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Alkalinity Spike!

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    Posted: June 15 2012 at 6:42pm
My alk is at 14.
i have 150 gallon tank. How do i bring it down and how much water do i dare change at once?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 6:59pm
Biggest part of solving the problem is determining why it's out of range.  Some salts have high borate which most alk tests count against true alkalinity.  Have you done a recent water change?  Anything else changed or what are you dosing?  Can you post a picture of your water test?

I don't know if we can put links here but I'll PM you a link with some information.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote builderofdreams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 7:00pm
I double dosed (accidently) alk.
My Fault.
My calcium is at 430ppm.
Your article says let it come down on its own.
I have corals that are bleaching and not opening. Not sure how much longer they can handle it.


Edited by builderofdreams - June 15 2012 at 7:10pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 7:10pm
No worries mate.
Remember, the acceptable range is 8-14 dKH. It will be fine and will come down on it's own. There may be some negative reaction from coral and inverts but they should be okay very soon.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote builderofdreams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 7:12pm
Thats the issue they are not ok.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 7:12pm
I'd do 50%, if you are worried about doing that big of a change, you could do one at 25% then wait a few hours and do another.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ReefdUp Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 7:27pm
What's your normal alk? I would do a normal water change to see where that gets you. 25% should drop your alk to a more normal alk where your corals are fine. I would run some carbon due to the die off too.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote builderofdreams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 7:29pm
Always run carbon. normal is 9.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote wickedsnowman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 8:23pm
Its prob not the 14 dkh that is bleaching your corals but the speed in which it was increased. It is only safe to raise 1 dkh per day. You said you did a double dose what are you dosing and how much/ how often? If you have a specific amount you dose per day you can calculate how much alk your tank uses each day using a reef calculator. It will then tell you how long it will take to go down. I wouldnt drop it too fast that can also cause things to die.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2012 at 9:48pm
Sorry, I didn't think about the sudden increase and didn't know that coral were burning. I agree that a water change is one of the answers here, to reduce the burning effect of the sudden rise in Alk and corresponding jump in pH.

Another thing that will help and which I would do immediately, is to increase the Ca by 100 ppm. This will offset the Alk and if it precipitates, so much the better. Precip drops Alk very quickly, removing it from the water. A 100 ppm rise in Ca is totally safe. Smile


Edited by Mark Peterson - June 15 2012 at 9:50pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 17 2012 at 12:02am
We're waiting to hear what you did to handle it and how it turned out.  More information
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote builderofdreams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 17 2012 at 10:39am
Thanks to all that helped me on this. The article that you sent me explained alot.
Here is what i did.
1- Raised Calcium 100ppm as Mark suggested. waited hour.
2-Changed 60 gallons of water.
3-Restested> That brought it down to a reasonable parameter.
4-Changed carbon and currently wet skimming the tank.
5-Tested again this morning 9.8
6-Changing another 30 gallons of water as we speak.
Everything is open and looks like it is supposed to.
Well not everything i burned a chalice that i am not sure is going to recover.
I would really suggest that everyone reads the Article that Fatman sent me. It will explain alot on the Alk and Calcium and how the work together.
Thanks again to All. Could have been alot worse than it was.
Here is the link to the Article.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry#section-0
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 18 2012 at 1:18pm
I'm curious. What level did the Alk test an hour after raising Ca by 100? In other words, how much did it drop?
Also, if the system holds 150-180 gallons of water, a 60 gal water change would have brought the Alk down by about 2 dKH. Is that what testing showed?
Not knowing all the other things that went on but that would mean that adding Ca dropped Alk by around 3 dKH.
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