whats causing the swing?

[WaterLogged]

What is the short of the long when my alk levels drop 1meq/l in 1 day? For now I am trying to keep my alk levels steady at 4 meq/l but i am having a hell of a time. And I know its stressing stuff out. I have been using baking soda to keep it constant. Which may not be the best thing but was told that it will work. And I am testing with hagen test kits. But I figure since I am getting a constant swing in alk levels that my test kit is reading correctly. I know you all prefer salifert and I am ordering them now. In the meantime what is causing the alk level to swing so much??