kh through the roof
- Thread starter reefman
- Start date
ccCapt
Reef Hacker
17 dKH is extremely high. Are you dosing anything?
The only and best way to drop your alk is water changes. You can do 20% changes every 2-3 days to bring down that alk.
The only and best way to drop your alk is water changes. You can do 20% changes every 2-3 days to bring down that alk.
i am not dosing with anything that is why i turned off the reactor to get the calcium levels down i know i have to do water changes but doing to many in a short time will affect other perameters to quickly i have done a water change last friday and are going to do another tomorow 10 gallon ro water change my ph is 8.3 and phospate is 0,alkalinity is up though to 12
imdaring
love my reef
I have the same prob??? I have had it for a long time now and I can't seem to get it down. I tested last night my KH was 304.3 and Cal 520 and I don't does at all the only thing I put in is iodine and then coral accel and snow I have a nitrate prob also it seems to stay at 20?? so if you figure somthing out let me know as well
dustin_P74
Reef enthusiast
daring, you dont really need to dose iodine because there is enough of it in your salt
daugherty
part time reefer
are you uing ro water or tap water?
do a few large water changes to seel if that helps.
do a few large water changes to seel if that helps.
ccCapt
Reef Hacker
Not really. If you do a 25% water change and your tank is 17 dKH, and the water change water is 10 dKH, the new dKH in the tank will be 15.25.
If the calcium is 440 in the tank, and the water change water 400, the water in the tank will only drop to 430. This is doing a 25% change. You can do that every 3-4 days with no problems at all.
What brand salt are you using?
What salt are you using? Are you using tap water?
What are the ingredients of Coral Accel? What corals do you have that you need to use snow?
yote
In Memoriam
If I'm not mistaken,Coral Accel has some calcium and alkalinity buffers in it.
Completely stop dosing anything untill you figure out exactly where its coming from.
Completely stop dosing anything untill you figure out exactly where its coming from.
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
Do 25% water changes every 2 or 3 days. It won't hurt anything.
Stop dosing everything. No more additives. No more phyto. No more snow. Don't do anything but feed the fish and do water changes every couple days.
Get your own RO filter. For serious reefing, you need one.
Stop dosing everything. No more additives. No more phyto. No more snow. Don't do anything but feed the fish and do water changes every couple days.
Get your own RO filter. For serious reefing, you need one.
Altohombre
The Tennis Pro Reefer
maybe that ready mixed salt isn't all its cracked up to be.
daugherty
part time reefer
i was just going to say make your own you have no idea what they put in it and you have no control of the salinity they could add copper or anything and you would never know
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
Have you tested the water you've been getting from the store BEFORE you add it to your tank?
If it had nitrates there would be no point in buying it. They'd need a new RO filter. Maybe there is also copper leaching into their RO water? Maybe they are dosing it at the store to get the parameters adjusted but a new batch has different parameters and they haven't adjusted their dosing methods recently? Salt batches can vary from one lot to the other. Adding 1tsp of alkalinity buffer may have worked for 6 months but a new batch of salt now maybe only requires 1/2tsp to buffer it correctly?
You don't know whats in that salt and you don't know how it was prepared.
Get your own RO unit and make your own saltwater at home. You can get a decent RO unit for about $100-$200. Thats really not that expensive when you consider just how important the water is.
If it had nitrates there would be no point in buying it. They'd need a new RO filter. Maybe there is also copper leaching into their RO water? Maybe they are dosing it at the store to get the parameters adjusted but a new batch has different parameters and they haven't adjusted their dosing methods recently? Salt batches can vary from one lot to the other. Adding 1tsp of alkalinity buffer may have worked for 6 months but a new batch of salt now maybe only requires 1/2tsp to buffer it correctly?
You don't know whats in that salt and you don't know how it was prepared.
Get your own RO unit and make your own saltwater at home. You can get a decent RO unit for about $100-$200. Thats really not that expensive when you consider just how important the water is.
dustin_P74
Reef enthusiast
you can actually get a very good RO/DI unit for 60, ill let biff post the link since i dont remember it
imdaring
love my reef
I have RO/DI only for my tank I don't get it from the pet store
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imdaring
love my reef
Reef crystals from fosters
RyanG
Reef enthusiast
REEF CRYSTALS! ding ding we have a winner, change you salt brand pronto. There have been several bad batches that have cuased several tank crashes.
Piggy
Reef enthusiast
I always test my new water. I want to know what's going in my tank.
dustin_P74
Reef enthusiast
im going to half to agree with ryan
imdaring
love my reef
I test mine 1 X a week
