KH?

[dakotanut]

Is there a number it should be at? Just did test and don't know if its right or wrong. Thanks.

 

[Captmcfly]

Should be shooting for between 8 and 10

 

[PatW]

I believe that sea water is 7. Any reefers keep it at 8 or 9. Some salt mixes can come in rather high like 11. It will be depleted by growing hard corals and pretty fast. So people who keep hard corals measure ALK often and dose it to keep kh nearly constant.

 

[dakotanut]

Ok. Thanks. Mine is at 9 dKH atm. Calcium was around 450. Ph is good. Nitrate is good. Ammonia was .5ppm and nitrates 20 to 40 ppm.

 

[OREGONIC]

I shoot for 7.8-8.1, my salt mixes 7.9-8.0 which makes it easy to keep stable. My corals look upset if it creeps above 8.3.

 

[dakotanut]

Sorry. My calcium was 400. So water change it is. I don't have but 3 corals and they are small. I fuel them once a week.

 

[OREGONIC]

Sorry. My calcium was 400. So water change it is. I don't have but 3 corals and they are small. I fuel them once a week.

You probably are not dosing yet but one thing to keep in mind once you start is if you raise your cal your alk goes down and visa versa. Takes a little work to balance them because of this but once its close to being balanced you will want to dose the two in equal ammounts to maintain a balance.

 

[Denisk]

Personally I’m at 8. But I’ve had it at 11 before with no issues. I recommend you pick a number that you feel your tank does well. I prefer 8 as I like to be close NSW. But also because my salt mix comes close to it. It’s really best to be stable and finding something that even your salt mixes close to. Unless you have a very large system where 10 to 20 gallon water change won’t change anything.

 

[dakotanut]

Personally I’m at 8. But I’ve had it at 11 before with no issues. I recommend you pick a number that you feel your tank does well. I prefer 8 as I like to be close NSW. But also because my salt mix comes close to it. It’s really best to be stable and finding something that even your salt mixes close to. Unless you have a very large system where 10 to 20 gallon water change won’t change anything.

The tank in question is my 8 gal nano. It' taking some work. My inverts are pretty docile and there is algea on the glass again. It' not cyno this time. I was told not to do a water change every 2 weeks. It's only a gallon of water. My nitrates are high in it and ammonia isn't quite right. My 32 gal bio cube is another story.