i need major major help with alkalinity! please read

[jcs11236]

hey guys:
i need major help. i came home last night and noticed one of my mushrooms were not open like usual. so i checked all my level which were:
amm: 0
nitrite: 0
nitate:0
p.h: 8.2
salinty 1025
so i decided to go out and buy a akalinity test kit since i never checked alk before
they say a dkh of 8- 14 dkh-
when i check my alk it is 8 meg/l or 22.4 dkh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the test kit i used was safetest.i added 16 drops to reach correct color and then they said divide the drops by two to get meg/l then they say multiply meg/l by 2.8 to get the dkh
why the hell is it so high?
how do i bring this down!!!!?????????
what exactly is alkalinity???and what cause it to go so high?
can high alk kill my fish or corals??

 

[Anonymous]

first off - don't panic and start adding chemicals. alkalinity is a measure of carbonates and other ions that act as buffers. There is a direct relationship between alk and calcium, usually the two balance out at the recomended 10 dkh and 350 - 400 Ca so generally if Alk is high Ca is a little low - did you test that? What I would do is just change some water and be patient - to me that is usually the best solution to any water quality issue. And why is it so high? Probably cuz the Ca is low, not a real big deal unless your keeping acros or some other demanding corals. If after a couple water changes and weeks of being patient you still get high readings you may want to add Kalkwaser to bost your Ca levels. Of course this is assuming the test was correct.

 

[jcs11236]

ok--last night i did a 20 percent water change and just left the tank alone.
i will check my calcium levels tonight

so what your tellin my is that if alk is high calcium is low
ok---- what cacium should i be using
what i was told to use is kents liquid reactor
you think that might be the problem --should i be using a calcium suppliment by itself or is this good?
this is what i use:
Description:
Liquid Reactor is a complete calcium buffer system designed to give the same results as costly calcium reactor systems without investing in a reactor, CO2 tank, solenoid, and pH controller; also, there is no risk of overdosing CO2 and causing subsequent problems with algae and/or pH. This product will raise the concentrations of calcium, magnesium, strontium, and carbonates (alkalinity) in the system, and is chloride, phosphate, nitrate, and gluconate free! Each 16 oz. of Liquid Reactor will treat 5,000 gallons or 18,900 liters and contains 126,000 ppm of calcium and 193,000 ppm carbonates.
Kent Marine Liquid Reactor is an aqueous complex of calcium and carbonates; additionally, it provides magnesium, strontium and trace minerals. This material originates from ancient marine deposits that are now terrestrial (not collected from current marine environments, and so does not contribute to reef-destructive collection practices). Liquid Reactor is free of pollutants, and organics which may be present in aquatic muds of terrestrial origin. This is a simple means to dose calcium, magnesium, and carbonates to reef aquariums without the high cost, maintenance, and potential for CO2 overdosing associated with calcium reactor systems. Furthermore, hobbyists wishing to avoid addition of chloride ions to their reefs will benefit greatly from Liquid Reactor as it is chloride-free and will not cause ionic imbalance!

The rate of calcium and carbonate depletion within an aquarium will govern the rate at which the residual concentration of these ions is increased by Liquid Reactor. Liquid Reactor is designed to work well with all Kent products. Hobbyists may choose to add other Kent Marine supplements to target specific ion deficiencies in their systems, revealed by testing or to raise levels more rapidly. Kalkwasser Mix or any Kent calcium product, or Tech CBTM and Tech MTM may be used simultaneously, if necessary or desired. If you choose to use these products, less will be required, so be conservative with dosing. Use Kent Marine Essential ElementsTM, Coral-ViteTM, and Tech ITM, simultaneously to maintain proper water parameters between water changes with Kent Sea Salt, and add PhytoPlexTM, Coral AccelTM, and new ChromaPlexTM to provide optimal nutrition for filter-feeding marine invertebrates.

A pH of 8.0 to 8.3 and an alkalinity of 2.9 to 4.5 meq/L (8 to 12 dKH) is recommended. Calcium level should be maintained between 400 and 450 ppm. Test calcium & alkalinity and adjust the recommended dose for your particular system!

may i ask you another question john
as long as i do my weekly water changes and keep calcium at its correct level --i should not add any more additives -correct

sorry-im real dumb at this fish tank stuff

 

[incysor]

Just doing water changes and adding calcium may be fine for your tank, but it may not. It's impossible to predict what additives any particular tank will need, because every tank is different. Same lights, same tank, same filtration, but different corals will cause the calcium uptake to be different, which means the alk will be different. Etc... The only way to know what additives you need to be using is by testing fairly regularly. I only run my tests about once a month, but when I visit the stores I take a water sample with me and let them test it as well. Several in my area will test for free, and even the ones that do charge for it, only charge a couple bucks.

You should never, ever, add anything to your system that you aren't testing for. Otherwise there's no way for you to tell when you've added the right amount.

B

 

[Anonymous]

Agreed 100%
One last comment though - I have found that if your using aragonite sand, and change water regularly most sups are not needed. Better (easier) to keep the system in balance with an appropriate bioload then to fuss with additives and this really applies to beginners. Kalkwasser is a time proven solution to low Ca though.