Do I have dangerous levels of Alkalinity?

BigBoyReefer · Mar 5, 2020

i just recently stopped using a different test kit and now use Salifert, meq/L of 10.9 or .30 is that okay?

anyone who uses these tests could help me

Reefer40b · Mar 5, 2020

I usually keep mine at 7 steady, how is your corals looking/general health of tank? That is high in my book but some keep it that high without issues also.

W1ngz · Mar 5, 2020

Confirm that your chart is actually in meq/L? That's crazy high if that's the actual units for the chart you have.

It's more likely dkh, and if so you're on the high side but ok.

MTBake · Mar 5, 2020

Looks like you're reading the test kit correctly to me. It's a bit on the high side but nothing I would try to correct. Been using Salifert for a long time. I prefer their test kits over others, fwiw.

Edit;
The test chart is in dkh. There is a conversion factor listed in the instructions.

Flippers4pups · Mar 5, 2020

10.9 dkh isn't bad. Now if you adjusted it from say 8 to 10.9, them that's bound to cause stress for corals, fish and inverts.

jerrod · Mar 5, 2020

From an old post when I was researching the same thing.

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Higher alk leads to faster growth of many hard corals.

If nutrients are very low, one can get burnt tips from higher alk, which may be due to the growth outstripping available nutrients to grow the organic tissue fast enough to match the skeletal growth.

Lower nutrients can lead to lower zooxanthellae levels and that can lead to apparent better color since the zoox are golden brown, and so it is a balance between color and growth in many reef tanks.