Seems something is out of balance.

[trido]

First I'll start by giving a quick run down on the tank.

I have about 32 SPS ,4 LPS, 3 leathers, 1 crocea clam and one yellow polyps in the tank. Everything is growing quited well. My PH is rock solid at 8.3-4 and I do my darnedest to keep S.G. at 1.025-6. I have always had a Ca. reading of 370. My Kh has hung around 8.6-9.2.

Lately My kalk reactor hasnt been able to keep up. I skipped b-ionic for a week and my Ca. dropped to 310 the Kh went to 8.4.
Between the kalk and b-ionic I have kept things stable for about three weeks (Ca. 370, Kh 9.2)

Three days ago I hooked up the dual chamber Ca. reactor. I followed along another thread and set my CO2 bubble count at 14per min and the effluent drip at about 65 per min. My primary chamber has a PH of 6.8. The effluent has a PH of 7.4. The KH was off the charts at over 32 and the Ca. was reading about 600 at last check. My Ca. in the tank has stayed at 370 but the Kh has risen to 10.2. The PH has remained constant at 8.3-4 I use salifert tests and have two of each to double check what I think are false readings. Unfortunately, I dont have a Mg test if you think that would be an issue

I am wondering. Should I be worried about the KH being as high as it is? The corals dont seem to mind and actually seem to have better polyp extention today.
Seems weird to me that the KH would jump but not the Ca.

 

[Unarce]

CA and KH have a direct affect on eachother. Most often, when one rises, the other will fall. Keeping them balanced can be tricky at times.

A KH of 10.2 isn't alarming. Some might say it's high, but as long as it was a gradual rise, the corals will be fine. A quick spike from 8 to 12 would really piss your corals off.

 

[trido]

Any suggestions on tweaking either of the reactors to get the balance? Or should I just leave well enough alone and see what happens in the weeks to come? I am asking only because I am leaving for the Bay Area for a Christmas tank tour and would rather take it off line for the week (and make my brother dose B-ionic) if it going to cause stress.

 

[Unarce]

Hopefully, someone else will chime in. I've had my Calcium Reactor set-up for a year now, and still haven't hooked it up. I know I'll eventually need it when things start growing out, but I'm not looking forward to the whole 'checks and balances' between CA, KH, and PH :?

 

[mgranato]

Your numbers are very good, no need to be alarmed. I'm growing all SPS and clams, and mine have taken off since the adition of my ca reactor. Before the reactor my readings were ca 410 and KH 7.8-8.0. Now my readings are ca 330 and KH 10.6. Of course the change was gradual, but since these numbers have stabilized, my tank has been growing great. As Unarce said, its very difficult to keep high levels of both. I would certainly leave the reactor running as long as things are stable.

 

[trido]

Thanks for the input. I will just let things be and work from there then.

Unarce, you are right about the testing. I think I have done nearly a months worth in the last three days. :lol:

 

[ChrisRD]

I agree that your numbers are fine and I wouldn't bother chasing it. You can drive yourself nuts trying to achieve perfection with these things and it really doesn't amount to any difference in the end IME. If things look good and the numbers are reasonable I'm all for the old "if it ain't broke..." adage. :wink:

If you do feel inclinded to tweak your Ca number at all I recommend doing it with a bit of calcium chloride, or the Ca part of your two-part. You can use a calculator like this to figure out exactly how much it would take to achieve a certain Ca level:
http://jdieck1.home.comcast.net/chemcalc.html

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly what Chris said. My Alk jumped when I started my CA reactor. I balanced it out with Turbo CA and the levels have been steady at 11.2 DKH and 420 CA for over 2 months now.