Extremly high dkh. Help!!!

[hungup76]

Ok so what happened is i turned my back to my daughter for a sec with the sump cabinet open. she dumped an entire box of baking soda in the sump in my 130g system. it shot my DKH to 41. I did a 45% water change as well as adding a carbon pad to the drip tray of my sump. checked the DKH it was down to 26. so I added a DIY carbon reactor with 90% of the flow directed to it. this afternoon my DKH was 17. fish look happy and corals are open. My water levels are as fallowed.

nitrate: 0
nitrite: 0
ammonia: 0
phos: 0
PH: 8.2
DKH: 17
CAL: 18 drops (API test kit) sorry i lost my conversion chart. 21 drops is 420


what should I do form here with the levels? should I dose anything or leave it alone? should I remove the carbon later on, now, or leave it preeminently? I added it to lower my ALK faster hopeing that the shock of the fluctuation would be better then leavening it 41 or 26 DKH and letting it fall over time.
sorry for all the Q's i am still a nobie.

 

[user 26995]

I would say your best bet is continuous water changes. 50% or better till it gets back down to a reasonalbe level. Besides alk, baking soda is going to change the pH. I would worry more about that.

 

[kpiotrowski]

I am surprized it didn't precipitate. do you have a white dust covering everything? you should prob test calcium levels...bet they are low if the water took that much alk and the bubble didn't burst, meaning precipitate. I wouldnt' stress too much. whatever was going to die would have already. do another water change....or leave it be if all is well and it should balance out soon enough. the biggest concern was the ph spike as the bs got dumped. goes to show how critters can be sometimes.

 

[pandora32]

I wouldnt worry to much more than you have already. Like what was said, everything would have died already. If your still worried, do another large water change or 2, otherwise, let it reset itself. Mother nature is quircky, even in a box.

 

[DTECH07]

Soda water, Distilled White Vinegar will drop your KH but use with caution!!!! Your KH will drop fast naturally but you dont want to drop it to fast of youll shock your tank from the two swings "if it goes up or down fast bring it back SLOWLY"! IMHO

 

[nata]

I would go with vinegar also..did it before..slowly!

 

[hungup76]

how much vinegar would you use in a 130G system? just for reference. I am re testing here in a bet and will see what everything is it. Also is regular grocery store brand white vinegar what i would use for this?

I just tested my DKH and it is 16 no where near as bad at it was. I may just let water changes take care of it on my normal water change schedule.

 

[hungup76]

.25 phosphate
400 Calcium
8.2 PH
16 DKH
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0 nitrate
I also just saw that 2 of my fish have white spots. Looks like I have ICH on my blue tang and black and white cardinal. i cant see any reefloating baking soda the water is pretty much clear just a tad bet of a whitish hase. my corals have opened up and fead just fine today. I think the beat thing to do is just my normal water changes and let that take care of it. its conferring to here that everything that is going to die (lost one back and white cardinal already) already has. now i just have to make it though the white spots.

 

[DTECH07]

(1)Water changes at 10% daily is the safest
(2)Muriatic acid is next with no algae outbreaks, here's a link to read: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1530419
(3)Vinegar White Distilled I used 3 brothers you can find it at Costco or supermarkets but cheaps for the amount at Costco. I don't remember the measurements but its a slow process also.
(4) Soda Water.

As far as the Muriatic Acid USE WITH CAUTION!!!! It's a Acid that you can pick up at Lowes for $8 a gallon, use a mask, goggles, gloves and add to water not the other way around. The ratio is 12/1 12 parts water to 1 part Muriatic Acid. I would start low in harmony with your water changes because if you drop the KH to fast you will have issues, I'd say start with a 1/4 cup (you'll have to do the math 12/1) and add to sump in high flow like the return area slowly. If no sump then add to water change water (still a 1/4 cup 12/1 ratio) then add that to your 5 gal bucket.

 

[DTECH07]

.25 phosphate
400 Calcium
8.2 PH
16 DKH
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0 nitrate
I also just saw that 2 of my fish have white spots. Looks like I have ICH on my blue tang and black and white cardinal. i cant see any reefloating baking soda the water is pretty much clear just a tad bet of a whitish hase. my corals have opened up and fead just fine today. I think the beat thing to do is just my normal water changes and let that take care of it. its conferring to here that everything that is going to die (lost one back and white cardinal already) already has. now i just have to make it though the white spots.

Sad to say outside of water changes that's the safest but safest way to go. Your fish are stressed just as we get under adverse conditions and like us get sick during that time. Hope all works out for the best.

 

[hungup76]

I am surprized it didn't precipitate. do you have a white dust covering everything? you should prob test calcium levels...bet they are low if the water took that much alk and the bubble didn't burst, meaning precipitate. I wouldn't stress too much. whatever was going to die would have already. do another water change....or leave it be if all is well and it should balance out soon enough. the biggest concern was the ph spike as the bs got dumped. goes to show how critters can be sometimes.

no she dumped it in to the sump on the return pump side and stirred it in. Nothing much that i really could as far as pulling rock out and washing it in SW to get off any unresolved baking soda.

 

[kpiotrowski]

when talking about white dust all over inside he aquarium I was refering to a precipitation event where your water becomes so ovelerloaded with minerals that it they actually come back out of solution and bind together. that why I was asking about calcium leves an assumming they are low.