Lowest Alk Salt Mix / How to Lower Alk

[bmcd45]

Sorry I think I was reading the comments and not the post. Do you use RODI water?

I’ve been buying distilled water. I tested it and it had no Alk.

 

[bmcd45]

at this point i would do nothing,wait for expert advice ,may take hours but they will come ,if not in 6-8 hrs just type in "bump" to bring post back out @WallyB??

Yeah I think that’s best. I’m just obsessively researching and adding things to my amazon cart waiting lol. I’m not adding or doing anything besides changing the salt I use until I learn more.

 

[fishguy242]

i'll be following along

 

[dohc97]

You are using distilled water, hydrometer to test salinity and are going to be dosing with just a few corals? How old is this setup? I would suggest going with rodi water, using a refractometer, get better test kits and see where you are at. There are several salts out there that will be lower in alk.

 

[bmcd45]

You are using distilled water, hydrometer to test salinity and are going to be dosing with just a few corals? How old is this setup? I would suggest going with rodi water, using a refractometer, get better test kits and see where you are at. There are several salts out there that will be lower in alk.

Yes using distilled water, hydrometer 1.024, I plan to eventually dose with more coral but I need to get this figured out before I do anything. The tank is fairly new, about 15 weeks now.
I did order another test kit and a different salt mix. I’m not sure what the cause is or how to prevent and get it to lower... but can’t go wrong with a new test kit and changing up the salt for now.

 

[nereefpat]

. I’m not sure what the cause is or how to prevent and get it to lower

I asked twice on your other thread about buffer. What have you added to the tank besides salt mix and distilled water?

The only way to lower alkalinity in a display is to let it come down on its own or change water with a lower alk salt. Letting it come down on its own may take a while, depending on the system's alk consumption.

You can lower alkalinity in a salt mix with muriatic (hydrochloric) acid, as mentioned above. You just have to aerate the salt mix for a day or so before using. And don't add acid directly to the display.

 

[fishguy242]

did not see other thread ,is correct dkh is only 11 ? and cal is around 500,would just let fall naturally

 

[DMG Reef]

I did test the salt and I believe I got a bad


I was waiting to get my levels down and stable before I started dosing with the trident. I have added marine stabilizer and coral accelerator with water changes but since I started adding a few corals I haven’t added anything because of the high Alk levels.

As @nereefpat asked you, the marine stabilizer which you dosed with water changes is a buffer which increases alkalinity and pH. The coral accelerator increases calcium. Water changes were all you needed on a new tank, not those other additives which were further increasing the parameters. So your test kits might very well be accurate.

 

[leepink23]

Also to add to this the regular instant ocean is claimed to mix lower to

I use regular IO and it usually mixes to 9.2-9.8. That’s why I use muriatic acid. To the OP the only ways in your display to safely lower alk is to either wait on consumption to lower it naturally, or do water changes with lower alkalinity. Definitely don’t do anything you don’t feel comfortable with. Take your time with everything you do and always research anything you put in your reef tank.

 

[mike550]

Okay. Sounds like a lot of things are going on here. So my safest go to suggestion is make a “big” water change — maybe 25%-35% and see how things are 24 hour later.

But I would test your Alk, Ca, and Mg if your RODI and then after you’ve mixed in the salt.
What salt are you using?

 

[badonkadonk]

Keeping a stable alk is probably the most important aspect of coral reefkeeping. A major reason why you don't want to do large water changes (unless you match the alk fairly closely to avoid alk swings - muriatic acid as those have suggested is a good way, or more slowly via aeration). Use an unexpired good alk test kit (or two) - Salifert and Red Sea are good, and the Hanna checker is probably the best (though a little expensive at ~$50 initially).

 

[Loggerhead]

I wouldn’t lower alk by more than .5 in a 24 hour period. Alk swings will kill corals very quickly. For Alk I use a Hanna checker. More expensive at first but it does pay for itself in lower cost of replacements. Also, replacing corals cost more than the checker does.

 

[Tom Giddens]

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[brandon429]

Your alk and calcium are fine thousands use reef crystals, make no change from how it mixes up and your reef will be fine

 

[nereefpat]

I just got a trident and Alk was too high to read...
Alk by my API test was also off the chart taking 18 drops.

Your alk and calcium are fine thousands use reef crystals, make no change from how it mixes up and your reef will be fine

No, they are not fine. OP's alk is 18 dKH

 

[charged]

I had a similar situation w/RC. LFS has a batch that was high. No issues since. 11 is not to bad. Mine tested at 14. You may want to wait on Water changes to see if existing corals will use up Alk. When you test and at the level you want then start WC w/new salt.

 

[cmoore806]

I have no experience with a hydrometer for measuring salinity but I'd like to see accurate refractometer readings showing 35ppt. Are you using an ATO? One of the simplest things to get wrong/right early on is the salinity. I stopped using specific gravity because ppt is not temperature dependent and gives me confidence that my salinity measurements are consistent.

If you are 100% confident in the salinity then you can be more confident that your Alkalinity readings are accurate.

 

[cmoore806]

I’ve been buying distilled water. I tested it and it had no Alk.

Isn't there a possibility that distilled water contains copper? not related to alkalinity.

 

[brandon429]

I don't take any one off test reading as accurate.

reasons why: rc is great, nothing w be harmed by it, id use it now not testing alk and did once for about 8 yrs, the mix variations are ok.

its not 18. there were two recent threads showing large difference readings between kits. post a full tank picture of this reef

 

[nereefpat]

its not 18.

Have you read the thread? OP tested freshly mixed Reef Crystals, and it tests for her 11. The display tank tests 18, probably due to adding some sort of buffer to the display.