Alkalinity Question

[AKL1950]

My tank is going on two months operating. Fish were added one month ago. Still have the lights at a medium low level (Xr30 G5 Blue). Parameters are salinity 31.5, ph 8.1, temp 78, NO3 6.4, PO4 0.0. I tested Alkalinity the first time today (Hanna test) and it is 9.7. Is that an expected number for Alkalinity since I don’t have any corals in the system yet? Also, should I raise my salinity a bit?

Pictures are with a flash to counter the blue look.

Jetson

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Your Alk is fine - some salt brands have Alk in the 10-12 range, so I'd say/guess that it's expected depending on what salt you use. That salinity is on the low side for corals, but should still be in safe ranges. Personally, I'd raise it, as ~35 is standard ocean water salinity.

It cannot be correct that a sg of 1.027 is bad. Corals mostly thrive in 35-38 pot natural seawater in the ocean, which has sg = 1.0264 to 1.0287.

“Salinity grow in normal ocean salinity, ideally 35-38 ppt. However, some corals have been known to grow in the extreme salinities of the Red Sea, of up to 40 ppt.”

CoralGeography - coraldigest

www.coraldigest.org

 

[AKL1950]

Understand. I’m using IO Reef Crystals salt. I hear it’s pretty high in AlkAli it’s. I started out with my salinity at 1.024 on a refractometer. Now I have my Apex up and running and I can see it’s a little low. I will gradually raise it over the next two months to 35. Want to get the rest of my fish in before I introduce corals, so corals are still a few months out.

When I do that, should I expect to see changes in PH and Alk because of the change in salinity?

Jetson

 

[Natural_Reefer]

2nd that! I would raise Salinity a bit if you are planning to keep corals. But stability is the key so try to keep everything consistent.
Also feed your fish a little bit more since your phosphate is barely there (unless test errors).
BTW, I didn't add corals to my tank after 6 months of completion tank cycle. Go slow.

 

[vetteguy53081]

My tank is going on two months operating. Fish were added one month ago. Still have the lights at a medium low level (Xr30 G5 Blue). Parameters are salinity 31.5, ph 8.1, temp 78, NO3 6.4, PO4 0.0. I tested Alkalinity the first time today (Hanna test) and it is 9.7. Is that an expected number for Alkalinity since I don’t have any corals in the system yet? Also, should I raise my salinity a bit?

Pictures are with a flash to counter the blue look.

Jetson

Thats the range of my alk and is almost mid range. You want to bring salinity to 35ppt

 

[Natural_Reefer]

In my experiences with starting new tank, I wasn't worry too much about pH and Alkalinity prior to adding corals! When it was fishes only, I tested Nitrate, Salinity only and changed water every 2 weeks.

 

[AKL1950]

2nd that! I would raise Salinity a bit if you are planning to keep corals. But stability is the key so try to keep everything consistent.
Also feed your fish a little bit more since your phosphate is barely there (unless test errors).
BTW, I didn't add corals to my tank after 6 months of completion tank cycle. Go slow.

yes. A few more months QTing fish will put me at about 6 months.

Thats the range of my alk and is almost mid range. You want to bring salinity to 35ppt

just getting my auto water change set up for daily water changes. Total water in DT system is about 175 gallons. Figure if I make my reservoir 1.027 and change out 2 gallons a day, I should be close to 1.026 in two months. Does that sound about right?

Jetson

 

[waqas_01]

Only caution I can point out is make sure your salinity is actually low. I dont have experience with apex but i would trust the refract with calibration fluid.

Low salinity isnt harmful to the fish...high salinity and raised too quick stresses them out. You dont have coral yet so no consideration there.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Understand. I’m using IO Reef Crystals salt. I hear it’s pretty high in AlkAli it’s. I started out with my salinity at 1.024 on a refractometer. Now I have my Apex up and running and I can see it’s a little low. I will gradually raise it over the next two months to 35. Want to get the rest of my fish in before I introduce corals, so corals are still a few months out.

When I do that, should I expect to see changes in PH and Alk because of the change in salinity?

Jetson

You’ll probably see a change in Alk because your salt mix is high in it, so it’ll probably go up with the salinity. I wouldn’t expect a significant change in pH, but some people have reported low pH issues with IO salts in the past. Usually it’s not a problem though.

That said, I agree that you should verify your salinity is actually that low before making any changes (calibrate your tests, then test it again, and possibly have your LFS test it too).

 

[vetteguy53081]

yes. A few more months QTing fish will put me at about 6 months.



just getting my auto water change set up for daily water changes. Total water in DT system is about 175 gallons. Figure if I make my reservoir 1.027 and change out 2 gallons a day, I should be close to 1.026 in two months. Does that sound about right?

Jetson

Close. Should work

 

[AKL1950]

You’ll probably see a change in Alk because your salt mix is high in it, so it’ll probably go up with the salinity. I wouldn’t expect a significant change in pH, but some people have reported low pH issues with IO salts in the past. Usually it’s not a problem though.

That said, I agree that you should verify your salinity is actually that low before making any changes (calibrate your tests, then test it again, and possibly have your LFS test it too).

yes, the calibration should be good. When I stared the system, I was shooting for 1.024 which is what my refractometer is showing (plus or minus a little for my very old eyeballs). Apex says 31.4 ppt which coverts to 1.0237. They match up. I knew I was staying low because it was going to be fish only for a while. Now I feel it’s time to start creeping it up. I would like to start getting corals in before the end of the year, so I can slowly elevate.

Jetson

 

[AKL1950]

Update on increasing Salinity. Decided on an easier method. My DT evaporated about one gallon a day. Each morning I add one gallon of 1.027 saltwater from my reservoir before the ATO can kick in. My salinity is rising 0.1-0.2 ppt per day. After 30-35 days I will be at 35 ppt. Anyone see any problems with that. Working good so far

 

[PatW]

Update on increasing Salinity. Decided on an easier method. My DT evaporated about one gallon a day. Each morning I add one gallon of 1.027 saltwater from my reservoir before the ATO can kick in. My salinity is rising 0.1-0.2 ppt per day. After 30-35 days I will be at 35 ppt. Anyone see any problems with that. Working good so far

Yeah, just adding salt water to the tank in lieu of ATO will gradually raise the salinity. It works great and does not shock the system. To do it in reverse, just remove some salt water daily and let the ATO add RODI to keep the volume.