Kalk no longer raising ph

[LagoonBafoon]

Im new to using kalk so maybe these results are typical but id like any input from those who have used it. I recently switched from AFR to dosing kalk. Prior to kalk my ph swing was a daily low of 7.8 up to a high of about 8.05. For the first week, I saw improvements in my ph low went to 8.05 and peaked at around 8.2. For the last few days my ph has dropped back down to a low of 7.95 and peaks at around 8.05. I made a fresh batch of kalk to make sure that wasn’t the issue and that did not change my results. Recalibrated my ph probe and results are the same. Nothing else has changed. Alk has stayed stable at 8.5 (+/- .2 ) so my consumption hasn’t gone up. System is a 50 gallon and dosing 29.2 ml every hour for a total of 700 ml daily. What’s your thoughts on what I’m dealing with?

 

[lapin]

Just a thought: is there any change in air in the room? A/C Heater, cooking etc?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How much alk are you dosing in dKH per day?

 

[Garf]

Im new to using kalk so maybe these results are typical but id like any input from those who have used it. I recently switched from AFR to dosing kalk. Prior to kalk my ph swing was a daily low of 7.8 up to a high of about 8.05. For the first week, I saw improvements in my ph low went to 8.05 and peaked at around 8.2. For the last few days my ph has dropped back down to a low of 7.95 and peaks at around 8.05. I made a fresh batch of kalk to make sure that wasn’t the issue and that did not change my results. Recalibrated my ph probe and results are the same. Nothing else has changed. Alk has stayed stable at 8.5 (+/- .2 ) so my consumption hasn’t gone up. System is a 50 gallon and dosing 29.2 ml every hour for a total of 700 ml daily. What’s your thoughts on what I’m dealing with?

Appears normal. You can increase the dose as the tank uses more alk, more a little higher pH gain (As long as its less than your daily evaporation). As you probably know pH is significantly tied to carbon dioxide around the tank.

 

[LagoonBafoon]

Just a thought: is there any change in air in the room? A/C Heater, cooking etc?

October/November weather in south Mississippi is bi polar. Some days require the a/c some days require heat. It’s supposed to be in the 80’s for the rest of the week and in the low 30’s by Monday. So yes there’s been a bit of back and forth between heater and ac recently but tank temp is stable at 77-78

 

[LagoonBafoon]

How much alk are you dosing in dKH per day?

.4-.5 dkh daily

 

[LagoonBafoon]

Im new to using kalk so maybe these results are typical but id like any input from those who have used it. I recently switched from AFR to dosing kalk. Prior to kalk my ph swing was a daily low of 7.8 up to a high of about 8.05. For the first week, I saw improvements in my ph low went to 8.05 and peaked at around 8.2. For the last few days my ph has dropped back down to a low of 7.95 and peaks at around 8.05. I made a fresh batch of kalk to make sure that wasn’t the issue and that did not change my results. Recalibrated my ph probe and results are the same. Nothing else has changed. Alk has stayed stable at 8.5 (+/- .2 ) so my consumption hasn’t gone up. System is a 50 gallon and dosing 29.2 ml every hour for a total of 700 ml daily. What’s your thoughts on what I’m dealing with?

Appears normal. You can increase the dose as the tank uses more alk, more a little higher pH gain (As long as its less than your daily evaporation). As you probably know pH is significantly tied to carbon dioxide around the tank.

Yes, I’ve been monitoring alk closely since switching just to be cautious, and will continue to increase my dosing as needed. Was just surprised to see such great results on my oh for a week only to have them drop back off. PH is more stable with only a .1 swing, which is nice, but id love to keep it in that 8.2-8.4 range. I will be adding a co2 scrubber in the near future as well to help elevate the levels a bit more.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

.4-.5 dkh daily

That’s borderline for seeing a clear pH boost.

 

[RedReefer]

Use both. AFR & kalk. Make sure you have a scrubber on your skimmer and you’ll be good to go.

 

[ReeferA]

What kind of Kalk are you using? I had the same problem when I used ESV when I ran out of BRS. Also, I found out that if I have any residue at the bottom and don't get it ride of on regular basis and keep adding new kalk, this will have an effect the PH after a while.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Also, I found out that if I have any residue at the bottom and don't get it ride of on regular basis and keep adding new kalk, this will have an effect the PH after a while.

I’m not seeing any mechanism for that, aside from not adding enough new kalk by thinking the residue might dissolve.