I am thinking of using Kalkwasser

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bizzybeas

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
391
Location
Arizona
For the past 6 months I have been using a combination of Bionic, sealab cubes, reef buffer and reef builder to balance my reef. I can maintain my calcium but I need to add a lot because my clam. I am having a harder time maintaining my ph. My LFS advised me not to use a lot of buffer, because it contains something which is bad for corals. I do not know how else to raise my ph, so that brings me to kalkwasser. I do not have a ph meter (eek...I have already spent too much on my system) how can I be sure not to raise the ph too drastically? Does anyone have any suggestions for using this additive? Any brand name preferences? My brain coral is counting on you!
 
We should first determine why you are not able to maintain your ph. Kalk can buffer ph and stabalize your over night ph (if dosed at night) but it not the solution to a ph problem.

What are your CA, ALK, PH (what time are you testing?), Nitrate, PO4, SG, on what size tank? What is your maintenance routine? What salt brand are you using? And last, but certainly not least, how are your animals doing? It is easy to get caught in the numbers game, but if your animals are thriving and growing....it may simply be a perceived problem rather than an actual problem.

BTW, IMO, it would be very difficult to maintain the ionic balance of the tank with all those additives.

hehehe, maybe while I'm at work ReefLady will find a link to that "other" forum where LZB3 was having ph problems and boomer was working with her on it, it contaned some very good info and links in it and some very specific info on some of the additives your using.
 
I am using marine mix professional salt (from Germany) I am out of it now and will switch to tropic marin. My ph (I test all levels at night) is 8 measuring with tetra kit, and 7.7 with a sailfert kit. I have never got a reading above this with the sailfert kit, so I question the validity of this particular kit. My dkh usually measures about 10 but this week it measured 8. Calcium 375. NO3= 2.5 mg/L. salinity 1025.5 I have not tested for PO4.

My maintenence routine for my 65 gallon is to change out about 6 to 7 gallons a week. I am filterless except my 70 lbs of live rock, a plenum and a skimmer. My animals look GREAT. I hate to jinx myself but all of my fish have been disease free, I have coralline algae all over the place (glass, even my bumblebee snails are covered.) The only corals I have are mushrooms, ricordia, and an open brain coral. I also have an open brain coral, and a clam. They all look great.

I have not added any new corals because I am trying to get this ph problem figured out. Lately I have changed my additives to using only sea lab cubes and reef builder. This is when I noticed the slight ph drop with both kits. Before I add a xenia I am trying to get my additives straight. Thank you in advance for your expertise!
 
The thing I really see wrong with those numbers is a low calcium concentration.
A pH of 8.0 when the tank is dark is not that low really. What does the pH go up to during lights on? A large pH swing from dark to light may be a problem.
I think you need to get the calcium concentration up to around 420-450 ppm and then select a good balanced calcium/alkalinity supplementation scheme that works for your tanks demands. Adding all those different supplements can't be good for anyone.
Check out some of the calcium and alkalinity articles from the list here


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605

Specific to your problem
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
and http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm
There are lots of pH, alkalinity and calcium related articles there that can be very helpful.
 
I have never seen my calcium above 375. This is why I switched from the b ionic to the sea lab cubes. I even checked my mag which is fine. I question the test kit (sea chem) because I have good coralline algae growth. I checked the ph during the day today and it is around 8 with both test kits, maybe slightly higher with the tetra kit.
 
I'll look this thread back over in a fe, no time right now, just wanted to let you know I read a thread on RC awhile back in which Habib (owner of Salifert) acknowledged there were problems with some of the PH kits. Do not trust your salifert ph kit without another kit corroborating the readings.
 
Bizzy...I would really take a look at this article on Solving Calcium and Alkalinity problems....in order to get your calcium up you may have to add a large amount of supplement...in this article Randy Holmes-Farley talks describes how to raise calcium without have a drastic effect on alkalinity with calcium chloride dosing, I think there is even a calculator to help figure out how much you will need to add.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

I was able to get my pH up just by opening a window near the tank and allowing some of CO2 to get out of my house. Excess atmospheric CO2 will end up in a lower pH. Injecting fresh air into a skimmer will have the same result (if you have a CO2 problem) But I still don't think 8.0 is extremely low.
 
Interesting articles. I noticed that when using the Bioic alone, my alk would be okay but my calcium was low (300). When I switched to the sea lab cubes my calc was a little higher (375) but my alk started to fall. Maybe I should use the b ionic and the sea lab cubes, but this does not solve my ph problem unless my test kits (both of them?) are off. Confusion, confusion. :roll:
 
Excess co2 in my air certainly could be a problem. I live in Phoenix and most of our houses are insulated well. It is still too hot to open a window!!! What do you mean adding air to the skimmer? Thank you Kevin for the information about the Sailfert kit. I know that they are supposed to be good kits, but I consistently got low results with it. 8O
 
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