best way to raise ALK?

[murphreef]

hey there everyone

i have a 180 mixed reef with various sps, lps, softies, clams and an anemone.... i set it up about 4 months ago i switched my 100 over to it at the time and all is doing great so far

anyways my alk always stays between 7-8 dkh

what is the best way to go about raising the alk?

should i get a alk buffer and add some to my top off water??

i run a MRC-CR2 calcium reactor and it keeps my CA right at 420ppm....

all my other levels check out great its just my alk thats a lil on the low side

heres my other readings

Ph 8.1-8.3
Am, Na, Ni all 0
PO4 non- detectable
Mg 1360
Ca 420
Alk 7.3 dkh
temp 80
Sg 35 or 1.025

so what should i do everyone?

 

[Ti]

u can try baking soda

 

[murphreef]

how much would i have to add and how often is this something i should add into my top off water or dose daily / weekly??

thanks sorry ive never added anything for alk before so i wanna make sure i dont mess anything up

 

[twon8]

if you raise it once the calcium reactor should keep it up

here is the calculator

http://reef.diesyst.com/

 

[murphreef]

very cool calculator ...

so once its up then the reactor should keep it in place....

i wondered if thats how it works...

thanks for the help

ill try to raise it up slowly and go from there

 

[CamBarr]

Test your effluent also how long have you been using you’re media?? It may be exhausted

 

[murphreef]

ok ill test the effluent later today when i get home

ive only been using the media for about 4 months now

its ARM media

what should the readings be when testing the effluent??

thanks

 

[fishypets]

I had a similar probelm with KH and CA. I switched to Tropic Marin Pro and all levels are up now.

 

[PUGroyale]

Leave it alone it's in balance with your calcium level...

 

[CamBarr]

Yea after 4 months you should be fine unless your SPS is shooting through the roof.
I usually check my effluent when I check my tank alk.
You could always up your DPM and BPM. Also is your reactor a single or dual chamber.

 

[RichConley]

I say leave it alone, and if not, just use kalk.

Enough Kalk to raise your Ca 20ppm will raise your alk 2.5 dKH.

 

[TacoKing]

Your params are perfect. 420 ppm CA and 8 KH is exactly where it should be. NSW.

 

[kiddboy]

hi, your parameters are perfect. you don't have to raise anything else. just keep it stable

 

[murphreef]

o ok thanks everyone for the responces yeah i checked it again this morning and its at 8 dkh exactly and my calcium is at 420

i have a dual stage reactor MRC-CR2 which seems to be working good....

i just didnt know if my alk should be higher cuz everyone says higher alk and so forth but if u guys are saying its at a good level than ill leave it alone!

thanks again for the input

i use via aqua ocean pure pro salt and when ive tested it alk comes back at 8.6dkh with a Ca of 430

 

[Serioussnaps]

Hey, there is an inverse relationship between CA and alk. One high the other lower, but as long as they stay withing the acceptable continuum, and steady at the point on the continuum then you are fine. Right now you are at the extreme ends of the scales for both your parameters. I stress stability of the parameter more so than alot of people that stress a certain paramter. Stability is more important. You could stand to get your CA down to 400 and alk up to 9 or 10, but if you dont just keep your params now at a constant level and your golden.