Safely raise alk and calcium

ryanpal · 04/06/2016, 08:52 PM

hey guys, ive encountered some tissue recession on my chalices which prompted me to get more test kits to see where the problem was. before i had a calcium and magnesium kit we were only able to test nitrates, phosphates, and alkalinity. we found that our alk was low so i started adding baked baking soda. this helped raise the alk but we still saw issues with the lps.

after purchasing a magnesium kit, we also found out we had low mag so i started to add kent m-tech (it's the only product we had on hand to raise mag). we saw some improvement but decided to get a calcium test kit as well.

here's the latest water test results:

Mag-1440
Alk-6.1
Nitrate-0
Phosphates-0
Ca-390
Ph-0
Salinity-1.025

i believe we should begin raising alk immediately, and also calcium a bit in the process. a couple questions i have:

1. how can we safely raise both? i understand they are closely linked
2. i'm using baked baking soda that i had from years ago in a container. i was new to the hobby and not 100% sure i baked it correctly (maybe im paranoid). how much fluctuation should i see in the ph if it wasn't baked long enough?

thanks in advance

droog · 04/06/2016, 09:42 PM

I would recommend doing a series of water changes a few days apart to re-balance your chemistry.

Once things are in balance you can maintain the levels with individual additives or dose balanced additives like Kalk or 2-part.

If you used balanced additives, I think its OK to test only the Alk level regularly and Ca/Mg occasionally.

-droog

JohnnyHildo · 04/06/2016, 10:00 PM

+1 for kalk. i have the tunze kalk dispenser that works with my osmolator and it's been holding my 120 really well with minimal attention.

thegrun · 04/07/2016, 08:24 AM

As far as how much, try to limit the alkalinity increases to 1.3dKh per day and it's best that that is done in at least two if not three doses so your pH does not spike. Calcium additions should be limited to 50ppm per day.

ryanpal · 04/07/2016, 08:29 AM

thanks guys. we thought the same about doing water changes instead of having to dose etc.

our setup is about 90 gallons, how large of water changes should we be doing? we've been doing 15-25 gal water changes.

04/06/2016, 08:52 PM	#1
ryanpal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 756	Safely raise alk and calcium hey guys, ive encountered some tissue recession on my chalices which prompted me to get more test kits to see where the problem was. before i had a calcium and magnesium kit we were only able to test nitrates, phosphates, and alkalinity. we found that our alk was low so i started adding baked baking soda. this helped raise the alk but we still saw issues with the lps. after purchasing a magnesium kit, we also found out we had low mag so i started to add kent m-tech (it's the only product we had on hand to raise mag). we saw some improvement but decided to get a calcium test kit as well. here's the latest water test results: Mag-1440 Alk-6.1 Nitrate-0 Phosphates-0 Ca-390 Ph-0 Salinity-1.025 i believe we should begin raising alk immediately, and also calcium a bit in the process. a couple questions i have: 1. how can we safely raise both? i understand they are closely linked 2. i'm using baked baking soda that i had from years ago in a container. i was new to the hobby and not 100% sure i baked it correctly (maybe im paranoid). how much fluctuation should i see in the ph if it wasn't baked long enough? thanks in advance

04/06/2016, 10:00 PM	#3
JohnnyHildo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 669	+1 for kalk. i have the tunze kalk dispenser that works with my osmolator and it's been holding my 120 really well with minimal attention. __________________ 120G Standard - 40G Sump. Apex - DOS - ATI Current Tank Info: Acros - Zoas - Palys

04/06/2016, 09:42 PM	#2
droog Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 736	I would recommend doing a series of water changes a few days apart to re-balance your chemistry. Once things are in balance you can maintain the levels with individual additives or dose balanced additives like Kalk or 2-part. If you used balanced additives, I think its OK to test only the Alk level regularly and Ca/Mg occasionally. -droog

04/07/2016, 08:24 AM	#4
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	As far as how much, try to limit the alkalinity increases to 1.3dKh per day and it's best that that is done in at least two if not three doses so your pH does not spike. Calcium additions should be limited to 50ppm per day.

04/07/2016, 08:29 AM	#5
ryanpal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 756	thanks guys. we thought the same about doing water changes instead of having to dose etc. our setup is about 90 gallons, how large of water changes should we be doing? we've been doing 15-25 gal water changes.