need major help with alkalinity-please read!

[JCS11236]

i checked my alk for the first time last night and my alk is at 8 meg/l 22.4dkh!!!!!!!!!

why is it so high and how can i bring this down?

what exactly is alk in my tank and is it dangerous if it is so high
i was told the range is 8-12 dkh --my alk is almost double!

help please--help me understand

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

Alkalinity is (basically) the ability of the water to buffer against pH swings, and alkalinity is tested using a "KH" test kit. KH=Carbonate Hardness, or maybe Karbonate in German or something, who knows...

A high alkalinity is generally not a bad thing, although some plants prefer less alkalinity (carbonate hardness), and some fish will not breed in water with a high KH.

There are some things you can do to lower the hardness of the water.

• Use RO (reverse osmosis) water instead of tap. This requires you buy an RO unit, or make your own distillation unit, costly or time conmsuming respectively.
• Haev lots of plants such as vals that can perform biogenic decalcification. This is a slow process, but if you have fast plant growth, it may make a noticeable difference.

There are also some things you can NOT DO to make sure you do not inadvertantly raise the alkalinity of the water:

• do not put crushed coral in the tank as gravel or elseshwere
• Do not add calciferous rocks (eg limestone) to the water that will leach out carbonates into the water column
• Do not top off the tank replacing evaportaed water. Only the pure H2O evaporates, leaving behind all the minerals in the tank. The high alkalinity is likely coming from your tap water, so if you keep adding high alk tap and never take any out, your alkalinity will rise. This happened to me in a No Water Change (NWC) tank I have.

Here is a good article on alkalinity that I have referenced more then once: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2002/chemistry.htm

 

[wayne]

What salt, check your test kit against store water. If it is that high you'll need to dilute it with RO.

It can be a problem to be that high as it will force calcium levels down.

 

[wayne]

Oh, you're on natures ocean. They claim to buffer up, so you should ask what they think it should be.....

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

Damn, I stumbled into the SaltWater Discussion again!

I guess you can FORGET about growing vals in a SW tank. Sorry for the goof up. I approached the question from a FW perspective.