What's the difference?

[Marquiseo]

Hey Randy,

Let's say I just started a reef tank with a few frags. I find out that my alkalinity is at 7 dKH and I want it at 8 dKH. I am told to dose it slowing to bring it up to the desired amount.

But wouldn't it be easier, to just to remove the corals, raise the alkalinity then acclimate them back?

My thought behind this is that we add a continuous amount of corals to our system without acclimating them over weeks. The corals come from varying systems and we just add them to the system with no problem but have to slowing bring up the parameters for corals already present in our tanks, in a freshly new system of course. I understand in "aged" systems is doable due to encrusted corals, volume of corals, and so on.

 

[PapaDragon]

I'm obviously not Randy, but I think this advice is all about how much risk you are comfortable with. I have had new corals that I acclimate just not make it sometimes and may be that is because of the difference between where they came from and where I am putting them. I have a low tolerance when it comes to my established corals.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What do you mean by acclimate them? I'm not sure how you do that except slowly raise the alk in the water they are in.

The change from 7 to 8 dKH is really fairly small (not a big risk, IMO), but that aside, it seems a lot easier to split the alk dose into 2 or 3 parts and dose over a few days rather than remove all the frags to a different tank, boost the main tank, and then somehow slowly acclimate the frags to the tank (and that last part is what I'm not sure of what you mean; a 30 in acclimation is no better than raising the main tank alk over 30 min).