Water change and Alk question

[kharn101]

Hello SPS People!
Hope everyone is doing safe during these crazy times!
I have a question and wanted to see how you guys handle water changes and swings in your alk.
I have been using fritz for quite some time, however, I recently switched to Neomarine.
Long story short, my alk has dropped when I changed to a new salt.
When I mixed the salt i went from an Alk of 8.4 to 7.92. mixed at 1.027 SG
As I am well aware Alk swings are deadly, especially as I go towards more high-end pieces.
My question to you all, is am I being too paranoid about the small change? I expect my dose to bring my alk to at least 8.2 tomorrow.
Have you guys encountered the same issue when you do water changes?
Always appreciate the help guys! Sorry, if the question is silly...but would like to keep my parm as stable as possible.

 

[ryshark]

Hello SPS People!
Hope everyone is doing safe during these crazy times!
I have a question and wanted to see how you guys handle water changes and swings in your alk.
I have been using fritz for quite some time, however, I recently switched to Neomarine.
Long story short, my alk has dropped when I changed to a new salt.
When I mixed the salt i went from an Alk of 8.4 to 7.92. mixed at 1.027 SG
As I am well aware Alk swings are deadly, especially as I go towards more high-end pieces.
My question to you all, is am I being too paranoid about the small change? I expect my dose to bring my alk to at least 8.2 tomorrow.
Have you guys encountered the same issue when you do water changes?
Always appreciate the help guys! Sorry, if the question is silly...but would like to keep my parm as stable as possible.

I think it’s close enough for a typical 15% water change. If it makes you feel better you can always put some 2-part in your freshly mixed saltwater to bring it up to match your tank.

 

[minus9]

I think it's more of an issue in nano tanks, but 10% to 15% water changes will not alter your alk that much. I use TM pro and when I mix it the alk is usually 7.7dkh, so I use soda ash to bump it up to match my tank, which is usually in the low 8's. If my alk is running a little higher, I don't match the tanks level, but only increase the new water to half of that level to help drop it a little.
The only time I would be concerned is if the alk difference is 3 or 4dkh higher, but even then, 10% to 15% is still a small change.

 

[kharn101]

Sorry, this is on a 90-gallon tank, I do about a 15-gallon water change about 17% change weekly

 

[minus9]

You should be fine. My tank is 90g as well. When I add soda ash, I usually wait an hour before I actually perform the water change. You could probably wait 15 to 20 minutes and you'd be fine.

 

[kharn101]

Cool, thanks guys soda ash it is. I will measure the next water change, test the alk then use the BRS calculator to figure out how to bring it close to the levels i want

 

[UCF Alum]

Or skip all the above and purchase a salt mix that mirrors where you keep your alk.
That way there is virtually no swing when you do a water change.

 

[Potatohead]

If the alk in the salt is off by 0.5 compared to the tank a 20% water change will only change the tank 0.1. Not enough to worry about at all. Even if you get a salt on paper that's identical to your tank, batches vary.

 

[kharn101]

Or skip all the above and purchase a salt mix that mirrors where you keep your alk.
That way there is virtually no swing when you do a water change.

Tried to do this.....tropic Marine pro was the worst because it mixed to low 7 range. So switched to this new salt. Might go back to fritz because that matched my tank the best. Heard good things about brightwell salt. So wanted to test it out. I know salt doesn’t really make or break it, it’s about stability

 

[kharn101]

I mirror worldwide corals 8.6 alk
Anybody do the same, if so What salt are you using?

 

[homer1475]

No salt will match your display precisely, none.

What you should be doing is testing your fresh mix, and matching it to your display(either by adding alk, or adding acid to lower it). This way a WC does not throw off your parameters.

 

[UCF Alum]

Tried to do this.....tropic Marine pro was the worst because it mixed to low 7 range. So switched to this new salt. Might go back to fritz because that matched my tank the best. Heard good things about brightwell salt. So wanted to test it out. I know salt doesn’t really make or break it, it’s about stability

i use Red Sea blue bucket. I keep my acro tank at 8.5 and a water change never changes my alk more than .2

 

[C. Eymann]

Or skip all the above and purchase a salt mix that mirrors where you keep your alk.
That way there is virtually no swing when you do a water change.

While I believe advice given by others is still fairly sound, this is probably the most ideal.

Sometimes, stuff happens, tank springs a leak, tank is "crashing" and a larger change 40-50% maybe needed in an emergency sort of situation, having salt mix on hand that directly mirrors target parameters of the tank will increase your chances of pulling through a catastrophe with minimal stress on coral.

 

[RCS82]

I started using the Smart Aqua AWC unit and it has been fantastic. Changing 1 gallon a day in my 60cube. I don't worry about matching parameters perfectly, not even temperature changing that small of amount. I still randomly check a batch of new mixed water to make sure its not off the charts but never adjust much. For the price of the unit it has been great, no param swings and it functions as the ATO too. For your situation, I wouldn't worry at all over a swing of 0.1 or 0.2 though.
Just food for thought lol.

 

[Hockey Stick]

With every new bucket of salt I get, I mix it to 35 ppt and then test the alk. I then use the brs calculator and add the additional alk I need right before the actual water change to match my parameters.

 

[HB AL]

Or just dont do any water changes like I do. An alk swing from dosing, up to1dkh does nothing to any of the many acros and other corals I have, so I wouldn't worry about the little change a 15% water change is gonna change your alk.