Rookie Dosing Mistake

[RIP Sebastian]

Hey everyone,

 

Today was my first time dosing. I was excited and I wasn't thinking and I didn't add any ALK solution along the CAL and now my ALK has gotten higher (not at a dangerous level, just one I don't want). I'm so mad at myself. At least I learned something. How do you guys combat that issue?

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

[VW_TDI_02]

Hey everyone,

 

Today was my first time dosing. I was excited and I wasn't thinking and I didn't add any ALK solution along the CAL and now my ALK has gotten higher (not at a dangerous level, just one I don't want). I'm so mad at myself. At least I learned something. How do you guys combat that issue?

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

I'm confused as to what happened. You did not add any alk solution and now your alk is higher?

 

If you're concerned about not keeping them perfectly even then I wouldn't worry about it. My tank only consumes about 20 PPM Ca a week but about 2 dkh so I'm currently only dosing alk solution. Water changes will take care of my Ca until it starts consuming more as it is still a very young tank.

[RIP Sebastian]

I'm confused as to what happened. You did not add any alk solution and now your alk is higher?

 

If you're concerned about not keeping them perfectly even then I wouldn't worry about it. My tank only consumes about 20 PPM Ca a week but about 2 dkh so I'm currently only dosing alk solution. Water changes will take care of my Ca until it starts consuming more as it is still a very young tank.

 

I believe when you add cal, your alk goes up, too. Am I wrong?

[flatlandreefer]

That is not the case they are completely separate, the additives are just formulated so calcium and alk will be replenished at a 1:1 ratio as they are consumed by livestock that way. Did you measure your alk after you added your calcium, maybe you don't actually need to dose.

[Figster]

Raising ca to high levels without raising alkaline can actually cause the reverse, which is a dropped alk level. Same is true if you dose high alk without balancing ca, as the ca will drop. Also make sure your mag is at a good level or you'll have a hard time keeping them in balance.

[Figster]

Sorry for the double post, but I just thought of what you are dosing. If you are dosing straight calcium then it won't raise alk, but if your dosing kalkwasser (limewater) then yes it will raise ca and alk (and ph in a big way too).

 

Here is a great link for this (way to much reading though), but it will help with understanding dosing.

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

 

EDIT: sorry, I meant this link

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

[RIP Sebastian]

Thanks for the replies, but I'm not dosing kalk. I'm dosing the BRS two art stuff. I tested and my level of cal was 400. I dosed to get it up to 420. My test for alk said 8.8, last I measured was 7.5. I could be wrong, though.

[Clown79]

When you increase ca, alk drops, when you increase alk, ca drops.

 

Thats the reason for 2 part do that when dosing you aren't significantly effecting one parameter or another.

Yup. As you increase your ca your alk dropped.

 

As you continue to increase ca the alk will continue to drop.

 

You need to dose both in order to maintain the alk

[Mariaface]

Found it!

 

What's magnesium testing at?

 

Alk doesn't normally go up without being added. Any chance you can test a sample of the calcium additive? Has salinity gone up? Have you opened up your windows or installed something that adds CO2 to the tank?

[RIP Sebastian]

Found it!

 

What's magnesium testing at?

 

Alk doesn't normally go up without being added. Any chance you can test a sample of the calcium additive? Has salinity gone up? Have you opened up your windows or installed something that adds CO2 to the tank?

 

Mag is steady at 1600.

When you increase ca, alk drops, when you increase alk, ca drops.

 

Thats the reason for 2 part do that when dosing you aren't significantly effecting one parameter or another.

Yup. As you increase your ca your alk dropped.

 

As you continue to increase ca the alk will continue to drop.

 

You need to dose both in order to maintain the alk

 

My alk increased when I does cal.

[Mariaface]

Freaky. But maybe the high magnesium is causing alk to rise regardless of calcium dosing, somehow?

 

 

From advancedaquarist:

 

This rise in supersaturation can be caused by a rise in pH (which increases the amount of carbonate present by converting bicarbonate into carbonate), a rise in temperature (as on a heater or pump impeller; the temperature rise decreases the solubility of calcium carbonate and also converts bicarbonate into carbonate), or more directly by a rise in either calcium or carbonate.24

After the solid calcium carbonate has appeared in the system by whatever means, precipitation of CaCO₃ will begin immediately. What processes inhibit continued precipitation of CaCO₃ onto a growing crystal? The main thing happening in normal seawater is likely the impact of magnesium (though phosphate and organics may play an important role in some aquaria).24 This is the point that magnesium gets onto the growing surface of the crystal, essentially poisoning it for further precipitation of calcium carbonate. Since magnesium can reduce the likelihood or extent of calcium carbonate precipitation in this fashion, it thus acts to make it easier to maintain high levels of calcium and alkalinity.

[RIP Sebastian]

Freaky. But maybe the high magnesium is causing alk to rise regardless of calcium dosing, somehow?

 

 

From advancedaquarist:

 

This rise in supersaturation can be caused by a rise in pH (which increases the amount of carbonate present by converting bicarbonate into carbonate), a rise in temperature (as on a heater or pump impeller; the temperature rise decreases the solubility of calcium carbonate and also converts bicarbonate into carbonate), or more directly by a rise in either calcium or carbonate.24

After the solid calcium carbonate has appeared in the system by whatever means, precipitation of CaCO₃ will begin immediately. What processes inhibit continued precipitation of CaCO₃ onto a growing crystal? The main thing happening in normal seawater is likely the impact of magnesium (though phosphate and organics may play an important role in some aquaria).24 This is the point that magnesium gets onto the growing surface of the crystal, essentially poisoning it for further precipitation of calcium carbonate. Since magnesium can reduce the likelihood or extent of calcium carbonate precipitation in this fashion, it thus acts to make it easier to maintain high levels of calcium and alkalinity.

 

Thanks. I'll re test it tomorrow just to be sure.

[xiaoxiy]

Are you dosing by hand or with a doser?

 

I had an issue last month of where my alk kept creeping up for what seemed to be no apparent reason at the time. I ended up finding out that my doser was slowly siphoning into my tank due to a faulty doserhead.

[RIP Sebastian]

Are you dosing by hand or with a doser?

 

I had an issue last month of where my alk kept creeping up for what seemed to be no apparent reason at the time. I ended up finding out that my doser was slowly siphoning into my tank due to a faulty doserhead.

 

I'm dosing by hand. I just tested everything. My Hanna Alk Checker read 8.8-way higher than I thought it was, with no change from several days ago. I tested it with the Red Sea and it came out to something between 12 and 13. I tested with the checker again and it still said 8.8. What even? My cal hasn't changed, either. Mag is btween 1560 and 1600. I have no idea what is going on.

[Clown79]

You know, i totally understand your frustration. Sometimes no matter what we do, weird unexplainable things happen.

 

It may be from mag being so high, mag is what controls the balance of ca and alk.

[RIP Sebastian]

You know, i totally understand your frustration. Sometimes no matter what we do, weird unexplainable things happen.

 

It may be from mag being so high, mag is what controls the balance of ca and alk.

 

Possibly. Thanks for your sympathy. I needed that.

[Mariaface]

Just a note on the Red Sea alk test: you're looking for the moment the solution turns any other color, like grey/purple, etc, then taking the reading from the drop before that. Red Sea has a video out there somewhere.

 

Sometimes it's a 3-5 drop window before the water goes from blue to red or whatever it is (forgot the titration colors, sorry), or it turns 'orange' and you don't get to a bright red until several drops later. That might be why you read alk so high.

 

..if not, maybe the reagent?

[RIP Sebastian]

Just a note on the Red Sea alk test: you're looking for the moment the solution turns any other color, like grey/purple, etc, then taking the reading from the drop before that. Red Sea has a video out there somewhere.

 

Sometimes it's a 3-5 drop window before the water goes from blue to red or whatever it is (forgot the titration colors, sorry), or it turns 'orange' and you don't get to a bright red until several drops later. That might be why you read alk so high.

 

..if not, maybe the reagent?

 

Thanks.