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05/18/2019, 03:13 PM | #1 |
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Alkalinity won't go down
Hello all, i've been struggling with my alkalinity for a while now, the lowest it has been is 11 and it is constantly 12...is there any way i can lower my alkalinity to single digits? I don't think my lps corals like it, my xenias and softies don't seem to care much about it but my hammer and torch just won't open. I have been strictly doing my water changes weekly and the salt i use is red sea, before i used instant ocean but i change it to see if that was my reason of my high alk. Tank is been running for 7 months.
Parameters: 1.026 salinity 500 calcium 8.0 ph 12 alk 0.03 phosphate 5ppm nitrate |
05/18/2019, 04:59 PM | #2 |
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Red Sea Black results in 11.5 Alk
Try Red Sea Blue, if ya like Red Sea. IO and RC both have lower Alk |
05/18/2019, 07:09 PM | #3 |
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05/18/2019, 10:49 PM | #4 |
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You could dose vinegar until alk starts to drop, then stop at 9-10 dKH.
You may see cloudy bacterial bloom, use airstone if fish get distressed.
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OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt |
05/19/2019, 05:14 AM | #5 | |
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05/19/2019, 05:30 AM | #6 |
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Theoretically dt alkalinity drops as per the equation ;
alk2(dt)=alk1(dt)-(alk1(dt)-alk(sw))*%(wc)/100 Where, alk1(dt) : dt alkalinity before water change alk2(dt) : dt alkalinity after water change alk(sw) : new salt water alkalinity %wc : water change percentage It means for example, your tank alk is 12, new saltwater alk is 8, than the difference is 4dkh. If you perform 10% water change, tank alk after wc must be 11.6dkh. Also tank live stock consume alk till next water change. You'd rather check the test instrument/kit of salinity, alkalinity and/or what you are dosing.
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150G SPS Dominant Tank controlled by GHL Profilux 4 4-Mitras LX7, 2-Vectra M1, 4-MP40wqd, R.E Double Cone 200 w/ RD3 |
05/19/2019, 05:36 AM | #7 |
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Test the make up water. Red sea salt blue bucket mixes to a dKH of 8.1 pretty consistently for me. (Red Sea Coral pro is much higher)
Maybe your test kit went bad, it does happen, either the alk test or the salinity test method. Hanna checker I think is the best for Alk and the digital refractometer for salinity. In terms of what to do - dong nothing is probably best. Only thing worse than high alk is a rapidly changing alk. Worst case do less frequent and/or smaller water changes. -droog |
05/19/2019, 05:38 AM | #8 | |
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05/19/2019, 05:41 AM | #9 | |
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05/19/2019, 06:53 AM | #10 | |
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Double heck your salinity as well. Also measure alkalinity of both your system water and new makeup water.
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150G SPS Dominant Tank controlled by GHL Profilux 4 4-Mitras LX7, 2-Vectra M1, 4-MP40wqd, R.E Double Cone 200 w/ RD3 |
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05/19/2019, 07:51 AM | #11 |
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Did you measure TDS and dKH of your ro/di water?
If dKH is not 0, then yes there's a problem.
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OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt |
05/19/2019, 08:29 AM | #12 | |
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05/19/2019, 08:30 AM | #13 |
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05/19/2019, 09:16 AM | #14 |
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Then your TDS should be >100ppm.
When did you change filters last and do you have a TDS meter?
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OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt |
05/19/2019, 11:39 AM | #15 |
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05/19/2019, 11:42 AM | #16 |
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I just did new water at 1.026 salinity and red sea says it should give me 8dkh. Well my dkh test came at 11 so that is why my alk is steady in the 11-12 range...the only think i can think of is my filters in my rodi unit are bad and need to be changed, please advice. Thank you
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05/19/2019, 12:00 PM | #17 |
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Yes, try to get a TDS meter or borrow one from LFS to confirm before and after changing filters.
You'll figure it out, good luck!
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OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt |
05/19/2019, 12:08 PM | #18 |
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05/19/2019, 01:27 PM | #19 |
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Happy reefing!
This is what i use: https://premiumaquatics.com/products...s-monitor.html Change battery every few years.
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OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt |
05/19/2019, 06:58 PM | #20 |
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The inline meter is good - the cheap and cheerful way is a simple "pen" type device, like this one for $7 and simply test the water coming out of your RODI unit. Test your tap water too!
Maybe your RODI unit needs replacement, some of them ship with built in TDS meter(s) -droog |
05/19/2019, 10:27 PM | #21 |
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Something is definatly wrong with you RO/DI system. The DKH coming out of it should be zero. That is high enough I wonder if your output and waste lines are mixed up coming out of you RO membrane. What is the DKH of your tap water? My guess is 5 or a little lower.
You can use a few small amount of Muriatic acid to lower the DKH of your new salt water. There is a thread in the chemistry forum about how to reduce your ALK. Also lowering your salinity to 1.025 will help a little.
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240G mixed reef, 29G SPS/LPS clam tank, 50G mixed reef Current Tank Info: 300g mixed reef, 50g cube |
05/20/2019, 12:09 AM | #22 |
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Testing dKH of RODI water using a saltwater test kit might not give a "valid" result.
Testing TDS of your RODI is absolutely valid. TDS of water from your RODI water should be close to zero (or actually zero if you run a DI stage). If you never change the DI resin, I believe it can leak ions into the output water. Perhaps thats your problem. -droog |
05/20/2019, 05:52 PM | #23 | |
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...the ph drop a lot so i left it overnight with a powerhead to raise it ,today it was 7.8 which is pretty close to what my tank is, all in all it went well. Also i ordered a tds meter so i will check where my ro/di is sitting at, i'm pretty sure the filters are bad, haven't changed them in a while |
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05/20/2019, 05:55 PM | #24 | |
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05/29/2019, 08:24 PM | #25 |
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Just curious... what happened in the end?
-droog |
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