urgent-alk high????

[rusty]

After setting up a second tank my alk went rather high. I think the reason was my R/O was a bit ify ( I think the membrane has gone-or going) so I had to use 50% R.O and 50% tap.
Alk reads 13.5 - calc 400 - ph 8.2 - nite 0.25- niterate 0.15 - ammo 0.25
salinity 1023.5 - temp 80 - circulation 5000lph - wet and dry just running rowafloss. 100lbs live rock - aragonite bed- skimmer. tank capacity 90 gals
(bound to have forgot something) is this just a new tank syndrome and will it settle with daily water changes. new membrane fitted.
I dont particularly want to use chemicals. living in the rep of ireland, Marines are in its infancy and most accessories I have to ship in from u/k.
Is it at a danger level???????????????

[Meric]

It is fairly high. I use this following documentation for any ALK issues. It is a great reference and can be very helpfull.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

What is the ALK of your Tap Water? You may start to see precipitation of the Calcium Carbonate on Heaters and Pump Impellers.

Often times doing nothing is better than doing something. Your ALK will start to drop as the tank continues to cycle.

[rusty]

It is fairly high. I use this following documentation for any ALK issues. It is a great reference and can be very helpfull.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

What is the ALK of your Tap Water? You may start to see precipitation of the Calcium Carbonate on Heaters and Pump Impellers.

Often times doing nothing is better than doing something. Your ALK will start to drop as the tank continues to cycle.

Yes the tap water over here is very bad. alk is also very high. I did have calc deposits on heater after 24 hours. in fact the tank walls were thick and had to use a scraper to get it off. I'm changing about 6 galls per day over a 12 hour period. tanks 90 galls. but as its R/O water hopefully I can get the alk down to 10dh in a few days. nothing to drastic though.

[Meric]

Stop changing water with Tap Water. If the water is very high in ALK the alk will continue to rise. Leave the tank alone and let the ALK drop due to natural tank Acids. Then due a water change.

If your RO unit is working properly now then you can use water with 0 ALK.

[rusty]

Unfortunately the thread you advise is a bit to deep for me to understand.

[Ninong]

After setting up a second tank my alk went rather high. I think the reason was my R/O was a bit ify ( I think the membrane has gone-or going) so I had to use 50% R.O and 50% tap.
Alk reads 13.5 - calc 400 - ph 8.2 - nite 0.25- niterate 0.15 - ammo 0.25
salinity 1023.5 - temp 80 - circulation 5000lph - wet and dry just running rowafloss. 100lbs live rock - aragonite bed- skimmer. tank capacity 90 gals
(bound to have forgot something) is this just a new tank syndrome and will it settle with daily water changes. new membrane fitted.
I dont particularly want to use chemicals. living in the rep of ireland, Marines are in its infancy and most accessories I have to ship in from u/k.
Is it at a danger level???????????????

Alkalinity of 13.5 dKH is not a problem and will cause no harm in your tank. If it rises above 18 dKH, then it could possibly begin to cause problems. It is definitely not a problem at 13.5 dKH. When alkalinity rises above 15 dKH it can make it more difficult to maintain calcium at desired levels.

I would be more concerned about the 0.25 ppm nitrite and 0.25 ppm ammonia readings. Your goal for both of those should be zero. It may be possible, especially in the case of the ammonia test, that your test kits are not accurate. You need to get the ammonia down to undetectable and the nitrite down to <0.1 ppm. Your pH of 8.2 is fine and a temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit is fine, too. You may wish to consider raising your specific gravity a little from the present 1.0235 -- perhaps 1.024 - 1.025.

You mention "new tank syndrome," is this tank only a few weeks old? If it is, then everything is OK, it's just not finished cycling yet. Give it a little more time. It can take as long as six to ten weeks for a new tank to cycle under certain circumstances. The biggest determining factor is the condition of the live rock when it was placed in the tank.

If this tank has been set up for less than six weeks, then it is still experiencing dieoff inside the live rock and that is why you are getting nitrite and ammonia readings. That means that you really have no problems at all. Just relax and wait it out.

[rusty]

Many thanks for your reply.
I have what you would call a bad run. when I set up the tank in the first instance I decided to use Reef Crystals ( previous was Red Sea) and thats when the probs started. I think I had a bad batch. the ph would remain at 7.0 so on advice from another reef site I added Waterlife 8.3 buffer to get the ph up.
Consequently I had a calcium precipitation and had to strip down. luckily the tank only had Aragonite base nothing else. I was worried that I may have calcified the bed. but after a few stirs it seemed ok. cleaned the glass -heaters- pumps ect and refilled with fresh & R/O as I was begining to suspect theR/O unit.

Thats when I started the second round of probs.The alk was 13 to 14 , calcium was fine at 400 although a wee bit low. ph 8.4.

The tank has now dropped to alk of 12.2 - calc 400 - ph 8.2 - salinity 1.023. will let it settle for a few more days and test again.

Next I checked the neat R/O - alk virtualy nil - calc 60 - ph 7.6.
Mixed up reef crystals and checked salinity 1.024 - calcium 430 - alk 12.5 ph 8.26.
It seems the alk rise is caused by the Reef Crystals?????????

The live rock is fine this was transferd from the 4 foot tank.
I'm running rowafoss. the niterate is 0.15 - niterate same - ammonia 0.
Ph 8.02.
This is the first time I have had a problem, guesse I have been lucky!!!!!!!