Was Advised to raise alk to 12+

[Diver86]

I know i'm going to stir a whole lot of you know what up by saying this and bringing it up... But... I was at a lfs today and we where talking and I asked him what he keeps his display tank at dkh wise and he told me 14... I didn't believe him and thought it was a joke at first... but then i tested to water and it really is that high.... here is the kicker... he has the best looking corals i have ever seen in person... his tanks look amazing and i couldn't say enough great things about his corals that he sells... the whole store looks like divers den.... My question is that have people had success with this high of a dkh and is there a reason his tanks would look so good with dkh that high?

 

[galleon]

 

[GroktheCube]

My understanding is that higher nutrient (NO3/PO4) tanks tend to fair better at higher alk than lower nutrient tanks.

 

[triggreef]

Sounds like burnt tips to me. To have any chance of success at that high alk you should also raise your Ca and Mg accordingly. I wouldn't try it.

I had my alk at about 11 dkh for a long time when I started and nothing did as good as since I brought it down to normal. But lots of other factors changed in that time frame too.

 

[Diver86]

Mines at 11 and I'd never go any higher but it was just shocking to me that he can keep it that high and have such great color and growth

 

[karsseboom]

There's no right way to run an Sps tank.

 

[elmexotics]

i also run mine high, at 12.5-13dkh, but keep my calcium at 450-460 and mag at 1450. Its all about the correct balance. Growth in my tank is through the roof.

 

[scrapz]

There's no right way to run an Sps tank.

this.

what works for some may not work for others.

have you noticed some of the best sps tanks have alot of algae on the rocks??

 

[SApicoreef]

As @karsseboom stated there is no correct way to run or keep a successful reef or sps reef for this matter.

You pick YOUR numbers and stick to them. For instance I keep my tank at 7.7-7.8 Alk constant and I take my water to the LFS every other week for phosphate, TDS for RO water, NO2, NO3, Alk, Calcium and Magnesium as i just compare the Alk,Cal and Mag tests to see if they are consistent with mine and each time i go he says raise your Alkalinity as your sps aren't going to grow and thrive. He is wrong.

Also let my TDS get to about 10 before changing the cartridges and once they got to 40 and everything was and still is fine!! There is always a trend that I find just after every TOTM is announced. Every one with a current sps tank or somebody just starting out ask 'Whats you parameters?"AND EACH MONTH THE NEW GUYS HEAR SOMETHING NEW AND WHEN SOME BODY SAYS NO THATS WORNG OR RAISE THIS OR RAISE THAT THEY DONT KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE AS THERE IS SUCCESS AT ALL PARAMETERS.

 

[ksicard]

As much as I love the southpark reference about the high alk levels I'd have to disagree. I've seen sps thrive and grow in all all ranges so Id have to agree with the above post, pick an Alk level and keep it there. I've gone back and forth between 8-8.5dkh and 9-12dkh and Learned my lesson. I've since picked an Dkh of 9.5-10 and stuck with it. This is what works for me. So pick a level that works for your tank and keep It there

 

[Chrisjbarry]

My alk is at 11 cal 460 mag 1400 and phosphates range from .2-.5 once it gets up close to .5 I dose lithium chloride to bring it down. I have started to cut back on water changes as well. With my 110 gallon im only changing 10 gallons once a month and hope to push that back to once in a blue moon. There is a few guys in my area with the nicest looking colonies of sps that only do a water change about every 6 months. The key is to dose everything as needed. This helps keep your tank more stable as water changes are kind of a fast change.

 

[Peter Eichler]

His tanks look good despite how high his dKH is, not because of it... YOu can' absolutely be successful with alaklinity that high, many of us maintained up to 18 dKH in our tanks years ago. However, there's no good reason to now and if your nutrients are on the lower side it's going to be a very bad experiment for you.

 

[galleon]

His tanks look good despite how high his dKH is, not because of it... YOu can' absolutely be successful with alaklinity that high, many of us maintained up to 18 dKH in our tanks years ago. However, there's no good reason to now and if your nutrients are on the lower side it's going to be a very bad experiment for you.

This. 14 dKh is about 120% greater than surface alkalinity values in the coral triangle of the Pacific. That's absurd.

 

[dkeller_nc]

I'm going to guess that you live in the Triangle area of NC, and there's a particular shop that has some fantastic display tanks that are kept at dkH about 14.

However, these same tanks get dosed with very large amount of nutrients in the form of a few cups of concentrated phytoplankton several times a day.

 

[rogerwilco357]

now what happens if you buy the coral at 14dkh and your tanks at 8.5 dkh? does the coral go thru a spike in dkh? causing the coral to brown out?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

now what happens if you buy the coral at 14dkh and your tanks at 8.5 dkh? does the coral go thru a spike in dkh? causing the coral to brown out?

My guess is that if the nutrient levels are not high in the new tank, then I expect the coral to strip from its base.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

I to am also a true believer that what might work in ones tank may not work in anothers. But I also heard that the higher the dKh, the better the growth, the lower the dKh, the better the color. Your opinions?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I to am also a true believer that what might work in ones tank may not work in anothers. But I also heard that the higher the dKh, the better the growth, the lower the dKh, the better the color. Your opinions?

If you examine Zeovit tanks, alkalinity is at NSW levels (or lower), but corals are fed extensively because nutrient levels are also very low (i.e. ULNS). On the other hand, I read that the coral farmers in Europe keep their corals in high alkalinity and calcium, but raise phosphates significantly to boost growth.

To sump up, I am of the opinion that studying alkalinity independent of nutrient levels may be misleading. If you keep a coral in a high nutrient and alkalinity environment and then reduce the alkalinity suddenly the coral is very likely to strip from its base.

 

[ridetheducati]

<< Sarcasm >> Why stop at 12-14 dkh. Twenty is good round number. << end sarcasm >>

The LFS probably keeps it high as it is less maintenance intensive. Home aquariums should stay in the 7 - 10 dkh range. I keep my SPS dominated at 7 dkh.