Made a mistake....help

tehon3299 · 06/04/2006, 08:49 AM

Alright guys-

I just added my BTA, clowns and peppermint shrimp yesterday and decide today to setup a "feeder program" on my Aquatronica controller. Well...I mistakenly told it to turn on my topoff pump which contains Kalkwasser and it dosed my 90g (plus 30g sump) with about 2.5 gallons of Kalkwasser....

The Kalkwasser is always dosed as topoff directly to the sump...So I immediately killed the power to the return pump to try to keep most of the Kalk in the sump and did a 20g water change (it was time anyways). I pretty much emptied the sump (except the refug part). Everything looks ok in the tank (its only been about an hour though). Did I take the right actions?? Should I do anything else? This is my first big screw up with a saltwater tank...

fsa · 06/04/2006, 09:00 AM

Well, it sounds to me that you pretty much did what you could do. Not really knowing your system and how much got into the main tank, it is hard to tell. But it sounds like you were right on it? I don't know what affects that much kalk will do to a tank. Can you test for it? I am a big proponent of water changes. If you can, I would be ready for more, just in case, but, it sounds like maybe there is no/little short term bad influences on your inhabitants/tank.

Good luck, Frank

tehon3299 · 06/04/2006, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by fsa
Well, it sounds to me that you pretty much did what you could do. Not really knowing your system and how much got into the main tank, it is hard to tell. But it sounds like you were right on it? I don't know what affects that much kalk will do to a tank. Can you test for it? I am a big proponent of water changes. If you can, I would be ready for more, just in case, but, it sounds like maybe there is no/little short term bad influences on your inhabitants/tank.

Good luck, Frank

Thanks for the input Frank. I think I did everything I could. The only thing I would be concerned about is a spike in pH because of the Kalk. Even if I didnt get it all in time, I dont think a little Kalk dosed to 120g will have too much effect. I know I've read about people dosing 3-5g of Kalk at a time to a tank my size. I'm just crossing my fingers everything will turn out alright...

asmujica · 06/04/2006, 11:02 AM

Do you have a test kit?

You could test your parameters to see what really happened to the tank, but it looks like you took the apropriate measures.

tehon3299 · 06/04/2006, 11:05 AM

Yeah, I have all Salifert test kits. I'm going to test the tank water right now since thats the only water that matters since I cut the sump off right when it happened and did the change from the sump water.

antonsemrad · 06/04/2006, 11:10 AM

Keep a bottle of carbonated water around. (or a few) It can lower your ph. I have used vineger also. be carfull a little can go a long way. Sometimes nothing is the best corse of action.

tehon3299 · 06/04/2006, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by antonsemrad
Keep a bottle of carbonated water around. (or a few) It can lower your ph. I have used vineger also. be carfull a little can go a long way. Sometimes nothing is the best corse of action.

Thanks for the tip!

Meisen · 06/05/2006, 04:00 PM

You should probably be ok....what did the pH hit though?

06/04/2006, 08:49 AM	#1
tehon3299 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 268	Made a mistake....help Alright guys- I just added my BTA, clowns and peppermint shrimp yesterday and decide today to setup a "feeder program" on my Aquatronica controller. Well...I mistakenly told it to turn on my topoff pump which contains Kalkwasser and it dosed my 90g (plus 30g sump) with about 2.5 gallons of Kalkwasser.... The Kalkwasser is always dosed as topoff directly to the sump...So I immediately killed the power to the return pump to try to keep most of the Kalk in the sump and did a 20g water change (it was time anyways). I pretty much emptied the sump (except the refug part). Everything looks ok in the tank (its only been about an hour though). Did I take the right actions?? Should I do anything else? This is my first big screw up with a saltwater tank... __________________ +90g AGA Megaflow +30g Custom Sump +100lbs Live Rock +ASM G3 Skimmer

06/04/2006, 11:02 AM	#4
asmujica Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Monterrey, México Posts: 5,580	Do you have a test kit? You could test your parameters to see what really happened to the tank, but it looks like you took the apropriate measures. __________________ Where has the tank gone?

06/04/2006, 11:05 AM	#5
tehon3299 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 268	Yeah, I have all Salifert test kits. I'm going to test the tank water right now since thats the only water that matters since I cut the sump off right when it happened and did the change from the sump water. __________________ +90g AGA Megaflow +30g Custom Sump +100lbs Live Rock +ASM G3 Skimmer

06/05/2006, 04:00 PM	#8
Meisen Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,108	You should probably be ok....what did the pH hit though? __________________ "You dont know where they've been.....There are all kinds of animals pooping in them" -my lovely wife, only she didn't say poop. Current Tank Info: Tankless. Like your water heater.

06/04/2006, 09:00 AM	#2
fsa Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Northern Arizona Posts: 412	Well, it sounds to me that you pretty much did what you could do. Not really knowing your system and how much got into the main tank, it is hard to tell. But it sounds like you were right on it? I don't know what affects that much kalk will do to a tank. Can you test for it? I am a big proponent of water changes. If you can, I would be ready for more, just in case, but, it sounds like maybe there is no/little short term bad influences on your inhabitants/tank. Good luck, Frank

06/04/2006, 11:10 AM	#6
antonsemrad Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Little Chute WI Posts: 436	Keep a bottle of carbonated water around. (or a few) It can lower your ph. I have used vineger also. be carfull a little can go a long way. Sometimes nothing is the best corse of action.