High Alk Please help

I was doing some tests today and it seems as though I raised my alk a bit tooo much.. Will this lower on its own or should i do a water change.. my alk is at 7meq/l with CA at 380... Is having my Alk this high going to hurt anything??

TIA
James

7 mEq/l can have an adverse affect on certain corals, SPS for the most part but the easiest way to fix it is add more Ca. The chem ratio is way out of balance and the addition of Ca would by default force the alk down unless your Mg is too high. Just be sure to add the Ca slowly and bring the balance back slowly over a day ot two. Once the alk gets below 6 mEq/l you should be safe allowing the natural fall to do it's thing and just maintain the Ca level. Do not try adding acidic forms such as vinegar or soda water. It will have zero affect on the alk and just play havock with your ph.

If you are unsure how to go about this, the easiest and surest way would be a few water changes over the next few days. The alk will come down naturally but might take too long depending on the types of corals and risk involved to the tank.

Be sure once the saltmix is ready you test the levels to be sure it is balanced. No sense going through all that only to have it become worse... 8O

Cheers
Steve

inhabitants
1 tank raised Percula Clownfish
2 Wild True Percula clownfish
1 Yellow-tail Damsel
Bubble Coral
Toadstool leather
Colony Polyp
Purple Tipped Montipora Digitada
Jakarta Xenia
20 dwarf zebra hermits
14 blue legged hermits
14 red tipped hermits

That is all for my inhabitants.. I have start to drip 1 tsp kalk 1tsp Vinegar in 1 gal of ro/di as of last night approx 1 gal drips over a 12hr period... I have a 2 part solution comming as of tomorrow as well.. "C-Balance" It should be here as of noon tomorrow about 12hrs away.. Should the tank Inhabitants be ok til then or should I do something tonight?

TIA,
James

The only two "worrysome" animals are the Xenia and Montipora. The rest may retreat for a short period but nothing permanent. The rest on the animals should not be bothered unless the ph went through the roof but I suspect that will ease off by morning.

If you have not noticed any deterioration in the two I mentioned you may not need to fret too much but you should still fix the problem as soon as you are able. They will not tolerate the level for long. I am not sure which method you feel more comfortable using to fix the problem so please choose very carefully based on your own experience and understanding of the chemistry...

The C-balance will not really have much impact on the chem at this point. Unless you have a CaCl additive wether liquid or powder, I would opt for a water change. I would like to say that they could wait until tomorrow but my own experience tells me not to wait. I personally would not take the risk. Just be sure you do not do it in haste and still take the proper precautions to ensure the saltwater is properly mixed, up to temp and corrected for proper ph.

Good Luck
Cheers
Steve

Acutally what I have noticed Is that the Xenia has doubled in size over the last 2 or 3 days and look extremely healthy and pulsing like it should.. The montipora as well looks good.. You can see the polyps and such as well.. My salt water is always mixing and up to temp.. I believe I will wait til tomorrow and take my chances... Thanks Again...

James

BTW kudos