alk level

[gatorlover]

I was curious as to what would be the best range for alk in a fowlr for good growth of coraline. I went to my lfs and they sold me some red sea Coraline grower and a red sea kh/alk test kit. Prior to this kit I had never tested anything other than salinity and temp for water changes and such. The tank is a drilled 90 with about 80lbs of liverock and 2-2 1/2 inch sandbed. It's been running for almost two yrs now with no real problems.

I have an in sump reef octopus skimmer and a auto top off system I use for evap. All water to date has been r/o from lfs. For lights I have a reflector kit with 2-96watt pc bulbs. 1 is a 10,000k white and the other is a 460nm Actinic.
I've done alot of reading so I know there is more to it than just alk levels. Such as calcium, mag and ph.

I waited more than I should have to replace my bulbs(14 months) but, I just replaced them. It seems I have lost alot of the coraline algae I had on my live rock. I'm trying to determine what levels I should be looking at. Last I checked my alk with the red sea kit, it was at 10.2. Is that too high?

Here's a few pics of my tank currently.

 

[Allmost]

Hello,
keeping alk and ca++ stable is the key.

aim at alk of and ca++ of 410 PPM. and test, and dose as needed.


weekly water change to bring MG++ back up, and other Elements

from pics, I dont think you have po4 Issues, but high po4 can stop calcification.

also, changing bulbs seem to kill back alot of coraline, but will grow back in no time.

just keep alk and CA++ stable and you are good to go

nice tank by the wy

 

[gatorlover]

Thanks Allmost!
I'm trying!!!
So based on your recommendation, keeping them stable is the key. One of the things that through me off was the lfs suggested raising the alk to around 11.
I'm going to order a test kit so I can test my ca as well.

Only time will tell on the effect of the new bulbs I guess. I've learned you have to be patient for success in this hobby.:twitch:

Hello,
keeping alk and ca++ stable is the key.

aim at alk of and ca++ of 410 PPM. and test, and dose as needed.


weekly water change to bring MG++ back up, and other Elements

from pics, I dont think you have po4 Issues, but high po4 can stop calcification.

also, changing bulbs seem to kill back alot of coraline, but will grow back in no time.

just keep alk and CA++ stable and you are good to go

nice tank by the wy

 

[Allmost]

to be honest, value of KH doesnt matter as much as its stability does. specially in a FOWLR system with no Corals.

you should keep it in range of 7-12.

10 is good, cause you have room for mistake on both sides.

absolute best thing you can do though, is to measure the KH of a new salt water when u make it next, and aim for that value, so your water changes wont change your KH ! IO is about 10 Dkh.