Top off causing ph to crash???

waverz · 06/18/2006, 03:47 PM

So my moms tank is having some issues, it seemed to start with zenia and anthelia shriveling up, then the green hammer branch started spewing brown crap and dying off. She tested the water and it seems the ALK and PH are both pretty low. I am thinking it is because she has been topping of with straight RO water, and being its been so hot lately she has had to top-off alot more causing there to be too much RO water added to the tank.

Sk8r · 06/18/2006, 04:09 PM

I buffer my ro/di water matched to the alkalinity draw of the main tank. IE, I evaporate a gallon a day. I have a five gallon bucket. My tank uses 2 tsp of buffer a day to maintain an alkalinity of 8.3.
I add 10 tsp of buffer to the bucket when setting up the topoff.

In all due respect, you should be testing more often. I test every 2 days at least, and write the results [and what I did to correct it] in a notebook, so I can say, well, I was calcium 410 yesterday and 400 today, which is ok, but if I don't want to be 380 tomorrow, I'd better add 2 tsp of calcium right now.
If you are evaporating a lot you should start testing alk and cal daily, and if they won't stay up, you should test magnesium as well, and elevate that to 3x your calcium reading to hold things steady. Run those tests until you know what your daily buffer draw-down is, and then you'll know how much buffer to add to your topoff water. You'll also know about how much calcium to add, and if you're magnesium short you'll find that out, too.

Starting to run stonies, you just have to test a lot until you find out the pattern for your particular tank, and then if a given coral doesn't look right, you ought to dive for your notebook and your test kit and find out if there's a trend, and fix what the problem is.

After 3 months of this, I now can add calcium 'blind' [without a test] and be reasonably sure what I'm doing, because I keep records. I can do it for about a week; but then I test before I change the water on Saturday; and then I test the water I'm putting in; and I test the finished result.

Small tanks go 'off' a lot faster than bigger ones.

HTH.

DGL · 06/18/2006, 06:14 PM

Try topping off using Kalkwasser drip

scubasteve247 · 06/18/2006, 07:10 PM

do you make your own ro water? if you do, the ph is very low when it is first coming from the filter. if not she should add buffer to the water before adding it, ro water is always low in ph.

DGL · 06/18/2006, 07:17 PM

We have very excellent deep well water.

06/18/2006, 03:47 PM	#1
waverz Slave to the reef! Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Evansdale, Ia Posts: 3,118	Top off causing ph to crash??? So my moms tank is having some issues, it seemed to start with zenia and anthelia shriveling up, then the green hammer branch started spewing brown crap and dying off. She tested the water and it seems the ALK and PH are both pretty low. I am thinking it is because she has been topping of with straight RO water, and being its been so hot lately she has had to top-off alot more causing there to be too much RO water added to the tank. __________________ Member of the Greater Iowa Reef Society. Current Tank Info: 60 gallon Marineland Cube

06/18/2006, 04:09 PM	#2
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	I buffer my ro/di water matched to the alkalinity draw of the main tank. IE, I evaporate a gallon a day. I have a five gallon bucket. My tank uses 2 tsp of buffer a day to maintain an alkalinity of 8.3. I add 10 tsp of buffer to the bucket when setting up the topoff. In all due respect, you should be testing more often. I test every 2 days at least, and write the results [and what I did to correct it] in a notebook, so I can say, well, I was calcium 410 yesterday and 400 today, which is ok, but if I don't want to be 380 tomorrow, I'd better add 2 tsp of calcium right now. If you are evaporating a lot you should start testing alk and cal daily, and if they won't stay up, you should test magnesium as well, and elevate that to 3x your calcium reading to hold things steady. Run those tests until you know what your daily buffer draw-down is, and then you'll know how much buffer to add to your topoff water. You'll also know about how much calcium to add, and if you're magnesium short you'll find that out, too. Starting to run stonies, you just have to test a lot until you find out the pattern for your particular tank, and then if a given coral doesn't look right, you ought to dive for your notebook and your test kit and find out if there's a trend, and fix what the problem is. After 3 months of this, I now can add calcium 'blind' [without a test] and be reasonably sure what I'm doing, because I keep records. I can do it for about a week; but then I test before I change the water on Saturday; and then I test the water I'm putting in; and I test the finished result. Small tanks go 'off' a lot faster than bigger ones. HTH. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/18/2006, 06:14 PM	#3
DGL Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 89	Try topping off using Kalkwasser drip

06/18/2006, 07:10 PM	#4
scubasteve247 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: south florida Posts: 1,142	do you make your own ro water? if you do, the ph is very low when it is first coming from the filter. if not she should add buffer to the water before adding it, ro water is always low in ph.

06/18/2006, 07:17 PM	#5
DGL Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 89	We have very excellent deep well water.