Honestly, whats your SPS tanks ALK.

[REEF-DADDY]

between 8 and 9. I prefer closer to 8.

 

[slojmn]

I shoot for and have been staying steady at 7.7dKh-8.3dKh. Most of the time when my alk drops to low, usually the case when I have problems with alk, the tips of corals react first. If I don't notice or get to it in time some of my more fragile corals will begin to STN. Once the alk is back in line they heal up but the event is just plain stressful and growth seems to halt for a while. I am pretty good these days at testing Alk more often than anything.

 

[tatoofr]

At an Alk of 8-9 what should the calcium level be?
My alk went up to 11 and some corals turned brown.
I was trying to raise my Ph. Ph stayed the same

 

[REEF-DADDY]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9397938#post9397938 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tatoofr
At an Alk of 8-9 what should the calcium level be?
My alk went up to 11 and some corals turned brown.
I was trying to raise my Ph. Ph stayed the same

check out this handy calc:
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Raising PH by adding buffer is a ineffective way to go. You can raise it to a certain extent by using limewater or the like, but you can't make up much way without raising your alk/ca too much. Just keep you tank aerated, and make sure there is good air circulation in the room the tank is kept. My tank is in my finished basement, so I use outside air to run my skimmer. There is just not enough air getting in for keep the o2 levels up in my tank.

 

[mntl]

around 8

 

[Jar*Head]

Between 7.8-8.0 work best for me

 

[prance1520]

I try to stay 9-10. I know someone who keeps it at 12 with great results, but he's very meticulous also.

On a side note, spikes are terrible for corals, but high dKH won't be a killer for most corals. I didn't keep track of what my calcium reactor was doing for a while, and tested only to find I had a dKH well over 16 (thats as high as the test kit goes, and it wasn't changing color anytime soon). Corals didn't look great, but they were definately still doing ok.

I'm not encouraging superhigh dKh, just reiterating that its the rapid change that is bad, not the high levels.

 

[Lenny C]

8 works good for me.

 

[Lenny C]

8 works for me. I used to keep mine around 3..... yeah... that was before I knew anything.

 

[eskymick]

I've been having an easy time keeping mine at 9.

 

[tnn1567]

Wow, I am just amazed that everyone keep theirs between 8 and 10. I keep mine at 11.2 and I use my pulsing xenia to help me know when my alkalinity is low.

 

[MammothReefer]

9.6 wouldn't mind it lower.

 

[kwl1763]

8-10 tending toward 10

 

[REEF-DADDY]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9401523#post9401523 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tnn1567
Wow, I am just amazed that everyone keep theirs between 8 and 10. I keep mine at 11.2 and I use my pulsing xenia to help me know when my alkalinity is low.

NSW is 7-8, why do you keep yours so high?

 

[rutz81]

After reading this I decided to check my normally stable condtions... My alk is at 15.7!!!! I lowered my drip rate immediately. Guess that kind of explains my tip tissue recession. Should I use anything to lower it fast, or just let it come down by itself? HELP!!

 

[Bebo77]

8's

can i ask.. how much does your guys alk fluctuate?

 

[MGB]

What's everybody using to test, and how accurate are the test kits, I'm wondering how that could vary.

 

[Ralph ATL]

9.6 (salifert)

 

[REEF-DADDY]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9403555#post9403555 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bebo77
8's

can i ask.. how much does your guys alk fluctuate?

Not at all unless I do a water change with high alk IO!

 

[carib]

i am not panicing when i read 7-ish,but i was shaking when i saw 10 after changing the media. Gabriel-mine usualy reads 8.0,with 0.5 up or down{not often)