Dosing water before adding it to the tank.

[Adam_M]

Hey all, random question I had that I couldn't find an answer to.

I've been keeping the alkalinity in my tank at around 9, but my saltwater mix for whatever reason is showing at around 6.5 dKH. Should I just alk dose the water prior to adding it to the tank?

Thanks!

 

[Auquanut]

What salt are you using? Usually salt mixes up much higher than that.

 

[Adam_M]

What salt are you using? Usually salt mixes up much higher than that.

Red Sea. The box says it should be mixing at around 7.8, but that's not what I've been getting. Bad batch?

 

[Auquanut]

What are you using to test your salinity? If you're using a refractometer, have you calibrated it? Red Sea is generally pretty consistent from what I've heard.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Evening

sounds like you are using the Red Sea aquarium. It will mix at 7.8 to 8.2 alk at 35.5 ppt. If you are mixing to 33ppt it may be the reason it is a little lower, also you can double check testing to be sure.I would not dose freshly mixed salt

It would be better to move to a reef salt. I don’t use Red Sea, but they have coral pro which mixes closer to the numbers we look for i reef keeping. it will have higher alk and calc when mixed at a lower salinity.
Main parameters at a salinity of 33.0 ppt are: KH - 11.8-12.2 °dKH, Ca - 430 - 450 mg/l, Mg 1280 - 1340 mg/l.

Hope that helped

 

[C. Eymann]

Did you Shake/roll your bucket really well?

 

[Adam_M]

Evening

sounds like you are using the Red Sea aquarium. It will mix at 7.8 to 8.2 alk at 35.5 ppt. If you are mixing to 33ppt it may be the reason it is a little lower, also you can double check testing to be sure.I would not dose freshly mixed salt

It would be better to move to a reef salt. I don’t use Red Sea, but they have coral pro which mixes closer to the numbers we look for i reef keeping. it will have higher alk and calc when mixed at a lower salinity.
Main parameters at a salinity of 33.0 ppt are: KH - 11.8-12.2 °dKH, Ca - 430 - 450 mg/l, Mg 1280 - 1340 mg/l.

Hope that helped

Thanks for the insight. I thought I was getting the reef variety from BRS but I may have ordered the wrong stuff.

Any suggestions on salt brands?

Yes, I keep a powerhead in the barrel and it was stirring for a couple days prior to adding it to the tank.

EDIT: Yes, I had the wrong Red Sea salt... no wonder I was having to dose so much!!