Light, Flow, Alkalinity

[nervousmonkey]

Alk of 8 to 8.5 is natural, even a little high for natural, so you're fine keeping it there. I wouldn't even worry about raising it. Your pH is simply a function of alkalinity and CO2. Literally, pH is determined by the alkalinity and amount of CO2, so if you can lower CO2, your pH will be higher. There are a few ways to lower CO2 levels in your tank from where they are:1. Get all the people out of the house, they breathe too much. 2. Run an airline outside for your skimmer so at least you are bringing in natural levels of CO2 instead of what's in our home. 3) install a CO2 scrubber...

 

[nervousmonkey]

yeah, it's possible. I used to read about old timers running at 14...

 

[Frop]

Alk of 8 to 8.5 is natural, even a little high for natural, so you're fine keeping it there. I wouldn't even worry about raising it. Your pH is simply a function of alkalinity and CO2. Literally, pH is determined by the alkalinity and amount of CO2, so if you can lower CO2, your pH will be higher. There are a few ways to lower CO2 levels in your tank from where they are:1. Get all the people out of the house, they breathe too much. 2. Run an airline outside for your skimmer so at least you are bringing in natural levels of CO2 instead of what's in our home. 3) install a CO2 scrubber...

hmm.. so if we're out of the house I must be at the fish store! good idea!

 

[Tori]

At 11 my sand will clump. If you have higher organics in the water then higher ALK is possible.

That's interesting, I thought it was the opposite but I'm not really sure where I got that from. I think I'm just use to seeing people running ULN systems with relatively higher ALK numbers. So with elevated nutrient levels you should run on the higher side for ALK and vice versa?

 

[potatocouch]

That's interesting, I thought it was the opposite but I'm not really sure where I got that from. I think I'm just use to seeing people running ULN systems with relatively higher ALK numbers. So with elevated nutrient levels you should run on the higher side for ALK and vice versa?

That's right. Otherwise you'll experienced burnt tips on your SPS as it will accelerate growty but not enough nutrients to support the growth.

 

[nervousmonkey]

True that if you are running high alk, you should have higher nutrients, otherwise you are walking a tightrope. Not so much the other way around. If you have high nutrients, doesn't mean you should increase alk, in fact, I'd reduce nutrient load and keep alk at 8 or so.

Running an ULNS with low nutrient levels is a fine line to walk and requires a lot of experience. I would not recommend that to anyone outright unless they had a lot of experience doing it. It is a good way to crash and kill your SPS quickly if nutrient levels drop quickly.

 

[Tori]

That's right. Otherwise you'll experienced burnt tips on your SPS as it will accelerate growty but not enough nutrients to support the growth.

Thanks! That makes sense. I'm still trying to completely grasp the Alkalinty, Nutrient and Light triangle. I'm taking flow out of the equation for now and just assuming the more the better, for SPS at least.

 

[SuperDragon]

It's a great video that answers some questions, but also opens up room for more. I have high respect for Dana Riddle and the research he has done. It was nice to see talk at the meeting.

 

[nervousmonkey]

Thanks! That makes sense. I'm still trying to completely grasp the Alkalinty, Nutrient and Light triangle. I'm taking flow out of the equation for now and just assuming the more the better, for SPS at least.

It's tough to take flow out of the equation since it keeps the corals healthy by clearing the slime coat which protects them and accumulates waste. Without good flow, the slime coat will build up and the corals won't notice alkalinity or nutrient level so much