how do I lower my KH?

[saltcreep1025]

my test kit is showing that my KH is at 320 mg/L. thats way to high right? how can i lower it and how did it get so high?

is mg/L the same as ppm? when i see KH should be 8-12 what is that measured by?

is GH used in saltwater?


thx much fer the help

 

[steve-s]

General hardness is not something you really need to worry about in SW aquaria. General Hardness measures the cations, + ions for calcium and magnesium while carbonate hardness refers to only the bicarbonate, and carbonate anions - ions.

In salt water aquaria we are more concerned with the carbonate in the system but the trade of is total alkalinity or CaCO3. Depending on what is in the tank animal/coral wise, higher alkalinity balanced with proper Ca is more desired by some and not harmful to the tank inhabitants.

320ppm is a little on the higher side (17.92 DKH) but in most cases this will fall naturally over the next few days providing no other alk additions or water changes are made.

Have you been using the new buffer too often and are you properly measuring alk prior to these additions? I would also suggest checking your Ca levels. If low, the addition of a liquid CaCl will force down the alk naturally without problems and could be the a reason it got out of hand.

Also make sure if/when you test, it is several hours after a buffer addition or a water change. Newly added elements will skew the results drastically.

mg/l = ppm to get to mEq/l divide by 50. 1 mEq/l = 2.8 DKH

Cheers
Steve

 

[saltcreep1025]

i actually didnt have the alk test kit when i got the buffer but assumed it was low since my ph was a little crazy. I double dosed teh first day i got it and regular dosed for two days then stopped. that probably is what made it a little high. I do have some liquid Ca but need to get a test kit for Ca so i know when i need to dose. Ill keep my eye on the alk for a few days and see what it does.

how does high alk affect (or is it effect?) the tank?

thx for the equation... i couldent figure out where all of the numbers were coming from lol =)

Thx steve, ur always a great help!

 

[steve-s]

how does high alk affect (or is it effect?) the tank?

In your particular case it should not pose a problem if allowed to drop. If maintained too long it will begin stressing the corals and most likely affecting the coralline algaes. Prolonged imbalanced chemistry will cause many issues none of which will usually affect the fish (unless ph related) but more-so the invertabrate life. In some cases injuring or killing them.

Being aware and inquisitive are great traits and I hope you keep asking the questions.

If you're up to it, >>here's << an article you may find interesting.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Guest]

are you using tap water or RO water? this can have a drastic effect on water chemistry.

 

[saltcreep1025]

started w/ tap but am now doing all water changes w/ ro