Kalk OD

[rmurken]

I had a pump issue (euphemism for personal negligence) that added about a gallon/3.8L of saturated kalk to my 55 gallon/208L tank. Would be interested to know what I might expect based on others’ similar experiences.

Here are the details:
- Starting ph was 8.0
- Current pH 8.4
- Water is ever so slightly cloudy—you need to look closely to notice.
- Fish (blennie, ocelaris, dwarf angel, damsel) all seem completely normal.
- Corals (zoas, trumpet, and a a chalice) all seem fine. Trumpet and chalice were in the middle of feeding, and seem to have carried on.
- Other inverts (hermits, various snails, shrimp, a conch, and an urchin) all seem fine.

EVERYTHING SEEMS FINE. My approach is going to be to do nothing for now as long as everything continues to look ok. No water change.

Will check on Ca, Alk, and Mg tomorrow, and make a decision about whether to adjust anything, and will use Randy’s two-part (with the Mg solution too) if need be to adjust incrementally.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If the current pH is 8.4, there is nothing you should do and I expect everything will be fine.

I address overdoses here, including those that turn the tank milky white. DO not test alk until any milkiness has cleared. :

What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium? by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

The following important points should help in dealing with a limewater overdose:

1. Don't panic! These overdoses do not usually cause a tank to crash.
2. The primary concern is pH. If the pH is 8.6 or lower, you need not do anything. If the pH is above 8.6, then reducing the pH is the priority. Direct addition of vinegar or soda water is a good way to accomplish this goal. Either one mL of distilled white vinegar, or six mL of soda water, per gallon of tank water will give an initial pH drop of about 0.3 pH units. Add either to a high flow area that is away from organisms (e.g., a sump).
3. Do not bother to measure calcium or alkalinity while the tank is cloudy. The solid calcium carbonate particles will dissolve in an alkalinity test, and all of the carbonate in them will be counted as if it were in solution and part of "alkalinity." The same may happen to some extent with calcium tests. Wait until the water clears, and at that point, alkalinity is more likely to be low than high. Calcium will likely be mostly unchanged.
4. The particles themselves will typically settle out and disappear from view over a period of 1-4 days. They do not appear to cause long term detrimental effects to tank organisms.
5. Water changes are not necessarily beneficial or needed in response to a limewater overdose.

 

[rmurken]

Thank you sir. Everything looks right as rain this morning.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thank you sir. Everything looks right as rain this morning.

Good to hear.

Happy reefing.

 

[rmurken]

Ca 465, Alk 8.9, pH 8.0. Haven’t checked Mg yet, although I’ve always run a little high so I suspect it’s fine. I keep Alk in the mid-8’s, so this is a tad high. Once Alk gets back to my target range, will maybe just dose Alk until the Calcium comes down a bit. But from reading up (including your stuff, Randy), it doesn’t seem like 465 is concerning.

I would have expected a wider Ca/Alk swing from dumping in a gallon of kalk, but the cloudiness right afterward suggests some precipitation, so maybe it was self-limiting.

Oh, I should check my PO4 to see if that fell as a result. IME Mg and PO4 are the two most annoying tests and I only do them infrequently. But don’t want to waste the accidental experiment!