Higher alk waterchange?

[DanSavesTheDay]

I am looking to change out about 10 gallons in my 90 gallon reef *88 gallons=tank+fuge* housing some expensive sps frags. If my current DKH is 8.2 and the DKH of Reef Crystals is 13 would that be too much of a change?

I did the math and doing a waterchange would add about .5 DKH for 10 gallons.

Also would it be best to do the waterchange during lights out when the corals are not consuming the alkalinity and the DKH for the day had been spent? My Alkalinity usage is currently only at .2 DKH per day

Thank you for any advice

 

[Flippers4pups]

.5 is very small. Should have no impact. Recommendation is to not raise dkh more than 1 dkh per day.

 

[DanSavesTheDay]

.5 is very small. Should have no impact. Recommendation is to not raise dkh more than 1 dkh per day.

Alright I just wanted to be sure I had a bad test reading over a week ago while waiting for my hannah reagent and lost a few things from skipping dosing for 2 days.

I am guessing that skipping dosing is much worse than raising alk even if it only dropped by .5 or so?

 

[ineption]

Why not use a salt that's the same Dkh as your dt? As it seems you are running natural sea level parameters in your tank , so you can try tmc reef pro for example or some other salt that more closely matches with your existing parameters

 

[Nano10]

Yea I suggest using a salt that mixes close to the parameters you aim for.

Granted a small water change with water that's off wont effect parameters enough to bother anything. But it's good to know you can do a large water change if needed.

 

[spidercrab]

No impact at all. Its really pH that causes issues with ALK change not the actual number itself.

 

[jda]

Use some Muratic Acid to lower the alk in the fresh mix. ...been doing this for years with IO. You can never find a salt that is prefect and moving the carbonate is just too easy.

Gallons * desired dKh drop * .123 is the number of MLs of Muratic Acid to use.

It needs to mix for an extra day or two to drive off the extra co2 that you will make and have the pH come back up.

 

[DanSavesTheDay]

Why not use a salt that's the same Dkh as your dt? As it seems you are running natural sea level parameters in your tank , so you can try tmc reef pro for example or some other salt that more closely matches with your existing parameters

Yea I suggest using a salt that mixes close to the parameters you aim for.

Granted a small water change with water that's off wont effect parameters enough to bother anything. But it's good to know you can do a large water change if needed.

Why not use a salt that's the same Dkh as your dt? As it seems you are running natural sea level parameters in your tank , so you can try tmc reef pro for example or some other salt that more closely matches with your existing parameters

Would switching salts be safe? If so I might have to look into trading my IO Reef Crystals.

 

[ineption]

Technically salt is salt I.e its a chemical composition of different elements to closely match sea water. However each salt brand is slightly different in the ratio of alk/cal/Mag that they use also some salts may have elevated Pattasium & such, although it's alway safer to mimic natural sea levels & not experiment.

 

[madweazl]

Like a couple other members have already posted, I too use muriatic acid to lower the alkalinity of Instant Ocean. Yea, you could change salts but if you're happy with what you're using, there really isnt a reason to change. I'm on my third bucket of Tropic Marin Pro that costs double what I spend on Instant Ocean and I cant see any difference. Since a bottle of muriatic acid is $20 and lasts well over a year, I'll likely stick with the Instant Ocean. I dont know how much longer it needs to mix to blow off the excess CO2 but 16 hours has been plenty for me.

 

[Nano10]

Changing salts is fine. I rather just find a salt that closley matches my params rather than bothering with adjusting levels of my mix water. Seems like a needless hassle imo.

Theres plenty of salts that mix in the 8-9dkh range. I use red sea blue bucket myself and my current batch mixes to 8.4dkh at 1.026.

 

[madweazl]

Changing salts is fine. I rather just find a salt that closley matches my params rather than bothering with adjusting levels of my mix water. Seems like a needless hassle imo.

Theres plenty of salts that mix in the 8-9dkh range. I use red sea blue bucket myself and my current batch mixes to 8.4dkh at 1.026.

Those of us that make the adjustment do it because we're comfortable with the manufacturer regarding everything else. In the end, it's a small price to pay for something we know works fantastic (and has for the better part of 50 years). This doesnt mean other salts are inferior, it's simply a level of trust.

 

[Nano10]

Theres plenty of high quality salts to choose from nowadays.

 

[Nano10]

Alright I just wanted to be sure I had a bad test reading over a week ago while waiting for my hannah reagent and lost a few things from skipping dosing for 2 days.

I am guessing that skipping dosing is much worse than raising alk even if it only dropped by .5 or so?

Regarding the drop in alk, if you lost things it's likely not from skipping a couple days of dosing. Dropping alk is actually less stressful than raising it, especially if the drop is naturally through consumption in the tank. And a 0.5 swing in alk eitherway over 24 hours or more, regardless of cause, shouldn't have any effect on healthy corals.

 

[DanSavesTheDay]

Regarding the drop in alk, if you lost things it's likely not from skipping a couple days of dosing. Dropping alk is actually less stressful than raising it, especially if the drop is naturally through consumption in the tank. And a 0.5 swing in alk eitherway over 24 hours or more, regardless of cause, shouldn't have any effect on healthy corals.

Ahh, I guess maybe they just didn't acclimate to the tank good?

 

[CRookSkee]

I've heard you can use muriatic acid to lower alkalinity, if I find the post I will send you the link.

 

[jda]

I use IO because it has been rock solid for like two decades. I have seen salts come and go, change their formulas, have bad batches, yet IO, RC and TM stand the test of time in a class by themselves. There was a time when Coralife, Kent, SeaChem and Oceanic were the Red Sea (blue/red/pro/whatever) or Fritz of today and the former are now a punchline to most folks. The best approach for me, and probably for most, is to find the most consistent salt with the best track record and then make it your own.

 

[Lou Ekus]

Like a couple other members have already posted, I too use muriatic acid to lower the alkalinity of Instant Ocean. Yea, you could change salts but if you're happy with what you're using, there really isnt a reason to change. I'm on my third bucket of Tropic Marin Pro that costs double what I spend on Instant Ocean and I cant see any difference. Since a bottle of muriatic acid is $20 and lasts well over a year, I'll likely stick with the Instant Ocean. I dont know how much longer it needs to mix to blow off the excess CO2 but 16 hours has been plenty for me.

Not double. In fact very little more, if you look at cost per gallon, not cost per bucket!

 

[madweazl]

Not double. In fact very little more, if you look at cost per gallon, not cost per bucket!

You can perpetuate that if you want but it's beyond easy to find a 200g box of IO for less than $40 (dont think I've ever paid more than $37). BRS' comparison was convient with their own pricing, not so much for real world pricing. This stuff is always on sale somewhere.

Reef Crystals for $.28/gallon for instance.
Instant Ocean on auto-ship for $.28/g but this isnt even a great price for it.

 

[jda]

I got 10 boxes of IO for 35 each shipped with no tax.