Second New DIY Two Part Recipe with Higher pH Boost

[Miami Reef]

Thank you so much!

You’re welcome.

Happy Reefing.

 

[Jasonak]

Hey Randy
Have a question.
My PH right now is bouncing between 8.4-8.6 daily Im dosing 500 ml a day of your hydroxide (edit: so it says hydroxide instead of kalk) recipe.
My ALK is 8 dkh in AM 7.5 PM roughly.
Ive started shutting down kalk dosing between 10am -8pm hour after lights come on and right as they shut off.
I also changed my sump light to opposite my light schedule. I have installed to large airstones in sump and have adjusted 3 wavemakers to be hitting the service to also help with air exchange.
I want to raise up my ALK more but it keeps pushing my PH higher.
Ive recalibrated my probe and have ordered a new one also.
I would like my ALK a little higher but it will push my over 8.6 .
I have my DOS set to shut off once it hits 8.6
Any suggestions ?
Tank is 330 gal DISP with 90 sump.
@Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[MickeyCT]

Jasonak - Are you dosing 500 ml of Kalkwasser, or 500 ml of the sodium hydroxide two part? If the latter why not switch back to the regular two part with baking soda rather than this one with sodium hydroxide? Or split it and 250ml of the regular two part and 250ml of this two part?

If you are truly dosing 500 ml of Kalkwasser, that shouldn't be affecting pH in a system the size of yours. I dosed 4500ml to 5000 ml of Kalk in my 225 gal system and I couldn't get my pH above 7.8 so I'm switching to this two part with sodium hydroxide.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree that if you want alk higher and not pH, dose a mix of sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide.

 

[Jasonak]

Jasonak - Are you dosing 500 ml of Kalkwasser, or 500 ml of the sodium hydroxide two part? If the latter why not switch back to the regular two part with baking soda rather than this one with sodium hydroxide? Or split it and 250ml of the regular two part and 250ml of this two part?

If you are truly dosing 500 ml of Kalkwasser, that shouldn't be affecting pH in a system the size of yours. I dosed 4500ml to 5000 ml of Kalk in my 225 gal system and I couldn't get my pH above 7.8 so I'm switching to this two part with sodium hydroxide.

Hi
Thanks for both your replys. Yes im dosing sodium hydroxide.
were you dosing 4500 ML a day ?

 

[Jasonak]

I agree that if you want alk higher and not pH, dose a mix of sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide.

Thank you again for your help. Can I mix the carbonate in with the Hydroxide mix or should they be dosed separately ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thank you again for your help. Can I mix the carbonate in with the Hydroxide mix or should they be dosed separately ?

You can mix them, like half and half.

 

[MickeyCT]

Hi
Thanks for both your replys. Yes im dosing sodium hydroxide.
were you dosing 4500 ML a day ?

Yes, I was dosing 4500ml a day of KALK (NOT sodium hydroxide or any of the available Alk mixtures for Part Two). Kalk is a solution of calcium hydroxide which will keep calcium and alkalinity stable in some tanks but is not used to raise pH. It is typically used to replace all or most of top off water so will not be sufficient to keep up with demands for Ca and Alk in many reef tanks.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

YKalk is a solution of calcium hydroxide which will keep calcium and alkalinity stable in some tanks but is not used to raise pH. It is typically used to replace all or most of top off water so will not be sufficient to keep up with demands for Ca and Alk in many reef tanks.

What do you mean by that? One of the reasons to pick it is that it does raise pH when supplementing alk.

 

[MickeyCT]

You're right, I misspoke. I should have said it will help maintain Ca and Alk but is not likely to significantly increase them. It can increase pH. In my own experience it did not raise pH enough to counteract the CO2 in my inside air despite adding 4500ml per day of saturated solution and my pH rarely went above 7.9; hence my reasons for adding in the NaOH Alk supplement and cutting back on the Kalk.

 

[Jasonak]

One last question just to be clear. I baked the baking soda at 350 for a hour and then mixed it up in RODI.
This mixture will have same DKH as the sodium hydroxide mix there both 5300 DKH roughly correct ?
Thanks again and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

One last question just to be clear. I baked the baking soda at 350 for a hour and then mixed it up in RODI.
This mixture will have same DKH as the sodium hydroxide mix there both 5300 DKH roughly correct ?
Thanks again and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Yes.

 

[legalizedreefer]

has anyone here used the hydroxide with the standard Neptune DOS tubing? I can’t find out what material they are made out of online for some reason.

If I DIY a dosing container for this stuff, can I use 1/4” acrylic rod in the container or will that not be compatible with hydroxide?

 

[Jasonak]

Jasonak - Are you dosing 500 ml of Kalkwasser, or 500 ml of the sodium hydroxide two part? If the latter why not switch back to the regular two part with baking soda rather than this one with sodium hydroxide? Or split it and 250ml of the regular two part and 250ml of this two part?

If you are truly dosing 500 ml of Kalkwasser, that shouldn't be affecting pH in a system the size of yours. I dosed 4500ml to 5000 ml of Kalk in my 225 gal system and I couldn't get my pH above 7.8 so I'm switching to this two part with sodium hydroxide.

I agree that if you want alk higher and not pH, dose a mix of sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide.

Hi guys
Just a quick update did the roughly 50/50 of hydroxide mix and sodium carbonate mix and my PH has been steadily decreasing right now its been hovering between 8.25-8.30 Did the switch on 12-31
thank you both for your help.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If I DIY a dosing container for this stuff, can I use 1/4” acrylic rod in the container or will that not be compatible with hydroxide?

Acrylic is compatible with sodium hydroxide solutions at room temperature according to tables like these:

Acrylic aka PMMA Chemical Compatiblity Chart - R & S | ISM

End your search, simplify your supply chain. Industrial Specialties Mfg. & IS Med Specialties are ISO 9001:2008 companies. Worldwide suppliers of miniature pneumatic, fluidic and medical components.

www.industrialspec.com

 

[legalizedreefer]

Acrylic is compatible with sodium hydroxide solutions at room temperature according to tables like these:

Acrylic aka PMMA Chemical Compatiblity Chart - R & S | ISM

End your search, simplify your supply chain. Industrial Specialties Mfg. & IS Med Specialties are ISO 9001:2008 companies. Worldwide suppliers of miniature pneumatic, fluidic and medical components.

www.industrialspec.com

Randy,

I had looked at those tables before, but what confused me was which sodium hudroxide to pick on that table (1%, 10%, 25%, 50%)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy,

I had looked at those tables before, but what confused me was which sodium hudroxide to pick on that table (1%, 10%, 25%, 50%)

At room temp they are all A grade!

 

[Asulu]

Correct.

Balling Part C was made to match the concentration of Tropic Marin’s alk and ca concentrations.

Randy did the math and found Tropic Marin alk and ca is 50% weaker in concentration.



Thus,

283g NaOH per gallon RO/DI
500g CaCl per gallon RO/DI
182g Balling Part C per gallon RO/DI


Dose equal amounts of each to maintain your alkalinity; Ca, Mg, minor, and major elements will remain in line.

does anyone here have experience of how many ml it takes to increase 1dkh/26 g?

 

[danimal1211]

does anyone here have experience of how many ml it takes to increase 1dkh/26 g?

Here is a handy calculator. Use Randy’s recipe #1 for the product.

Reef Chemistry Calculator

 

[Miami Reef]

does anyone here have experience of how many ml it takes to increase 1dkh/26 g?

According to the calculator posted above: 18.5mL