High Alk

[Names Bruce]

I have recently switched brands of salt (can't remember the brand right now) and now am having serious issues in my 180. Water looks good but I have recently just lost a 10 inch orange cup, my birds nest is receding, and all of my acans are retracted and look like crap. I have an ATO Kalk top-off that I use and my pH is consistently 8.2-8.3 but I just checked my alk and it tested at 14 to 16 dkh. My calcium and magnesium are both OK though? I am hoping it is a bad test kit but that doesn't answer why my corals are dieing. Nitrates and phosphates are both less than 1. Any help or ideas would be much appreciated.

[Mr. Fosi]

If it is only the stonies that are having a problem, you have firm evidence that your alk actually is amiss.

 

The only way to lower alk would be to stop dosing it and let it drop or to exchange some of the water in the tank with some that is of lesser alk.

[pisces4u]

When was your last water change and how large was it?

 

Seems to me there has to be a major issue at hand to get alk up to 14dkh in a 180g tank with large SPS/LPS colonies draining it daily.

[Names Bruce]

If it is only the stonies that are having a problem, you have firm evidence that your alk actually is amiss.

 

The only way to lower alk would be to stop dosing it and let it drop or to exchange some of the water in the tank with some that is of lesser alk.

 

I didn't think I could actually have alk that high though with a good pH as well as calc and mag readings.

 

When was your last water change and how large was it?

 

Seems to me there has to be a major issue at hand to get alk up to 14dkh in a 180g tank with large SPS/LPS colonies draining it daily.

 

My last water change was about two weeks ago when I did 25 gallons.