KH, Carelessness Posses a Problem

[vettesarebest]

I have never really paid attention to my KH very much until now. I have always just been told to add Kent Marine Super Buffer and that would take care of my KH. I just got a KH test kit and its only 4! Would this be the reason why both of my Montiporas are loosing there color and turning brown but still alive? Anyways, I obviously need to raise it but I don't know how without affecting my PH because my PH is fine. What do I need to do.

Thanks Guys!

 

[matttvi]

Ph is fine? What level is your ph at?

what are your Mag and Ca levels as well?

 

[vettesarebest]

PH is at 8.3 and Calcium is at 380.

 

[matttvi]

Maroons16;42854 wrote: PH is at 8.3 and Calcium is at 380.

kH is at 4 meq/L or 4d? If it's 4 meq/L then you are fine. What type of test kit did you use?

 

[vettesarebest]

It is I used the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit and it just says for ever drop of the test you add to the water is equals 1 PPM so I ended up adding 4 drops before the color changed in the test bottle.

 

[matttvi]

Maroons16;42857 wrote: It is I used the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit and it just says for ever drop of the test you add to the water is equals 1 PPM so I ended up adding 4 drops before the color changed in the test bottle.

gotcha, that test kit does test d and not meq/L.

If you get some baking soda, don't bake it and you should be able to use it to raise your kH slowly over a couple of days.

Dr. Randle Holmes-Farley has a recipe for just such a situation.

I'll find it and post it in a second,

Matt

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php">http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php</a>

here's the link to the article, I think you want Recipe #2. He also has a graph showing different tank parameters and what to do in each case, I'll try and find that one to post too.

 

[vettesarebest]

Thanks Matt! But will it affect anything else? point Foo you

 

[wbholwell]

Bryan, same thing happened to me recently (I blamed the IO salt.) And I also have the API dKH test, and it tests low compared to my Salifert. Your dKH probably is low, but get another test kit to be on the safe side.

 

[matttvi]

Maroons16;42860 wrote: Thanks Matt! But will it affect anything else? point Foo you

Maroon,

Your best bet is to read Dr. RHF's article as he knows a heck of a lot more than i do about how it will affect your other levels.

Here's another article showing the different situations...

http://web.archive.org/web/20021127040526/http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm">http://web.archive.org/web/20021127040526/http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm</a>

I'd say you're in Zone 2, so follow his Zone 2 directions and you should be fine. You're closer to NSW on Ca then on kH.

 

[tsciarini]

IMO, off KH levels are more likely asociated to the buffer, not the salt mix.

 

[vettesarebest]

OK so I don't really understand how to fix this problem still. What do I need to add more of?

 

[matttvi]

Maroons16;42867 wrote: OK so I don't really understand how to fix this problem still. What do I need to add more of?

Per Dr. RHF's "zones" you're right at the border of Zone's 2 and 4. W/ Ca levels of 380, you don't need to raise them all that much, I'd want to get to about 420ppm w/ the SPS in the tank and up to about 10-11d w/ kH.

So I'd try some limewater to bring your levels up and once calcium hits about 420, then you'll probably be in zone 4 w/ kH levels still too low and Ca levels just right.

Again, using Dr. RHF's 2-part recipe, you'll want to add baking soda mix to the tank to bring your kH levels up to where they need to be.

There's a lot involved and reading each article through is a must before you attempt to correct anything. And of course, slower is better when it comes ot moving kH and Ca.

If you find you are having trouble getting your levels right, you may be low on mag. or something...

good luck,

Matt

 

[vettesarebest]

OK so add the Lime water to get my Calcium up and then add the Baking soda for the KH? I just want to make sure I get this right. Where can I get Lime Water?

 

[tsciarini]

Slow down... take some time to read the article Matt linked to. It's one of the better articles out there.

 

[cameron]

I would suggest picking up some Seachem ReefBuilder and follow the directions on the bottle. It isn't as cheap as some other alternatives, but it is safer and the directions make it very easy.

 

[matttvi]

Maroons16;42876 wrote: OK so add the Lime water to get my Calcium up and then add the Baking soda for the KH? I just want to make sure I get this right. Where can I get Lime Water?

Okay, here's what I'd do.

1. Read both Articles (links) I posted...

2. Take your water to another reefer (or borrow another test kit) and verify your Mag, kH, Ca and pH.

3. After doing 1 and 2, start out dosing limewater until you get your Ca levels up to 420, ceter peribus (sp?!?) that should also raise your kH a bit, but I suspect that you'll hit decent Ca levels before you hit acceptable kH levels. At that point, you'll want to raise your kH w/ out raising Ca, so...

4. Once your Ca levels are good, start dosing baking soda (per Randy's 2-part recipe) until you get your kH levels up where you want them.

At least, that's what it looks like Randy says to do in his articles. If you look through his links, he has a nice dosing calculator to use.

hth,

Matt

 

[tsciarini]

+1 to all of Matt's comments...

It's possible that just adding the kalkwasser will bring your KH to acceptable levels, but as Matt noted, move slow and test your water before making more changes.
Personally, I'm a big fan of frequent waterchanges. Especially when dealing with smaller volumes of water. I've always been hesitant in playing chemist anytime I'm dealing with less than 100gallons of H20.

 

[vettesarebest]

Has anyone used this? I would just feel safer using something like this.

 

[victor626nj]

hey i have a salfirt tst kit you can use and reef builder if you can come all the way to lawrenceville

 

[xyzpdq0121]

BRYAN, LISTEN TO MATT HERE!!!


Ok, did you hear that?!? ( I know how hard it is for you kids these days to hear stuff!) You know just as much as anyone how important it is to read, so, we know you do not do school work, so switch from the ARC page to Matt's links and read up!

Let me see if I can explain it a bit simpler then Matt. KH, CA and Mag are in direct relationship to eachother. Going off the fact that you test is reading right (which it might not be so use a different test), your dKH is way low. But you do not know what your Mag is. So like Matt said, find a test for both and find out where you are. You can add all the baking soda you want but if your Mag is not right it is not going to do much but give your fish something to bake cookies with. You can go off of the DF&S two part link that you posted but again you do not know where you are starting from so how do you know where you need to go? IMHO, Matt is 110% correct here. Find out your levels and dose accordingly with a "custom" 2-part solution. You can raise what you need to raise and switch when you need to. I doubt the blanket approach (ie, using something from a "fix-all" bottle) is going to give you results vs. the price you are going to pay for it. IMHO, Read and use that knowledge to fix your tank.

You know as well nothing happens fast in this hobby, or nothing good... so take your time and fix the problem right.

Matt, +2 (one now and I owe you one later) for these posts.

UPDATE: Darn Matt, I owe you two points since I have to spread some love before I can give you another rep!