Instant Ocean Alk at 11.6?

[nikonosis]

I just test my water change water that I just made with IO and it tested 11.6 for the alk and 400 for the calcium...

Isn't that too high for the alk level?

I have been getting STN on the tips of my sps's and I am wondering if this could be causing it? The level in the tank is 9.3 right now and I have been trying to lower it because it seems like my sps's are getting alk burns.

This was tested with salifert and I tested the RODI water and it was zero for both.

[hankthetank]

Assuming your kit is accurate 11.6 is a great reading.Over 13 or 14 and you might have a problem.9.3 is close to the bottom of the acceptable range.

[Peter Eichler]

Even if it was 18 dKH I wouldn't suspect that to be a problem. Also, I'd be a little skeptical that your Salifert kit is reading high (I know mine does) which in turn would mean the dKH in your tank is low.

[nikonosis]

Originally posted by Peter Eichler
Even if it was 18 dKH I wouldn't suspect that to be a problem. Also, I'd be a little skeptical that your Salifert kit is reading high (I know mine does) which in turn would mean the dKH in your tank is low.

how high does yours read and how do you know its reading high?

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

9.3 is not near the bottom.....7.3 is.
Many Salifert alk. tests have actually been reported to be reading higher than actual levels in recent times. (I had two in a row myself)

Note: the nicest sps reef I've ever seen runs @ 7
I run ~8.3

[Peter Eichler]

Originally posted by nikonosis
how high does yours read and how do you know its reading high?

I haven't gotten my hands on a "better" kit to confirm how high it is reading yet. However, I had been using my cheapie Tetra kit just like I've done for many years. Once I switched over to a Salifert kit I noticed it reads about 3dKH higher than my Tetra kit and I made the mistake of trusting the Salifert. After doing so my PH became less stable and the coraline on my glass started dying and flaking off. Since going back to the Tetra kit my coraline made a strong comeback and the PH is stable once again.

Anecdotal I know, but as far as I'm concerned the Salifert kit is useless and the seeming inaccuracy of it could be detrimental to a lot of peoples tanks. Consider if you kit is off as much as I think mine is, you're actually running your display at 6.3 dKH which is far lower than it should be and could be causing problems.

[nikonosis]

have they ever been reported to read low?

[nikonosis]

Originally posted by E-A-G-L-E-S
9.3 is not near the bottom.....7.3 is.
Many Salifert alk. tests have actually been reported to be reading higher than actual levels in recent times. (I had two in a row myself)

Note: the nicest sps reef I've ever seen runs @ 7
I run ~8.3

Did yours read 3 to high also?

[Peter Eichler]

Originally posted by nikonosis
have they ever been reported to read low?

From what I've seen the problem kits always read high. If they read too low I wouldn't be as concerned about it as I am. Keep in mind that there was a time in this hobby that people tried to maintain 18 dKH, so even if you instant ocean reading is correct there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and it won't cause harm to SPS.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

Originally posted by nikonosis
Did yours read 3 to high also?

Mine were ~1.2 high and 2.0 high respectively. but have herad many people saying I'm at 9/10/11 and something is wrong. so anywhere from 2-4 wouldn't suprise me.

[nikonosis]

I think I am going to start raising the alk up to 12 and see what happens.

[nikonosis]

bump