ALK is low

[BeelzeBob]

CC absorbs all sorts of nasty crap, specifically nitrates. after a while that stuff build up and kills everything in you tank.


but i wanna know if i can just change out the CC i would put into my skimmer like every week, would that be okay?

or not even worth risking?

so HTF do i fix it? the ALK that is

 

[Reefscape]

Thanks fishieness, beat me too it on the crushed coral...Have to admit though, i would still not use it a filter bag...But, that is just personal preference..

Niko

 

[fsn77]

but i wanna know if i can just change out the CC i would put into my skimmer like every week, would that be okay?

First, I wouldn't put anything inside of a skimmer. That would change the circulation pattern within the skimmer body and negatively effect the skimmer's performance.

A small amount of CC anywhere in your system is not going to dissolve quickly enough to have a significant impact on alkalinity. There's all kinds of threads / posts about the negatives of using CC on a larger scale, so no need to repeat any of that.

In battling low alkalinity, you (and the rest of us) are stuck with the frequent addition of some form of alkalinity buffer. The key here is using an "alkalinity" buffer. Alkalinity buffers, such as Seachem Reef Builder (among others, just the one I use), will raise your alkalinity without truly raising pH in a marine environment since pH is already in the 8.0 - 8.6 range. A pH buffer will raise both pH and alkalinity and is intended for use when low pH is a constant problem.

I would highly recommend buying a test kit that provides an actual number as a result. High / low / good are very relative terms, especially when you consider alkalinity levels in a reef tank are intended to be between 7 - 11 dKH. 7 - 11 dKH is a pretty broad range in itself, so I wouldn't even begin to guess what a relative test stating "good" would equate to in terms of a real dKH reading.

 

[dorkfish]

What salt are you using? Are you using tap water? Are you doising anything to the tank?

And I agree with the above statement.. high-low doesn't help you very much.

 

[BeelzeBob]

last night i did a 30% water change, dosed an ALK buffer and a lil aquascaping.

i woke up this morning and my tank was incredibly murky.

the water looks like someone poored a glass of milk in there.

what is it, why is this happening? is this diatoms? what do i do?
__________________

 

[mikelush78]

For a Reef you never ever use crushed coral... Rule of thumb