chemistry??????

OK ive tried reading this chemistry stuff, and I just dont get it! (paid the tutor well in college) SO I have a GH of 180 and a KH of 240, Is this ok?

 

I seriously doubt your kH is 240.

 

I assume you're reffering to ppm, not dkh or meq/l.
Here's a conversion tool, not many people refer to in in ppm, FYI.
SaltyZoo's Alkalinity Reading Conversion (meq/l / dKH / ppm CaCO3) Utility

If that's accurate (did you doublecheck it?), that's on the upper end of what most people keep it at. I personally keep it around 9-10dkh but some people keep it a little higher.

Also GH is not generally used in saltwater tanks, at least AFAIK.

 

Some alkalinity conversions for quick use.
7dkh=2.50meq/l=125ppm
8dkh=2.86meq/l=133.9ppm
9dkh=3.21meq/l=160.7ppm
10dkh=3.57meq/l=178.6ppm
11dkh=3.93meq/l=196.4ppm
12dkh=4.29meq/l=214.3ppm
13dkh=4.64meq/l=232.1ppm
14dkh=5.00meq/l=250.0ppm
15dkh=5.36meq/l=267.9ppm
16dkh=5.71meq/l=285.7ppm
17dkh=6.07meq/l=303.6ppm
18dkh=6.43meq/l=321.4ppm

Reef parameters and recommended/desired levels.
Salinity/specific gravity-1.025ppm or 35ppt
temp.-78-82
PH-8.1-8.3
Ammonia/NH3-0 Should be undetectable
Nitrite/NO2-0 Should be undetectable
Nitrate/NO3-0 Acceptable at higher levels in a reef setting @20ppm and 50ppm in fish only.
Phosphate/PO4-0 should be less than .03ppm


Magnesium/Mg-1400ppm This one affects the next 2 readings/levels.
Alk/dKH/KH-7-14. See chart above for conversions.
Calcium/Ca-380-500ppm

 

LOL, I didn't realize there were any test kits that even read kH in ppm.

 

Thank you telgar, I now have a better understanding of what I am looking at. Blackraven, yes aquarium pharmaceuticals makes a test kit for kh both fresh and salt water; And my kh is 240ppm's which converts to 4.8 meq or 13.44 dkh. THANK you screw tape for that great conversion site!

 

ok, now I have another question for you.
whats your Magnesium and calcium readings at? I think your Alk is just a bit higher than most keep it at, but if your Mag reading is lower than 1400 you may simply need to raise it to automatically correct the Alk to something closer to 11dkh.

 

After doing some research (calling freind who owns lfs) I am told that it is to high as well as my ph of 8.5, but the reason I needed to check gh was the addition of ph rock (limestone) to my sump. The r.o. water I was using had a ph of 6.2, and I was having trouble stableizing the ph., The stone did that without all the mixing and fussing. Solution, remove some of ph rock, small amount every other day intill pharms are where they need to be. And yes, calcium is high as well. Not sure of mag. Have not tested that yet. Has anyone else used ph rock? I do appreciate all of the help I was given, it is important to me to understand what is happening in my tank, not just how to fix it.

 

If your RO water had a pH of 6.2, it wasn't anywhere near pure, and you likely need to replace the RO membrane and prefilters. It should be very close to 7, within .1, out of the RO unit.

 

PH rock? are you talking about dolomite rock?