alk and ph question

well, I'm totally confused now. First one question, has anyone used natureef products before? I use their kalkwasser and iron and Iodine. And I thought the kalkwasser is supposed to get the alkalinity up, or balance it? (correct me, if I'm wrong).
I got the natureef magnesium and alk test kits too. and they are sooo confusing. I'm not even sure, if I did it right ...
and, can somebody please give me advise which ph kit to get? I hate mine and can't read it.

well, but what I got is this:
ph 7.8-8 (I can't even read this exact ... ) It was never this low.
alk 2.5 mequ/l or 7 dkh
mag 1410
calcium 440

I guess, calcium and mag are ok. But I do need to get my alk up. and my ph of course. Any advise on a good product?
Please help me out here, because I don't really know what's going on anymore ...

 

hmm for ph i use a product called marine buffer(pH) made by Seachem it raises and maintains pH at 8.3 and dont go over even if u overdose...just add twice a week...it like like $8 so ite cool

 

well, that sounds good, I just need to get the alk up or the ph won't be stable I think.

 

Yeah, I am getting there myself with the alk....one thing at a time. I also use the seachem Marine Buffer, I would just add that it is a salt, and as such, can be overdosed! Mag looks good. Add the first recommended dosage of buffer and you are supposed to wait 24 to 48 hours for full effect, then add another dose if you need it, and so on.

Do yourself a favor, invest in a pH meter if you can. I have never found a pH test that I felt was accurate. Or I should say, on that I could read accurately. Salifert's is not bad tho.

 

As your alk comes up, so will your pH....

 

yeah, that's what I thought. So what exaclty are you using? Is the marine buffer for alk or for ph? or, what does is say on it?

 

but I just realize that nobody answered my question with the test kits for alk and mag. Did anyone try the natureef stuff?

 

well, I hope I won't lose everything in my tank or completely misred the tests before ...
I just put some marina buffer in the tank. Half the dose I was supposed to use because I wanted it to go slow.
and the ph jumped from about 7,8 straight to 8.3 ... (maybe more, it looks higher but the stuff sais it won't go higher)
I don't like this, I hope the tank survives this

edit: and the alk is up to 3.25 mequ/l or 9.1 dkh

 

Hello!

I've never used the natureef brand, so I don't know

Marine buffer is for Alk. My pH doesn't usually jump that high that quickly....It should be OK...If you need another dose, perhaps you could mix it up but only add some in the a.m., then the afternoon, then nite to not have such a big jump so quickly...

 

well, that's pretty much what I did, or wanted to do. I used half the amount they wrote to use. After half an hour I wanted to test again and then (depending on the result) decide when to add more. I hope it will be ok like that ...
I'm kinda positive because everything seams fine now. My Xenia actually does look real good and pumps better than before, and the rest looks normal. I hope it stays like that

where did you get your ph test? and how much did you pay?