Alkalinity myth?

O.k. I use the Salifert test kit for Alkalinity. Even though I use the kit all the time I really only read the actual directions. Upon reading the "whole" paper, it states that natural sea water is 7.0-8.0. Upon researching many articles including Randy Holmes-Farley the conclusion is that Seawater is just above 7.0 (neutral) and 8.4.
I have always used the tried and true 8-12 DKH mantra as a guide. So, are we all aiming too high? I always had my tanks at 10-12 DKH. I thought I should keep it in at least the middle of the range for preventive measures in as much as if it were to drop for some reason I would still be good.
Fast forward....I have recently exchanged my Reef Builder for Sea-Lab #14 to go along with my Sea-Lab #28. The claim of the #14 is it will balance out the Alk and PH. It claims the Ph will steady at 8.4 and it has and to my surprise the tank is now at a new 7.8-8.4 DKH. I am leaving it at that level to see if it will truly hold.
I don't think there is any real harm if DKH is up to 11-12 but I thought I would pass along my findings.

 

Thanks for the infomation unclejed

 

One of the reasons why some people keep their "numbers" higher than NSW, is b/c it promos coral growth. Since those people sell frags, its in their interest that the corals grow faster. There are also other "pros" to having higher numbers. It has been shown that a high Mag level also deters unwanted algae, just to name a few.


Luna

 

Anyone else with an opinion.........

 

Luna summed it up fairly well. It promote faster coral growth and at higher levels, helps to keep nuisance algae at bay. However, if it gets too high, it start to impede certain coral color.

 

I was specifically talking about Alkalinity not Mag as luna indicated.

 

The reason why Alk is typically kept higher than NSW is because people tend to overstock their tanks with fish and overfeed which puts a downward pressure on pH. Higher Alk helps stabilize pH.

 

I shall ponder this my dear fellow.

 

+1 to Luna....

I grow nuisance "algae" from time to time for my own reasons, and one of the tricks I have learned along the way is the lower the alk, the better the nuisance growth.

 

does higher ak also aid in higher possible calcium level too