carbonate hardness
 

I never really payed much attention to the Dkh, what are the best levels to try to achieve for a successful reef?

7 to 11

Depend on your system and it's inhabitants it could vary anywhere form 7-12 dkh. I try to keep mine at 7 because I am running a probiotic system which require NSW levels. However, you can keep it in a 10 range which should be fine for most. The key here is stability.

As far as I know for best results you need to balance calcium and alkalinity. So what your ideal alk is depends where you keep your calcium and vise versa.

There are lots of charts and calculators available for reference, like this one:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/info/cal...9&unittype=dkh

I am having a little bit of a problem with cyano and was told to raise my alkalinity levels and this might help, I am presently at about 6 dkh

7-8

Hey Sully, IMHO I would bump up your alk level to 9-10 dkh, do remember to go slow raise no more than 1 dkh per 24 hours period. Once you have obtain the proper level, look at your corals and see how they are reacting to it and adjust accordingly.
I have found that higher alk does suppress algae growth but it does not eliminate it, but its a good start.

Of course balance is always the key.