Dissolved co2 media in reef tank

[PointerReefs]

Hey all,

Having a bit of an emergency right now, ph spiked, alk spiked, and I’ve been trying to figure out why.. it’s been a few hours but I figured it out. I did a water change today and idk how but I ended up with 5 gallons more than I should have in the tank, didn’t notice initially as I did it the same way I always do, but I must have messed up somewhere. Anyhow, it overflowed my skimmer and siphoned water into my co2 scrubber and I presume that water made it into my tank and is the culprit for the spike.. before water change my alk was 8 now it’s 9.34. Ph was 8.3 it jumped to 9 and it’s been dropping but still at 8.7.. mixing water now for a water change. Is this the right move?

 

[TokenReefer]

Oh boy. What media was it? How'd your alk look after the incident? I do think water changes are a good move

 

[PointerReefs]

Well. I did the water change last night, lights haven’t come on yet but I don’t see anything bailed out or any tissue loss yet. Brand was ice cap for the co2 media

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Precipitation of calcium carbonate will be bringing pH and alk down.

I’d suggest doing nothing now, but once things settle down, calcium will be low and alk may or may not be high still. You cannot accurately measure either if the water is cloudy with calcium carbonate particles. Both will read higher than actual since the particles can dissolve in the test.

 

[PointerReefs]

Precipitation of calcium carbonate will be bringing pH and alk down.

I’d suggest doing nothing now, but once things settle down, calcium will be low and alk may or may not be high still. You cannot accurately measure either if the water is cloudy with calcium carbonate particles. Both will read higher than actual since the particles can dissolve in the test.

I had done a 15 gallon water change last night, which is about 10% total volume. Alk sits at 8.3 and ph is at 8.33.. normal ranges for me but the fluctuation is certainly concerning.. I’ll leave it alone now and let it level out. Nothing seems to angry fortunately. Keeping an eye on the Acro’s