Need help with alk

Ernie C

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 25, 2018
Messages
674
Reaction score
554
Location
Miami
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi all, I’ve been dosing kalk hourly as top off as a means to dose cal and alk as well as help boost my ph. Everything is looking great. However alk is steady at 7dkh and
can’t increase kalk as it is equal to my evaporation. I know that 7 dkh is NSW level but as my sps grow I figure I will need to supplement cal and alk, at least that’s what I’ve come to understand. I have the bionic two part and have been dosing 5ml three times a day for the last three days. I saw a slight increase in alk to 7.25 dkh today. It may have been tester error considering it’s so minimal but safe to say 7 to 7.25. I figured I’d try to raise and maintain it at 8dkh so that if I see a decrease in alk in the future as the corals grow, I could simply adjust the two part. Is this the right approach? I am concerned I will mess up my tanks current state as everything looks great and is steadily growing. I have a Red Sea reefer 350 so about a water volume of (minus rocks) 80 gallons. Any input would be appreciated and sorry for the long post.
 

Flippers4pups

Fins up since 1993
View Badges
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
18,499
Reaction score
60,637
Location
Lake Saint Louis, Mo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi all, I’ve been dosing kalk hourly as top off as a means to dose cal and alk as well as help boost my ph. Everything is looking great. However alk is steady at 7dkh and
can’t increase kalk as it is equal to my evaporation. I know that 7 dkh is NSW level but as my sps grow I figure I will need to supplement cal and alk, at least that’s what I’ve come to understand. I have the bionic two part and have been dosing 5ml three times a day for the last three days. I saw a slight increase in alk to 7.25 dkh today. It may have been tester error considering it’s so minimal but safe to say 7 to 7.25. I figured I’d try to raise and maintain it at 8dkh so that if I see a decrease in alk in the future as the corals grow, I could simply adjust the two part. Is this the right approach? I am concerned I will mess up my tanks current state as everything looks great and is steadily growing. I have a Red Sea reefer 350 so about a water volume of (minus rocks) 80 gallons. Any input would be appreciated and sorry for the long post.

You can dose alkalinity independent of calcium.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
67,349
Reaction score
63,691
Location
Arlington, Massachusetts, United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi all, I’ve been dosing kalk hourly as top off as a means to dose cal and alk as well as help boost my ph. Everything is looking great. However alk is steady at 7dkh and
can’t increase kalk as it is equal to my evaporation. I know that 7 dkh is NSW level but as my sps grow I figure I will need to supplement cal and alk, at least that’s what I’ve come to understand. I have the bionic two part and have been dosing 5ml three times a day for the last three days. I saw a slight increase in alk to 7.25 dkh today. It may have been tester error considering it’s so minimal but safe to say 7 to 7.25. I figured I’d try to raise and maintain it at 8dkh so that if I see a decrease in alk in the future as the corals grow, I could simply adjust the two part. Is this the right approach? I am concerned I will mess up my tanks current state as everything looks great and is steadily growing. I have a Red Sea reefer 350 so about a water volume of (minus rocks) 80 gallons. Any input would be appreciated and sorry for the long post.

I think the approach you are taking is fine.
 

Creating a strong bulwark: Did you consider floor support for your reef tank?

  • I put a major focus on floor support.

    Votes: 56 40.3%
  • I put minimal focus on floor support.

    Votes: 29 20.9%
  • I put no focus on floor support.

    Votes: 49 35.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 5 3.6%
Back
Top