Alkalinity at 7.0

Wiringwizards · Nov 17, 2018

Hey everyone, not sure if this is considered a emergency I tested my water this morning
Amm-0
Pho-.25-
Calc-370-380(dosed with Cal this morning, I just added a few sps and a acan Lord)
Mag-1410.
Alk-7.0 (Low
I'm new to reefing and have been reading that 7.0 is very low for corals, I open the windows on the weekend, I have a protien skimmer in a 20gal sump with refu( home made) I'm going to my LFS to get a alk and mag buffer. I am hoping that I could be lead on the right direction so I don't hurt my corals and fish and what would be the product that you have used and been successful with. Thank you everyone for the help.
Here is my tank. Suggestions welcome.

Fritzhamer · Nov 17, 2018

I’ve been fighting to keep mine at 6, much less get to seven. 7 is my goal baseline. I got conplacement with testing and all my corals look great but growth stalled a little (colors look phenomenal). I tested and my alk was 5.6. I freaked and started slowly trying to bring my alk up (corals don’t like fast changes).

The other day I was at 6.2 so again I adjusted my alk dosing. I have to remember to test again today. ATI essentials suggests keeping your alk at 7 so that’s where I aim.

Test your alk each day and try to keep it at seven.

TMB · Nov 17, 2018

I don’t think 7.0 is low for Alk, and that level will not harm any of your corals. I also don’t think your Mag is low either, and would not add any more to raise it higher. What will harm your corals though is changing the levels too quickly. If you decide that you want to raise Alk, I would only move it by .5 DKH per day.

Denisk · Nov 17, 2018

Yeah I wouldn’t stress so much about the 7dkh. I would strive for stability. Corals adapt very well. It’s the inconsistency that will affect them.

lapin · Nov 17, 2018

Use Randy baked baking soda to raise your alk slowly. I take a 1 lb box spread it on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 1 hour. Mix that in 1/2 gallon of water. Now you have a simple dosing solution. When raising Alk I would suggest only a .2 change per week if you have sps. Your cal and mag are fine for now. Change 1 thing at a time.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

Wiringwizards · Nov 17, 2018

Thank you I have heard that also I am planning g on a dosi g system and very involved in the tank and don't mind I have a few sps and I've been reading that 7.5 - 8.3 is acceptable and 8 - 8.3 is ideal for a reef tank. I buy ocean waterfeom my LFS. I don't kind putting the effert and time to increase to optimal level because I will be getting a doser on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. These are a few of my new corals

Wiringwizards · Nov 17, 2018

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goodefx · Nov 19, 2018

Wiringwizards said:
Hey everyone, not sure if this is considered a emergency I tested my water this morning
Amm-0
Pho-.25-
Calc-370-380(dosed with Cal this morning, I just added a few sps and a acan Lord)
Mag-1410.
Alk-7.0 (Low
I'm new to reefing and have been reading that 7.0 is very low for corals, I open the windows on the weekend, I have a protien skimmer in a 20gal sump with refu( home made) I'm going to my LFS to get a alk and mag buffer. I am hoping that I could be lead on the right direction so I don't hurt my corals and fish and what would be the product that you have used and been successful with. Thank you everyone for the help.
Here is my tank. Suggestions welcome.

There is a good read on here somewhere about ALK having to be in the 10's, but over time with the improvements of lighting, skimming, fuges, supplements etc. the norm is more in the 7's nowadays. I chased 9 and ended burning my corals...so I stay at 7ish and my tank is happy!

ireland425 · Nov 24, 2018

Mine stays right at 9 but honestly I only test once a month as time goes on and tank is mature kinda runs itself and my evaporation rate is so high I don't do water changes but every 3 months but also everything is over kill on my 90 as everything in sump came off my 300 gallon setup I had a few years back also run air stone in sump and have a tricke system so water is aerated well

madweazl · Nov 24, 2018

Wiringwizards said:
Thank you I have heard that also I am planning g on a dosi g system and very involved in the tank and don't mind I have a few sps and I've been reading that 7.5 - 8.3 is acceptable and 8 - 8.3 is ideal for a reef tank. I buy ocean waterfeom my LFS. I don't kind putting the effert and time to increase to optimal level because I will be getting a doser on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. These are a few of my new corals

Are pH and alkalinity getting mixed up? 7.5-8.5 is typically the range for acceptable pH (with 8-8.3 being preferred by many). Your pH levels will be what they are due to the build up of carbon dioxide in the home and I wouldn't worry about it. Dont use a buffer, it will increase your alkalinity (what it's actually made for) and the pH increase is temporary.

Alkalinity levels of 7.0 (dKh) are perfectly acceptable and closer to natural sea water than what many recommend (7-11 being a pretty common "safe" range). Like a previous comment, I've come home from work trips to find it down at 5.5 dKh without issue and I generally have the best results right around 7.0.

vetteguy53081 · Nov 24, 2018

The last thing you want to chase is the Alk and PH Levels. I two weeks ago hit my one year high achieving 7.7. My average is 7.47 and corals/fish are always happy.
Its best to have a Steady 7.0 than an ever changing reading. Just keep other levels stable and all should be well. It is known that the brand of salt usewd can also factor your readings as well as temperature.

What is your tank temp And brand of salt that you use?

Wiringwizards · Nov 25, 2018

I buy ocean water from my LFS and my temp is between 75 and 78 depending in the heat of the day. And I don't understand the difference between alk and ph. I know that alk has to do with pH. I have had a couple freshwater tank and high pH =alk. Please correct me. Knowledge is power.

lapin · Nov 25, 2018

The basics as I see it, so I can understand it:
They both are related.
ALK is a buffer for PH.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-04/rhf/feature/index.php
PH in an aquarium is how much carbon dioxide (acid)is dissolved in your water. Too acidic and calcium will melt.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/

Rjukan · Nov 25, 2018

Imo just take a break from buying any new corals for a couple months. Your rock looks very new and needs to mature a bit, especially if you're going for some sps. Watch what have and see how it does for at least 2 months, over that time if you are testing for alk you will have an idea what your tank's consumption is.

Wiringwizards · Nov 25, 2018

That's funny you mention the sps because I am just seeing issuses with 2 I added on a different thread. I am fairly new to reefing.

gregrobjones · Sep 10, 2021

Wiringwizards said:
Hey everyone, not sure if this is considered a emergency I tested my water this morning
Amm-0
Pho-.25-
Calc-370-380(dosed with Cal this morning, I just added a few sps and a acan Lord)
Mag-1410.
Alk-7.0 (Low
I'm new to reefing and have been reading that 7.0 is very low for corals, I open the windows on the weekend, I have a protien skimmer in a 20gal sump with refu( home made) I'm going to my LFS to get a alk and mag buffer. I am hoping that I could be lead on the right direction so I don't hurt my corals and fish and what would be the product that you have used and been successful with. Thank you everyone for the help.
Here is my tank. Suggestions welcome.

To all my

Alkalinity at 7.0

vetteguy53081 said:
The last thing you want to chase is the Alk and PH Levels. I two weeks ago hit my one year high achieving 7.7. My average is 7.47 and corals/fish are always happy.
Its best to have a Steady 7.0 than an ever changing reading. Just keep other levels stable and all should be well. It is known that the brand of salt usewd can also factor your readings as well as temperature.

What is your tank temp And brand of salt that you use?

My tank is 8 months old I got my alkalinity at 7, pH is 8.1 or 8.2, calcium is off the scale at 650. Doing 50% water change to get the calcium down list a couple of corals recently.

nereefpat · Sep 10, 2021

I would ask why the Ca is so high. Was that a dosing, testing, or salt mix issue?

gregrobjones · Sep 10, 2021

nereefpat said:
I would ask why the Ca is so high. Was that a dosing, testing, or salt mix issue?

Dosing issue just pump the full jar into the tank. I rather do it the old way.

vetteguy53081 · Sep 10, 2021

A bit low it is but will have impact mainly on stony coral and SPS specimens.
First reaction is to assure you’re not getting false readings and then react accordingly. A water sample taken to a trusted LFS that does not use api test kits will accomplish this.
If indeed low, then consider salt brands such as Tropic Marin pro, reef crystals or similar which has a higher content of alk or dose manually

LuizW13 · Sep 10, 2021

It's important to know what salt brand is being used by the store. If they are using a salt brand that mixes to a lower alkalinity, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about, because stability is more important than the number itself, as long as it's in acceptable ranges. I use Tropic Marin Pro which mixes Alk to about 7.5, so, my Alk is normally around 7-7.5 dkh.

Just for conversation, lets say hypothetically speaking, the store uses a salt that mixes to 9/10, and every time you do a water change, you're dosing alk and bringing it up a bit, which isn't really an issue. But, then one day, you're battling cyano, or algae and decide to a large water change- well, you would have effectively shifted those parameters far off what your reef is used to compared to normal scheduled water changes. This would also affect you if you have to do a series of water changes if you accidentally contaminated the water for example.

I would recommend getting a RODI filter and making your own salt water. The initial cost will pay for itself pretty quickly depending on how big the tank is.