Dkh of 4.6?

[Baronen]

Hi there. I use IO regular in a 20 gallon w weekly 25% changes. Tank is mixed in reef and about 4 months old. I sent some water to bulk reef supply because I got a free test from them. I collected the water the day of and before my water change. They came back with dkh of 4.6. Everything else appeared normal. Calcium was 400 and mag was 1300. pH was 7.7 (little low).

isn’t this super , super low? Shouldn’t my corals be withering and dead. Everything is growing great from softies, to lps, and a few easy sps.
What should be my game plan here guys? I know I need to get some test kits for pH and alkalinity and probably calcium. This was my first time testing my tank. I am not bit on testing..

 

[Baronen]

any insight here guys? how would i go about raising dkh so much without affecting other parameters

 

[vetteguy53081]

any insight here guys? how would i go about raising dkh so much without affecting other parameters

with the other numbers, I suspect false readings.
What test kit are you using ?

 

[TheBear78]

I would not assume this 4 dKH value is accurate. It would be pretty hard to get that low.

But if it is, baking soda is a good way to raise it.

Have you searched the forum? You're not the first to see very low dKH.
This is from a post 2 years ago as an example. It too questions the reliability/likelihood of actually seeing that figure although you would hope that a "professional" establishment wouldn't make mistakes.

 

[Baronen]

with the other numbers, I suspect false readings.
What test kit are you using ?

It was a test run by bulkreefsupply. it was the 30 dollar one they offer but i got it for free when i bought an mp10. they ran the test three times on two different vials. the chemist who emailed the results stressed concern for the results

 

[Spare time]

It was a test run by bulkreefsupply. it was the 30 dollar one they offer but i got it for free when i bought an mp10. they ran the test three times on two different vials. the chemist who emailed the results stressed concern for the results

Do you not own a test kit for alk?

 

[vetteguy53081]

It was a test run by bulkreefsupply. it was the 30 dollar one they offer but i got it for free when i bought an mp10. they ran the test three times on two different vials. the chemist who emailed the results stressed concern for the results

I would suggest to take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does NOT use Api test kits and see what results they come up with and to compare with yours

 

[Baronen]

Have you searched the forum? You're not the first to see very low dKH.
This is from a post 2 years ago as an example. It too questions the reliability/likelihood of actually seeing that figure although you would hope that a "professional" establishment wouldn't make mistakes.

Yeah i read the thread before posting. i am just surprised because the result is so low and seems legit

 

[zdrc]

Buy a KH test kit and run the test yourself. Maybe even buy a few test kits. The majority of the test kits used in the hobby are much less accurate than people assume, and very slight changes or errors in testing can cause dramatic differences in results. For example, a small bubble in the tip of a dropper, the angle of the dropper, poorly leveled scoops, etc. can result in completely bogus test results. Ideally you want to test the water with as many different kits as possible and with multiple different testers and multiple times on the same day.

 

[Dburr1014]

any insight here guys? how would i go about raising dkh so much without affecting other parameters

Could it have lowered during the shipping process?

 

[Baronen]

I just tested it myself twice with a Red Sea foundation pro kit and it almost instantly turned yellow. So it’s definitely less than 5. Any ideas how to safely raise this without ticking off my coral?

 

[DIFish]

I am surprised any coral is doing well with it being that low! Sounds like you need to start dosing in between water changes to keep it a bit higher. I would raise it around .5DkH per day until you hit the numbers you are wanting. Might take a week or more.

 

[Baronen]

also my salt is 9.5 mixed. what the heck could be consuming all my alk? I have a very large alveopora, a torch, a small monti and a small stylo in regards to sps and LPS

 

[DIFish]

also my salt is 9.5 mixed. what the heck could be consuming all my alk? I have a very large alveopora, a torch, a small monti and a small stylo in regards to sps and LPS

Losing 0.5 dKH/day is not uncommon. Heavily stocked tanks can lose quite a bit more daily. You should focus on slowly raising it to around the same levels as your salt mix and then dose daily to keep it up. How do your corals look?

 

[Baronen]

Losing 0.5 dKH/day is not uncommon. Heavily stocked tanks can lose quite a bit more daily. You should focus on slowly raising it to around the same levels as your salt mix and then dose daily to keep it up. How do your corals look?

Okay I found some reef fusion 1 and 2 I had lying around. 1 raises ca and 2 raises alk. It says to dose them together but should I just dose 2 since my calcium is okay? My corals looks solid. Everything is extended and growing. Have quite a few lps

 

[Spare time]

I just tested it myself twice with a Red Sea foundation pro kit and it almost instantly turned yellow. So it’s definitely less than 5. Any ideas how to safely raise this without ticking off my coral?

Just dose it up with some bicarb or do water changes (which is inefficient)

 

[Baronen]

Alright so I’ve dosed since this reading and it still reads the same. what the heck is going on? I am also dosing some silicia to help with dinos (.1ppm) per day as well as phosphate and nitrate and some microbacter. Could any of these be giving me false results?