Switching ALK parameters due to salts being used

metalmulisha · 04/21/2012, 07:49 PM

Can anyone confirm wether or not they saw certain corals or coral or whole tank get affected based on slowly going to a higher or lower ALK? I say this cause pending on the salt you use they ALK can range from 8-12. I'm not talking about swings of alk and causing RTN but rather slowly coverting from a 8 to a 11 or opposite? I just went to a diffrent salt and went to a higher ALK and some SPS look crappy while others stayed the same. Thanks

rburns24 · 04/21/2012, 09:28 PM

I think it mostly has to do with rapid changes in KH.
I've seen tanks with pretty low KH with great corals and I think it's because it's stable and it went down very gradually. I'm raising mine a bit, but doing it very slowly, as stability if the key for corals.

clydog · 04/21/2012, 09:59 PM

agree stability is key...i run at 7 dkh cause i use pellets

bnumair · 04/21/2012, 10:20 PM

mix 1/2 and 1/2 of ur old salt and new to get a middle ground on alk. then slowly increase mor of ur new salt in the mix.

metalmulisha · 04/21/2012, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnumair

mix 1/2 and 1/2 of ur old salt and new to get a middle ground on alk. then slowly increase mor of ur new salt in the mix.

Didn't think of that, thanks. I was gonna just change 20 gallons at a time (200 gallon tank) and use my gravity fed top off as a way of slowly dripping the new salt water in. So I'd take out 5 gallons at a time have it top off, then take another 5 out etc.... I think if I did that once or twice a week I should be good.

Randy Holmes-Farley · 04/22/2012, 09:58 AM

The alkalinity in a salt mix has almost no bearing whatsoever on the alkalinity in an established reef tank using that mix. With a day or two the alk will be determine by the amount you dose, not the starting values. Water changes generally have only a tiny impact on alkalinity.

For example, if the tank has alk at 8 dKH and the new salt water has alk at 11 dKH, a 10% change only brings the alk to 8.3 dKH. So that boosts alk by 0.3 dKH. Most people add 1-3 dKH per day in typical reef tanks, so that 0.3 dKH boost once in a while is not that significant.

Haksar · 05/07/2012, 06:11 AM

Thanks Randy for the clarification.

Randy Holmes-Farley · 05/07/2012, 12:42 PM

Happy Reefing.

04/21/2012, 07:49 PM	#1
metalmulisha Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Benicia CA Posts: 195	Switching ALK parameters due to salts being used Can anyone confirm wether or not they saw certain corals or coral or whole tank get affected based on slowly going to a higher or lower ALK? I say this cause pending on the salt you use they ALK can range from 8-12. I'm not talking about swings of alk and causing RTN but rather slowly coverting from a 8 to a 11 or opposite? I just went to a diffrent salt and went to a higher ALK and some SPS look crappy while others stayed the same. Thanks

04/21/2012, 10:20 PM	#4
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	mix 1/2 and 1/2 of ur old salt and new to get a middle ground on alk. then slowly increase mor of ur new salt in the mix. __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

04/22/2012, 09:58 AM	#6
Randy Holmes-Farley Reef Chemist Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Arlington, Massachusetts Posts: 86,233	The alkalinity in a salt mix has almost no bearing whatsoever on the alkalinity in an established reef tank using that mix. With a day or two the alk will be determine by the amount you dose, not the starting values. Water changes generally have only a tiny impact on alkalinity. For example, if the tank has alk at 8 dKH and the new salt water has alk at 11 dKH, a 10% change only brings the alk to 8.3 dKH. So that boosts alk by 0.3 dKH. Most people add 1-3 dKH per day in typical reef tanks, so that 0.3 dKH boost once in a while is not that significant. __________________ Randy Holmes-Farley Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

05/07/2012, 06:11 AM	#7
Haksar Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Dubai Posts: 1,041	Thanks Randy for the clarification. __________________ Haksar

05/07/2012, 12:42 PM	#8
Randy Holmes-Farley Reef Chemist Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Arlington, Massachusetts Posts: 86,233	Happy Reefing. __________________ Randy Holmes-Farley Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

04/21/2012, 09:28 PM	#2
rburns24 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Toronto Posts: 176	I think it mostly has to do with rapid changes in KH. I've seen tanks with pretty low KH with great corals and I think it's because it's stable and it went down very gradually. I'm raising mine a bit, but doing it very slowly, as stability if the key for corals.

04/21/2012, 09:59 PM	#3
clydog Moved On Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 112	agree stability is key...i run at 7 dkh cause i use pellets