FWIW, after rereading an experiment conducted by Dana Riddle on the Hanna meters, I realized that I never researched more into the alk meter potentially reading high.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/8/review
From a quick Google search, I found some correcting by multiplying by 0.82.
If this is true, my alk is not really at 8.0 dKh but really 6.56 dKh. Anywhere from 7-11 dKh are generally accepted levels. Since I haven't run any comparative tests to see how off my meter is or isn't, I've decided to at least bring my alk levels up a bit to 9.8 dKh, or 8.0 dKh if the meter is indeed off by 0.82. At least that way, both values are within acceptable ranges until I can get this correction factor sorted.
To do that, I have ordered an alkalinity standard from Hanna, same as the phosphorus version I already have so that I can check my meter. I may follow up with a test from a Salifert and Red Sea kit to see where their values in respects to the Hanna meter.
I'll report what I find out after the holidays.
Sorry Bluemoon, mad scientist Ty is back in full effect! [emoji57]