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P.Kapp
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Topic: Need to raise Alk Posted: November 04 2010 at 12:11pm |
Im somewhat new to the dosing scene, and im trying to figure it all out, but need a little help. I have read through marks secrets of an affordable reef aquarium(thank you by the way  ) and i copied the part that im working on, but need a little help so i dont do something dumb and kill everything in my tank...
-copied- ALKANITY AND CALCIUM The addition of supplements is very common in the hobby. The first and most important supplement to consider is dripping Kalkwasser at night as top off. This supplement is not only a good source of equal amounts of Alk and Ca, it also has the added benefit of stabilizing pH. At night when photosynthesis switches off, algae becomes an oxygen consumer and Carbon Dioxide producer. This drop in pH is a common cause of stress, disease and sometimes death of fish, nor is it good for inverts, including coral. Kalkwasser is a long standing proven method for keeping a well maintained reef aquarium. If the tank has enough growth that Kalkwasser cannot add sufficient Alk and Ca, the second supplements to consider are a 2-part solution of Alkalinity and Calcium. The surprising thing to new hobbyists is that these supplements can be made at home with some ordinary household products, Baking Soda and Ice Melt. Here below I have written about how to do it. This is the easiest of supplements that will do the most good for a reef tank. I highly recommend it. The third and final method of adding Alk and Ca is the "Calcium Reactor". So called because it is a semi-automated way to give the stony coral the Calcium they need for skeleton growth. It's not an accurate name but it has stuck so we use it. A better name would be the "Carbonate Reactor". It adds Calcium and Alkalinity by dissolving Aragonite, the same substance we use for sand! The resulting Carbonates in solution are pumped into the tank at a rate set by the hobbyist. This is the most complicated method of adding Alk and Ca and is practical only for those tanks with a large percentage of stony coral. It's downsides are cost, the inadvertant decrease of pH, the complications of setting and continual monitering of several flow rates and the need to bump up the Alkalinity periodically with the Alk side of the 2-part solution. There is one thing to consider, the more we ignorantly mess with the chemistry of our tanks, the worse they fare. A water change is always the safest way to reduce any excess. Making and adding Alkalinity and Calcium to the reef aquarium Alkalinity: 4 parts Baking soda and 1 part Soda Ash/Washing Soda. Soda Ash is made by baking Baking Soda in a glass baking dish at ~400 for an hour or so. Dissolve as much of this as will dissolve in purified water, then add it regularly along with doing Alkalinity testing to be sure of dosing the right amount. The desired range is 8-14 dKH or it's equivalent in meq/l or ppm. Calcium: Dissolve as much Calcium Chloride (Peladow brand ice melt or CaCl2 from a chemical shop) as will dissolve in purified water. Dose it separately from the Alkalinity additive. Mixing the two together or adding them to the aquarium where they can mix too soon is ineffective and forms solid Calcium Carbonate in a chemical reaction typically described as "snowing". But dose this Calcium additive on the same schedule as the Alkalinity, using an amount based on the need as determined by Calcium testing. 350-450ppm is the desired range.
Determining the correct amount to dose: For example, taking a 100 gal tank, I would start by testing the Alk and Ca levels. If either are out of the desired range, I would add ~1/4 cup of the needed component solution, then test the next day to see what difference it made, if any. Then adjust the dosage accordingly, testing and watching the levels daily (or weekly if you are lazy like me  ) until I had figured out about how much to add to replce what the tank is using. Tip: Dosing at the same time as feeding, helps keep it fairly regular and consistent. Tip: Reef aquariums can handle it if the dosage moderately exceeds the levels of the desired range. Simply stop dosing for a few days and let the tank take care of the extra through natural processes. If a large amount is accidentally added (dang kids  ) a partial water change can help alleviate a problem
So im going to go to the grocery store to buy some baking soda tonight, and bake a portion of it to make the soda ash. Im not sure how much to mix together, and in how much water..? Once i get that figured out, how much should i add to to the tank to raise my alk, and how quickly can i add it, and where should it be put in the tank or sump? Sorry, lots of question. Guess i should also tell you what my levels are. My alk is at 6 dkh, Cal is 390, Mg is 1290, and PH is about 8.0
Im trying to think of everything that mark is going to ask me in advance... My tank is 125 gals with about 150lbs of live rock (havent actually weighed it to know for sure ), 3 in sand bed, 55 gal sump about half full of water with my skimmer in the first chamber, refuge in the 2nd chamber with about 4in of very fine sand, rubble rock, and chaeto, and then 2 return pumps and one pump for my uv sterilizer in the final chamber.
and here is a pic of the tank when i first set it up
Thanks in advance for your help
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Preston Kapp
210 Gal Reef
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snoyce
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 2:47pm |
Personally I use Randy's recipe #2 which can be found here
then use the reef chemistry calculator found here to get the ammount to add based on your gallons and how much you want to raise your Alk in that dose
you could use pure baking soda or baked baking soda using the calculator, but I find mixing up a gallon of randy's recipe and dosing in Fluid ounces easier.
I dose my tank in the sump as far away from the return as possible to give it the most time to mix in before being returned to the display, Dosing Alk will give you a nice white cloud that should disipate in a few seconds.
The calculator will tell you in warning how much change of PH should occur for what you calcuate adding, Personally I raise my PH from 6 to 9 in a single daily dose and have not noticed any adverse affects, but I don't keep sps which are much more sensitve to Alk levels and changes
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Scott Noyce
90G reef ready AGA display
basment 20G sump, 29G fuge
4x54 watt T5 retro SLR
Octopus NW150
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snoyce
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 2:56pm |
No offense to Mark but adding as much as will dissolve into 1 gallon is not accurate enough and each batch would have to much variation causing you to have to test after each addition or at least very often until you have a feel for that batch.
the amount that will dissolve is affected by the tempurature of the water quite a bit and its hard to know when to stop adding and see how much you could get to dissolve, my water here is very cold comming out of the RO/DI especially in the winter and I usually end up warming it up just to get randy's recipe to fully dissolve.
I try to get my tank figured out so I can just dump the daily does in, and only test every week or to, and make adjustements off that.
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Scott Noyce
90G reef ready AGA display
basment 20G sump, 29G fuge
4x54 watt T5 retro SLR
Octopus NW150
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Lewy
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 3:08pm |
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If you read through some of Marks posts he alludes to about 2 table spoons per quart. So for a gallon it comes to about 8 table spoons per gallon. I could be off. But if you use the same amount every time and check temp when making each batch you can gage things pretty easily.
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40 gal w/ 20 sump
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Crazy Tarzan
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 3:11pm |
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16 TBPS=1 Cup
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Was that in there yesterday? Casper--WY windier than ?
Down to a 20, soon to double or nothing
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P.Kapp
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 3:37pm |
thanks for the help guys, and for the links snoyce.
so when i figure out how much i need to add for how many gallons i have, how do i add it? can i just dump it all in at once in the sump? or do i need to drip it slowly in? day or night?
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Preston Kapp
210 Gal Reef
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Lewy
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 3:57pm |
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40 gal w/ 20 sump
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snoyce
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 4:39pm |
I just dump it in the sump, for me that is 3oz at a time, if I test this usually takes my tank from 7 to 9 and does not seem to effect my PH enough for my test kit to messure, but I don't have a PH probe. Yes slow is probably better, and go slow until you are where you want to be, once the tank is at the desired level, test 24 hours later and adjust again, eventually you can fine tune how much you need per day or per everyother day to keep your tank at the desired level. I don't know if it really matters when you dose night or day, I think its more important that you dose in the sump away from the coral in the display then by the time it gets to the display it will not harm anything, I have dumped in my old 29 gallon display and stressed some of the coral that was close to the dump spot
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Scott Noyce
90G reef ready AGA display
basment 20G sump, 29G fuge
4x54 watt T5 retro SLR
Octopus NW150
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P.Kapp
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 5:13pm |
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Thanks guys. So i should be good to dump in somewhat small amounts to get my levels where they need to be, and then maybe run a drip, or small doses to maintain it?
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Preston Kapp
210 Gal Reef
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TriggerHappy
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Posted: November 04 2010 at 9:03pm |
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What are you stocking in the tank?
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210 gallon Mixed Reef
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P.Kapp
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Posted: November 05 2010 at 1:44am |
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It will be mostly LPS and SPS
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Preston Kapp
210 Gal Reef
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TriggerHappy
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Posted: November 05 2010 at 1:59am |
I'd dose until you get it right and then give it a week and test again...see what the tank is using. I personally would not set up a drip...if you are using that much, maybe a Ca reactor is in your future?
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210 gallon Mixed Reef
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