Using Baking soda to raise ALK

[P-Nut]

How much baking soda per gallon of water in the aquarium do I need to raise it 1 dkh?
or
How much baking soda do I need to disolve in a gallon of distilled water and how many milliliters/gallon will I need to raise my tanks ALK 1dkh?

also, are there any aprticular brands I should stay or will that arm and hammer brand be good enough?

I will not bake the baking soda. My tank consumes 2dkh/day and I dont want it to raise PH too much.

 

[jackd625]

Use this calculator...

Try to take into account your rock and sand when determining total system volume so you don't overdose.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Are you measuring your calcium too? If its using that much alk it must be consuming ca too.

 

[P-Nut]

Use this calculator...

Try to take into account your rock and sand when determining total system volume so you don't overdose.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Are you measuring your calcium too? If its using that much alk it must be consuming ca too.

Yes, it is using around 40ppm of Calcium every day. But dosing calcium is easy.

I ahve 60 gallons all together. But I ahve 80lbs of sand, and around 80-90lbs of live rock (very porus rock, it has so many holes i dont need to glue corals to it). How many gallons do you think that will be all together?...it is too late for math. I think I will just count it as 40 gallons.

 

[jackd625]

You could use this calculator to figure that out.

http://reef.diesyst.com/volcalc/volcalc.html

I would say 90lbs of LR just to be safe.

 

[P-Nut]

You could use this calculator to figure that out.

http://reef.diesyst.com/volcalc/volcalc.html

I would say 90lbs of LR just to be safe.

Very nice. I was right on the money. 40 gallons exact. So I will need 1.9 tsp/day

 

[P-Nut]

Now, can anyone tell me how much to mix in 1 gallon? and how much DKH that will Have?

- I need to figure out how much I need in milliliters so i can use it with dosing pumps. The calculator above is great, but it gives a dose.

 

[Ellabug]

This gives good instructions:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

 

[delta]

Bake 2 1/4cups at 300degrees for an hour and mix it in 1gallon of water. 5,300 dKH,

start at 1ml to 4g, test until you figure out the exact amount for your tank.

Write down the recipe on the side of your containers I use old ESV containers. What I posted is what is on the side of my container

If you want more info you can do a search for Randy's two part recipe it lays it all out. There is most likely a link in the useful links thread sticky in reeftalk

 

[delta]

Randy's two part recipe article http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/4/chemistry

 

[P-Nut]

Randy's two part recipe article http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/4/chemistry

yes, I saw that one while researching online. thnaks for posting. The problem is that he doesnt say how many milliliters of that should be added to icnrease 1dkh.

I guess what I will do is: buy 7lbs of baking soda, bake one for one hour at 450 degrees and then mix with the other 6lbs. This ratio should give it a PH of around 8.2-3. Then I will mix it to the specifications in your link, I will use the unbaked recipi (#2) , and I guess I will have to play around.

When I find out how many milliliters will increase my tanks Alk by one 1DKH, I will post it because I guess these "Professionals" are too cool to post that. that way people will have something to start with and not have to sit there and test 10 times in a day.

thanks for the links everyone. Please psot anything else you might come accross.

 

[delta]

How can anyone give you an exact measurement? You can not give a fully accurate measurement of your water volume. You have to account for LR sand and what else you may have in your tank as well as the sump, fuge, skimmer, etc, etc, that run your tank. Unless of course you setup your tank with everything but water and then measured exactly what it took to fill it.

But you can get an idea with the reef calc http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Also just so you know said professional(Randy) is a member here on the BRS forum as well as a local reefer.

 

[inverted]

Aside from how to bake baking soda, as mentioned previously, I believe, your ca and alk should drop in a fixed ratio. 2.8 dKH to 20ppm calcium. So, if your corals are using 40ppm per day, thn they are using 5.6 dKH per day. Is this the case? If not there could be some issues. You may be dosing too much alkalinity for example. This can force calcium out of solution as precipitate and waste calcium, as well as destabilize your system, clog pumps etc.... This can also happen if your magnesium is too low, so, you many want to check that. The ratio of calcium and alk usage should be fixed though, so, if not, there is something going on. This article explains more.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rhf/index.php

 

[P-Nut]

How can anyone give you an exact measurement? You can not give a fully accurate measurement of your water volume. You have to account for LR sand and what else you may have in your tank as well as the sump, fuge, skimmer, etc, etc, that run your tank. Unless of course you setup your tank with everything but water and then measured exactly what it took to fill it.

But you can get an idea with the reef calc http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Also just so you know said professional(Randy) is a member here on the BRS forum as well as a local reefer.

I wasnt taking a shot at anyone. These articles are awesome. I guess the similey face at the end wasnt enough.
I also understand no one can ever give an exact number and there are too many variables like rocks and sand, but an aproximation number wouldnt hurt. A start number.

 

[KSC]

This link that was provided above is what you are looking for....

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

If you are using Randy's recipe 1, to raise 40gal 1 dkh, you need: 28.5 ml; 0.9 fl oz; 5.7 tsp

" " recipe 2 " 57.1 ml; 1.9 fl oz; 11.4 tsp

 

[delta]

I wasnt taking a shot at anyone. These articles are awesome. I guess the similey face at the end wasnt enough.
I also understand no one can ever give an exact number and there are too many variables like rocks and sand, but an aproximation number wouldnt hurt. A start number.

Sometimes you get Randy's personal input here, that is all.

And I posted the link to the reef chemistry calculator that will get you good estimate.

 

[Matt L.]

How much baking soda per gallon of water in the aquarium do I need to raise it 1 dkh?

30mg of NaHCO3 per Liter of tank water will raise alkalinity by +1 dKH. There are 3.785 Liters in a gallon.

or
How much baking soda do I need to disolve in a gallon of distilled water and how many milliliters/gallon will I need to raise my tanks ALK 1dkh?

The same mass you come up with above. Try raising alkalinity by 0.5 dKH units at a time, giving the tank plenty of time to adjust.

also, are there any aprticular brands I should stay or will that arm and hammer brand be good enough?

No.

I will not bake the baking soda.

Why not? Washing soda has twice the carbonate alkalinity per mole as baking soda. And thus you need to add less solution each day.

My tank consumes 2dkh/day and I dont want it to raise PH too much.

That's a lot of alkalinity. What are you doing to replace the calcium? Have you thought about a 2-part additive like b-ionic? Or a kalkwasser reactor? Or a calcium reactor?

Matt

 

[P-Nut]

Thanks. I am using a 2 part from BRS.

I dont want to bake the baking soda because that increases PH. Unbaked lowers it a little, but a mix of both will have a PH of 8.2 - I dont want to take credit for this, I read it somewhere else a little while ago.

The reason why I want to switch from a 2 part to baking soda is the PH. The 2 part raises my ph so I am adding half at night and half in the m morning, but I dont want any PH spikes. I already figured that 18ml of BRS 2 part will increase my AlK by around 0.7dkh. So now I am adding around 20mil in the morning and 20mil at night.

 

[delta]

You want a specific answer for you issues, but that may not be the correct answer for your problem. There is a balance you need to achieve not just an Alk value.

 

[Matt L.]

Thanks. I am using a 2 part from BRS.

I dont want to bake the baking soda because that increases PH. Unbaked lowers it a little, but a mix of both will have a PH of 8.2 - I dont want to take credit for this, I read it somewhere else a little while ago.

The reason why I want to switch from a 2 part to baking soda is the PH. The 2 part raises my ph so I am adding half at night and half in the m morning, but I dont want any PH spikes. I already figured that 18ml of BRS 2 part will increase my AlK by around 0.7dkh. So now I am adding around 20mil in the morning and 20mil at night.

What does your alkalinity range from during the day? That is important here. The reason your alkalinity may be falling off so much, and any additional raises alkalinity, is because your system cannot handle the extra alkalinity. What is your calcium and magnesium concentration?

Matt

 

[P-Nut]

What does your alkalinity range from during the day? That is important here. The reason your alkalinity may be falling off so much, and any additional raises alkalinity, is because your system cannot handle the extra alkalinity. What is your calcium and magnesium concentration?

Matt

Calcium 440
Mag 1500 - reef crystals salt.
Salt: 1.026
Temp 78-79
All other parameters are fine.

Test kits: Salifert, red sea pro, and api. All three have calcium, salifert and red sea have Mag and Alk also.
Alk goes down 1dkh every 12 hours. I dose ever 12 hours. First dose at 6:30am, second dose around d 6-7pm.