Local fish store wants me to target 8KH but

[Pontuskor]

Hi my local fish store wants my reef tank to be at 8kh but that would mean my salinity would be at 30 would that be ok? I use red sea and the mix that I have if I use 35 gets to 10.1 but my local fish store says they all come at 8KH no wonder your hard coral died. he said I should go lower my salinity but if I lower it to 30 would that be too low? My KH is at 8 at 30 salinity.

 

[Jekyl]

Likely the issue with your hard coral doesn't have anything to do with alkalinity value. Plenty of people run at different numbers. Other factors probably at play.

 

[Pontuskor]

Likely the issue with your hard coral doesn't have anything to do with alkalinity value. Plenty of people run at different numbers. Other factors probably at play.

so whats the suggestion for me listen to the local fish store get it to an KH at 8 and let my salinity be at 30 or just leave it at 35 with my KH at 10.3

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Alkalinity and salinity are not tied together and can be selected independently. Don’t ever try to control alkalinity by adjusting salinity.

 

[Reign1]

Yes glad Randy chimed in.
You can purchase an alkalinty builder/buffer that you can add to tank as it is likely being depleted by the hard coral and coraline algae. Again you should never try to regulate this via the salt solution.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

My suggestion would be to drip acclimate sensitive corals over about 30 minutes if your parameters are significantly different then the water the coral is coming from.

If you really want your salt to mix up at a lower alkalinity I would look for a salt that mixes around 8dkh and slowly switch to that. Like Randy said don't mess with the salinity. That will affect all parameters not just the alkalinity and you may become deficient in those.

 

[exnisstech]

^This ^ pick a salt closer to 8

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

The added benefit of switching to a salt closer to 8 dkh is a lot of people aim for around 8 to 9. it's more likely that your parameters will be similar to the water the coral was grown in and reduced the chance of shock switching to a new system.

 

[Doctorgori]

You can purchase an alkalinty builder/buffer that you can add to tank as it is likely being depleted by the hard coral and coraline algae

I think you are suggesting a Alkalinty supplement as “Buffers” were so “90s” lol

Anyway, assuming Calcium and Mag stay within tolerances, you could just let that alkalinty naturally deplete to whatever level you want then just dose maintenance it from there

 

[Pontuskor]

The salt I use is red sea blue bucket. It is suppose to be at 8 KH . Is there a way to lower my Alkalinity then? Like a bottle that lowers my Alkalinity to 8?

 

[rtparty]

Well, let’s actually get to the bottom of this and solve the problem.

What Red Sea salt are you using? Black or blue bucket? If blue bucket, then your refractometer is very likely wrong. It doesn’t mix at 10dkh. Or your alkalinity kit is bad/human error.

You say your salt mixes at 10.1dkh at 35ppt salinity. Again, if it’s blue bucket that is about 20% too high. Your salt mixes at 8dkh but 30ppt salinity. What if your refractometer is off by about 20%? That’s seems most logical.

If you’re using black bucket, then it should mix at 12-13dkh. This would also signal testing error.

 

[1ocean]

hmm... If you are using the blue bucket and ALK is still higher then 8 when you mix it, I would test the water you are using prior to mixing salt in. Maybe that water is higher than 8....suppliers of drinking water are allowed acceptable range is between 30ppm and 400ppm...yikes...with less then 100 being acceptable normal,,,,

 

[dr_vinnie_boombatz]

The salt I use is red sea blue bucket. It is suppose to be at 8 KH . Is there a way to lower my Alkalinity then? Like a bottle that lowers my Alkalinity to 8?

What did the bucket ICP show?

I use the same salt and tested it a few days ago using a Hanna checker, it was 7.8 dkH @ 1.026

How are you measuring salinity? I use and highly recommend TM hydrometer in a 500mL graduated plastic cylinder

 

[1ocean]

ah YES...rtparty made another good point... Maybe have your lfs test your water...perhaps your testing stuff need to be recalibrated...

 

[Pontuskor]

Well, let’s actually get to the bottom of this and solve the problem.

What Red Sea salt are you using? Black or blue bucket? If blue bucket, then your refractometer is very likely wrong. It doesn’t mix at 10dkh. Or your alkalinity kit is bad/human error.

You say your salt mixes at 10.1dkh at 35ppt salinity. Again, if it’s blue bucket that is about 20% too high. Your salt mixes at 8dkh but 30ppt salinity. What if your refractometer is off by about 20%? That’s seems most logical.

If you’re using black bucket, then it should mix at 12-13dkh. This would also signal testing error.

I didn't even use my refractometer to measure the level I did it using the bulk reef supply calculator at 35 and 30. That was my result then I checked the refractometer it was correctly at those level too. I am wondering if my salt mix does have issues cause my calcium is at 550 as well at 35ppt when it should be at 430

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Im thinking your refractometer is off. When was the last time you calibrated it?

 

[dr_vinnie_boombatz]

Have you run the MyBatch ICP on your salt bucket? It would give you a baseline on what you should expect...

MyBatch: Instant access to a lab analysis for your specific bucket

A unique service from Red Sea, providing Red Sea salts users easy access to the chemical analysis of their specific batch of salt.

g1.redseafish.com

I think you're measuring your salinity incorrectly. Can you get a hydrometer like the one Tropic Marin sells? In my opinion it is the gold standard in the lobby

High Precision Hydrometer

Ensure that your equipment is reading correctly and your aquarium is at the right salinity with Tropic Marin's High Precision Hydrometer. Many tank inhabitants are sensitive even to minor changes of the water conditions. Unfortunately as we've all experienced, salinity reading equipment as...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

myBatch on my blue bucket:

 

[Pontuskor]

Red Sea Bucket	Sal	KH	Mag	Cal	Phospate	Nitrate	Amoonia
	35	9.3	1320	550	0	0.2	0

This is basically what I get when I mix my saltmix

 

[Pontuskor]

Have you run the MyBatch ICP on your salt bucket? It would give you a baseline on what you should expect...

MyBatch: Instant access to a lab analysis for your specific bucket

A unique service from Red Sea, providing Red Sea salts users easy access to the chemical analysis of their specific batch of salt.

g1.redseafish.com

I think you're measuring your salinity incorrectly. Can you get a hydrometer like the one Tropic Marin sells? In my opinion it is the gold standard in the lobby

High Precision Hydrometer

Ensure that your equipment is reading correctly and your aquarium is at the right salinity with Tropic Marin's High Precision Hydrometer. Many tank inhabitants are sensitive even to minor changes of the water conditions. Unfortunately as we've all experienced, salinity reading equipment as...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

myBatch on my blue bucket:

I just checked there is no Batch number on my bag of salt. It is legit left empty

 

[14 foot reef]

Hi my local fish store wants my reef tank to be at 8kh but that would mean my salinity would be at 30 would that be ok? I use red sea and the mix that I have if I use 35 gets to 10.1 but my local fish store says they all come at 8KH no wonder your hard coral died. he said I should go lower my salinity but if I lower it to 30 would that be too low? My KH is at 8 at 30 salinity.

Without being to rough, this is some of the worst advise I've heard from an LFS on an alk strategy