Alk- 15 and 6 sofites/lps daily consumption

[santeeeyyy]

I just got my new hanna reagents in so I decided to test it out.
3pm
15 gal-8.2 Alk
6 gal-9.4 Alk
Both tanks are mainly sofites like mushrooms and zoas. The 15 gallon seems happy but I cant wait to see how much is consumes each day so i know how much I can dose. my 9.4 I am a bit worried as that seems a bit high and im getting mixed reviews.

 

[rishma]

I just got my new hanna reagents in so I decided to test it out.
3pm
15 gal-8.2 Alk
6 gal-9.4 Alk
Both tanks are mainly sofites like mushrooms and zoas. The 15 gallon seems happy but I cant wait to see how much is consumes each day so i know how much I can dose. my 9.4 I am a bit worried as that seems a bit high and im getting mixed reviews.

I don’t think you’ll have any issue with those numbers. People target anywhere from 7-11 dKH, sometimes higher. In the old days I targeted 12 dKH.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree. :)

 

[santeeeyyy]

I am testing 3 hours before bc i wont be home at three but today's results are the 15 gallon consumes
15 gal- 8 at 12
6 gal -9.3 at 12

 

[machmachmach]

If you just have soft corals that difference could be testing error, especially if it’s been setup for a while without dosing. With your load you could probably satisfy your alk/calc requirements with water changes.

 

[santeeeyyy]

If you just have soft corals that difference could be testing error, especially if it’s been setup for a while without dosing. With your load you could probably satisfy your alk/calc requirements with water changes.

yea, The 6 gallon is just purely soft with a frag of orangemonti but the 15 gal has a couple of sps thats been growing for awhile

 

[santeeeyyy]

15 gallon is at 8.3 today. I think a higher alk would be good for softies no?

 

[rishma]

15 gallon is at 8.3 today. I think a higher alk would be good for softies no?

Higher than 8.3? I don’t think it matters. I like 8

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree. There’s no strong reason for soft corals to care about alk. Most soft corals do not deplete alk, although a few types with internal calcium carbonate spicules do (some leathers do this).

Perhaps some get CO2 from alk and that might be easier at higher alk, but there’s no evidence that I have seen to make that case.

 

[rishma]

Even with soft corals I always kept it around 8, mostly because I like coraline algae and I thought it helped

 

[santeeeyyy]

6 gallon is at 9.6
and 15 gal is at 8.8