Ph Vs Alk

[fire999]

Hi all,

I have the following readings and am unsure how to raise the ALK / KH and not affect the PH which i think is a bit high anyway (or is it) ??

Calcium is also low , I dose with a stirrer every night but only for 2 1/2 hour periods at 1 drip per second :unsure: Can i dose more ??

Temp 27.5
Ca 390
KH 5.7 or ALK 2.00
Sg 1.026
Mg 1260
Nitrate NIL

All corals inc sps are growing great ,

[danny]

Adding a buffer such as sodium bicarbonate should only have a stabilizing effect on pH so really you only need to keep an eye on your alk as you dose it.

[fire999]

Originally posted by danny@Jun 15 2005, 09:43
Adding a buffer such as sodium bicarbonate should only have a stabilizing effect on pH so really you only need to keep an eye on your alk as you dose it.
Sorry i think you may have misunderstood...... BY PH is high already ... i dont want to raise it..

I wish to raise the KH / Alkalinity without it afecting the PH

[~Tony~]

My tank is currently in a similar situation.
Your Alk and Calcium levels look balanced. Dripping Kalk will raise both levels in line, so it looks to me as if you could do with dosing more to keep up with your Ca usage.
I think your Mg is a little low to maintain high Ca levels, but others more experienced will correct me if I am wrong.

hth
Tony

[danny]

I didn`t misunderstand, it won`t raise pH unless you raise your dkh way above acceptable levels.
A buffer will offer a good quick fix for alkalinity but long term you should consider the use of a balanced additive method.

[craighuckins]

I use a kalk bucket reactor for atuo top-off on my perc 120 and I find that the addition of 2 heaped tsp of kalk to the bucket keeps levels stable at 460ppm calcium with alkalintity of about 12DKH. I am not to finicky about balance, I believe that stability is far more important. So, you could try a bucket reactor yourself and start with 1 1/2 heaped tsp of kalk a week and see what happens? regards, craig