alk/ph/ca - am I on the right track?

jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Active Member
I've been doing a lot of reading this morning about the relationship between alk/ph/ca. I've got a lot more reading to do, but at this point let me ask a question. It seems that it is fairly easy to control/chage the levels of both ph and ca. However, it doesn't seem to be as easy to change the alk levels. So from what i've been able to read, it seem that if you can get your ph and ca levels stable at acceptable levels, alk should also balance out. Is that correct?
I've been having a little trouble with my button polys and xenia lately, and I'm almost certain it has to do with alk/ph/ca. ph is steady at 8.1, alk is very, very low, and I don't have an acurate test for ca (currently I use my coraline as a guage). I suspect that ca is a bit low, though not off the charts low.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
The way I understand it all (where's the chemists?) is raising your alk is easy (buffer) and after balancing your calcium and your alk that the PH will fall in line. A PH of 8.1 is not that bad. Get some Salifert kits for calcium and alk and you can see hard numbers from the tests. It makes it much easier to know where your at.
My goal...
alk - 4meg/L or 11.2dKH
cal - 440
 
N

newreefers

Guest
I think magnesium is also a factor, the four go hand in hand, when one is out of whack it effects all of them.
 
justinx

justinx

Active Member
IMO the chemistry of a reeftank is by far the most difficult maintenance routine to really become an expert it. It is simply not an easy thing to do for the average hobbiest. I think that for you, the first step is going to be to get yourself some reliable and accurate test kits. Salifert make some excellent kits, and they are relatively inexpensive if you know where to look. I have found some of the basics for less than 10 dollars.
From there, get some numbers and track them. Write them down, and test regularly and methodically. From there, you will be able to determinte consumption rates, which IMO is the most important part of dosing.
Then, get yourself some good additives. Personally, I use the seachem powdered additives. Both the reef builder and reef advantage calcium. These additives are great when used in conjunction with eachother. One buffers alk (reef builder) while stabilizing pH at 8.3 over time. The calcium additive contians both the amount of calcium desired, plus the correct proportion of magnesium. Basically, between the two, all four bases are covered. But the best part is that they are cheap!
But to answer your question, yes . . . raising one will equalize the other. But this will not maintain the levels. You have to use additives to maintain the levels you desire. Once you get one where you want it, the others most likely will eventually equal out, but you gotta keep up with the dosing. You cant just dose calcium all the time and hope that alk raises on its own.
Broomer and Guy can tell you much much more about this, but this is a start for ya.
HTH
Justin
 
justinx

justinx

Active Member
I mix them into my top off, and drip it in. If you add the supplements too fast, they precipitate out of solution and actually lower your levels.
 
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