Extremely low kH in all 3 of my tanks- need help!

[streetsong]

Low kH has never been an issue until about 2 weeks ago. kH has dropped to about 6 in all three of my tanks, calcium is at 420-450, pH is at 8.2. I took a water sample from one tank to a LFS and the magnesium tested at 10,000 ppm. So I have been dosing Brightwell Magnesion in my 29 gal. for about three days. I can't figure out what is causing this- I use Reef Crystals salt mix and I keep up on weekly water changes of 15%. Any help?

[SpringFever]

Strange... It looks like you have mostly soft coral... Have you checked Ph at night and mid day? Ph change can effect Alk. Also, I think you mean 1,000ppm. I would buy a good Mag test kit and test your self (especially since you are already dosing). I like Elos.

[Lawnman]

Up your water change to 20%. Have you tried doing 2 waterchanges a week to see what that does?If that does not help try switching salt. I am not a big fan of reef crystals.There are way better salts out there now.I am not a big fan of dosing. I was dosing my tank to keep my KH at 8-10 and finally I just started doing 3 water changes a week. My levels are great and my tank has never look better.

[streetsong]

Great advice- I'll try two water changes per week and see what that does.

[Trick]

just add some 8.4 ph buffer.

[d9hp]

just add some 8.4 ph buffer.

 

Don't does.

 

My pH was crazy low and I used this and it brought my Alk to 15 for a few days. pH didn't really move.

 

Just do a few frequent water changes.

 

I'm now dosing ESV B-ionic and it's really impressive so far.

[lakshwadeep]

What were your KH numbers?

What's your test kit brand/model, and have you double checked your KH tests?

Is the test kit expired?

[Trick]

if you have low pH but high alkalinity then you need to add more surface agitation. A bubbler should help raise the pH if the alk is too high but the pH is too low.

[amnestia]

He said his pH is 8.2 so it's fine just his KH is low. Dose KH buffer or pH buffer, essentially the same thing. Dose and re-check levels till it hits what you want 8-10dkh is a good level.

[disaster999]

first of all 6dkh is not idea, but not THAT bad. just add baking soda or other buffering powder to bump up the the alkalinity.

 

what im more interested is how the #### did your LFS manage to get a reading of 10000ppm magnesium. either you heard wrong or you should start looking for another LFS. what test kit were they using? if they are using anything other than salifert or elos, chances are the reading is false.

 

you shouldnt be dosing what you cant test. time for you to invest into a good test kit. the 2 brands i mentioned are the more accurate ones. do not get red sea. they are highly unreliable.

[nano427]

simple fix. get mag up to about 1350 or so and then dose 2 part to maintain levels. 15% water change is more then adequate and any more than that is just too much work. sounds like your tank is just doing good and as things grow the demand for cal, alk, mag is just going to keep going up

[cbandotho]

I am assuming you meant 1000ppm on the magnesium?

 

Are all three of your tanks plumbed together?

 

If you have never had a problem with Alk and then you had a problem at the same time on 3 separate tanks and they all got exactly the same low reading, I would look for common factors before I dosed anything.

 

Water changes are never gonna hurt I suppose but it seems more likely that your test kit is bad or something environmental. I would rule out other factors before I made any major adjustments especially

if everything in your tank looks good.

[Dani3d]

+1 on the oxygenation of the water. natural sea water does not have 8 KH, rather between 6.5 to 7.5.

 

Mine is always low between 6 to 7 and sometimes even go to 5 but my PH is stable because I have good aeration.

 

Bubbler are a pain because of all the salt creep and slash from the bubbles though. A good skimmer is another way to aerate the water.

 

if you have low pH but high alkalinity then you need to add more surface agitation. A bubbler should help raise the pH if the alk is too high but the pH is too low.