Next steps after stopping dosing for 3 days for precipitation?

[techhnyne]

ok so I had some precipitation going on i stopped dosing my tank for 3 days my and here are my drops
alk dropped from 9.3 to now 5.9
cal from 490 to 450
mag I did not stop dosing and stays at an even 1280

I am now curious how to start bringing up these levels again without it starting to precipitate again

PH is between 8-8.4 swing through the day but on lower side since stopped dosing.

I am also running triton other method this is a 10G mixed reef

 

[techhnyne]

@Randy Holmes-Farley can you give me your wisdom here please!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Restart with sodium bicarbonate, keeping the alk near 7 dKH for a while, and stop any other efforts to boost pH.

 

[techhnyne]

Restart with sodium bicarbonate, keeping the alk near 7 dKH for a while, and stop any other efforts to boost pH.

I use a co2 scrubber 24/7 for my PH connected to my skimmer, should i take that offline for now?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I use a co2 scrubber 24/7 for my PH connected to my skimmer, should i take that offline for now?

I'd take it off for a week.

 

[techhnyne]

I'd take it off for a week.

ok took scrubber off last night PH dropped I am going to start dosing again. Think its safe to start dosing triton alk at the same dosages as before? or should i order sodium bicarbonate and just wait for that to start raising alk?

also i have not been dosing calcium for like 2 weeks and its been staying the same, i think it might be trident error honestly. have to manually test tonight

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

ok took scrubber off last night PH dropped I am going to start dosing again. Think its safe to start dosing triton alk at the same dosages as before? or should i order sodium bicarbonate and just wait for that to start raising alk?

also i have not been dosing calcium for like 2 weeks and its been staying the same, i think it might be trident error honestly. have to manually test tonight

Depends on what's happening with pH. It is the biggest driver of precipitation. A 0.3 pH unit rise is similar to a doubling of alk or calcium with respect to precipitation of calcium carbonate.

 

[techhnyne]

Depends on what's happening with pH. It is the biggest driver of precipitation. A 0.3 pH unit rise is similar to a doubling of alk or calcium with respect to precipitation of calcium carbonate.

i took my scrubber off and this is what looks like now, today will be 1st photoperiod without scrubber probably get to 8.0

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If it is accurate, it’s still fairly high and I’d use bicarbonate.

 

[techhnyne]

If it is accurate, it’s still fairly high and I’d use bicarbonate.

Just to be clear I am increasing my ALK while dropping my PH to 7? how hight should i raise my ALK? I can take my skimmer offline to drop the PH a bit more.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Just to be clear I am increasing my ALK while dropping my PH to 7? how hight should i raise my ALK? I can take my skimmer offline to drop the PH a bit more.

If the skimmer is using inside air, I'd keep it as is, using sodium bicarbonate for alk.

pH 8.0 is fine, but the peak at 8.3 is more likely to cause precipitation when fresh calcium carbonate surfaces are available.

 

[techhnyne]

If the skimmer is using inside air, I'd keep it as is, using sodium bicarbonate for alk.

pH 8.0 is fine, but the peak at 8.3 is more likely to cause precipitation when fresh calcium carbonate surfaces are available

Sorry to bother. But i have this. Do i need to bake it and convert it to soda ash?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sorry to bother. But i have this. Do i need to bake it and convert it to soda ash?

If you want soda ash, you would bake it. In a case where you are trying to reduce precipitation you do not want soda ash, nor should you bake it.

 

[techhnyne]

If you want soda ash, you would bake it. In a case where you are trying to reduce precipitation you do not want soda ash, nor should you bake it.

have my alk back up to 7 for 4 days. How long do you suggest keeping this before bringing back to 8 and and resuming dosing?
also should i keep my triton dosing all the same dosages and just make a sodium bicarbonate solution and dose that daily along with triton? Would that help keep precipitation down?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

have my alk back up to 7 for 4 days. How long do you suggest keeping this before bringing back to 8 and and resuming dosing?
also should i keep my triton dosing all the same dosages and just make a sodium bicarbonate solution and dose that daily along with triton? Would that help keep precipitation down?

Certainly I'd use bicarbonate in the triton. How high are you wanting to drive alk? The higher your goal, the more risk precipitation will recur.

 

[techhnyne]

Certainly I'd use bicarbonate in the triton. How high are you wanting to drive alk? The higher your goal, the more risk precipitation will recur.

I think 8-8.4 will be goal of i can do it without precipitation. And im thinking maybe easier to do that if using bicarbonate? Im not sure i still dont fully understand but i think its because im unsure exactly what the triton alk is made of and if i dose less triton alkalinity and more sodium bicarbonate will i increase my all with less risk of precipitation?

 

[techhnyne]

@Randy Holmes-Farley
Also is there a guide with calculator anywhere on how to mix sodium bicarbonate into a dosing solution with how much to dose per gallon tank water ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

@Randy Holmes-Farley
Also is there a guide with calculator anywhere on how to mix sodium bicarbonate into a dosing solution with how much to dose per gallon tank water ?

This calculator shows how much dry solid to use.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html

Or if you dissolve it at the ratio below, you can use the calculator entry for Randy's Recipe #2

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Recipe #2, Part 2: The Alkalinity Part

Dissolve 297 grams of baking soda (about 1 1/8 cups) in enough water to make 1 gallon total. This dissolution may require a fair amount of mixing. Warming it speeds dissolution. This solution will contain about 950 meq/L of alkalinity (2660 dKH). As mentioned earlier, Arm & Hammer is a fine brand of baking soda to use in these recipes. Be sure to NOT use baking powder. Baking powder is a different material that often has phosphate as a main ingredient.

Once these two solutions are created, they can be added as frequently as necessary to maintain calcium and alkalinity. For further dosing instructions, see below.

 

[techhnyne]

@Randy Holmes-Farley
I had my Alk steady at 8.2-8.4 with ph 7.7-8.1 for a while and then i just put my o2 scrubber back on my skimmer and now i have ph 8-8.4 but my alk seems like it started taking up double almost double the amount. It went from 8.4 to 7.5 Alk in 12 hours with the normal dosing where it would only normally be 8.2dkh

is this normal or did it instantly start precipitating again?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

@Randy Holmes-Farley
I had my Alk steady at 8.2-8.4 with ph 7.7-8.1 for a while and then i just put my o2 scrubber back on my skimmer and now i have ph 8-8.4 but my alk seems like it started taking up double almost double the amount. It went from 8.4 to 7.5 Alk in 12 hours with the normal dosing where it would only normally be 8.2dkh

is this normal or did it instantly start precipitating again?

It is normal for alk demand to rise as pH rises. Whether it is excessive or not may be best judged by looking at things like hardening sand or seizing pumps.