ritter6788
Coral Fraud Private Eye
In my opinion the most important parameter to check in reef keeping is alkalinity, (assuming your tank is cycled and your salinity is in check). It's too often over looked in this hobby but possibly THE most important parameter to keep stable.
When I was new to reef keeping and coming from a freshwater background as many of us did, pH was pressed over and over as a very important parameter to monitor but with no mention of how dosing supplements to raise or lower pH would affect alkalinity. Adding commercial buffers to increase your pH will only provide a temporary boost in pH (and probably other things we don't want in excess) while driving alkalinity to unacceptable levels. Alkalinity is also the first parameter to be used up by stony corals, clams, coralline algae, etc. Many LFS and online vendors stress adding Calcium supplements to maintain levels but still no mention of dosing for alkalinity even though it's used up more rapidly than Calcium. Even without a high load of stony building corals alkalinity can quickly fall to unsafe levels if not maintained.
It's also one of the easiest parameters to maintain by dosing baking soda. Regular baking soda dissolved in water is an inexpensive way to maintain alkalinity. This can be done manually, with a dosing pump or through other means such as an auto top off system. Just make sure not to dump it directly on sensitive livestock. Dose into the sump so it can mix is a safe way to add alkalinity to your system without harm.
You don't want swings in alkalinity either so the more stable you can keep it the better. Too fast up or down can cause serious problems for corals especially sps.
Most importantly, test for alkalinity and test often. I test twice a week on my system and if I'm making any changes I test it everyday, (it only takes less than a minute). Also test your newly mixed saltwater especially if you're buying it from an outside source such as a LFS. I've seen issues with low alkalinity in new buckets of salt mix and one bad batch could ruin your tank.
Test kits are fairly accurate and inexpensive so if you don't have one, run out to your LFS or shop online, pick one up and start testing today!
When I was new to reef keeping and coming from a freshwater background as many of us did, pH was pressed over and over as a very important parameter to monitor but with no mention of how dosing supplements to raise or lower pH would affect alkalinity. Adding commercial buffers to increase your pH will only provide a temporary boost in pH (and probably other things we don't want in excess) while driving alkalinity to unacceptable levels. Alkalinity is also the first parameter to be used up by stony corals, clams, coralline algae, etc. Many LFS and online vendors stress adding Calcium supplements to maintain levels but still no mention of dosing for alkalinity even though it's used up more rapidly than Calcium. Even without a high load of stony building corals alkalinity can quickly fall to unsafe levels if not maintained.
It's also one of the easiest parameters to maintain by dosing baking soda. Regular baking soda dissolved in water is an inexpensive way to maintain alkalinity. This can be done manually, with a dosing pump or through other means such as an auto top off system. Just make sure not to dump it directly on sensitive livestock. Dose into the sump so it can mix is a safe way to add alkalinity to your system without harm.
You don't want swings in alkalinity either so the more stable you can keep it the better. Too fast up or down can cause serious problems for corals especially sps.
Most importantly, test for alkalinity and test often. I test twice a week on my system and if I'm making any changes I test it everyday, (it only takes less than a minute). Also test your newly mixed saltwater especially if you're buying it from an outside source such as a LFS. I've seen issues with low alkalinity in new buckets of salt mix and one bad batch could ruin your tank.
Test kits are fairly accurate and inexpensive so if you don't have one, run out to your LFS or shop online, pick one up and start testing today!
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Mix 1/2 cup to 1 gal RO.
