Instant ocean alkalinity

[00W]

I've used a lot of salts over the years.
Lots. IO is and has been the most consistent of them all.
That being said, my 5 gallon bucket of new saltwater mixed at 1.030 measures 10.
My tank runs about 7.5.
I have minimal softies and maximum aiptasia. ;)
I've never relied on a water change to moderate alk.
I use other products for that. :smiling-face:

 

[BristleWormHater]

Fresh saltwater yesterday was 8.8 dkh so better but still kinda surprised it is that low

That's not low, and a perfectly normal value. Alkalinity in the ocean is 6.5-6.7. I use this salt and my Alkalinity sits around 8.5-9. I really don't think there's anything wrong unless you are noticing signs of stress in your coral. Chasing numbers can be harmful to your tank and cost you more money.

 

[logibear]

That's not low, and a perfectly normal value. Alkalinity in the ocean is 6.5-6.7. I use this salt and my Alkalinity sits around 8.5-9. I really don't think there's anything wrong unless you are noticing signs of stress in your coral. Chasing numbers can be harmful to your tank and cost you more money.

Not saying it is low, the whole point is I don’t understand how it is advertised as mixing to 10-11 but I never get it even close to that. I’m not chasing anything, my corals are fine just not understanding this specific situation

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Not saying it is low, the whole point is I don’t understand how it is advertised as mixing to 10-11 but I never get it even close to that. I’m not chasing anything, my corals are fine just not understanding this specific situation

Most folks do get into that 11 dKH range for normal IO, but where do you see advertising of specific numbers? Maybe they have changed advertising, but I’ve not seen the manufacturer claim actual values.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Not saying it is low, the whole point is I don’t understand how it is advertised as mixing to 10-11 but I never get it even close to that. I’m not chasing anything, my corals are fine just not understanding this specific situation

Ah, got it, sorry.
What salinity do you mix it at?

 

[rhitee93]

I use IO Reef Crystals and have always been baffled why my alk in newly mixed salt water was in the 8.0 range and not sky high as people usually claim. After a couple of years I gave up trying to figure it out, but this thread reminded me about it.

One possible explanation is that I recently found out my calibration solution for my refractometer was way off. I thought I was running my tank at 35ppt, but in reality it was at 29ppt. I'll measure the alk of the next batch I mix up and see if it is higher with more salt in the mix.

I guess my point is, are you sure of your salinity? I thought I was until a couple of weeks ago.

 

[skiergd011013]

If you are heating your bucket of water, only do so just before you use it. I was heating my water overnight, and the minerals precipitated out of solution and dropped the alk

 

[logibear]

I don’t

Most folks do get into that 11 dKH range for normal IO, but where do you see advertising of specific numbers? Maybe they have changed advertising, but I’ve not seen the manufacturer claim actual values.

ya know you are right, it isn’t manufacturer but it is seemingly the consensus from multiple sources.

 

[logibear]

If you are heating your bucket of water, only do so just before you use it. I was heating my water overnight, and the minerals precipitated out of solution and dropped the alk

I don’t heat it just let it get up to room temp over about a day or day and a half.

 

[ingchr1]

It’s roughly 25 gallons and 11 1/2 cups. Comes out to right around 1.025-1.026

What are you measuring salinity with and is it accurate?

11.5 cups seams a little low. Are the instructions 1/2 cup per gallon to get 1.022?

I use close to 3 cups per five gallons, ~28oz by weight

 

[logibear]

It’s all an approximation. I cannot say exactly the volume of water, it might be somewhat less than 25 gallons. I use a refractometer and I’m confident in my salinity.

 

[skiergd011013]

It’s all an approximation. I cannot say exactly the volume of water, it might be somewhat less than 25 gallons. I use a refractometer and I’m confident in my salinity.

How do you calibrate it? Store bought solution, or diy? Store bought standards can be wildly inaccurate.

 

[logibear]

How do you calibrate it? Store bought solution, or diy? Store bought standards can be wildly inaccurate.

Pure RO/DI.

 

[Pntbll687]

Not saying it is low, the whole point is I don’t understand how it is advertised as mixing to 10-11 but I never get it even close to that. I’m not chasing anything, my corals are fine just not understanding this specific situation

IO doesn't advertise an alkalinity number for their product. Probably because each batch can be different.

I had to move away from IO because of the variability. Within one box, I had a bag mix up to 15+ and two other bags mix up at 7.0. And I mixed the whole bag each time.

I switched to fritz, and you can get a batch analysis from their website. I do this before using a new box and I have a number to check where alkalinity "should" be.