Alkalinity Undetectable!

[richardhmc]

Hi all, I set up my 50 gallon tank recently after a two month cycle, and now with corals and fish for about a month.

I just did a test of my water and this was what I got

ph - 8 or 8.5 (I honestly can't tell color difference)
calc - 480 mg/l
nitrate - 0
nitrite - 0
ammonia - 0
phosphate - 0
alkalinity - 6 dkh

Nevermind I found my alkalinity -.-

Are these stats ok? Alkalinity a bit low?

 

[knutez24]

ya alk is pretty low. want that in the 8-10 range

 

[Cris007]

Test for Magnesium it goes hand and hand with alkalinity. You would want it around 1350-1450. If that is low you will have a hard time raising ur Alk.

 

[richardhmc]

I need a mag test kit now then haha I never tested it before but I guess I gotta buy it now

I'll use the baking soda method to raise my alk

 

[Josh]

What sort of corals do you have in the tank? Some can certainly decrease the alk but that level is still off.

What test kit are you using and how old is it?

Did you test it again to confirm?

 

[richardhmc]

I have a mix of everything - zoas, softies, few sps frags, and LPS

The one I use now a friend gave me... sera test kit and it says it expires in 2012

after I tried testing again it worked and gave me 6... I don't know why the first two times it didn't work

 

[Chris Jury]

Agreed, an alkalinity of 6 dKH is on the low end and I would raise it, but it's not insanely low either. That's about the low end of what coral reefs experience in nature (reefs in nature see ~6-7 dKH, depending mostly on salinity). Using baking soda to bump it is fine, and ideally I'd keep it at 7+ dKH with my preference being 9-12 dKH because it seems to work best IME.

If you aren't adding alkalinity and calcium in some way (e.g., a two part, kalkwasser, or calcium reactor) it's definitely time to start, and to start testing these parameters regularly

cj

 

[richardhmc]

Well, I'm using ESV salt, so aren't those additives already included?

 

[Chris Jury]

Well, I'm using ESV salt, so aren't those additives already included?

Yes, but they get used up. You would have to perform quite large, quite frequent water changes to keep calcium and alkalinity in an acceptable range. Calcium and alkalinity get used up far too fast in almost any reef tank for water changes to keep up with demand. Supplementing calcium and alkalinity in a reef tank is as much a requirement as feeding the fish.

cj

 

[reefman]

sera test kit? can't say I've ever heard of them before.