alk is low

[ROCHESTER REEFER]

i've been having trouble gettig my # up. presently it's at 6.5 cal-450 mg a little high at 1600 , can someone tell me what some of the things are that make the water acidic?? fyi my make up water tests out at 8.0 and i should also say i'm dosing kalk through my top off water, thanx in advance..walt

 

[Takara]

as far as I know, numbers don't look to bad, what do you have in the tank, coral could be using it faster than it' is getting replenished.

when you are talking about acidic water you mean PH?

 

[ROCHESTER REEFER]

ph has been between 8.05-8.4 during the day.i've got some sps and afew large lps .the lps are thriving where the sps i have seem stagnant. i should mention all test kits are elos and are new . i thought a good alk # was somewhere around 8.5

 

[naturebatslast]

Your alk is low. You can adjust it with baking soda, but be sure about your present level and how many units your going to move it. After you get to the level you want (9-11?) start your kalk back up.
Here's the basics for baking soda use with 2 recipes...
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php
And here's a calculator for how much BS you'll need...
http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

 

[dcforester1]

How long have you been dripping the kalk? I was having trouble getting my kalk up. After about 3-4weeks its staying up.. You might have to give it some time.
Derek