Alc. is to low according to tests

polyformist

polyformist

Member
ok I have all my levels stable accept my acali. The tests show that my alcali is to low.
My testing kit says needs to be 120ppm.
my testing says my tank is at 80ppm.
My first question is how does this affect my tank? And how might i correct this, or does this only affect tank if plant life and such is present? I would appreciate any advise / links that mite be thrown at me for more info!
Currently my tank has 1 black molly, 2 Yellow Tail Damsels, and 2 Sebay Clowns, wich i mite add are happily swimming =)
I am getting my protein skimmer in 2 days, and then giveing tank another few weeks before i add my 2 angels, and 2 black sebay clowns. allong with their anenomie's for saftey.
Thnx for all the help everyone, this is a young tank and is florishing with absolutely no chemicals involved! =) This is turning into an amazeingly stable tank.
Feed Back Appreciated =):D
 
007

007

Active Member
I too am confused here. I dont ever recall Alkalinity being measured in ppm, but hey . . . I haven't seen everything . . . . yet.:p
Could you gives us a little more detail about the test kit that you are using?
 
dburr

dburr

Active Member
what is your PH and calcium? and are they stable?
We need to answer this first.
If yes they are in order, PH 8.3 ish and calcium 400 ish, then you can raise your alk. I use baking soda to do this. (make sure it doesn't have anything other that sodium bicarbonate in it, ie. perfume for better smelling)1 tsp. per 50 gallons to raise it 1 dKH.
My first question is how does this affect my tank?
I have had low alk for a while until recently. It seems it may slow corals in growth, IMO, but other than that they are still healthy.
You must not raise (or lower) any parameter to quickly. I would shoot for 1 dKH per 24 hours, but you may want to go half that if you are unsure.
And no it wont affect fishs health from what i've seen.
HTH, Dan
 
S

sebae0

Guest
i see your new to this board and i'm wondering did the tank finish cycling yet? if not i would'nt worry about it, but all the advise given already will give you your answers. and if your gonna get anemones i would wait atleast 6 months and what kind of lighhting do you have?
 
polyformist

polyformist

Member
Thnx for all the responses, I do now understand what the alkali testing is showing me. =) I do plan on getting plant life going and such, but i have plenty of time to work on getting this chem up slowly. I would also like to thank you all for showing me that basically PPM is not the correct term to be useing. I would like to be able to convey the correct info. on a regular basis and not have people guessing at what i am saying lol =)
My tank has fully cycled, and is very healthy according to my elder's advise. All your responses have helped greatly. I couldn't have done this without all of your help =) PICTURES SOONISH :p
 
ross

ross

Active Member
2 angels in a 55g? That probably won't work especially if they are not dwarf. Angels need a 5-6 month established tank. They will probably fight and kill each other. Please do some research before adding those fish to the tank. Also anemones are very hard to take care of and need very good water conditions and alot of light. You should also do some research on these too. Please realize that i am not trying to make you mad or anything like that in any way. I am just trying to help.
 
polyformist

polyformist

Member
you can see my pics of tank that I posted earlier today. All the fish are getting along excellent, the trick to adding fish is add the smallest first, then work to the larger fish, then for the most part you will not get the fighting in your tank. Very Very peacefull tank. And it's doin awsome.
For those who are woundering, I am not running a so called "CHEMICAL" tank. I reffuse to unless it is absolutely needed!
My tank is a fully natural tank, shrimp as food, and souly based on live rock and a protein skimmer for getting rid of impurrities. I have the knowledge of a 40+ year veteran that runs a mom/pops shop in our town, He has one of the best / healthiest tanks in our town, and the tank is close to 10 years of age to my knowledge. I seeded my tank from his to start it, and everything is liveing excellent, see for yourself. :D
 
polyformist

polyformist

Member
1 Seabay Aneanomie (center cave)
1 Long Tentical Aneanomie (right side)
1 Carpet Aneanomie (left back side)
1 Bubble Tip Aneanomie (left front side)
1 Chocolate Star Fish (random spots in tank always! This Little bugger keeps my glass nicely clean)
40 pnds Live rock
20 pounds of Cavernous Rock from Utah
1 black Molly (first to be added)
2 Yellow Tail Damsels (second to be added)
2 Seabay Clowns "Clarkies"
1 Singapore Angel
1 Bi - Color Angel
1 Coran Angel
55 gallon Tank
2 Power heads (300's)
20 pnds of Crushed coral
Tank is almost complete short of getting Nice Lighting so that i mite place a few corals and brush through the tank.
P.S. Sorry bought low-res web shots, useing my web cam to take shots =)
 
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