alkalinity

Thanks DAVE.... CLEAR AS MUD NOW.....

U D MAN

RG

for lighting do you guys leave the ant and reg lights on all day or just the 10000? i am still trying to fig that out and the temp.
so far up to 77.
ADAM

well i got my new alk test kit in today. i ran the test and the results are as followed
alk=(1-.35)*5.71=3.7
KH in dKH=(1-.35)*16=10.4

so can anyone help me out with changing this?
thanks
ADAM

A rating of 10.4 dkh is about right in the middle of the standard range, 8 -12. Natural sea water is 8 but folks run there alk higher to dampen the pH swings in the tanks. I like mine around 9-10 but I know some folks on CR run theirs higher.

the ph= 8.0-8.3.
so what your saying is that a high alkalinity is a good thing? one of my books says that the dKH shouldn't be any higher then 10, with the good range being between 7-10.

so then it would be ok to go and get my clean up crew on thursday then? i was holding back until i got the new test kits.
thanks for the fast reply and help.
ADAM

This outta cloud up your mud...

http://www.myreef.com/smf/index.php?topic=10.0

well after reading the link that perpetual98 posted i went out and got a salifert calcium test. i am a little confused with what i am looking for in a change of color. the paper says a clear blue color. now does that mean "clear" as in like before i added the crystal substance and it was just water, or does it just mean the change from red pink to purple then to a definite blue?
thanks
ADAM

That's why I never test for anything. The tests are too confusing. :)

Actually I just tested my Calcium a couple days ago on my frag tank. It's so subjective. You can look at the "color" of the water, and your reading would be 400, then one more drop and the color doesn't change much but your chart tells you that you're at 420. It's frustrating. Maybe the electronic Calcium monitors will come down in price and become a little more reliable. Lab grade ion-specific probes are rather spendy though.

i just wish that they would all just do a color comparison like red sea just more accurate of a test. i do agree with you about the numbers to much room for error. the kid at my lfs told me that i should be checking my alk and cal at least once a week and add "buffers" for both at least once a week as well. man, you had to post that link. lol now i am all confused with what i should do. if i did the cal test right, the results show that it is a little low. but i don't want to add anything until i know i performed the test correctly. so you add anything to your tank at all?
you were right with this statement.
"This outta cloud up your mud..."
ADAM

I don't add anything to my tank. Water changes are the about it. Occasionally I'll get a wild hair and I'll check pH and if that's off, I'll whack it with some kalk or baking powder if it's low. I'm getting a calcium reactor soon, so I'll probably be more diligent with testing. For a while at least.

I'm the laziest reefer out there. I can honestly go months without testing things. If things look good in the tank, I'll assume that it's all systems go. :)