is 7.6dkh kH, low?

[daney90]

Tested my water again this noon with my lights on and my KH has dropped down to 5.9dkh using the Red Sea test kit. I was in doubt about the number so i used my APi test kit test the alkalinity again an its at 6dkh. My pH is still the same though around 8.1. So I went ahead and dose 18ml of that component 1 from b-ionic 2 part. I hope im doing this right

 

[jeffaquarius]

Yes you are doing it right. Just keep adding daily but get readings before dosing. Your Mg and Cal are on safe level so no need not worry, The best way though is pwc. Here is a link for your guide and your case is Zone 4.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

 

[daney90]

I need help figuring out why my KH is still low.. Before dosing my KH was 7.2dkh and after 11 hrs i tested my water again and my KH is 7.6dkh

 

[jeffaquarius]

What are your Mg and Cal readings?

 

[daney90]

Right now after I tested it, calcium is 465 and mag is at 1300

 

[daney90]

I dosed the b-ionic 2 part -component 1 about 22ml this morning. Shouldn't it raise my alkalinity a bit?

 

[jeffaquarius]

Yes it will raise your alkalinity. Your Mg and Cal are on safe level. If you do a pwc it will help a bit more.

 

[daney90]

Yes It should but when I did it yesterday morning and tested my water at night there was not a whole lot of change n the numbers lol

 

[jeffaquarius]

When dosing KH it will have a gradual increment increase which is fine. That is why the manufacturer recommends daily dose if you already know how much your tank needs. However, I would not trust API test kit. I notice it reads about 1 point less than Salifert. That means you might have 8.6 already. I would just do a pwc.

 

[daney90]

This is the Red Sea kit im using but yeah there is a slight difference on the numbers when I compared it to API.

How much should i be dosing today? Is it going to e the same 22ml of that part 1?

 

[jeffaquarius]

It says not to exceed 1ml per gal in 24 hours. When is your next pwc? The best time to dose Part 1 of B-Ionic is before lights are off. That is because PH and Alk tends to go down at night. Just make sure no precipitation occurs after dosing.

 

[daney90]

My next pwc is goin to be next Friday.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Have you ever had an alkaline reading between 8 to 12 at all? Your Mg and Ca are good. KH is a buffer of PH. If your PH is stable I would just wait until the next pwc and take another reading. If it still don't go up to 8, I would get another test kit. Another thing you can do also is crank up your water surface agitation and see if PH will increase a bit.

 

[daney90]

My pH has been 8-8.1. Im not sure though if the test kit is the problem because i have the API and Red Sea and i always compare the test if i am in doubt with the results. I would say the Red Sea is slightly higher than the API results but more like the tenths..

 

[daney90]

It says not to exceed 1ml per gal in 24 hours. When is your next pwc? The best time to dose Part 1 of B-Ionic is before lights are off. That is because PH and Alk tends to go down at night. Just make sure no precipitation occurs after dosing.

So this means im not gonna dose today, right? Should there be like an initial dose and maintenance dose or i just have to dose the same amount every other day or whenever the alkalinity is falling down?

 

[jeffaquarius]

If you have 40 gal tank and you already dosed 22ml, that means you can only dose about 18 ml more before end of 24 hrs. There is a precaution though. You should have started just 5 ml per 20 gal each day then gradually increase your dose to reach desired KH. I presume you don't does any other elements.

 

[daney90]

Nope. my other elements are just fine its just the KH that's a prob right now. 24hours has passed already since I dosed yesterday at 9:30am. Going to check my water now to see what the numbers are.

 

[daney90]

So now my KH went down again to 6.7dkh with the Red Sea test kit and my ph went up to 8.4.

 

[jeffaquarius]

In that case large water change is the solution.

 

[carey]

If it were me, I would leave the chemicals alone for a bit and do some water changes. Messing with additives can make matters worse.

Once you get to the ideal dkh with water changes I would then monitor it to see how fast it drops as well as how fast your calcium/magnesium drop. this will tell you how long your tank can go with just the water changes before you have to supplement.

What is the alkalinity of the fresh water that you put in? Does it drop after it;'s added? or are you starting out with low alkalinity?