Should I Dose

I have a 45gal system that I do 12-15gal water changes on at least once a month. I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt. The alk of my mixed up salt is around 13dkh. My alk in my tank normal stays between 7-8dkh. 24hours after my wc the alk level in the tank was 8.85 w Red Sea test kit. 3 days later the Alk is back down to 7.6 dkh. I don't have an auto doser and have dosed in the past with a acclimation dripper that I rigged up as a DIY over night doser. I don't have any sps, mostly lps and softies. Should I be worried about keeping my Alk up around 8dkh? I feel that if I dose every night the swings are all over the place and sometimes I'm away or forget. Is 7dkh ok? My calcium stays around 450 n Mag around 1500. Can anyone help, I Need some clarity.

 

You shouldnt have to dose anything. The Alk between 7 and 8 should be fine

 

Cool. I was hoping that was the answer. I test for Alk frequently, every few days and if it gets below 7dkh ill prolly dose a bit. Or just do another water change. Anyone else care to give there 2 cents?

 

From what I understand, all aquariums are different. I typically add 3 ml of alk to my top off water. That keeps it about 10 - 11dKh.

 

Here is a handy chart from Randy Holmes you can find here:



As you can see, with calcium of 450 and alk of 7.6 dKH (2.7 meq/l), you are still in the "red zone", albeit right on the edge. It would not hurt for your Alk to be higher, but there shouldn't be any issues where it is now.