Hi All,
time for an update.
I have been dosing for about 3 weeks now.
Started with NSW collected at the Seaway, with 350 SG and 6.2 dKH.
Initially dosed only Calcium, at 100 ml a day.
It had little effect in increasing the Ca towards the 400 ~ 440 mark.
I After a week, I increased to 150 then 200 ml day.
Noted 2 weeks ago, with my new ( reliable) Weipro pH meter, that my pH was increasing from a steady 8.10~8.12 to 8.15, then up to 8.17 so it was time to start with the Alk dosing.
My dKH was only raisig slightly, from 6.2, then a few days later it got to 6.7, and remained there.
Mixed a batch of Randy's recipe Alk, and started to add 50 ml a day. It did little to counter my pH increase.
For the last 1 week, I have tried to find the happy middle ground and what the right ratio is for my tank, at this stage of its cycle and introduction of corals.
On Sunday I increased the Ca to 250 ml a day, with 150 ml Alk.
Tested yesterday and Ca is up to 380 and dKH at 7.2, while my pH was at 8.24
Changed the dosing yesterday to 300 ml Ca and 250 ml Alk.
This morning i tested, and Ca is at 385/390, dKH at 7.7 and pH at 8.24
I dont plan to make any changes, and allow a few days for this to set and see where we stand, before making more changes, unless anyone points out something i have overlooked ?
I was discussing this with a friend, who has a good working knowledge of water chemistry. He got curious and did some reading, and called me this morning with something interesting. Let me share it with you, and get your opinions.
Our famous Randy's receipe, hails from the USA.Clearly he knows his stuff and it works.
For the Alk recipe, he specifies Bicarbonate of Soda, and that it should be roasted/heated at 180 deg C for an hour.
It seems the heating process does more than just remove the moisture, but has a chemical effect also, in that it alters the Bi Carb to Soda Ash.
It seems he suggests this, as obtaining Soda Ash in the US is difficult.
However, they hve a different effect on the pH - if i understood him correctly, the baked BiCarb will increase the dKH but raise the pH also, whereas the unbaked BiCarb will not raise the pH , or a lot less.
I am just putting this out there, and invite your opinions, and knowledge to contribute towards a better understanding of something most of us use.
I will also try to call my friend, and make sure i got the facts straight.
At the end of the day, I think we all want to get our Alk in that 8~9 range, our Ca 400 ~440, while keeping our pH around 8,20 - so how best to achieve that. ?
Jac
time for an update.
I have been dosing for about 3 weeks now.
Started with NSW collected at the Seaway, with 350 SG and 6.2 dKH.
Initially dosed only Calcium, at 100 ml a day.
It had little effect in increasing the Ca towards the 400 ~ 440 mark.
I After a week, I increased to 150 then 200 ml day.
Noted 2 weeks ago, with my new ( reliable) Weipro pH meter, that my pH was increasing from a steady 8.10~8.12 to 8.15, then up to 8.17 so it was time to start with the Alk dosing.
My dKH was only raisig slightly, from 6.2, then a few days later it got to 6.7, and remained there.
Mixed a batch of Randy's recipe Alk, and started to add 50 ml a day. It did little to counter my pH increase.
For the last 1 week, I have tried to find the happy middle ground and what the right ratio is for my tank, at this stage of its cycle and introduction of corals.
On Sunday I increased the Ca to 250 ml a day, with 150 ml Alk.
Tested yesterday and Ca is up to 380 and dKH at 7.2, while my pH was at 8.24
Changed the dosing yesterday to 300 ml Ca and 250 ml Alk.
This morning i tested, and Ca is at 385/390, dKH at 7.7 and pH at 8.24
I dont plan to make any changes, and allow a few days for this to set and see where we stand, before making more changes, unless anyone points out something i have overlooked ?
I was discussing this with a friend, who has a good working knowledge of water chemistry. He got curious and did some reading, and called me this morning with something interesting. Let me share it with you, and get your opinions.
Our famous Randy's receipe, hails from the USA.Clearly he knows his stuff and it works.
For the Alk recipe, he specifies Bicarbonate of Soda, and that it should be roasted/heated at 180 deg C for an hour.
It seems the heating process does more than just remove the moisture, but has a chemical effect also, in that it alters the Bi Carb to Soda Ash.
It seems he suggests this, as obtaining Soda Ash in the US is difficult.
However, they hve a different effect on the pH - if i understood him correctly, the baked BiCarb will increase the dKH but raise the pH also, whereas the unbaked BiCarb will not raise the pH , or a lot less.
I am just putting this out there, and invite your opinions, and knowledge to contribute towards a better understanding of something most of us use.
I will also try to call my friend, and make sure i got the facts straight.
At the end of the day, I think we all want to get our Alk in that 8~9 range, our Ca 400 ~440, while keeping our pH around 8,20 - so how best to achieve that. ?
Jac