baking soda dosing

**glarior** · 04-06-2012, 05:40 PM

Okay thinking of doing this... has anyone done this?

This will be on the 120g reef.

PH 8.2-8.3
mg - 1200ppm
ca - 460ppm
Kh - 65ppm or dKh 3.4

I have been reading and found that I can use baking soda. I am using a liquid kh suppliment but I am not liking it.

I found this here

Whats your opinion on using baking soda?

**Cliff** · 04-06-2012, 06:44 PM

I have never tried it, but I am wondering about your dKH test results. I am very shocked to see it that low while you are dosing for it. Are your waiting 1 to 4 hours bewteen dosing for Cal and dKH ?

Are you sure you test results for your dKH are accurate ?

Bringing your Cal down to 400ppm will also help to allow your dKH to come up.

**glarior** · 04-06-2012, 07:24 PM

On that tank I am not dosing for anything but dKh and I just started last week. I think I have the kent one... but going to try the baking soda. From what I read the results are better and doees not mess with mg, ph, ca like the kent does.

As for the results... same bottle I have used for a while. Maybe I will buy one today since I headed to the LFS today.

Might do a write up on this if it works.

**kaybee** · 04-06-2012, 09:46 PM

I've been using baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to replenish carbonates and alkalinity in my reef tank for a number of years. Of late, I've been adding baking soda to my ATO reservoir.

**glarior** · 04-09-2012, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by kaybee

I've been using baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to replenish carbonates and alkalinity in my reef tank for a number of years. Of late, I've been adding baking soda to my ATO reservoir.

One thing I was told is it will bring your kH up then down and it won't stabllize. Assuming true is that why you figured out the depletion rate and now have it added via ATO?

I found some kent super buffer dKH I am using up and see what that does. So far dosed twice in 3 days and I maybe have 5ppm more kh. However, my CA, Mg and pH are perfect!

**kaybee** · 04-10-2012, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by glarior

One thing I was told is it will bring your kH up then down and it won't stabllize. Assuming true is that why you figured out the depletion rate and now have it added via ATO?

I've never heard of baking soda bringing kH up then down or being unstable. I have tons of stony corals, including some fairly large LPS colonies so the carbonate I add (via baking soda/sodium bicarbonate) replenishes carbonate that has been depleted from the water by the calcification process of my stony corals as they build their calcium carbonate skeletons.

**glarior** · 04-11-2012, 03:26 PM

Glad to know.

What do you like to keep your mg, kh and ca at with your setup?

**kaybee** · 04-12-2012, 04:32 AM

My target ranges:

Mg: 1300-1350ppm
kH: 9-11 dKH
Ca: 400-440ppm

**glarior** · 05-02-2012, 03:36 PM

Wanted to update this thread...

The kent buffer I was using did nothing.

I dosed with baking soda and my KH is where it should be. The Ca is 460, mg 1350 and KH 170! I determed how much to dose from this website....here

This is the first time I got my Kh that high.

Baking soda is the way to go if you need to only raise Kh. I will check this for the next few weeks and see how it goes.