Why does my KH always go down quickly when my Ca and Magnesium are constantly staying 420 ppm and 1350? Two weeks ago I brought my KH up to 10 dkh. I left it for a little bit to see what would happen in a week or so. I tested it today, the Ca and Magnesium are the same as 2 weeks ago, but the KH is at 8. I'm sure it's not a big deal, I'm just trying to get an understanding as to why.
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Alkalinity
- Thread starter kason42
- Start date
This ph test is hard to read. When the Alk is dropping would that mean the ph is also probably dropping (Alk stabilizes ph?) Does that mean that my Ca is probably staying stable because a low ph is probably breaking down my aragonite a little? And would that also be evidenced by less coraline growth? So I should just try to focus on keeping alk stable, and checking levels regularly to see where the Ca is going? It's just weird to me because I bought this 2 part to be able to add both daily and balance it but it seems like adding both in equal amounts would stabilize alk but bring Ca up. Thanks for the help guys.
Start by checking magnesium- as i have learned magnesium is pretty much the balance board that holds everything together. make sure your magnesium readings are correct. i know calcium has something to do with ph due to excess c02 in the water. this is what you do- add alk part of the 2 part a little bit at a time to bring it to 9.0- also check your calcium and make sure that stays in an acceptable rang- never dose the two additives together that would cancel them out- i waited about an hour in between dosing. Get the alk at 9 and wait one day see how much it has changed. say it changed .5. Then add some of the alk part in that day you read a .5 drop and see how much it takes to bring it up by the .5. Once you do that you would have to continuously add alk at the rate it gets taken out. weather its 1 day 2 days 3 days. Start by writing your parameters on here and i will help. So today check the water and list the levels
Have a look at Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
Why does my KH always go down quickly when my Ca and Magnesium are constantly staying 420 ppm and 1350?
First, there is much more calcium than Alk. So, it "seems" to drop faster. For ever 20 ppm Ca++ that leaves solution it takes 2.8 dKH with it. If we look at 420 ppm Ca++ with an Alk of 7 dKH and all the Alk leaves with the calcium there will still be 370 ppm Ca++ still left and zero Alk. Second, many other reactions use Alk other than Ca++ to make CaCO3, such as buffering the water. Think of Alk in part as a acid neutralizer. In the field of Limnology Alk is often termed ANC = Acid Neutralizing Capacity.
First, there is much more calcium than Alk. So, it "seems" to drop faster. For ever 20 ppm Ca++ that leaves solution it takes 2.8 dKH with it. If we look at 420 ppm Ca++ with an Alk of 7 dKH and all the Alk leaves with the calcium there will still be 370 ppm Ca++ still left and zero Alk. Second, many other reactions use Alk other than Ca++ to make CaCO3, such as buffering the water. Think of Alk in part as a acid neutralizer. In the field of Limnology Alk is often termed ANC = Acid Neutralizing Capacity.