High alk

[Jl330]

Ive been negligent and not checking my parameters because everything has been happy.

Decided to check my alk because it could be high. Came in at 12.6 dkh

Should I try to lower it or keep everything consistent and let the corals catch up until it drops.

It's been in the high 11s- low 12s for over a year.

 

[BestMomEver]

If it's been that high for that long and everything is happy and growing, then leave it be. If it bothers you, lower it a bit. Personally I keep my alk between 9 and 10. There have been times it has been higher. I think the key is consistency. If you want to lower it, reduce your dosing a tiny bit. Slowly....

 

[Gareth elliott]

What is your ca, mg, and salinity at?

 

[BestMomEver]

What is your ca, mg, and salinity at?

Calcium ~ 450
mg ~ 1420
Salinity 1.026
pH 8.1 - 8.2 in the day 7.8 - 8.95 at night

 

[Gareth elliott]

If that is the case all seem to be within suitable ranges. Sometimes if not testing if one skyrockets the others end up out of sync.

If everything is healthy, id leave it be if nothing else is off.

If do want to lower, lower no more than .5dkh a week.

I like seachem acid buffer in my ato for this. Its super slow and avoids the ph effects of the product. Also only effects alkalinity, not ca and mg. And is 100x safer on the person than muriatic acid.

 

[BestMomEver]

If that is the case all seem to be within suitable ranges. Sometimes if not testing if one skyrockets the others end up out of sync.

If everything is healthy, id leave it be if nothing else is off.

If do want to lower, lower no more than .5dkh a week.

I like seachem acid buffer in my ato for this. Its super slow and avoids the ph effects of the product. Also only effects alkalinity, not ca and mg. And is 100x safer on the person than muriatic acid.

Wait... I messed up. I thought you were the OP asking me what my parameters were. Instead you were asking the OP. I need to read better!

 

[Jl330]

What is your ca, mg, and salinity at?

Calcium >500
Mg 1400
Salinity 1.025-026

 

[Gareth elliott]

Calcium is a little high as well, id test your fresh salt mix and use a dilution calculator if want to get closer to the salt mix you use.

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/EffectOfWaterChanges.php

You will need to convert dkh of both the tank and the mix water to ppm to use this.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Wait... I messed up. I thought you were the OP asking me what my parameters were. Instead you were asking the OP. I need to read better!

Np why i still posted a fix [emoji23]

 

[Jl330]

Calcium is a little high as well, id test your fresh salt mix and use a dilution calculator if want to get closer to the salt mix you use.

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/EffectOfWaterChanges.php

You will need to convert dkh of both the tank and the mix water to ppm to use this.

Haven't done a water change in over a year.

Nitrate is actually 0 which I'm working on fixing.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Could try not dosing and testing frequently for the parameters, and skip the wc. And then adjust doser to the amount your tank now uses.
For nitrate i like
NaNo3 making a stock solution off this calculator https://rotalabutterfly.com/nutrient-calculator.php
Select kno3 for chemical used. Same effect, but this is for planted tanks where raising Na is not wanted. For marine the Na contributions are irrelevant.

 

[ZoWhat]

Alk doesn't normally just jump up by itself. what are you dosing that would add Bicarbonates? you using a salt high in Alk to begin with?

obviously your corals aren't reuptaking Bicarbonates at a rate you thought

time to do weekly water change....quiting dosing.... and it will drop to 9 by Aug 1st

 

[Jl330]

Alk doesn't normally just jump up by itself. what are you dosing that would add Bicarbonates? you using a salt high in Alk to begin with?

obviously your corals aren't reuptaking Bicarbonates at a rate you thought

time to do weekly water change....quiting dosing.... and it will drop to 9 by Aug 1st

Been dosing kalk for the past year or so. That's the only thing that goes in the tank. Just built up over time. If I just leave everything as is, tube coral growth should in time bring it into a lower range as they get bigger.

 

[ZoWhat]

Been dosing kalk for the past year or so. That's the only thing that goes in the tank. Just built up over time. If I just leave everything as is, tube coral growth should in time bring it into a lower range as they get bigger.

most kalk recipes are adding 40dKH to your water column before tank dilution. I would cut your Kalk dosing down to 1/3rd. I personally would phase it out and do bimonthly waterchanges.