help me with my alkalinity

[gone_PHiSHin]

so i recently got a hanna alkalinity checker and a salifert calcium test kit.  i have quite a few LPS in my tank as well as a few SPS that i added recently (birdsnest, monti cap, setosa).  i decided it was time i got serious about alk/calcium and finally started testing.

 

first off, i have an IM10 and do weekly 2 gallon water changes on the weekend without fail.  occasionally i will do a 1 gallon WC in the middle of the week if i decide to give the corals a good feeding.  i use RSCP salt and mix it according to the directions on the bucket.  SG is 1.026.

 

upon receiving my test kits i checked my water and got a calcium reading of 440 and an alk reading of 6.0!  this was right before my WC.  i did a 2 gal change yesterday, and checked again this morning.  calc was at around the same, 440, and alk raised to 7.0.   

 

what would be your plan of attack to slowly raise the alk to where it needs to be?  and how would you proceed from there to maintain it?

 

i got ESV b-ionic from BRS with my test kits as this is a old, trusted way of maintaining alk/calc.  however upon further research it seems these are not meant to correct a large difference in alk but more to maintain daily consumption.  BRS videos say that i would need to correct my alk with sodium bicarbonate as to not cause a large pH swing.  do i need to get some bulk sodium bicarbonate to correct and then maintain with b-ionic?

[mystersyster]

7 is a good spot for it. If you can manage it with water changes do that. If not a two part of your choice would be good. 7 is where natural sea waters are. 

[gone_PHiSHin]

i was in the understanding that that was too low.  

 

why would salt mix up to 8+ then?  and in my case, RSCP mixes to around 12.  why would 8-12 dkh be target?

[Finhead1]

Gives you a buffer if it drops too fast etc. I run mine between 8.2-8.5 daily, it will fluctuate depending on th time of day you test so you should always test at roughly the same time.

 

[gone_PHiSHin]

the BRS video recommends 9 dkh and says most people there maintain that level as well.  

 

should i just pick that number and try to maintain it?  i understand stability is the most important, but what advantages/disadvantages are there to keeping at one number over another?

 

 

also if anyone has any links or readings that they recommend that just really made the whole alk/calc thing click for them, i would love to read them.  i'm love reading about this type stuff but am not completely grasping everything yet

[Finhead1]

IMO really depends what your keeping and what your nutrient levels are at. If your running a ULN you need to keep your ALK lower/seawater level or you risk burnging the tips of SPS. If you run higher nutrients you can go with a higher ALK. I never found any real difference between 9.5 and 8 other than the corals seem to like the lower better and it's easier to maintain with KALK which is all I dose for ALK and Calcium. 

 

Opps forgot about your BRS question. They sell 2 part, they sell a whole lot more if the levels need to be maintained at a higher number. Just my opinion though.

[Clown79]

Keeping your alk stable is more important than trying to reach a specific number.

 

You should test your alk,ca,and mag right after a waterchange.

 

Those numbers if within a normal range is your target numbers.

 

You then test every day for a week at the exact same time to see the coral consumption. Dose according to the daily consumption.

 

Salts say they mix to certain numbers but don't reach those levels for everyone.

 

I used rscp and my alk was 12.5. I didn't like it that high and neither did my corals.

 

I went back to using salt that offered closer to nsw levels. My alk is 8.4

 

Nsw is 7dkh

[bob115]

As was said before you should really be aiming to maintain whatever your salt mixes to. Anything else and it will pull your numbers up or down when you do a water change. The actual number you choose for alkalinity is going to depend on your goals and husbandry method. 7-8 was mentioned in relation to ULN. Higher alkalinity can contribute to higher rates of photosynthesis, but it carries other problems with it. 8 or 9 is a pretty good middle ground that doesn't really carry any penalties or boons and will usually be fine for most corals in most tanks.

 

Unless you're doing 100% water changes on something like a pico you'll want to start dosing some flavor of calcium and alkalinity supplement to maintain your levels throughout each day.

[burtbollinger]

16 hours ago, bob115 said:

As was said before you should really be aiming to maintain whatever your salt mixes to. Anything else and it will pull your numbers up or down when you do a water change. The actual number you choose for alkalinity is going to depend on your goals and husbandry method. 7-8 was mentioned in relation to ULN. Higher alkalinity can contribute to higher rates of photosynthesis, but it carries other problems with it. 8 or 9 is a pretty good middle ground that doesn't really carry any penalties or boons and will usually be fine for most corals in most tanks.

 

Unless you're doing 100% water changes on something like a pico you'll want to start dosing some flavor of calcium and alkalinity supplement to maintain your levels throughout each day.

This is why I ditched RSCP.  Not trying to aim for 11-12 dKH.  Fritz RPM mixes right at 8...has high calcium and mag at 1400...I want to keep mine @ 8.6-9...buffering @ 2x a week with Bionic 2-part, it's been super easy.

 

i used BRS 2 part for years , switched to  Bionic for this new tank, I like it a lot better, btw

[Nidilsky]

I have never been able to get dkh past 9 with 2 part (mid 400s for Ca, Mg 1k-1200). I use iorc and am happy with it's consistency, but the alk just isn't there.

 

Here's the up side it doesn't seem to matter to my livestock. Everything is healthy. As long as I stick to my schedule and parameters. I can always tell when something isn't right by my acans. All about minimizing fluctuations.

[Clown79]

The issue with trying to get your alk to a certain number means then having to dose your waterchange water because it's not mixing to the levels you increased to through the week of dosing.

 

There is no perfect alk level be it 8, 9, 10. The key is stability.