carbaontate hardness

frontosa_man

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 21, 2005
138
0
0
43
queen creek AZ
have just started salt in june and im getting mixed feedback on how to adjust and maintain pH and KH levels and what they should be at. right now my KH (aka alkalinity) is at 107.4ppm/6 dKH and my pH is at 8.1. its a reef and fish tank. i was told 8.0-8.4 pH and 2.9-4.0 meq/L or 8-11 dKH. for one i use Kent marine Superbuffer-dKH and liquid gold calcium. my Ca level i over 500mg/L(ppm), but the LFS said to use Kalkwasser mix and to quit using liquid calcium and superbuffer dKH. i need some light on this. :WTF:
 

CentralMayhem

MONSTER FISH EATER
MFK Member
Mar 30, 2005
826
3
0
San Diego, California
if you have money invest in a calcium reactor. the liquid buffers out there are fine for small tanks. B-IONICS is good stuff. the problem comes when you have a stocked tank with growing inhabitants. your need for more calcium increases as the size of your corals and inverts and calcium consuming algae etc. start to grow. if the uptake of your buffering agents is exceeding the rate at which you are able to add it you need to move to more efficient means. kalkwasser is a great and often used method but again id go with a calcium reactor. it will save you money in the long run and keep your tank operating at a stable level at all times. stability is the key to salt tanks. the ocean is a stable environment.
 

bluedempsey

Blue Tier VIP
MFK Member
Apr 6, 2005
1,305
1
343
42
Monster's r us
i totally agree
i have a 300 gallon coral tank that i was
dosing once a week with all sorts of liquid calcuim
man! it got expencive i bought a cal. reactor
the thing pays for itself
thats the way to go!
 

frontosa_man

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 21, 2005
138
0
0
43
queen creek AZ
thats a good idea but i still need to know what the measurements should be. am i too high,too low or what? and how does a calcium reactor work?
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store