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Never tested ALk right after a water change to see how much it is raised. I just might have to do that this weekend for Ca, Alk & Mg.

Im useing ocean pure pro.Anytime Ive tested the alk of a fresh batch,its up around 11-12 dkh.Thats after a day of mixing.But I haven't tested the new stuff in over a month so maybe things have changed? Dont know.My tank alk is reasonably steady.

I use Red Sea Coral Pro, I never have to add anything to freshly mixed salt. I've gotten great growth since I switched from regular Red Sea to Red Sea Coral Pro. Only one store in town sells the stuff, and both types are $69.99.

I also use Tropic Marin Pro, it dissolves completely, no precipitates covering everything in the mixing barrel, and I'm sure it was one of the factors in beating hair algae in my 120g.

i swiched from reef crystals to crystal sea and hav been having really high alk and white film on rock about 2 days after water change going to switch back to reef crystals and see if there is any diff.

my alk is 14 dkh,,,which would be 5 meq/L ...are you meaning 4dkh or 4meq/L??,i would agree 4 dkh is really low, wow, but do keep in mind i am using API test kits!

*EDIT* also that is mixed @ 1.023 (coralife deep 6 hydrometer)

I'm using an Elos KH test kit (and verified by Salifert) to be 4kH @ 1.026

I'm buying a pal of TM tomorrow

J

when I mix ocean pure pro in a new batch at 1.025 salinity, I get 420ppm calcium, 7dkh ALK, 1550 mag. Sometimes I get around 6 dkh/380 calcium, so I just add a little two part using a calculator before-hand.

I test all my change water before adding it to the tank. I also make sure the water is aerated/heated for a day before I add the salt, then aerate/heat it for another day. I think quickly heating the water while dissolving the salt lowers it's levels, or adding it to freshly made RO/DI water is detrimental because of the high CO2 content causing an out of whack pH. Plus it doesn't hurt to do it the slow way :)

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I tested my tank levels last night before and after a 20% water change and here are my results with OPP.
Before/After
CA 460ppm/520ppm
MG 1310ppm/1380ppm
Alk 7.4KH/7.4KH
PH 8.035/8.12

I was surprised that my ALK didn't change after the water change, but reading above that OPP tests at 7KH itself makes my results valid IMO.

Danny

Well I bit the bullet on Saturday and picked up a bucket on Tropic Marin Pro.
I'll be using it from now one.
ALK 8.2DKH
CA 420
PH 8.3
MAG 1400

J