High Alk with no dosing

[Austintylerl]

Hi there, I have been battling high alkalinity for a few months. I ordinarily use Red Sea Reef Pro salt but have not done a water change in a long time with it. Thanks to a doser failure, my alkalinity went sky high, 12.5%.  I have not been dosing alk, yet it hovers around 12. What can I do to drop it down? I tried a water change with instant ocean but it seems my bag is stratified, it mixed up to 11 dkh.  Can I adjust the alk with increasing or decreasing the other two, CA and MG?

My CA is 405,

MG at 1500 

 

Thank you

[seabass]

2 minutes ago, Austintylerl said:

Can I adjust the alk with increasing or decreasing the other two, CA and MG?

Nope.  Instant Ocean is also a high alkalinity salt mix.  You can lower alkalinity by doing water changes with a lower alkalinity mix; however, you don't want to lower alkalinity too quickly.  Stability is very important (arguably more important than a specific level).  But maybe even more important is your tank's nutrient levels (phosphate and nitrate).  You don't want the nutrient levels to get too low.  Stability is important for nutrients as well.

[mcarroll]

21 hours ago, Austintylerl said:

I have not been dosing alk, yet it hovers around 12. What can I do to drop it down?

It's not ideal for it to be that high, but it will come down over time as much as it needs to.  👍

 

Since you didn't suggest there was any real problem going on, I would suggest not worrying about it.

 

Just make sure your nutrient levels are on the HIGH side and not on the LOW side so your corals can appreciate the alk level too.