ALK

[makana]

I have been having trouble keeping my alk stable. I was using an elos test kit and was starting to dought it. No matter what I tried my alk would drop to 6 dkh in two days. So I bought some other brands of test kits and they all gave me different readings. Elos 6, Salifert 10, Hagen 7, API 8. It seems strange to me that the two high end kits are at extreme oposite ends of the scale. My Elos kit was tested against another Elos kit when I bought it and it was the same then, but that was a couple months ago. The salifert tests good against the reference sample. All the kits produced the same results both times I tested them.

API seems like the most realistic number. If the Salifert is correct it would explain why it falls so fast when I try to raise it. Which kit should I believe?

[Dyspnea]

Not that this will help but my elos and API test kits produce the same results.

[imcosmokramer]

I've always used Salifert and have liked it. How are you raising alk? What is your mag/Cal at?

[Bblinks]

I have the same problem between my alk kits. I use salifert elos and hanna, 10 out of 10 times they will yield different results. I use the hanna kit now for a reference point, but I have a multi color acro that goes pale as soon as some thing is wrong, which most of time means alk drop. I tend to rely on observing my corals more than my test kits. Just my 2 pennies.

[makana]

calcium is stable between 450 and 470. Seems to change from one test to another, my guess is testing errors. Mag seems to be around 1500, have lowered the amount I add with water changes and am waiting for it to come down.

I am using baking soda to dose and kalk in my ato. I don't have a problem with the method other than I'm not sure which test kit I should be following. If I go by salifert then I can let it come down a bit and maybe it would be stable. Whenever I have not dosed my alk only falls so far then stops. If salifert is correct then maybe its stable at a good point. I'm hesitant to believe it when it is reading so high.