Kessil

DkH vs ALK ?

[quote author=reefermadness link=topic=6538.msg84013#msg84013 date=1235512266]
i keep mine at about 14 or 15 dKh. and my corals havent looked better. in ocean reefs it is typically 14-19dKh.
[/quote]

According to the parameter charts kept as standard on RC, typical surface ocean value of Alkalinity is 7dKH or 125 ppm CaCO3 equivalents... with a recommended reef aquarium range of 7-11dKH or 125-200 ppmCaCO3 equivalents. I have never heard before that 14-19dKH is ocean "typical".
 
well, on trips ive made for research ive found it often. thats typical ocean. our ph in our beach is mid 7's and very low alk. so that is just the average, not the typical reef setup. find the average in reef zones, and you will see it is much different than "typical surface ocean value". and just cuz RC says it doesnt make it truth....
 
Well obviously RC is not the end all for information but it wouldn't take too long to find another dozen sources that give very close to the same information. Everything I have ever read from dozens of websights and several books puts Alkalinity in natural sea water as it applies to corals around 7dKH. Since we don't have the advantage of the sea's massive dilution to deal with excess organic acids and CO2 in the home aquarium, we need a slightly higher alk at around 8-9 dKH so that we can successfully buffer our tanks pH. Once we get over 11-12 it is my understanding that you begin to impeed a corals ability to take in Calcuim... especially soft corals. Can you post or refer to a source that shows 14-19dKH as being ok or good for a home reef aquarium? I don't mean to come off as challenging here it's just that I've never heard of that before and if it's a vein of thought out there I would be very interested in reading up on it and hearing what the pro's and con's of maintaning such levels are. Appreciate it....
 
im gonna have to dig up the books from my parents house in OC. it was listed in a school text book from my JC. specifically, it made mention to keep alk high if you intend to keep calcium in the high range (460-500ppm).

a breif search found
http://www.athiel.com/lib/conf.html

since im confined to my bed atm with severe nerve issues im not able to get up and reference the books ive read that in that i have here. i was actually shocked when i read 14-19 as i had previously kept it under 12. i havent seen adverse effects and my soft corals are doing just fine, but my hard corals are doing exceptionally well given their current lighting. after i bumped up the alk i noticed more growth and healthier looking polyps on my SPS.
 
I would only say that there has been a lot of progress over the past few years on our understanding of Alkalinity and it's effects on reef systems and other important perameter levels. If you do an internet search today on the topic via google, yahoo, etc. you will find dozens upon dozens of sources, journals, research studies, etc on the topic reflecting similar content to my previous post.
 
i agree with that. it was hard to locate that one piece by searching. ill have to look into how old the info that i read was, and re-examine it from there. i guess the first step would be to get my water tested and even see how my levels are. any shops local to union landing that will test water free?
 
[quote author=reefermadness link=topic=6538.msg84057#msg84057 date=1235517383]
i agree with that. it was hard to locate that one piece by searching. ill have to look into how old the info that i read was, and re-examine it from there. i guess the first step would be to get my water tested and even see how my levels are. any shops local to union landing that will test water free?
[/quote]

good luck on the date searching, the base website listed todays date as Tuesday, February 24, 3909
 
I think we just have to remember that if wasn't too many years ago that people didn't know how to keep corals alive in an aquarium. The hobby has come along way over the past 30 years and what was considered relevant or "true" then in many cases is considered wrong or at least "not recommended" now... even just from 5-8 years ago. It's common for people to take what you read from a single source or more commonly... what the LFS guy said... and make it law in how we keep our aquariums. The more sources you can pull from for even the basic information the better. That's why forums/communities like this are so valuable. The priority is to help everyone learn and responsibily keep these super cool animals we keep in our little square glass cages.
 
I'm pretty sure if kept my dkH was 14-15, some of my coral would start to die. The ocean is not 14-19. Only place it might be 14-19 in the dead sea.
 
[quote author=reefermadness link=topic=6538.msg84088#msg84088 date=1235519625]
yes, its one of the best places to see coral...
[/quote]

Thanks for the info, I have heard about the philipines, the great barrier reef etc, but I never heard about the red sea
 
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cn.dk.com/static/cs/cn/11/nf/features/ocean/images/coralreef.jpg&imgrefurl=http://cn.dk.com/static/cs/cn/11/nf/features/ocean/gallery02.html&h=582&w=480&sz=140&tbnid=TsgP1-l3ra0ExM::&tbnh=134&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dred%2Bsea%2Bcoral&usg=__tKUHrGUyhByvNmZ6bL_mw9yCPP8=&ei=rYqkSbK6LInOsAOKttieAg&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image&cd=1


prime example of what you`ll see. its freaking amazing.
 
Trust NOAA guys :D

800px-AYool_GLODAP_ALK.png


Each drop of an API kit =1 degree carbonate hardness, wait for your tank to stabilize you might be surprised to see your alk drop to a more acceptable level.
 
Don't the european reefers tend to keep their alk on the high side? Supposed to be faster growth, but the skeletons end up being less dense.
 
Norm, I think they tend to keep alk on the low side. ie. zeo systems need low alk (I think they target 6 or 7).
 
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