CA ALk -- Morning then Night?

[geno]

I did a quick search before posting this question

I was thinking of dosing Ca in the morning and Alk at night -- does that make sense?

What happens if the Ca gets too high?
What happens if the KH gets too high?

Thanks

 

[geno]

Thanks, Barbara.

What are the signs in the water that either Ca or Alk have gotten too high, i.e. if I don't pick it up on a test kit?

 

[geno]

I will definitely test before dosing -- I was just curious about this concept of "snow' that I've read about in other posts.

I didn't mean to give the impression that I would begin a dosing routine without testing first -- that would really be irresponsible husbandry.

-gene

 

[ouling]

Unless you have ALOT of "SPS" corals and do limited water change, I would only dose chemical extremely conservatively. Balance is very hard to restore

 

[geno]

Hello Ouling,

In fact the reason I have not started a dosing routine is because I don't have many SPS coarls -- I have one small clam and a moderate number of LPS

I change about 25g of my 125g display + 30g sump/ref every other week -- faithfully. Maybe I don't really need to dose anything. I have noticed in times past that my Alk has been rather low (5-6) while Ca has been acceptable (375-400)

 

[geno]

Hey Barbara,

I have a ACJr controller that monitors pH. It typically ranges from 8.2 (during the day with the MH lights on) to abut 7.99 at night. That seems pretty stable and within an acceptable range. It could be a bit higher -- but the corals and clam all seem content.

Not sure just why my Alk is so low -- I do use multiple test kits and the API gives the lowest reading. My Salifret is often a few points higher.

One of your recent notes mentioned your CR is really doing the job for you -- congratulations:up:

 

[ster]

geno;361616 wrote: I will definitely test before dosing -- I was just curious about this concept of "snow' that I've read about in other posts.

I didn't mean to give the impression that I would begin a dosing routine without testing first -- that would really be irresponsible husbandry.

-gene

The "snow" you're talking about is usually a result of pH spike. Dosing alkalinity supplements raises your system's pH. If too much is added at once, your system may be unable to take in the required amount of CO2 to counteract the raise in pH quick enough and the calcium carbonate will begin the precipitate out. Likewise, even if you aren't dosing too much at once, if you raise the alkalinity too much over a long period of time your calcium/alkalinity/magnesium levels will fall out of equilibrium and calcium carbonate will begin to precipitate out.
If this happens and your pH still tests in an "acceptable" range (8.0-8.4), don't do anything. Trying to fix it will only make things worse most of the time. Give it a day or two to bring itself back into equilibrium then retest your parameters as your alkalinity and calcium are likely to have dropped a fair bit as a result of the precipitation.
If it happens and your pH tests above 8.5, I'd come back and post a thread asking for advice because it probably won't be a fun time.

 

[geno]

Thank you Barbara!

Ster -- I appreciate your explanation. I'm very cautious about adding anything to my system -- thus, all these questions.

I'm due to do a water change this weekend and will test my parms before adding anything.

Frankly, what I've seen is that right after I do a WC all the parms are excellent -- about a week into the WC -- I notice that Alk begins to decline (probably Ca and Mg too). I expect that as the tank consumes these elements.

Any dosing I have done of Alk has been at the rate of 0.5ml/gal -- per the instructions on the BRS site. I add it at night after lights out and very slowly in the sump where there is a rapid flow of water (even prior to my skimmer). It does raise the pH some but never has it exceeded 8.2.

-gene