Increasing kh

[yllwftsh]

Hi all, i am using AFR for a few months now and finally it looks like it is settling itself now.
Parameters are:
KH 6.7
CAL 430
MG 1380
Po4: 0.03
NO3: 10

Question: Should i slowly increase my KH by dosing KH only? Some reefers said higher KH when it drops, it wont affect much. I am unsure about this statement.

What are your thoughts?

 

[LiLinka]

6.7 ALK is low. I like the 8-9 DKH range. I would slowly raise alkalinity level over the course of a few days making sure not to raise by more than .8 daily. Do this everyday until you reach desired level

 

[yllwftsh]

6.7 ALK is low. I like the 8-9 DKH range. I would slowly raise alkalinity level over the course of a few days making sure not to raise by more than .8 daily. Do this everyday until you reach desired level

Yes thats what I thought but the feedback I get is do not chase numbers. Although I do have the desire to increase it slowly. Will do it soon!

 

[SPR1968]

I would go for around 8-8.5 and then you have some wiggle room each way

So just add some alkalinity additive to raise it back up and then test each week and adjust as necessary

 

[yllwftsh]

I would go for around 8-8.5 and then you have some wiggle room each way

So just add some alkalinity additive to raise it back up and then test each week and adjust as necessary

Make sense, I will do some necessary adjustments and update here.

I’ll be honest, i do not have success in keeping sps. it is only recent after 50% waterchange, things look pretty smooth. Do know that I did ICP test and everything looks normal..

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The chasing numbers criticism is not, imo, sensible.

What one should say is to select appropriate targets and strive to reach them in appropriate ways. I don’t see how that ever leads to problems.

 

[yllwftsh]

Thank you so much guys for your inputs. I am currently slowly increasing my kh and hopefully everything goes smoothly.

 

[yllwftsh]

So here is my update

My kh have increased from 6.7-7.2 now but my Cal dropped from 430 to 420 and 1380 to 1350 for mg. any advice? should i stop dosing kh or increase my afr?

 

[Jeffbear]

So here is my update

My kh have increased from 6.7-7.2 now but my Cal dropped from 430 to 420 and 1380 to 1350 for mg. any advice? should i stop dosing kh or increase my afr?

I say steady as you go. Adjust AFR to keep the Alk at 7.2 and the other numbers will stabilize. If they don't, and you are consistently reading 7.2 for your Alk, then add Cal and Mag to adjust those. It's been my experience that AFR is great at keeping levels stable, but occasional adjustments to Cal and Mag are nessesary.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So here is my update

My kh have increased from 6.7-7.2 now but my Cal dropped from 430 to 420 and 1380 to 1350 for mg. any advice? should i stop dosing kh or increase my afr?

That's within the accuracy range of testing, so no worries, but there's no reason to not use more AFR and less straight buffer.