By dosing in the aquarium....how slow is very slow?Are you talking about dropping the alk in water change water (no limit) or in an aquarium (go very slow due to the big pH drop)? I recommend the water change route.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
By dosing in the aquarium....how slow is very slow?Are you talking about dropping the alk in water change water (no limit) or in an aquarium (go very slow due to the big pH drop)? I recommend the water change route.
By dosing in the aquarium....
I don't understand this at all. Unless you pick a salt like Reef Crystals, where you are intentionally paying extra money for extra Alkalinity, Alkalinity is going to be close to NSW. For a 30% water change the extra Alkalinity is somewhere between completely irrelevant and slightly beneficial. If you do have an Acropora based tank, or other Alkalinity sensitive animals, you aren't going to change more than 30% of your water at once unless it is an emergency. When I do have a 3am 100% water change emergency, I am not going to be worried about acid or alkalinity.
@Randy Holmes-Farley I made a RODI dilution of sodium bisulfate capable of reducing my alk to my target.
I then set a daily dosage from 17:00 to 23:00 with amount equal to reduce my alk by 0.1.
I also check the ph not to be less that 7.9 which will stop my dosing.
If all goes well my alk target will be reached in 20-21 days.
My only concern is that a reduced ph will increase the dissolving rate (of what is seems to be disolving), and I am afraid that I will be caught in a perpetual situation. What do youbthink about that?
I don't understand your concern with knowledge that you can take or leave, like a lot of other products, but no one is trying to get you to use it.
It is not true that higher alk mixes cost more. Normal IO is among the cheapest and has alk higher than many would like.
Thus, if you want an 8 dKH mix, and don't want to pay more, mixing some acid into normal IO is an excellent choice that some folks have elected.
If you are maintaining 8 dKH and do a 30% water change with 11 dKH IO, alk rises to 8.9 dKH. Some folks consider that undesirable, especially if they have dosing set on a dosing pump.
As you can see from the two posts above yours, some folks have to deal with rising alk.
Thank you for helping.Well, let's see what happens. Your plan looks good to me.
For a while, don't put too much dosing solution in the reservoir in case somethign goes wrong and too much gets dosed.![]()
Hello again.You're welcome.
Happy Reefing.![]()
Thanks for posting that - saved for future referenceHello again.
Just to let you know how it goes..
![]()
It worked fine.
I checked the ph effect and did not seem to be to dramatic, so i increased the dosage during the day.
I controled the dosage checking the PH not to drop less than 7.9, and also my alk not to drop more than 8.3, when i stopped the dosing.
I consumed half the sodium sulfate solution of what i have calculated.
I am now checking the system to see if i will have an increase in alk again.
PS. I also make a 5lt water change daily.
Hello again.
Just to let you know how it goes..
![]()
It worked fine.
I checked the ph effect and did not seem to be to dramatic, so i increased the dosage during the day.
I controled the dosage checking the PH not to drop less than 7.9, and also my alk not to drop more than 8.3, when i stopped the dosing.
I consumed half the sodium sulfate solution of what i have calculated.
I am now checking the system to see if i will have an increase in alk again.
PS. I also make a 5lt water change daily.
Just wanted to say, "Thank you, Mr. Randy sir!" for this article. (Increasing alkalinity with no dosing is my issue that I now see is not unheard of for various reasons so now using this method for reduction)
...won't cloud this thread further
That what I like is not much figuring out to do!While I would not suggest that you accept everything Seachem claims, and certainly not what others post to their web site, Seachem gives a value:
https://www.seachem.com/support/forums/forum/sunken-gardens/244-adding-seachem-acid-buffer-every-day
"Acid Buffer at a dose of 1/4 teaspoon per 20 gallons will lower your dKH by 0.6 points."
I consumed half the sodium sulfate solution of what i have calculated.
That what I like is not much figuring out to do!
Hi Randy, I am having trouble looking for sodium bisulphate in Australia. This is what I can find. It is surprisingly inexpensive as well. I've asked the supplier if this is pure sodium bisulphate. Just waiting for them to get back to me. The molecular weight checked out with yours. Is this okay to use? TIA.
![]()
Buy Sodium Bisulphate online | Paramount Chemicals, Melbourne, Victoria
Purchase Sodium Bisulphate. Order Online Now at Paramount Chemicals. One of the australia's top supplier across Melbourne, Victoria.paramountchemicals.com.au