Alkalinity and your fishes' aggression levels...

[Sk8r]

Track alkalinity. Never mind ph under ordinary circumstances. Alkalinity is the big, big deal in marine tanks.

If it is off, coral polyps bail and fish get cranky. The 'mild aggression' fish takes after everybody. Slime coats suffer, and that coat is a fishy barrier against infections and parasites.

Keep your alkalinity at a good level. I use the Salifert DKH Alkalinity test kit which is precise numbers, not colors; and Kent DKH buffer. I set my own alkalinity at 8.3.

Test it at least weekly, and do not let it get low. The high 7's is ok, the 9's are ok, but the 6's are definitely not.

 

[toothybugs]

How do the 10s and 11s fall in to the lineup? I know 12+ can be a bad thing but I have been getting great coral growth and mellow fish (mostly, my ocellaris and chalk bass beat up my blue devil if we're being honest) running 9.5 to 11ish for the last year and some.

 

[Sk8r]

Probably ok. Beware of chasing alk and cal numbers too high, because you can get calcium carbonate precipitate in your hoses and pumps, (cleans out with vinegar, but is a bit of a pita)...but if its working and the corals are good, seems good.

 

[QuiGonJay]

Timely post! My ALK dropped from about 9 to 7 three months ago and I've been struggling to get it higher. It's never gone below 7, but I'm now using a buffer to try to increase ALK only - use a 2 part Reef Builder dosing for Ca and Mg and my calcium and mag are holding good at 420/1350ish. It's coming up slightly, so we'll see how it does after a few weeks of the buffer. Not sure of what caused the drop - my only theory is maybe the growth of two LPS frags that seem to have occurred around that time? Some folks on the threads said that might be sucking up the ALK (though oddly the calcium has remained consistent).

 

[serbusfish]

My salt mix comes out at 10.5 dkh so that is what I maintain the tank at. I have fantastic coral growth (almost everything is growing/spreading out) and im getting loads of coralline growing, so im happy.

 

[bat21]

I have a fowlr with low alk. PH has been a constant 8.1 though. I'm still fuzzy on the PH-Alk relationship. I don't want to fix one thing and throw something else out of whack. If I use kent dkh buffer to raise alk will it affect my PH?

 

[Sk8r]

Ph is not real useful in general in marine tanks: alkalinity is what helps maintain the chemical balance of calcium and magnesium, two of the main minerals in your salt mix---and not being a chemist I can't tell you precisely how, except that when the alk is right, these minerals can go into solution, available for critters to use.

Alk relates to ph, but if you try to fix ph without dealing with the alkalinity, it's a bit of a losing proposition. Get the alk in line and the ph will behave---unless you have an unsual situation (eg, a tank right near a furnace, etc, where co2 is heavy). You dose a DKH buffer to bring your alk to a good stable level (try 8.3) and that should take care of any ph problem.

PH is real useful in freshwater, but in marine, we have a different set of things to watch. There's a bit in the SETTING UP file set that explains the whole relationship, but basically because your fish don't use much mg or cal, you don't have to supplement that. But once the mg does deplete-out, then the alk (and ph) start falling.

Your water changes in the FOWLR should restore the mg and cal (reefs have to supplement them in addition to what the salt mix provides) ---but the alk will be something to track weekly, particularly as you start out. Every tank is a little different, so you need to establish what your tank does in that regard.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Ph is not real useful in general in marine tanks: alkalinity is what helps maintain the chemical balance of calcium and magnesium, two of the main minerals in your salt mix---and not being a chemist I can't tell you precisely how, except that when the alk is right, these minerals can go into solution, available for critters to use.

Alk relates to ph, but if you try to fix ph without dealing with the alkalinity, it's a bit of a losing proposition. Get the alk in line and the ph will behave---unless you have an unsual situation (eg, a tank right near a furnace, etc, where co2 is heavy). You dose a DKH buffer to bring your alk to a good stable level (try 8.3) and that should take care of any ph problem.

PH is real useful in freshwater, but in marine, we have a different set of things to watch. There's a bit in the SETTING UP file set that explains the whole relationship, but basically because your fish don't use much mg or cal, you don't have to supplement that. But once the mg does deplete-out, then the alk (and ph) start falling.

Your water changes in the FOWLR should restore the mg and cal (reefs have to supplement them in addition to what the salt mix provides) ---but the alk will be something to track weekly, particularly as you start out. Every tank is a little different, so you need to establish what your tank does in that regard.

Again. Sk8r. These threads are just amazing. I love them, and they are just the right amount of wisdom so that you don't skim and you listen

Honestly, i think there should be another link in the setting up sticky named "sk8r's words of wisdom"

Keep doing what you do, it makes everyone happy

 

[toothybugs]

Honestly, i think there should be another link in the setting up sticky named "sk8r's words of wisdom"

I'll vote for that too.

 

[Spinelessspade]

Ah another one of sk8r's " now you know " threads. I just love reading these

 

[bat21]

Get the alk in line and the ph will behave---unless you have an unsual situation (eg, a tank right near a furnace, etc, where co2 is heavy). You dose a DKH buffer to bring your alk to a good stable level (try 8.3) and that should take care of any ph problem.

What if my PH is not a problem and has always been steady and in line with the "normal" metrics I have seen? Should I still dose to get my Alk up?

ANS: -sk8r--I'd say as long as your ph is steady (it often isn't in marine tanks) and your fish are ok, your alk is probably doing fine for you. Maintain it on your list of 'what to check' if things go wonky at any point.

 

[Pigpen17]

Wow. That's crazy you posted this today. My fish were acting very off. Aggressive. I could not figure out why. I checked my ALK, and it was very low. Like 5. I started bringing it back up to 9 over a few days and the tank just settled right back into normal. I'm assuming they were uncomfortable, and hopefully not so much they were in pain.

I had a few busy weekends in a row and let water changes and water testing go for that time. Not doing that again.

 

[Sk8r]

Yep. A bath in acidic water will make even us a little cranky.