White Winter (fishtank snowstorm)

[segraves1]

So last night I got the bright idea to retry Kalkwasher (lime water) on this new tank (had done it months ago with my old 10gal but not since then).

WELLLLLLL.....I guess I mixed too much up (too much lime) and before I knew it, the entire tank was a white cloud (I THOUGHT that it was just cloudy in the measuring cup but would clear out in the tank, just as salt or baking soda would).......

at that point, all I could do is go to bed and hope for the best (woke up several times throughout the night worried and checked)....

woke up this morning and the water was MOSTLY clear but every surface of the tank was snow white.......the corals all seem fine (as do the fish) but my anemeni is all shrunk up (still "sticky" to the touch).......

the skimmer had some white "muck" in the cup so I HOPE that the skimmer is going to be able to pull some of this out but I don't know (I'm trying to keep the stuff churned up so the skimmer has a chance to remove it)

So what did I do wrong? Is all this "white stuff" just extra calcium that could not go into salution? Any ideas on how to "defrost" the tank (it really looks like a christmas tree that has been "frosted")?

[RWalston]

What you did wrong was everything. First you mix the kalk in fresh RO/DI water let the water stand alone. The water will become saturated with the lime. What can not be saturated will settle on the bottom of the container. siphon off the water at the top trying not to disturbe the lime on the bottom of the container. This is your kalkwasser mix to drip into your tank. Drip it at a steady rate to replace the water lost to evaporation (make up water) As far as for now I would check to what your pH level is and start trying to correct that by doing some small water changes. Hope this helps I am not trying to be judgemental.

Rich

[segraves1]

What you did wrong was everything.

LOL....yeah......I got that much when I woke up this morning to the "white winter".......

it would have been really funny if it were only a 5 or 10 gal tank........


so an I right in my guess that I just dumped so much calcium into the water that it CAN NOT dissolve and I either have to syphon it out or just let time pass and let it all dissolve into the water?

I didn't HURT anything did I (thats really my biggest worry)?

[RWalston]

Kalkwasser will increase your pH dramatically from 8.2 to 14 easley. High pH will effect the inhabitants of your tank. I would check the pH levels and do water changes to correct the problem and to adjust your pH levels to that of natural sea water. follow the link provided and please read

Rich

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

[segraves1]

I watched the PH both when I added the Kalkwasser last night and this morning....the highest point was around 8.3 around midnight (about an hour and a half after adding it) and then this morning it was back down to around 7.8 (for some reason my PH is not staying up in the 8s despite my best effort)....I'm checking it with a calibrated (just yesterday) digital PH probe on my Reef Pro 2

[groyurown]

what kind of kal are using? brand wise? it may have a buffer in it to keep it at a certain ph. the worst effect, other than a spike in ph, would be to burn your corals, which would have been evidant immediately, so if the corals are ok, i would just concentrate on doing a few water changes.