Low ALK help!

[Justin144]

So I checked my alk and it was at 6
I have all sps and need to raise it. I was going to do the whole baking soda shmeal cause that's the only thing I have to buff it. My question is am I suppose to bake it? I heard if you bake it it will raise your ph as well. My ph is at 8.3-8.4 so I don't wanna raise it.
What do I do?
Thanks

 

[Dbarnes]

Low ALK help!

So I checked my alk and it was at 6
I have all sps and need to raise it. I was going to do the whole baking soda shmeal cause that's the only thing I have to buff it. My question is am I suppose to bake it? I heard if you bake it it will raise your ph as well. My ph is at 8.3-8.4 so I don't wanna raise it.
What do I do?
Thanks

Ussually if your alk is lower than your salt mix is supposed to be it means you need to change the water. Dosing can only go so far and your pretty low. If I were you I would do a large water change then test in 24hrs and see what it's at at that point. Your bag of salt should say what the all is supposed to be. If you see consistently low alk test your mixed water and see if maybe your salt is bad or lacking alk

 

[Smiley]

if you dont bake it, it will raise your ph.... bake it if your ph is normally high.

 

[Cake_Boss]

Re: Low ALK help!

There's a link in my Sig to some good info

 

[Smiley]

Ussually if your alk is lower than your salt mix is supposed to be it means you need to change the water. Dosing can only go so far and your pretty low. If I were you I would do a large water change then test in 24hrs and see what it's at at that point. Your bag of salt should say what the all is supposed to be. If you see consistently low alk test your mixed water and see if maybe your salt is bad or lacking alk

slightly wrong.... if your salt mixes out to be 7, and you constantly lose alk due to coral consumption, you alk will be eventually be lower. changing water with alk at 7 isnt going to put your alk back to 7, it will only slightly raise it above 6..... you have to dose to maintain alk. Same goes for Calc.

 

[Dbarnes]

Low ALK help!

slightly wrong.... if your salt mixes out to be 7, and you constantly lose alk due to coral consumption, you alk will be eventually be lower. changing water with alk at 7 isnt going to put your alk back to 7, it will only slightly raise it above 6..... you have to dose to maintain alk. Same goes for Calc.

His alk is 6 not 7?? And dosing will likely not bring his alk up where he wants it, dosing is intended to maintain numbers not to jump your numbers. Do a water change then dose... The way it should be done

 

[waterboy0524]

His alk is 6 not 7?? And dosing will likely not bring his alk up where he wants it, dosing is intended to maintain numbers not to jump your numbers. Do a water change then dose... The way it should be done

If he did a 50% water change today and another 50% change tomorrow, he would still be low if his salt has an alkalinity of 7 dkh. The only way he can raise it to level of 8 or above with that salt mix is with dosing.

 

[Justin144]

I'm so confused, I just tested my per mixed water for a WC and the all is at like 11-12!!!!
Either my salt is messed up or my test kit sucks!!!
thanks guys

 

[waterboy0524]

There's a couple of possibilities here. I work in a water treatment plant. First thing we do when we get a high reading or a reading that isn't consistent is test again. Usually, there is an operator error or scratches on the glassware. Test again before making any decisions and go from there. If your next reading is the same, then you have a problem, chances are its the test kit or an error by you. Also, make sure your new water is well-mixed.

 

[Justin144]

There's a couple of possibilities here. I work in a water treatment plant. First thing we do when we get a high reading or a reading that isn't consistent is test again. Usually, there is an operator error or scratches on the glassware. Test again before making any decisions and go from there. If your next reading is the same, then you have a problem, chances are its the test kit or an error by you. Also, make sure your new water is well-mixed.

So i tested it again and it read 12ALK again. So hopefully the test kit just sucks...

 

[djkms]

if you dont bake it, it will raise your ph.... bake it if your ph is normally high.

Sorry to correct you but what you say is backwards. Soda Ash (baked baking soda) raises pH significantly while regular baking soda has minimal impact and can in fact lower the PH.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

 

[Smiley]

ah **** my bad, thanks for correcting me....

 

[jagermeister]

What salt are you using? Many salt mixes mix up with an alkalinity of 10-12 dKh so your readings aren't unreasonable and may be spot on.

It sounds like your pH is where you want it on your tank so I'd make up your two part solution using baking soda without baking it. Warming up the water in the microwave will help in dissolving the baking soda. Reading through the link djkms posted will tell you all you need to know about two-part dosing.

The following link will help you know how much to dose to get the levels your want.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

 

[Justin144]

What salt are you using? Many salt mixes mix up with an alkalinity of 10-12 dKh so your readings aren't unreasonable and may be spot on.

It sounds like your pH is where you want it on your tank so I'd make up your two part solution using baking soda without baking it. Warming up the water in the microwave will help in dissolving the baking soda. Reading through the link djkms posted will tell you all you need to know about two-part dosing.

The following link will help you know how much to dose to get the levels your want.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

im using kent salt.
Thanks!!

 

[jagermeister]

im using kent salt.

Looks like, according to the data in the link provided by H2O_intolerant, that Kent salt mixes up to around 11 dKh, so your measurements are right in line.

 

[that0neguy1126]

How often do you do WC's? Also, when you say your tank is full SPS. Can you justify that, is it packed to the brim with SPS? Do you normally dose?

Based on what I have seen so far, I would do a large WC and that should bring it up quite a bit. Start to add a tiny bit of baking soda every day, but don't try to jump your Alk up to 8 or 9 overnight.

Do another WC next week and check it again. It should be to where you need it.

If your tank is fully stocked with SPS, you will need to set up some kind of dosing station or regiment to keep your ALK where you need it.

 

[Justin144]

How often do you do WC's? Also, when you say your tank is full SPS. Can you justify that, is it packed to the brim with SPS? Do you normally dose?

Based on what I have seen so far, I would do a large WC and that should bring it up quite a bit. Start to add a tiny bit of baking soda every day, but don't try to jump your Alk up to 8 or 9 overnight.

Do another WC next week and check it again. It should be to where you need it.

If your tank is fully stocked with SPS, you will need to set up some kind of dosing station or regiment to keep your ALK where you need it.

My tank is still in a frag state. Not many colonies just a bunch of sps frags
i do a water change every weekend. I just did one today but haven't checked if the alk went up or not.
i never dose, I usually just rely on WC's

 

[Smiley]

Re: Low ALK help!

Sounds like your problem is with testing AND salt.... get a salifert alk kit......

 

[xxHLTxx]

if your test kit sucks thats one thing, but alk is in coherence with Calcium... its a balancing act. i bet if your alk is that high than your calc is 0... vice versa if your alk is low... then your calc is rather high. you can dose calcium in the tank if you want to balance it out and try to lower the alk or add buffer if the alk is low...

 

[Justin144]

Yeah my calcium was at like 500 last time I checked.
im getting new test kits soon