Alkalinity Problem--HELP

bobk

bobk

New Member
:confused: Okay I made a classic newbie mistake and now my Alkalinty is off the charts. Lost all the invertes and coral. LFS guy suggested a MAJOR water change of 60 Gal which we did last night it helped some but not much. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Here's the Specs on the tank....
Stable for a little over a year...
150 G w/wet dry filter, MH Lights (300 Watts total) Plus 400W Acinic
Temp 77.3
Sal 34
SG 1.024
PH 8.2
Nitrates 60 (I know these are high but have never gotten them lower in a year)
Nitrites 0
Ammonina 0 - .5
Cal 200
Phosphates .5
KH 400 (This was over 650 before the water Change)
Alkalinity 11.99
Thanks for ANY help or comments...
Bob
 
bobk

bobk

New Member
I agree but I have not been able to get it up... I just got some Kalkwasser, think that would help? If I get the Calcuim up will that bring down the Alkalinity? In reading the label it says to add it slowly but I'm worried the PH will raise to fast. That was the other problem I've had for a while.. Got it back down now... Prior to this I was adding calcium supplement as directed. In your opinion would that be a better solution? Calcium should be around 400 right?
Sorry for all the questions we've been fighting this problem for the past 2 weeks, I'm seeing some improvement.
THanks
Bob
 
airforceb2

airforceb2

Active Member
Well, Kalk has Alk in it so I wouldn't say that would be a good idea. I would just dose Ca alone and see if that drops your Alk and keeps your pH steady. You said that you already lost your corals so you might want to dose a little more than normal to see if you can get all 3 levels to stabilize.
Calcium should be between 400 and 450.
 
bobk

bobk

New Member
Thanks for the comments, I'll go with the liquid Calcium supplement and see what happens. My wife will have to do it since I'm leaving in an hour for an out of town trip...keeping my fingers crossed...

Thanks again...
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Your Ca is low because of an ALK overdose. Adding more Ca isn't going to help. I'd suggest a daily series of 20 - 25% water changes until Ca and ALK are both closer to normal.
 
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