anyone have problems with Crushed Coral substrate?

Also, low alkalinity will encourage CaCO3 to dissolve. Have you measured the alkalinity in both aquaria?

Finally, there may be an initial stage where magnesium (from the salt mix) is replacing calcium in the surface regions of the substrate, and that may temporarily raise calcium.

In both aquaria... Boomer you lost me here.
What would be temporary? 1 month 2 months? I believe this has been going on for 2 months now.... would have to look at first post on the other thread.

Newie, I believe and Bommer believes the is the fault of the Crushed Coral and should be removed slowly.

And I saw where he said he has not added sup's for a long time. *So something must be going on in the sand bed to cause dissolution....there is no other reason. This is not the first guy to have had this problem. The only answer would be to remove the CC *HE IS USING and use something else.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

[new2salt2]

well ill tell you what. since i have removed the CC partially i can see the CA drop. I have never had that heppen yet. i havent even done a water change in a while so i do believe the somehow the CC managed to store Calc and release it slowly.

if anyone ever asks me i will tell them go with glass bottom or DSB

Newie I hope you are still removing the CC from the tank. If not a glass full every other day taken out should be ok.

[new2salt2]

yup..

[Boomer]

Nat

Also, low alkalinity will encourage CaCO3 to dissolve. Have you measured the alkalinity in both aquaria?

Finally, there may be an initial stage where magnesium (from the salt mix) is replacing calcium in the surface regions of the substrate, and that may temporarily raise calcium

I don't know who this is talking but is not me. * [smiley=confused1.gif]



Matt And John

Boomer I think some of the confusion for me was you were saying Oxygen has nothing to do with pH but here you say "Aerating the water will not lower the pH but increase the the pH.

Should we say Oxygen has an indirect relationship with pH then?

Ok, I think I see where you guys are confused. No, absolutely not ........see below.

This is because it's driving off the Co2 right?

That is correct. Lets prove it to you get a glass of tap water, put in some pH indicator, so it has the color of the pH of the water. *Now get a straw and blow in the glass and watch before your eyes how the color changes to a lower pH. Now get an airstone and aerate the glass and watch how it goes back to the higher pH. However, it will take longer to get it back to the initial pH, as it is easier to put CO2 in water than remove it.

Next step on O2.....oK and Co2

I *really don't know how to re-explain it but to say, read this slowly again

CO2 and O2 ***have nothing to do with one another ***. Your pH will tell you nothing about what the O2 level is. Your O2 level will tell you nothing about your pH level. If for the sake of argument the pH was 8.3 and I added pure O2 , it will not change the pH...period. If I added pure CO2 *to lower the pH it will not change the O2 *level....period

Ok, a test again Another glass of tap water, more pH indicator, add a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide or put some ozone it it. The pH will not change. Hydrogen peroxide does this in water, which increase the O2

H2O2---> O2 + H20 (no, this is not a balanced equation, it would just confuse you. Balanced meaning the same number of O and H on the left side as there is on the right side *)

If you lower your pH the O2 does not change. If you raise the O2 the pH does not change. O2 has no effect on CO2 or vise-versa. O2 has no effect on pH. pH has no effect on O2

So, how come you guys think it is that way ? I think you see as one goes up the other goes down, so they must be related. No, they are not. It all revolves around how much CO2 and O2 is in the Atmosphere and how much is in your tank, which works off of partial pressure (this is a very complicated subject). Because of these it is easier to drive in or increase the O2 through aeration and also because of this it is easier to drive out or lower CO2 by aeration. Just because you aerate the water and the pH goes up and the O2 goes up does not mean they are related chemically. When there is a pH **** form low to high pH *or vise-versa this reaction is taking place

CO2g(air)----->CO2aq(water) + H20----->H2CO3-----> H + HCO3 ---- 2H+ + CO3

As the reaction moves or shifts from right to left the pH goes up.

OK, imagine your hand is next to the CO3 and you push everything to the left where the CO2 is, as if it is going out the door (that door is the atmosphere). That means there is no HCO3 or H2CO3 left. The only thing left is the CO3. Think of that CO3 as washing soda, which has a pH of about 11. If now you push it the other way, to the magic door on the right, there will be nothing left but CO2 and a very low pH.

There is no O2 in that reaction at all. I know this my confuse you but I'm going to say it anyway

You guys think, that because aeration changes the pH and O2 level , that O2 and pH must be related, not so, no relation at all So, now lets mess with the minds some more. Those plants, there is a relationship there but not between pH & CO2 and O2, it is just that plants use CO2 during the day and give of O2 as a byproduct and at night they use O2 and give off CO2 as a byproduct. So, during the day you have a lower CO2, thus higher pH and a higher O2. At night you have the opposite, lower pH as the plants are giving off CO2 and a lower O2 because the plants are using O2 at night.

Sorry for being so long

Note;

Lets go one more step

If you have very high room air CO2 and aerate the water the pH will go down but the O2 will still go up. So, you can see here where there is no relationship. *Why ? Because the high room air CO2 has a higher pressure than the CO2 pressure in water..........and as you know..... things go down hill, from high pressure to low pressure. Now think in terms of the opposite for either O2 or CO2 in our discussion.

I should delete all the above as I think this exaplains it the best

[Matt Rogers]

Holly makeral! *
I appreciate all the examples, that really helps Boomer. I am going to reread that one a lot. I won't say I fully understand it yet, but I am getting there.

[new2salt2]

my head hurts now..

FORGOT WHY WE NEEDED TO KNOW THAT.
Now my head hurts.... watch out she going to blow.

[new2salt2]

i just realized another problem with all this. *i have never really had to dose my tank with anything due to the elevated levels. *once i drop into normal ones ill be asking how to dose properly too..

and i told my wife the hobby was as simple as our Fresh water tank!!

BTW.. for all that typing boom did i gave him karma

Budget 2 parter CalxMax by Warner Marine...don't need anything else.