Chemistry Swings in 125

[quicksilverz]

So I am posting this for RICK he doesn't have a working computer at the moment and he standing over me. So his set up is a 125 long with Photon reef breeders. and wet dry sump. Here's the problem I have been reading his ALk and Ph over the past couple of weeks and his ALK we were able to get it from a 15.4 to a 12.4 but now its rising again. His PH is also around a 7.45 give or take. Magnesium is about 1200 and calcium is around 350-400. Hes been adding 2 part Calcium and Alk I think hes not so sure its Alk but I told him to stop. He also adds PH 8.5 to the tank that's it. I am curious what your guys thoughts were, cause I am lost. He will post anything that I have missed to make this as accurate as we can.

[Zack]

How long has the tank been setup?

How heavily stocked is it?

How much calc/ Alk has he been dosing?

[Zack]

Also what test kits

[quicksilverz]

Hanna and red sea

[alton]

For me if I see low PH it is due to low oxygen in the water? You mentioned a wet dry, does the water flow over bio balls or is there a hose straight into the sump? Does the sump sit in a closed cabinet with no fresh air coming in? I learned the PH crash issue when I thought I could use just a power head on a nano 15 years ago. If you are having to buffer your PH there is a problem

[quicksilverz]

Thats what i said

[Dkray944]

I would add only calcium over a couple days to get the alkalinity down

[rick]

So just add the part 2

[Dkray944]

It depends. C balance calcium is actually part A. Personally I wouldn't use the two part solution. I would use calcium chloride solution. The directions on my two part(C-Balance) says to only use when in balance but not to use to correct levels. If I were to guess it might have something to do with impact on PH.

[alton]

Well I don't think it got that messed up over night so to fix it overnight might create more havoc. Stop dosing anything, just do 20 gallon weekly water changes. But check the levels of calcium and alk and ph of the new saltwater making sure his salt isn't the issue. Many years ago Oceanic introduced a high calcium level salt, the problem it was low in everything else and my calcium got over 800 almost crashing my tank. Water changes with instant ocean brought it down after several months.

[quicksilverz]

Hes using red sea coral pro

[Davie118]

Has all his water for this system came from the same place
Im just curious if its a water source problem. Check the top off water and water change ph i guess.
~Greg

[Davie118]

Like from start up and water changes?

~Greg

[quicksilverz]

He was getting it from me now he has his own

[rick]

I just bought red sea pro trying that out see if I can get some good results ... wierd because dome coral doin great some just not wanting to feed as the way they should be ...

[alton]

I never had an issue with Red Sea Coral Pro other that you have to be careful mixing it other wise its cloudy, and the cost. But my calcium levels where around 425 to 450 using it?

[Justin]

I had this exact same problem and was dosing Balance, which was throwing my pH all over the place. It would be low at where you were at or even at 7.2! and then once I dosed, it would be at 9 and then drop back down. I was more worried about the swings than anything else. After looking at everything, I was about to give up when I decided to get another pH probe and try that route. Sure enough, it was my probe and I was throwing my stuff off like crazy.

Long story short, check to see if the probe is the culprit. They tend to go out on occasion and throw everything off for you.

[quicksilverz]

Lol its my probe its good i tested it against my probe

[Justin]

Okay, if the probe is good then some other things that could drain the Alk and the lower the pH are:

Mg levels are too low and can't "buffer" the alk
You're ratio of Alk to Ca are off. I forgot what the ratio should be, but look up the levels of natural seawater

CO2 levels in his home could be high and affecting his pH levels as well. In my old house, the insulation was doing too well and I had a lot of trapped Co2 in the house that my skimmer was infusing in my water. I hooked up a CO2 scrubber to reduce it.

Personally, I would test his levels again and see what they are. I try to keep my levels as follows:

Alk: 8-10
Ca: 400 -450
Mg: 1300-1400

See how long it will take for the levels to drop after testing as well. I notice that my Alk drops a lot, but this is due to my frags really growing and absorbing the Alk in the water.