Alkalinity How Do I Lower It

[danm]

I have a 55 Gallon Tank --- I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticles Test Kit --- My PH is 8.2 My Calcium Is 420 Today was 380 --- My Alkalinity is 6.08 meq/L or 304.3 PPM or 17.3 dkh --- I also Tested Alk with a Jungle Dip Test Strip it says 300 PPM ---- How Do I lower this Alk??? Should I worry about such a High Alk??? Could It be harmful to my system?? I started my tank on 9-11-04 --- I have a Good Cleaning Crew in the tank went through the Diatom thing ---- I have a little Cyano in the Fuge But not in the tank.. Any help will be greatly appreciated \\

 

[ChrisRD]

Your alk will drop by itself given time - just stop supplementing it until it settles down.

 

[Rikko]

If nothing appears to be suffering I would just leave it. I haven't really researched the effects of very high alk but I don't think that if you aren't orders of magnitude higher than normal, you won't have problems.

Yes, that was the worst sentence ever. I'm leaving it like that for scientists in the future.

Alk will resist a drop in pH - hence, like Chris said, it will go down over time. If you really, really want to drop it, you can add an acid to "drop" your pH. Your pH won't actually drop, as the alkalinity will begin to consume the acids to keep the water buffered.

That's the scientific theory, anyways. Personally I'd just leave it alone.

 

[auto_loader]

You can do water changes to lower your alk also.
Are you dosing you tank with any supplements?