I think I swallowed some saltwater yesterday repriming my siphon tubes after cleaning. Sort of went to me head
I would hesitate to guess where your alkalinity is Azonic, without doing an actual test on your tankwater. The calcium/alkalinity levels do follow an inverse relationship to each other.
One up the other down.
pH on the other hand is not so simple - although there is a direct relationship - it can go either way depending on some other factors in the tank.
When we mix up our saltmix and freshwater - we have a starting point. Whatever that starting point is ..... may be different between our tanks - but it's still OUR starting point.
My point is this:
When trying to adjust one level only - you will alter the others.
Adding just buffer is unwise.
Adding just calcium is unwise.
Using only a product like pH up is unwise.
When measuring pH - think of this as a snapshot in time.
The minute you do the test - is the pH level of that sample at that point in time. The pH moves around often - and over time .... want's to drop in most every case.
It will remain somewhat steady within a RANGE if there's a decent amount of carbonates in the tank. Decent meaning enough carbonates to "buffer" or resist the natural tendency for pH to drop. But it will still swing up and down in a tank that contains green plants/algae that is lighted during the day, and dark at night. It will also swing if you have fish.
It will also swing if you vary the circulation within the tank.
CO2 gas is the other player in this mind bender - it pulls the pH down - but it also is a source of CARBON .... which will affect the amount of CARBONATES in the tankwater.
As the pH trys to drop - the alkalinity will "buffer" or try to keep it within some range. That range can be higher than desired, or lower than desired.
Here's a basic equation that shows a relationship.
CO2+H2O <~~> H2CO3 <~~>(H+)+(HCO3-) <~~> 2(H+)+(CO3--)
CO2 = carbon dioxide
H2O - water
H2CO3 = carbonic acid
(H+) = one hydrogen
HCO3 = bicarbonate
2(H+) = two hydrogens
(CO3--) = carbonate
At any given time in the tank - these elements and compounds are changing. As CO2 gas enters the tank from the fish breathing and from the gas exchange at the surface of the tank - it tends to drive the equation to the right ~~> and will join with water molecule to form carbonic acid. Most all acids contain hydrogen. pH is a measurement of the amount of H+ hydrogen in the tankwater at a given snapshot in time.
You see the H+ as the pH lowering culprit. Too many and the pH drops. We add buffers ( carbonates ) to the tank to offset these H+ hydrogen ions. Carbonates will "neutralize" the H+ and drive the equation back to the left <~~
The THREE main players in the tankwater chemistry are;
Hydrogen
Carbon
Oxygen
Water is hydrogen and oxygen
Carbon Dioxide is carbon and oxygen
Carbonic Acid is all 3, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen
Bicarbonate is another mix of all three - in a different form.
Carbonate is just carbon and oxygen and frees up the hydrogen.
Calcium and Magnesium ( as well as most all the other ions and compounds ) are affected by these 3 main players.
It's like opening a new box of colored TinkerToys. Remember those ?
You have so many colored wooden dowel rods, so many connectors. You can build stuff out of these - but can only add so many to the connectors - there's only 4 holes in the round connectors.
Some connectors may have 4 holes, some may have 3 holes, some have only 2 holes.
When we add more colored dowel rods in the form of calcium or buffers - we can build some more stuff. But .... you may be limited to what you can build. If you add more dowels than you have connectors - you will end up with spare colored dowel rods.
You may end up with too many alkalinity carbonates.
You may end up with too many calciums.
You may end up with too may hydrogens.
If you want to use all the pieces, and not have too many leftovers - you must add the appropriate colored rods and connectors ...... so they all can fit together.
The thing I'm trying to say - without getting all wrapped up in the actual equations is this.
Buy some test kits and use them.
Monitor pH
Monitor alkalinity
Monitor calcium
Write the results down each time you test.
As you dose additives for buffer carbonate, or pH or calcium ... just realize that when doing so ... you are tossing things into the equation that will change the other parameters.
Dosing only calcium will mess up your alkalinity.
Dosing only buffers will mess up your calcium.
Both may move your pH - or not.
It's a balancing act, and if one is out of balance - chances are very good that the other's are out of balance as well.
It's like mixing colored dyes or paint.
Say you have an original color of paint.
If you have some blue in the paint, and want the paint to look more yellow - you can add some yellow.
But watch out - what you will get is green.
If you get too much green - and add more blue - it may not go back to the original blue. It will look blue-green.
If you keep adding paint colors - before you know it - you may have messed up the color so bad that the only way to correct it is to start over with some new original colored paint.
Water changes allow you to start fresh.
Water changes allows you to get things back into balance.
If your tankwater chemistry is whacked out - because you've dosed incorrectly - then it may be time to start fresh.
If the tankwater is really whacked out ....
you may have thrown in so far out of balance - that you've made black paint.
Fish and inverts don't like black paint.
Fish and inverts don't like water that is whacked out.
Fish and inverts like saltwater that is balanced.
Time for a series of water changes to start new again.
Then begin a routine of adding the appropriate amounts of all of the chemicals to keep things in better balance.
Not too many spare TinkerToy parts floating around in there.
Not too much yellow, green, blue or black paint.
Each tank's different - but the tankwater chemistry is somewhat the same. It's only the levels that are different between tanks.
The relationships are the same for all of us.