After a tank crash im restarting. Unsure where to hold my alk at for a mixed reef.

[Zeal]

As the title states. I used to have a mixed reef. Prior to my tank crash which was my own fault. (I burned my corals with my light)

Now im starting up again and on the fence on where I should keep my alk. I would like to use Tropic Marin Pro alt but that mixes around 7-7.5ishhh

I kind of want to hold my alk around 8.5-9 since I generally have Nitrates around 15 and Phos around 0.03-0.05

Since all I have in there right now is Zoas this is the perfect time to dial in a number and hold it.

Im currently using b-ionic and have no intention of using anything else.

 

[Reef.]

Tropic Marin classic sounds right for you then or Red Sea blue bucket.

you could easily use the pro at 7 and increase it slightly when you dose or add alk to it when mixing to get it to 8.5, very easy to do.

 

[lapin]

You could use a different salt mix.
You could mix 2 salts to achieve the number.
Or use a high alk salt mix and add acid to reduce the alk

 

[HB AL]

I have a densely populated mixed reef and keep my alk around 7 to 7.5. It seems to work for all the corals.

 

[Reef.]

I have a densely populated mixed reef and keep my alk around 7 to 7.5. It seems to work for all the corals.

Do you aim for either 7 or 7.5 or are you happy if it’s just between those two numbers?

 

[X-37B]

My range is 7-7.5. As long as its in that range its fine. Well it seems to be fine for the ocean, lol.

 

[Schweezy]

My last 5 gallon of TM Pro measured at 7.7 dKH with a Hanna. I keep it 8.5-7.5 by dosing TM All For One.

 

[Zeal]

Tropic Marin classic sounds right for you then or Red Sea blue bucket.

you could easily use the pro at 7 and increase it slightly when you dose or add alk to it when mixing to get it to 8.5, very easy to do.

I have a densely populated mixed reef and keep my alk around 7 to 7.5. It seems to work for all the corals.

My range is 7-7.5. As long as its in that range its fine. Well it seems to be fine for the ocean, lol.

Ive been reading some threads on here before posting and everyone says something different.

Higher alk means faster growth

Some say all about stability

Some same stability + high alk

Some same just match natural sea water....

So much conflicting information..

 

[Juniorh2r]

I run mines at 9.0 mixed reef tank too currently dosing reef pro A and B.

 

[X-37B]

Like I said it works in the ocean for all corals.
Check my, or others, build threads as I get plenty of growth at close to NSW ranges.
And yes you can run higher but their is really no need to. But again thats just the oceans and my opinion, lol.

 

[josephxsxn]

Targeting 7.5 DKH here.. I am ok if it floats slowly between 7 and 8.

 

[X-37B]

I run mines at 9.0 mixed reef tank too currently dosing reef pro A and B.

Very nice. Whatever you decide to run your alk at just keep it within your established range is my best advice.

 

[Zeal]

Like I said it works in the ocean for all corals.
Check my, or others, build threads as I get plenty of growth at close to NSW ranges.
And yes you can run higher but their is really no need to. But again thats just the oceans and my opinion, lol.

I mean nature is usually the best. But then theres Red Sea pro salt that states 12DKh is best for rapid growth

 

[X-37B]

Ive been reading some threads on here before posting and everyone says something different.

Higher alk means faster growth

Some say all about stability

Some same stability + high alk

Some same just match natural sea water....

So much conflicting information..

Stability wins! Have a plan, from the start. Then keep all parameters in your specific established ranges and strive to keep them their.
Alk is only one parameter.

 

[HB AL]

Do you aim for either 7 or 7.5 or are you happy if it’s just between those two numbers?

I keep it between 6.5 and 8 so imo 7 to 7.5 works good. I manually dose so when I've tested betwe

Ive been reading some threads on here before posting and everyone says something different.

Higher alk means faster growth

Some say all about stability

Some same stability + high alk

Some same just match natural sea water....

So much conflicting information..

I've settled on being close to natural seawater and stability. When I ran a high alk from 9 to 11 the corals especially the acros grew much quicker but if something got out of whack the corals were effected negatively very quickly. At the lower alk they are much more happy. If you have all the bells and whistles and have the time to test alot and keep the water pristine on all levels then running higher alk will get you quicker coral growth.

 

[Zeal]

I keep it between 6.5 and 8 so imo 7 to 7.5 works good. I manually dose so when I've tested betwe
I've settled on being close to natural seawater and stability. When I ran a high alk from 9 to 11 the corals especially the acros grew much quicker but if something got out of whack the corals were effected negatively very quickly. At the lower alk they are much more happy. If you have all the bells and whistles and have the time to test alot and keep the water pristine on all levels then running higher alk will get you quicker coral growth.

So wouldnt 9 be a sweet spot?

 

[Reef.]

well to be fair, no one says to have alk unstable, so the choices are either high medium or low, the truth is no one knows the best lvl but the general understanding is between 7 and 11, some even higher, you will get amazing tanks at all lvls of alk, seems stability is the key not the number.

As with most things in this hobby, there is not just one answer.

 

[HB AL]

Most everyone is gonna have there own opinion especially people who have expiramented with alk a bit, running systems at high and low and experienced the different results. All you can do is try it at 9 and see what kind of results you see in your tank.

 

[Zeal]

As with most things in this hobby there is not just one answer.

I used to run 9 prior to the crash, used red sea blue bucket.

 

[Rmckoy]

Why not leave the salt at or around 7-7.5 where it mixes and dose what your system uses ?