GRRRR....Alk WAY low

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I just did all of my water tests and I'm sorry I did, lol. #ed_op#IMG src="http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/smileys/Angry/6.gif"#ed_cl# My alkis WAY too low at 4.8 dkh. My nitrates are way too high at 60ppm. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Ph 8.2#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#calcium 450#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#FONT color=#ff0000#ed_cl#alk 4.8#ed_op#/FONT#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#phosphate 0#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#nitrite 0#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#ammonia 0#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#mag 1300#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#FONT color=#ff0000#ed_cl#nitrate 60#ed_op#/FONT#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#What is the best way to raise the alk and how fast can I do it?( I know, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank) ( I have baked baking soda ready - 4 tsp per gallon of top off ?)#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I have no idea why my nitrates are so high. I have a sump with chaeto in it. I just built a new sump last week so maybe I stirred up some junk when I switched everything over to the new sump. I'll do a large water change asap.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Thanks in advance.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Angie#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Reptoreef]

Baking soda will work well, but may drop your PH too much if dosed too quickly. Here's a link to a great chem calculator... http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html . I keep it in my favorites!

[Reptoreef]

BTW, I think you answered your nitrate dilema in your first post...

[dakar]

The rule I've been told to avoid stres on your critters is to raise it no more than 1dKH/day. For ours (~250-260 gallons total) I add 4 tsp of BBS to 2 gallons of RO/DI and set a drip to about 2 drops per second.. that gives me about +.8dKH per day. So I'd say drop it down to 3 tsp and see where you end up from there.