Inaccurate test results?

[CrisisReef]

Hello, I have a hammer coral that doesn’t look particularly happy in my tank so I decided to do some tests and see what the issue may be. I’m using a Red Sea foundation test kit that is probably a little over a year old at this point. The dkh test came back extremely low saying my tank was at 6.5. While I’m definitely not saying my parameters are fantastic this seems very very low. I have a bunch of softies that look great and grow reasonably well, I also have a derasa clam that seems quite happy and shows growth on its shell. My question is, is this reading really accurate? 6.5 seems very low and I’d be surprised to see the rest of my corals doing so well with a reading like that.

 

[NAS]

I’ve had a tank where my alk dipped in the 6’s and I had no idea and all looked well. It’s about stability and if the kh has been like that for a while, it’s entirely possible corals look good with that low of a kh. I would re test with a Hanna tester possibly and bring up the kh very SLOWLY.

 

[msporleder]

All you can do Do is another test or take a water sample somewhere to get another test.

 

[CrisisReef]

I’ve had a tank where my alk dipped in the 6’s and I had no idea and all looked well. It’s about stability and if the kh has been like that for a while, it’s entirely possible corals look good with that low of a kh. I would re test with a Hanna tester possibly and bring up the kh very SLOWLY.

That’s crazy! Rn I’m planning to slowly bring my alk up with all for reef. My magnesium and calcium are also quite low according to these tests. Once my dkh is a more acceptable level I’ll probably focus in and see where my mag and calcium are. Thanks for the input!

 

[NAS]

That’s crazy! Rn I’m planning to slowly bring my alk up with all for reef. My magnesium and calcium are also quite low according to these tests. Once my dkh is a more acceptable level I’ll probably focus in and see where my mag and calcium are. Thanks for the input!

I wouldn’t rely on All for reef alone to raise the alk. It’s good to maintain but not great to elevate values. I’d use some BRS two part soda ash or something similar to raise it.

 

[CrisisReef]

I wouldn’t rely on All for reef alone to raise the alk. It’s good to maintain but not great to elevate values. I’d use some BRS two part soda ash or something similar to raise it.

I’ll look into it, thank you!

 

[Bladecom]

i agree with NAS all for reef is good to help maintain once levels are reached by other supplements to desired levels

 

[CrisisReef]

i agree with NAS all for reef is good to help maintain once levels are reached by other supplements to desired levels

Yeah, that makes sense. I’ve been slowly increasing my parameters up to acceptable levels. Thank you for the input!