Ph and Alk questions

[Pecco22]

I attached my levels in my tank. I have some questions about levels and adjustments needed. We have Red Sea AIO tank. I think it’s like 24 or 28 gallons. Skimmer and ATO. It has 2 clowns, 1 mandarin and a coral banded shrimp. Along with clean up crew. So this tank has a bunch of coraline algae growing on the glass along with bubble algae(needs to be removed). I get fluctuations in algae growth from red slime to some GHA. And it seems like they all cycle through, come and go. My lights are set on a program with no more than 8 hours of light….. the program mimics sunrise and sunset. I’m looking for input on how I can make it more stable. We had candy cane coral and one other in the tank and they both faded away over the course of a few months. I know my ph and alk are low according to the tests I just did. Any thoughts on how I can maintain this better and possibly be able to put some basic soft corals in and expect them to thrive.

Ps I feed the tank with pods for the mandarin and it is growing well.

PSs I noticed when I went to clean the filter sock that it showed clear signs of pods living, but what was odd to me was that the sock was completely clean compared to how it would normally come out. Do I assume that’s good because the pods are handling it?

 

[Fish Fan]

Yes, I would think the 'pods are eating the detritus in the sock, which is why it looks clean.

Your parameters look very good. Your pH is a touch lower than ideal, but honestly many, many tanks run at 7.8, and most here don't stress about pH too much, though I believe it would be beneficial if you could bring it up a touch.

If your corals faded over time, maybe they are not getting enough light? If your 8 hour photo period is including a dawn/dusk effect, maybe the total time in the middle when the lights are at their max is a bit short. That's just a guess, I don't know for sure, I don't have that light, but I'm sure someone here does.

Good luck!