Alkalinity and Acros

EricTheRed

EricTheRed

No, I'm not a communist..
For those of you who know a lot about acro's, is there an optimal alkalinity level, or does it matter much as long as it is stable? I keep my tank extremely stable with Ca at 480 and dKh at 11 but I read somewhere else that acro's do best around 8 dKh. Anyone ever hear this?
 
Thanks guys, I'll adjust my kalk accordingly. Any other "optimum" tips? I usually keep my temp at a stable 78 and mg at 1350. Should I start testing for potassium? (I do 20% wc's every 2 weeks.)
 
One more thing, my pH fluctuates between 7.95 in the am usually up to 8.15 in the pm. Have you found an optimal pH for acro's?
 
Your Mg, temp, and ph are all good. I've found Ph is fine as long as there is not a huge swing.
 
just to give an example. Most of my SPS did fine in my recent tank move except 3 showed signs of stress from the move. I had a Ph swing into the low 7.x and that caused those three to start to RTN. I lost two of them, but saved the other. The Ph swung so low because I had shortened my photo period to acclimate the corals to the new, stronger, lights. After that day, I just put the lights on full blast for the full photo period with no ill effects to the coral... After that I really don't know how important it is to light acclimate, as mine seemed to have no ill-effect (infact the blues in my acros are now even bluer!)
 
I keep mine around 8.5-9.5
I have over 75 different frags in my tank. Have never lost a single one. No RTNs and no STNs.

I keep hearing alk over 11 can cause an increase of RTN/STN, so I stay away from over 10. Too low (6.5-7.0) I hear can also be a bit detrimental.

I recommend the 8-9.5 range. Works for me.
 
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