alk question please help

[Reefer head]

ok so i recently started over on my 55 gallon reef tank due to a major leak from uncured silicone :hypnotyized: (i didnt know any better and have a realy impatient personality., i figured i might as well start over right by using RO water and live sand this time to aid the cycle (not to mention i had about 50 lbs of established live rock from before the leak) heres where my problem lies, i figured RO water would be pretty acidic i read about 4.5-5.0 and im trying to get parameters ideal for thriving coralline and that means alk and calcium needed to be added. calcium is in perfect check due to cuttlebone and ph is at 8.2, but i didnt have an alk test kit so i went ahead and put a rounded table spoon of baking soda. does anyone have an idea to what levels that would leave it at. my plan was to go to the lfs and get an alk test but they didnt have one. all fish are fine some snails look a little slow but it could be in my head. any replys are greatly appreciated, thanks ahead of time.

[txg8gxp]

Your best bet is to get a alk test, all the salt mixes I have seen are set to give you a alk of 8-12 out of the box mixed with ro/di water, the only time you should need to add any additives is if you have coral/etc lowering it. I would guess depending on the salt mix you used that alk was already good to go.

[Reefer head]

I had no clue Salt was a source of alkaline , amazon it is thanks

[CoryDude]

There's nothing wrong with adding a tablespoon of baking soda every so often. Just make sure you bake it at 300 degrees for about 2 hours to drive off excess co2. Uncooked baking soda will lower your ph.

But it's still a good idea to test alk every once in a while. Like Steven said, if your calcium demand is low, salt mixes like reef crystals will mix up to 8-10dkh and regular water changes will keep you covered. I use a total alk kit and like to keep my levels at around 3 mg/l.