Higher alk

TwentyfiveCents · Dec 17, 2020

Useing core 7.I want to have my alk around 9 or 10, would that not work with the triton method since alk is suppose to be around 8?
And if it's not an issue would I just be able to dose more of containers a&b to get the results?

Righteous · Dec 17, 2020

New tank, established tank? Any specific reason you want your alk there?

A lot of triton tanks run fairly low nutrient because of the skimming and very large refugium. If you do keep it on the high side with low nutrients just watch out for burnt tips on acros where the skeletal growth seems to outpace the tissue growth.

As for those dosing, just start with your alk calcium magnesium where you want them (you can dose BRS or salt mix or anything to bring those up)... then simply dose core 7 all at the same rate to keep up with alkalinity demand.

I believe some of the minor elements are in each of the different parts, so if you only dose 1&2 you may run high on something, but you could probably correct it with an ICP.

TwentyfiveCents · Dec 18, 2020

Established tank. saw a video from brs investigates on higher alk added more color+growth so I wanted to try that. If there is another way to help the colors on the corals come out more instead of adding more blue light I would try that before raising the alk higher. Not a huge fan of the all blue look
Also my nutrients a very low I had start double my feeding to help keep my p+n at detectable levels and that just barely....hanna url almost always reads 0 to 8 ppb and nitrate I can never tell with the current kits I have for that

Righteous · Dec 18, 2020

So if your phosphates are that low, I’m guessing your nitrates are low too. I had a similar situation. I dose triton NH Alpha daily and feed enough for my Hanna to read about 15-25ppb ( that’s the phosphorus one, so 0.05-0.08ppm PO4).

You can dose any nitrogen and phosphorus supplement. Brightwell NeoNitro and NeoPhos are popular ones. I like the Triton N alpha/beta and P alpha/beta because the triton NDOC test gives pretty good dosing recommendations rather than blind dosing.

Once your nutrient levels are up then you can raise alk if you want, but most people have issues with higher alk if their nutrients are that low.

FishTruck · Dec 18, 2020

Usually, higher Alk (up to 12 dKH) plus higher Nit and Phos are combined to maximize growth - but crashes and burnt tips make this a challenge for many reefers. I certainly had most of my issues when trying to run Alk over 10.

Julian@Triton · Jan 1, 2021

Ehsan explains it this way. You can work with a dKH higher than this but there are more potential side affects. Through experimental testing over the past decade, for natural growth, form and coloration this alkalinity range has been assessed to be the most successful. Please keep in mind that, as the only company with an N-DOC lab that can determine inorganic carbon (true alkalinity), we at TRITON possess a clearer viewpoint and more detailed understanding of this relationship. Home tests of alkalinity are just a measure of the buffering potential of the water being tested and as such are a proxy test (subject to greater interference) and potentially not truly indicative of the usable carbonates available to corals which is the real measure of alkalinity in the home reef aquarium.

The TRITON Method aims for natural nutrient levels and our latest upgrade "TRITON Habitats" caters to the variance between different environments that aquarists attempt to replicate in the home reef aquarium. According to these new recommendations, we aim for lower nutrient levels in an outer reef SPS system while, in a soft coral habitat, we aim for higher levels. Both are TRITON Method and both work best at an alkalinity ranging between 7 and 8 dKH.