarists. Hopefully, this article has put these relationships in perspective, and will help aquarists to better understand their systems.

[Kristy]

Thanks Texreefer, great article. That actually made a lot of sense and was very helpful!

[Bill S]

Yes. Reefing LOWERS your bank account balances, while RAISING your credit card balances. They even out!

[captexas]

Yes. Reefing LOWERS your bank account balances, while RAISING your credit card balances. They even out!

If only they did even each other out! :whew: