Do you only need to worry about ALK if you have stoney corals?

[wwfstyle]

Your ALK lvls do you need to worry much about the lvls if you have no stony corals in your set up? I have anemones and a few other guys and I was wondering if I should keep trying to keep the ALK up to 300ppm. I just tested the water and it's at about 120 ppm. Should I keep it higher or is it ok?

 

[big911dog]

alk isnt measured in ppm, but calcium is. if thats what ur referring to, aim for 400-450ppm (i'm one to talk...lol...my calcium runs TOTALLY high!)

 

[wwfstyle]

mmmmmm I use the quick dip test strips on a regular basis (Mardel 5 in 1 test saltwater test strips). There is a section on there that has a chart that says "ppm total Alkalinity/buffering capacity". Thats where I got the 120 ppm.

 

[bustedup21]

Some of the Alk test do come in at that level. The unit of measure is different. The unit that you are using shows that your level is ok. My understanding is you could have up to 160 on the high end and 105 on the low end. A lot of us use a fugure between 8-12 for another scale. Your level is ok but watch it becasue your PH is affected by the alk in your water. Alk is a measure of your waters ability to buffer your calcium. My recommendation is use google and type in "marine alk" you should be able to research from there or go to the manufacturer of your test website and find out more about why the levels are supposed to be where they are.
Good Luck
Steve:yes:

 

[wwfstyle]

TY for the reply my ph is 8.0. IO know it's suppose to be at 8.2 but I think its alright where it is for now just not go any lower.

 

[ophiura]

Yes, it is. Alkalinity, put another way, is a measure of the water's ability to withstand changes in pH, specifically due to the addition of an acid. That acid comes from fish and animal respiration (CO2 + H20 = H2CO3 or carbonic acid). A low alkalinity means that you could have high swings in pH...fatal swings.
In one case I encountered, there was a lady who really didn't mess much with her tank. She thought things were going fine and decided she wanted to add some more fish. Well, bammo, many of them died. The fish she had became acclimated over time to the decline, but the new fish pushed it over the edge. She added enough bioload, with a low enough alkalinity, that her pH crashed. So yes, it is an important measure, even without corals. Many fish only people watch pH and alkalinity, and not calcium.