water parameters

[BumpaBaaby]

so far all corals look good, here are my water params, are they in range?

SG 1.025
dkh 9.7 @3:30 pm
PO4 0.11
Ca 470
Mg 1560
ph 8.3
NO3 <5

i did a 5g water change this morn. l usually do a 5g once a week. last week I did a 15g though, i want to lower my DKH and let it drop naturally but as the tank matures i think Ca and Alk will eventually fall into place of 450 and 8.5-8.8.

 

[Mike F]

Phosphates could come down to .03 for your SPS.

 

[BumpaBaaby]

Phosphates could come down to .03 for your SPS.

I try to keep them low ordinarily. I have some Phos guard I can use

 

[BluewaterLa]

Phosphates are creeping up, not to say its horrible as some tanks do very well with slightly elevated levels of this or that.
IF you decide to make changes do them slowly and small increments so your corals do not get shocked / stressed.

 

[BumpaBaaby]

Phosphates are creeping up, not to say its horrible as some tanks do very well with slightly elevated levels of this or that.
IF you decide to make changes do them slowly and small increments so your corals do not get shocked / stressed.

Just took out the Phosphate remover. I let it sit for 12 hours. I’ll check it after I drink my coffee

 

[BumpaBaaby]

should i believe the tie breaker?
test 1) 0.0
test 2) 0.02
test 3) 0.0
there is a range of( +- 4) should i leave well enough alone or should i add brightwell phosphate?

 

[Typlus5]

Wouldn’t add anything based on those results.

 

[BumpaBaaby]

I just contacted Hanna and well here’s what he had to say

 

[BumpaBaaby]

The Checker says +-4. If I go with 0 I’d either be -4 or +4 in which case I wouldn’t add anything but if it’s -4 then I have problems. See my dilemma?

 

[BluewaterLa]

test kits can drive you crazy for sure. We all would like to have absolutes though that is not going to happen most cases with hobby test kits.

When your phosphates are elevated its best to use a very little amount of remover IF you are going to use a media and decrease ever so slightly.
Water changes of 30 to 50% will give you a better reduction of nitrate / phosphate that you know are legit numbers from the dilution rates.
Give it a few days and test again to see what is going on with your parameters and monitor the corals over the next few weeks for drastic changes in color and such before worrying.
More than likely your tank is fine.

 

[BumpaBaaby]

test kits can drive you crazy for sure. We all would like to have absolutes though that is not going to happen most cases with hobby test kits.

When your phosphates are elevated its best to use a very little amount of remover IF you are going to use a media and decrease ever so slightly.
Water changes of 30 to 50% will give you a better reduction of nitrate / phosphate that you know are legit numbers from the dilution rates.
Give it a few days and test again to see what is going on with your parameters and monitor the corals over the next few weeks for drastic changes in color and such before worrying.
More than likely your tank is fine.

More than likely it is. I never had any problems before and I had just did a water change that morning. I’m not really worried about at this time . If it becomes a problem at least I know not to contact the help line...lol

 

[clsanchez77]

I think your numbers look great. But more important is how does your tank look to you? If the tank looks like , but the numbers are good, is there a problem? Of course there is. No, if the tank looks great, but the numbers do not meet an arbitrary benchmark (and they are arbitrary), is there a problem? No.

I would say based on the pictures of your tank, your numbers are fine

Also, test kits are prone to systematic and random error. It's improbable to consistently get the same number every time. And then if you do hit the same number twice, is that the right number, or did you repeat the same mistake twice? @BluewaterLa is right. The quality of hobby test kits is dismal....even Hana. But that is what it takes for them to be affordable to us. If we have industrial grade quality, we would not be able to afford to test our tank water lol....and then you still get that stubborn error even at the professional level. I mean after all, in industry, they sterilize and calibrate everything before running a test, and then you still get large margins to swing in.

So when testing your water, aim for consistency, not some mythical number. You will find phosphate fluctuates more than the others overtime, you only need to worry about it zeroing out (feed more) or trending upwards (feed less).

PS, Nitrates are high

Seriously, if phosphates are trending upwards, your nitrates are high enough to consider some organic carbon dosing rather than GFO or other phosphate removal. Phosphate removal will cause more problems than it solves if you use GFO or a similar approach. That is more suitable in tanks where phosphate is just completely out of control IMO.

I see Mag is 1500+. What salt mix are you using? Or did you over dose that with Alk and Ca? All three will come down on their own so your approach is correct.

Just while letting alkalinity fall on its own, test it daily. You want to continue dosing as soon as it hits your target, not after you pass it. Also, while it is falling, you can use this time to establish what is your tank's daily alkalinity consumption. Divide daily alkalinity consumption in dkh by 2.8 and that is your daily alkalinity consumption in meq/L....which is also your daily magnesium consumption in mg/L. Then, multiple your daily alkalinity consumption in meq/L by 20 and that is your daily calcium consumption mg/L. Finally, divide your daily alkalinity consumption in meq/L by 50 and that is your daily strontium consumption in mg/L...yes the number is that small and is why we don't bother to dose it. But, if you do not use ionically balanced additives, mineral salts (balling method) or a calcium reactor or do water changes, then it is something to keep in mind.

 

[clsanchez77]

If it becomes a problem at least I know not to contact the help line...lol

 

[BumpaBaaby]

I think your numbers look great. But more important is how does your tank look to you? If the tank looks like , but the numbers are good, is there a problem? Of course there is. No, if the tank looks great, but the numbers do not meet an arbitrary benchmark (and they are arbitrary), is there a problem? No.

I would say based on the pictures of your tank, your numbers are fine

Also, test kits are prone to systematic and random error. It's improbable to consistently get the same number every time. And then if you do hit the same number twice, is that the right number, or did you repeat the same mistake twice? @BluewaterLa is right. The quality of hobby test kits is dismal....even Hana. But that is what it takes for them to be affordable to us. If we have industrial grade quality, we would not be able to afford to test our tank water lol....and then you still get that stubborn error even at the professional level. I mean after all, in industry, they sterilize and calibrate everything before running a test, and then you still get large margins to swing in.

So when testing your water, aim for consistency, not some mythical number. You will find phosphate fluctuates more than the others overtime, you only need to worry about it zeroing out (feed more) or trending upwards (feed less).

PS, Nitrates are high

Seriously, if phosphates are trending upwards, your nitrates are high enough to consider some organic carbon dosing rather than GFO or other phosphate removal. Phosphate removal will cause more problems than it solves if you use GFO or a similar approach. That is more suitable in tanks where phosphate is just completely out of control IMO.

I see Mag is 1500+. What salt mix are you using? Or did you over dose that with Alk and Ca? All three will come down on their own so your approach is correct.

Just while letting alkalinity fall on its own, test it daily. You want to continue dosing as soon as it hits your target, not after you pass it. Also, while it is falling, you can use this time to establish what is your tank's daily alkalinity consumption. Divide daily alkalinity consumption in dkh by 2.8 and that is your daily alkalinity consumption in meq/L....which is also your daily magnesium consumption in mg/L. Then, multiple your daily alkalinity consumption in meq/L by 20 and that is your daily calcium consumption mg/L. Finally, divide your daily alkalinity consumption in meq/L by 50 and that is your daily strontium consumption in mg/L...yes the number is that small and is why we don't bother to dose it. But, if you do not use ionically balanced additives, mineral salts (balling method) or a calcium reactor or do water changes, then it is something to keep in mind.

I use reef crystals salt mix. And thanks for the info. I’ll dose when my DKH is at 8.6. I don’t use any GFI just reef carbon . I just ordered the Rox .8 carbon. How often should I run it? About a week?

 

[clsanchez77]

I use reef crystals salt mix. And thanks for the info. I’ll dose when my DKH is at 8.6. I don’t use any GFI just reef carbon . I just ordered the Rox .8 carbon. How often should I run it? About a week?

As needed. I know that is not the answer you want, but just whenever the water appears to yellow.

 

[Mike F]

Test kits drive me crazy and why I don't test that often. Some kits say "add 5ml of water to the vial to the line. If you use a syringe, it is not to the line. SMH

 

[BluewaterLa]

Test kits drive me crazy and why I don't test that often. Some kits say "add 5ml of water to the vial to the line. If you use a syringe, it is not to the line. SMH

I would go off the syringe every time and not the line that is on the bottle.

 

[BumpaBaaby]

Shouldn’t I try to mimic my salt DKH instead of what I think it should be at if I’m using a Dorser ?

 

[Mike F]

Shouldn’t I try to mimic my salt DKH instead of what I think it should be at if I’m using a Dorser ?

Yes. That way you are not throwing your numbers around when you do large water changes.

 

[BumpaBaaby]

Yes. That way you are not throwing your numbers around when you do large water changes.

Thought so... I just checked and I’m at 9.0. I’m guessing tomorrow I should do a Water change to raise it back and dose from there. 3ml so far is what I use a day.