My first reef tank

[BlackCl0ud]

I’m brand new to the hobby and have a 10 gallon tank setup. Currently have 2 clowns and a skunk shrimp along with 2 nassarius snails, 2 Cerith, 2 red scarlet hermits. I have 1 green start polyp,1 mushroom, and 2 zoas that I added in about 2 weeks ago. I had some test strips on hand that I wanted to test my Alk but it’s showing it’s 40ppm. I read I could use baking soda to increase it but I also saw it causes a drop in p.h and I’m at the lower limit. Should I be worried with the alk level and how could I raise it?
My chemistry is :
Salinity: 1.024
Nitrate: 5ppm
Nitrite:0
Ammonia:0
Ph:7.8

 

[FishLvR]

Test is wrong.

 

[BlackCl0ud]

Test is wrong.

Ok I will buy a better alk test to confirm. Thank you

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

hanna is the best alk tester IMHO

 

[FishLvR]

Ok I will buy a better alk test to confirm. Thank you

Strips are not bad, just they have to be stored and used in a certain way that usually doesn't happen. Hanna is hanna, but salifert or red sea, nyos, anything will give you a decent reading.

 

[Nate9292]

I use Red Sea for my alk test and I don’t like it. I have a hard time seeing the color change cause it’s so light. It works, but I plan on buying a Hanna to replace it. Watch videos on different brands and see what will be easiest for you

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m brand new to the hobby and have a 10 gallon tank setup. Currently have 2 clowns and a skunk shrimp along with 2 nassarius snails, 2 Cerith, 2 red scarlet hermits. I have 1 green start polyp,1 mushroom, and 2 zoas that I added in about 2 weeks ago. I had some test strips on hand that I wanted to test my Alk but it’s showing it’s 40ppm. I read I could use baking soda to increase it but I also saw it causes a drop in p.h and I’m at the lower limit. Should I be worried with the alk level and how could I raise it?
My chemistry is :
Salinity: 1.024
Nitrate: 5ppm
Nitrite:0
Ammonia:0
Ph:7.8

This should help get an initial handle on the how and why of chemistry issues:

Optimal Parameters for a Coral Reef Aquarium: By Randy Holmes-Farley

[note: edited on 5/29/2022 to update the nitrate and phosphate sections with higher recommended levels.] One of the main roles of an aquarist with a coral reef aquarium is to ensure that the conditions are right for their tank inhabitants. There are many different attributes of the aquarium...

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