Low Alkalinity HELP!

[Spare time]

Yup. I’m telling you I got a bad batch of tropic Marin . I’m ticked right now and I have two zoa heads coming on Wednesday ***

They won't care about the alk being low.

 

[Polyp Punk]

Again yours zoas are not going to die!

Did you roll your salt around and mix it? Salt settles and if not mixed before use can mix up to the wrong parameters.

You can just go buy some 2 part and dose the parameters up.

I am not saying to not being your parameters up to a more acceptable range but just an example of a beautiful tank where the alk runs 4.8-5.6. Corals don’t just up and die from low alk. I ran mine at 5.0 for a long time and I have a mix of SPS, LPS, and softies. There is no reason to panic about the zoa.

I would check your salinity with a second source like a calibrated refractometer and if it is correct then bring your alk up slowly with 2 part. The salt is still usable but you will want to test and being the alk up In the mixing bucket before the water change to match whatever parameter you decided to dose the DT up to.

Yes, Hannah digital testers can be off so definitely check it. Low salinity would concern me more than low alk.

65 Gallon Reef Savvy Build aka *GemSavvy*

Beautiful colors!!

lareefclub.com

i calibrated my refractometer and the salinty is 1.026 on the dot.. i shook the salt bag as well.. i cracked open a new batch of the tropic marin and i mixed it in colder water as opposed to warm water and now it came out to 6.5 which even tho is better its not 7-8 like suggested on the bucket... this is very confusing... idk if its the cold water that helped it or the new bucket of salt. im so confused. I had absolutely no issues with the cheap reef crystals salt and i decide to go with one of the best salts and im having issues... makes me laugh... anyway idk what else to do.. im wasting all this money in water, reagents, and salt...not cool.... i will bring a sample of my water to test at my LFS tomorrow ...

 

[Tamberav]

i calibrated my refractometer and the salinty is 1.026 on the dot.. i shook the salt bag as well.. i cracked open a new batch of the tropic marin and i mixed it in colder water as opposed to warm water and now it came out to 6.5 which even tho is better its not 7-8 like suggested on the bucket... this is very confusing... idk if its the cold water that helped it or the new bucket of salt. im so confused. I had absolutely no issues with the cheap reef crystals salt and i decide to go with one of the best salts and im having issues... makes me laugh... anyway idk what else to do.. im wasting all this money in water, reagents, and salt...not cool.... i will bring a sample of my water to test at my LFS tomorrow ...

No need to throw the salt away. You can fix the alk with 2 part which is cheap. It’s not that uncommon for people to adjust the parameters of their salt before they use it.

I used tropic marine classic for a SPS pico but never tested alk of it because it didn’t really matter to me. I liked how fast and clear it mixed. I believe classic mixes up higher though.

Test kits do have a error range so 6.5 could technically be 6.8.

Either way… once coralline algae and corals grow they will use up alk so higher salt mix or 2 part may be warranted depending how you want to replenish alk.

 

[arking_mark]

i calibrated my refractometer and the salinty is 1.026 on the dot.. i shook the salt bag as well.. i cracked open a new batch of the tropic marin and i mixed it in colder water as opposed to warm water and now it came out to 6.5 which even tho is better its not 7-8 like suggested on the bucket... this is very confusing... idk if its the cold water that helped it or the new bucket of salt. im so confused. I had absolutely no issues with the cheap reef crystals salt and i decide to go with one of the best salts and im having issues... makes me laugh... anyway idk what else to do.. im wasting all this money in water, reagents, and salt...not cool.... i will bring a sample of my water to test at my LFS tomorrow ...

Sorry if I missed it, but did you mix 1/2 cup of TMP per gallon of water and then measure the 1.026 SG and 6.5 Alk? If so, you salinity measurements are probably good. Then you just need to validate the Alk at the fish store.

 

[Polyp Punk]

Sorry if I missed it, but did you mix 1/2 cup of TMP per gallon of water and then measure the 1.026 SG and 6.5 Alk? If so, you salinity measurements are probably good. Then you just need to validate the Alk at the fish store.

Yes. My tank is now 6.0 but the salt is still mixing way too low of an alk. I’ll verify at LFS tomorrow… for an expensive salt this is unacceptable.

 

[T-J]

Honestly, I don't see what the fuss is all about.
For a 15g tank, to raise your alk from 6 to 8, you'd have to dose a whopping 20ml of BRS alk solution.
Secondly, you don't have any stony corals in the tank, so alk really isn't an issue.
Third, most of us have to adjust alk when we do water changes. It is what it is.
You've been given a lot of GREAT advice in this thread. I'd just take that sample to you LFS to verify your test number and then call it a day. If you got a bucket of salt that is a little lower in alk, no big. It happens.

 

[superwheat]

I used tropic marin, red sea and Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. Tropic Marin gives the lowest Alk, but I dont think it bothered my coral, I switched from red sea to tropic marin b/c red sea constantly gave me 10+ alk
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