Kalk Disaster

I guess I always remember stars from Oceanography field trips and we'd touch and play with them - I never figured they were able to 'catch' fish?!

Not to sound like a baby - but do they hurt/attack hands/fingers?

I wanted to get some for the new tank but after reading your thread I now am rethinking. I was attacked by my emerald crab a few months ago and I'm still pretty gun-shy. I wet my pants everytime I feel something brush up against my hand...

last week I was fixing a rock that had fallen and the shrimp came up and started cleaning the back of my hand - I screamed and flung it out of the tank cause I thought the emerald was trying to eat me - are stars human friendly?

P.S. This is my official 100th post... and it involves me sharing a story of wetting my pants... Fantastic.
 
OmegaOmega said:
I guess I always remember stars from Oceanography field trips and we'd touch and play with them - I never figured they were able to 'catch' fish?!

Not to sound like a baby - but do they hurt/attack hands/fingers?

I wanted to get some for the new tank but after reading your thread I now am rethinking. I was attacked by my emerald crab a few months ago and I'm still pretty gun-shy. I wet my pants everytime I feel something brush up against my hand...

last week I was fixing a rock that had fallen and the shrimp came up and started cleaning the back of my hand - I screamed and flung it out of the tank cause I thought the emerald was trying to eat me - are stars human friendly?

P.S. This is my official 100th post... and it involves me sharing a story of wetting my pants... Fantastic.
Click to expand...

oh yes! Those star fish will pull you completely into the tank and devour you (bones,clothes and shoes too) without a trace --all in a couple minutes. (happy 100th!)
 
Okay it's on. It's effing on like donkey kong!

Kalkwasser, a war is what you want? Well, a war is what you get! I am going for an 80 gallon water change tonight. RODI unit needed a little help with this one. NDB is on his way back from the store right now with the second car-load of distilled water. This is a picture of one car load, my full trash cans ready to go, and some misc. buckets reporting for duty!

I've got my krav class for two hours tonight, going to punch, kick, wrestle and grapple with some guys, then I'm going to come home and do the same to my tank! IT'S ON!!!

IMG_3904.jpg
 
We just did a 50%+ water change. I don't know how much exactly -- I kinda lost track. But it was definitely the entire sump's worth and half the display's worth of water. Here is King Gordon supervising. If you are trying to count, that is fifty 1-gallon bottles of DI water.

IMG_3905.jpg


IMG_3907.jpg
 
Not enough co2 in the water.

High pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
"Nearly all high pH situations encountered in reef aquaria are caused by a carbon dioxide deficiency."
"The most benign way to reduce high pH is to aerate the water more."
"That said, sufficient aeration is not always easily attained, and other methods can be useful. These other methods are:
A. Direct addition of carbon dioxide. Bottled soda water (seltzer) can be used to instantly reduce aquarium pH. Be sure to select unflavored soda water, and check the ingredients to be sure it doesn't contain anything that should be avoided (phosphate, etc). Many manufacturers list water and carbon dioxide as the only ingredients.
I recommend adding 6 mL of soda water per gallon of tank water to reduce pH by about 0.3 units. Add it to a high flow area away from organisms (such as in a sump). The local pH where it first is added will be very low. Going about this procedure slowly is better than proceeding too fast. If you do not have a sump, add it especially slowly. Some soda water may have more, or less, carbon dioxide in it, and the lower the aquarium's alkalinity, the larger will be the pH drop. Also, the higher the pH, the smaller will be the pH drop, because the buffering of seawater declines steadily as the pH drops from about 9 to 7.5.
B. Direct addition of vinegar. Commercial distilled white vinegar (typically 5% acetic acid or "5% acidity") can be used to instantly reduce aquarium pH. Do not use wine vinegars as they may contain undesirable organics in addition to the acetic acid.
I recommend adding 1 mL of distilled white vinegar per gallon of tank water to initially reduce pH by about 0.3 units. Once again, add it to a high flow area away from organisms (such as in a sump). The local pH where it first is added will be very low. Going about this procedure slowly is better than proceeding too fast. If you do not have a sump, add it especially slowly. The lower the aquarium's alkalinity, the larger will be the pH drop. Also, the higher the pH, the smaller will be the pH drop, because the buffering of seawater declines steadily as the pH drops from about 9 to 7.5. Remember, there may be an additional, later drop in pH as the vinegar is metabolized to carbon dioxide.
C. Addition of vinegar via limewater. Commercial distilled white vinegar can be used to reduce tank pH by adding it to limewater that is subsequently added to the aquarium. Do not use wine vinegars as they may contain undesirable organics in addition to the acetic acid. A reasonable dose to start with is 45 ml of vinegar per gallon of limewater."
​
 
so then why does it work the opposite for me? . any water i aerate the Ph goes up. thats why i put an air stone in my sump to raise my Ph.
i guess what workd for one may not work for another


benign=neutral or harmless in its effect or influence
 
Last edited:
You want to get your PH down. So I'm trying to understand some basic water chemistry in context to what was said above.

ccCapt posted a quote from Homes-Farley,

"Nearly all high pH situations encountered in reef aquaria are caused by a carbon dioxide deficiency."
- This makes sense to me. Low CO2 means less acid and thus higher PH.

"The most benign way to reduce high pH is to aerate the water more."
This one doesn't make sense to me. By aerating the water you reduce the CO2. Reducing the CO2 lowers the amount of acid and raises the PH. (I agree with daugherty).

Someone please chime in and help me to understand. I'm probably missing something. -Chris
 
Last edited:
Aerating the water can both help raise by forcing out co2 and also help drop it by adding co2.
From the article I linked to above....
"Aerating the water, driving in carbon dioxide, is shown graphically in Figure 5. As carbon dioxide is added, the data point representing the aquarium's pH and alkalinity begins to shift horizontally from the "CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] Deficient" curve to the normal CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] curve (green line in Figure 5). Aerating with normal air cannot overshoot, and perfect aeration will land the aquarium on the normal CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] line. Aeration with interior air that may contain excessive carbon dioxide can overshoot the pH target, and drive the aquarium's pH even lower (Figure 6)."

And from here...
Low pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
"High indoor carbon dioxide levels can also lead to low pH problems in many tanks. Respiration by people and pets, the use of un-vented appliances burning natural gas (e.g., ovens and stoves) and the use of CaCO[SIZE=-1]3[/SIZE]/CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] reactors can lead to high indoor carbon dioxide levels. The level of carbon dioxide can easily be more than twice that of exterior air, and this excess can substantially lower the pH. This problem is especially severe in newer, more airtight homes. It is unlikely to be a problem in homes like mine where the wind can be felt blowing around old window frames.
Many aquarists have found that opening a window near the tank can significantly raise the pH within a day or two."
 

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