What is the proper alkalinity level for sps?

[mfin77]

As the questions states
thanks

 

[emmanuel]

I keep my tank between 9 and 10 dkh and my sps do very well anywere from 8-12 should be ok

 

[seascape]

+1

 

[AlohaTropics]

Thats a tough question. Alk has a direct relationship with Ca and Mg. So depending on where you want to keep your levels of Ca and Mg, your alk can be adjusted. Natural Sea Water has a Alk of 7dkh but natural seawater is also supersaturated with Calcium. The lower the alk you keep, the easier it is to maintain your Ca and Mg levels at optimal levels. The lower the alk the less Carbonate build up you will have through precipitation of Bicarbonate. Your Corals need to process bicarbonate into carbonate in order the calcify. So having alk too low can cause stress on the Corals because they have to use that much more energy to remove an ion. But having alk too high can have a negative impact on you maintaining proper Ca levels which in turn also stresses the Corals. I personally keep my Alk at 6.5 - 7.5 with my Ph at 8.1-8.3 I find this keeps my Ca level easily around 400 - 420ppm and Mg at 1350ppm. Some people prefer to keep a higher Alk but have a harder time maintaining Ca because of precipitation and end up dosing Ca a lot more. Or they end up with a Ca reactor which in turn will lower the Alk again. Heres a great read up on the relationship between Alk, Ph, Ca & Mg. I learned a lot from it:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

 

[mfin77]

Thanks for explaining that to me ALoha. I did not know that. GIves me alot to think about, especially about dosing in the future.

 

[jerl77]

i do 6