What the #$%^ is going on every time i do a water change.

[whatcaneyedo]

Newly mixed Instant Ocean typically has an alkalinity of 11 dkh according to this post so that is normal http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1714505 Most brands have higher than natural levels of many elements to help compensate for uptake in our systems.

I've stopped caring when soft corals close up. Any little change can trigger them to shrink down to nothing. As long as they eventually opening again and your SPS have good polyp extension it looks fine to me.

Its funny what different light types will do. Lonnie switched from 400W MH to T5 a few years ago and all of his acropora bleached at first. Once they recovered some looked browner while others looked lighter...