Help, kalk overload

Alabamareef · Mar 29, 2015

So I accidently left my Kalk Stirrer on, Enought time that I walked in and my tank looks like milk and my pH is 9.85. I've got a power head arieating the water and making a 40 gal water change, just waiting for the Salinty and Temp to get right. Anything else I can be doing?

DFW · Mar 29, 2015

I would not wait for temp! I would change it pronto!

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 29, 2015

Here's my directions for such a scenario:
What Else Does Limewater Do In An Aquarium? Raise pH Whether You Want It To Or Not

Since limewater has a pH above 12 (even when a reasonable amount of vinegar is added), it causes a substantial rise in pH when added to a reef aquarium. This attribute has both positive and negative aspects. It limits the speed at which limewater can be added without raising the tank’s pH too much (discussed above). It also can be a serious problem in accidental overdosing, where the pH can rise very high. Often, this overdosing can lead to the aquarium turning white like milk as calcium carbonate precipitates throughout the water column.

In such cases of acute overdose, here is my advice:

1. If the pH is 8.5 or lower (as it often is since a precipitation event itself reduces pH even if it was much higher to start with), there is little that can or needs to be done. Just wait a few days for the white calcium carbonate to slowly disappear. A water change is not necessary, although once the water is clear, testing calcium and especially alkalinity is in order (don’t bother to test the cloudy water as it will give false high readings as these tests detect solids even though they are not truly in solution). Few aquarists suffer the loss of organisms from such events. I’ve had several such events without any apparent losses.

2. If the pH is above 8.5, some action to reduce the pH is warranted. The higher it is, the faster and greater the needed action. Since such events may happen when few tools are available to solve them (e.g., New Year's morning when few stores are open), I’ll provide a number of options, although some are better than others. In all cases, reduce the pH only to 8.5 to avoid overshooting.

The best option is to add carbon dioxide, either by bubbling the gas directly, or by adding soda water/seltzer (or blowing into a skimmer inlet if it is your only option). At least in the normal aquarium pH range, a teaspoon of soda water per gallon of tank water will lower pH by a couple of tenths of a pH unit. Overshooting with carbon dioxide, while undesirable, is less of a concern than is overshooting with any other option.

A second option is to add vinegar. Be especially careful to not overshoot pH 8.5 or so, because when bacteria begin to metabolize the acetate, the resulting CO2 will further lower the pH, and oxygen will be consumed (equation (14)). For this reason, it is especially important to maintain aeration when using vinegar in such a fashion. I’ve added vinegar to my aquarium in similar situations without difficulty, although the pH was only marginally high and I did not need to add much.

A third rung of options involves adding a mineral acid such as muriatic acid (HCl or hydrochloric acid) or sulfuric acid. I’ve added HCl to my aquarium in similar situations without difficulty. When performing such a mineral acid treatment, be very careful not to overshoot, and to monitor the pH during any acid additions. I would intervene in this fashion only if I could monitor the pH in real time, and could add the acid to a high flow area far from any organism. Diluting the acid in water (say, 20:1 or 100:1) prior to adding it to the tank is highly recommended for the safety of both the aquarist and the tank’s inhabitants (diluting vinegar, which is already dilute, isn’t necessary). One other drawback to adding a mineral acid is that it reduces the alkalinity. In such a case, the result may be elevated calcium and reduced alkalinity that will require significant correction.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 29, 2015

This has more:

High pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Alabamareef · Mar 29, 2015

Water is almost ready to change, its a 180 gallon tank, 120 gallons of usable water, and I"m changing 45gal. Used a little vingar and the pH has came down into the 9.6 range. What can I expect of my livestock, SPS and FIsh

Alabamareef · Mar 29, 2015

Have used maybe 120ml of vingar...

Alabamareef · Mar 29, 2015

Ok got the water change done and I'm slowly adding vingar, lost count of how much, just watching pH so it does not go below 8.5. I'll continue to add untill it stabilizes around 8.5. Is this what I need to be doing.......

Alabamareef · Mar 29, 2015

Ok got the water change done and I'm slowly adding vingar, lost count of how much, just watching pH so it does not go below 8.5. I'll continue to add untill it stabilizes around 8.5. Is this what I need to be doing....... Also have the power heads cutting the top of the water line for arieation....

Alabamareef · Mar 29, 2015

So after the water change and adding a lot of vinegar, till the pH dropped to 8.5 as Randy said, Its cleared up a bit. As of now all my coral look ok and the fish are good. I've placed a couple of air stones in the tank and the skimmer is on. Ph is sitting at 8.46. Going to bed so I hope when I wake up in the am all is good.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 30, 2015

I've had a few such events, although none where the pH stayed that high that long.

You'll see white stuff (precipitated calcium carbonate) around the tank for a week or two, but it will eventually disappear.

Hopefully the creatures will be OK.

Alabamareef · Apr 1, 2015

So I've lost several SPS colonies and a few fish. All my high dollar SPS gone and my favorite fish, the Naso Blond, MIA so I'm assuming he's dead. Sever other corals look pale but seem like they will make it. My big Red Dragon colony dead and my tri color, ugggg. I hate this and most of all because it was my fault. I don't like thinking my stupidness killed all those animals.....