ALK Keeps Going Up!!

[opreef]

Ok so my Alk has always been high since day 1 when I got my trident but it hasn't gone down and ive tried 3 different types of salt and this last one made my alk reach 13.3 on my trident which is the highest its ever been and it keeps going up as I do daily water changes with my Dos through my Apex and I assume this is why my corals arent doing too hot as well. Im not sure what it could be unless I am over feeding? I have a protein skimmer that seems to be doing fine and my calcium has always been between 420 and 430 and my mag has always been 1450 and 1350. The salts that I have used are Reef Crystals, LiveAquaria Professional Reef Salt and Frits Reef Pro Max. Tried using a small amount of white vin and it didnt do anything.

 

[Waters]

Reef crystals mixes up with high ALK, which is why your ALK is hovering around 13. I assume you aren't dosing any ALK or 2 part? Your best option is either to stop doing aggressive daily water changes so it falls naturally or to switch salts. I use Red Sea Blue which mixes up with an ALK level closer to 8. Over feeding and your skimmer performance will not affect your ALK levels.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

What Waters said. Reef Crystals has very high alkalinity, usually above 11 dKh. If your tank doesn't consume much alkalinity and you keep doing water changes with salt that has high alkalinity, your alkalinity will remain high. Try a salt mix like Red Sea or Tropic Marin that is known to have lower alkalinity.

Also, dosing vinegar does NOT reduce alkalinity. Any observed drop in alkalinity is only temporary since the acetic acid will be metabolized by bacteria. After that, the alkalinity will return to the pre-vinegar levels. This is not directed at the OP specifically, but anyone who might be reading this. There's a relatively new and unfortunate trend of hobbyists recommending vinegar to reduce alkalinity. This is bad advice and is not correct. Only compounds like HCl or sodium bisulfate will reduce alkalinity long term in reef tanks.