Lowest dkh for sps.

Wildreefs

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Just started adding some acro frags to my tank which has been running about 7 months now.

added them two weeks ago, look fine. Checked my alk today and it’s 6!

Used Hannah, and salifert. Instant ocean salt, I don’t have any coraline or many corals (10 frags ) in this 180.

not sure where all the alk is going. Chaeto, phosgard?
 

R33fedOut

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I had the same issue about 2 months ago. Started dosing two part and parameters have been stable and corals look better than they ever have!
 
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sfairtx

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Hard to say then if anything “caused it.” You may have been running low the whole time. You definitely want to bring that up to at least 8. Need to check you water at least once a week now that you are adding corals. You want to get that to 8 then make sure your parameters are stable. Acro’s are a tough coral to start with and demand good and stable water. Welcome to the world of corals!
 
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Wildreefs

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Hard to say then if anything “caused it.” You may have been running low the whole time. You definitely want to bring that up to at least 8. Need to check you water at least once a week now that you are adding corals. You want to get that to 8 then make sure your parameters are stable. Acro’s are a tough coral to start with and demand good and stable water. Welcome to the world of corals!

thank you, I’ve had many tanks before , last was a 180 before I moved with about 50 acros and montis in it. Always had IO mix up 9-10, never had it at 6 before. Was always worrried about being too high, not too low.

will stable 6 kill them until I gradually raise it up?
 

sfairtx

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What James said. Shouldn’t kill them and raise it slowly. Let us know how it goes!
 
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Wildreefs

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Will do. I have two suspects, well 3. Batches of IO I have been getting are much lower than the 10 I had over the summer. Or, I just started using phosgard as well as chaeto.
Lastly, I d have a lot of fish, maybe that’s driving the alk down more than I thought
 

Ultra Aquatics

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One reason I will never use instant ocean brand with acros. Too unreliable with levels from batch to batch. Switched over to tropic Marin and will never look back
Yep I use TM Pro for years and love it. Always mixes up clean and at my desired levels.
 

Rmckoy

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One reason I will never use instant ocean brand with acros. Too unreliable with levels from batch to batch. Switched over to tropic Marin and will never look back
I’ve never had a issue with salinity ( aqua vitro )
I have used io and reef crystals ,
Even the orange box Kent reef salt .
I prefer salinity so far
 

150 Gallon Reef

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I’ve never had a issue with salinity ( aqua vitro )
I have used io and reef crystals ,
Even the orange box Kent reef salt .
I prefer salinity so far
It's not the salinity that is unreliable, it's the alk and calcium levels which vary greatly from box to box. With acros, the key is stability, which I unfortunately couldn't achieve. Tropic Marin is pharmaceutical grade which to me, notice the same levels from bucket to bucket
 

Sallstrom

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We have as low as 5,7 at times when the consumption goes up and we haven't adjusted the addetives. No signs of corals suffering what I've seen. 6-6,5 dKH is where we usually are in our reef tanks. I'm more afraid of high KH :)
 

Dorsetsteve

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A stable Alkalinity is far more important than the value, within reason.

If you can maintain appropriate PH values at 6dKH and it’s stable it’s of no concern. Personally I shoot for around 7.5dkh with anything between 7 and 8 being what I consider ideal, it does move a few tenths over the week.

You should view your Alkalinity as part of a balance that includes your calcium and magnesium. Your going to need to measure and maintain all three going forward, supplementing them is simple and can be cheap so it’s probably good to get to grips with that now whilst your consumption of these elements are low.
 
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