Hey man, i also do manual dosing its completely fine js need to be timely and dun forget... hahaha as for alk, im pretty sure it depends on a. the inherent salt mix that u use b. what you plan to keep in the tank ive heard sps corals cant swing too high.... but it depends alot from tank to tank, see what ur tank responds to? natural seawater is at 7.5-8.5 just fyi Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app