alk/ph low low low!

[Melonbob]

Ok, I've been dosing my tank with Reef Carbonate daily for about a week and a half, and nothing! I mean I am still critically low, around 1.5. My PH also tested in the 7.5 range. I bought some reef buffer, and am wondering how to go about doing all this now. Calcium is around 400. According to the directions, I should be dosing close to 6 tsp of reef buffer to get to 8.2 PH, it also raises alk as I'm sure most of you know. But I can't just dose all that at once right? If I should be slowly bringing everything up, what rate should I do it at. The instructions say nothing about this. Also, should I keep dosing the Reef Carbonate as well for alk? If so, should I space these apart? I know, the questions never end....

[d.french]

i use seachem products on one tank, my 75 gallon i dose once a week with reef carbonate and reef complete, to much carbonate can lower calcium, strontium, and magnesium. when you turn your lights off at night you will have ph drop. thats good thing about have a sump with refugium and a light on it so you can keep it on all night. don't go to crazy adding stuff though do some water changes just the sea salt alone has everything you need, some people add nothing just do water changes only. I use pickling lime in my 125 gallon it will raise ph but can raise it to high if you dose to quick it has to be dripped slowly. i will get a link for you so you can read up on it.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

[Rcpilot]

I use SeaChem Reef Buffer to dose up my alk and pH. It won't raise pH over about 8.3--8.5, but it WILL continue to raise alk as long as you put more in the tank.

Dose it every day. Maximum amount that the bottle says for your water volume. That will make it raise up to where you want it in a week or two. Then figure out how much you need for a maintenance dose. I do maintenance dose every other day--just a smaller amount.

[Bifferwine]

Do you have an auto top off system? If no, mix the additives into your top off water before adding it to your tank, that will dilute it out a bit. If you do have an auto top off system, remove a gallon or so of water from the system, mix the additives into it, then add it back to the tank.

[Melonbob]

I did two tsp of the reef buffer this morning, but decided to do a 5 gal water change tonight. I am thinking of adding more buffer to the 5gal of new stuff, but my main concern is raising ph and alk too quickly. Can this be done, or should I be trying to up it over the course of several days?

[Rcpilot]

Are we talking about the tank in your sig?

Thats 46g. SeaChem (thought you said thats what you have) will raise 40g of water up in Alk .5 for each teaspoon.

Just add a teaspoon every day with your topoff water. Dissolve the powder in RO water and then pour it in the tank. Do that every day with your topoff water until it tests where it should. Test every day BEFORE you add the Reef Buffer. Add the Reef Buffer and wait until the next day--right before you dose it again-- then test it.

Just do a teaspoon every day. It may be out of whack now--but they are used to it. Bring it up to PERFECT conditions would be enough to shock all of the tank if you do it in 2 days. Bring the alk up slow. Then figure out how much you need to dose to keep it there.

My 30g tank with 5g refugium gets 1tsp on Tues, Thurs, Sat. Keeps my Alk at about 4.2--4.4 and my pH steady at 8.3 Calcium is about 420-430. Magnesium is 1300. Iodide is .03+/-

[fatman]

First raise your Alkalinity, then attempt to raise your pH, if your alkalinity is adjusted to a proper level and your pH will not go up when using the amounts listed on your bottle then you have an ionic imbalance and you will not be able to raise your pH no matter how much you add to raise it. You will need to do several large water changes to get your ionic balance back before doing anything. Just the water large changes will make most of the pH adjustment you need. The problem you seem to be having is quite common when people use to much calcium chloride. Just what is the active ingredient(s) in Reef Carbonate?

[Rcpilot]

Fatman,
The SeaChem Reef Buffer is designed to raise Alk, but it will also raise his pH. The pH will top out around 8.4 +/- but it will raise the Alk as long as you put more of it into the tank.

[fatman]

Originally Posted by Rcpilot

Fatman,
The SeaChem Reef Buffer is designed to raise Alk, but it will also raise his pH. The pH will top out around 8.4 +/- but it will raise the Alk as long as you put more of it into the tank.

I am aware of what SeaChem Reef Buffer could possibly do, I was just saying that after he has a high Alkalinity it is still possible that he will not be able to still get the desired pH. If that happens no amount of SeaChem reef builder will raise the pH nor will increasing the doses of the preparations used to raise a pH. Typically with an ionically balanced tank raising the low alkalinity will also raise the pH, but if the tank is not ionically balanced then the pH will not be raised even after raising the Alkalinity and still will not be raised after trying in addition preparations used to raise just the pH.