baking soda to raise alk

[Engloid]

I will have the LFS verify my water tests before I do any dosing at all. However, here's what I'm planning, but want to run it by people that know this stuff a lot better than I do first.

I have roughly 235 gallons of water volume. My alk is at 7 every time I check it. Calcium is pretty high, at 500-520. PH stays about 7.8-7.9. I realize that 7 is normally considered acceptable, but with a doser, it should be pretty easy to slowly raise it to about 9. My reasoning is that I don't seem to get much growth from my corals, compared to many other people. Phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and all that stuff is fine.

I have a doser, so I want to utilize it by raising alk slowly, with a ten day plan to raise 1dkh. Based on my calculations and findings:

It will take 4.6tsp of baking soda to raise my system 1dkh.
24hrs a day X 10 days= 240hrs
1 gallon = 3785mL
3785ml / 240 = 16.15 ml dosed every hour. (I will round down to an even 16.)

So that I do not have to replentish my dosing container as often, I will double the amount of baking soda to 9.6tsp, and reduce the hourly dose by half to 8.075ml. (or can I concentrate it more and reduce hourly dosage more?) Of course, I will round DOWN to 9tsp and 8ml, for safety.

Does all this make sense to you guys?

 

[Ocelaris]

Are you going to eventually start dosing both 2 parts? I would say it's fine to just dump half of dkh per day till you reach your target and then start dosing equal parts 2 part of Randy's formula. I wouldn't bother doing some random ratio. Just make a jug of bicarbonate and dose that alone. Then I'd start with carbonate and calcium chloride. Typically when you think you need just one, you really have to dose both or it will get out of whack and do a seesaw effect. Just test daily while you're changing values and you'll be fine.

I would get your own test kit, it's almost impossible to critical component to keeping sps.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Testing alkalinity in a SPS dominated tank, is done by most of us either daily or at least twice a week.

In my tank, it uses .5 -1 dkh daily.

I mix up a gallon of alkalinity using sodium bicarbonate ( baking soda) and RO/DI water, using Randy's recipe 2 alkalinity.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

Using this calculator:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

I keep my alkalinity between 8-9dkh. When my tank gets down to 8, I dose 8.6 fl oz of solution all at one time to bring it up to 9.
I wouldn't raise it more than 1dkh in a day.

Just that simple. You have to test everyday to trend how much alkalinity your tank uses. Once you know, then you can dose accordingly.

 

[Engloid]

Are you going to eventually start dosing both 2 parts? I would say it's fine to just dump half of dkh per day till you reach your target and then start dosing equal parts 2 part of Randy's formula. I wouldn't bother doing some random ratio. Just make a jug of bicarbonate and dose that alone. Then I'd start with carbonate and calcium chloride. Typically when you think you need just one, you really have to dose both or it will get out of whack and do a seesaw effect. Just test daily while you're changing values and you'll be fine.

I would get your own test kit, it's almost impossible to critical component to keeping sps.

if my calcium remains as high as it is, I dont plan to add more.

 

[JaimeAdams]

if my calcium remains as high as it is, I dont plan to add more.

Generally speaking if you have coral with a calcified skeleton growing in the tank your calcium levels should be dropping which will force you to dose calcium as well. If you get your tank in order and you aren't using any calcium I would be concerned.

 

[Engloid]

But it makes no sense to dose calcium when I am at 520. I understand adding it if it needs it, but not until then. I think with alk so low, the corals are not able to absorb it as they would otherwise. I was doing weekly waterchanges also, but have dropped off on that because I could find no reason to do so many.

 

[JaimeAdams]

What salt are you using? What types of coral and how stocked is your tank?

 

[Engloid]

Mainly soft corals and a few sps frags. Not stocked heavily on fish.

 

[Engloid]

And using reef crystals.

 

[Ocelaris]

There is a good video on brs that explains that once you reach your set values you need to add both. It's about super saturation and not independent levels. Adding just one throws off the ratio and it precipitates. But that's only necessary when you've reached a good value for alk. As long as you're not over 550 calcium you should dose in equal parts. Having excess calcium isn't a big deal.

 

[Engloid]

There is a good video on brs that explains that once you reach your set values you need to add both. It's about super saturation and not independent levels. Adding just one throws off the ratio and it precipitates. But that's only necessary when you've reached a good value for alk. As long as you're not over 550 calcium you should dose in equal parts. Having excess calcium isn't a big deal.

Do you think that my addition of kalk alone could be the problem?

 

[Ocelaris]

I think until you can test on daily or bi-weekly, it's too much to guess whether you have an issue. It's OK to dose all at once per day if you don't have dosing pumps, but a alk/calcium test kit will tell you exactly what's going on. I have the red Sea kit, and if you test every day it should last you a few months (it's the cheapest long term if you but the refills).

My opinion is that alkalinity and Calcium levels only play a small part in growth. The lighting and nitrogen/phosphates is a larger chunk as long as calcium/alkalinity are stable. If you look at the "masters" thread, most of them only run with barely above sea levels, however they are stable.

I went through a month or two of trying to add one or the other to get them where I wanted and eventually gave up and just found my steady spot and dose both equally to keep them steady. I keep around 9-10dkh, and Calcium above 450, my attempts to go with the higher alkalinity have caused me to precipitate.

Since your calcium is so near the 550 mark that randy said was OK to get up to but not pass, I would just get your alk where you want it as fast as reasonably possible and then dose your steady state.

This is the video that I base my method on.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/how-to-dose-2-part-video/

 

[Engloid]

I will have the LFS verify my water tests before I do any dosing at all.

I think this got overlooked.

 

[Ocelaris]

We've been gently trying to encourage you to get a kit

 

[Engloid]

But I never said I didnt have one. I actually said I would have the lfs verify my test

 

[Ocelaris]

Ah, good idea then! I've done the same when my results were whack. I ended up having a bad test kit and had to buy a new one. I was testing daily for a while, but have cut back now that I have my steady state measurements, just takes a while. Just watch your nutrients as you raise alkalinity as it increases skeleton development in corals, but if there isn't enough nutrients they can bleach.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Do you think that my addition of kalk alone could be the problem?

No, that is not a problem unless you are adding too much and causing unsightly precipitation via excessively high pH. You'd see milky water if that was the case.

 

[Engloid]

No, that is not a problem unless you are adding too much and causing unsightly precipitation via excessively high pH. You'd see milky water if that was the case.

I dont get milky water. It just looks like flakes of dandruff floating around occasionally. This has happened maybe three times in two months and always goes away quickly.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Transient precipitation of magnesium hydroxide is normal. It redissolves, if that's what it was.

 

[Engloid]

Transient precipitation of magnesium hydroxide is normal. It redissolves, if that's what it was.

Does it look like dandruff?
I set up the pump today. I mixed 10 level tsp into a gallon. I only set for 1ml a day for now. I know it wont do much or anything, but I have not yet settled on my plan.

Is baking soda what you would advise? I have some of the red sea part b (alk) on the way also, so I can use either.

Btw, your calculator is great. Thanks.