Differences…..differences

[Spectorman]

3 questions

I used to use Salifert for years. I bought a set for my new aquarium but then decided to go Hanna so now I use Hanna Checkers.
I HATE the way my tank looks. I absolutely hate the way my tank looks. My corals are dull and I killed a Monti plate. . How do you kill a montipora? I have a trumpet/candy cane that looks like hell. It’s all deflated. I have grown montis in other tanks that filled my aquarium. I was giving it away.
Anyway,I test my all with salifert and it says I am around 10. My Hanna says I am 11.1. Granted this was a morning test but it doesn’t seem to matter what time there’s always a huge difference. My pH with salifert is almost undetectable while Hanna says it’s 8-8.1.
What to do?
I have cyano patches which tells me my phos is high. Salifert says it’s around zero. Hanna says I am at .07. I guess for that I will refer to Hanna?
I have a 150usg with light stocking of fish and coral. I am running 3/4cups of GFO. I have a couple NPS corals which like to be fed a lot for I feed phyto feast or oyster feast 2x a day. Again registering .07ppm phos. Is doubling the amount of GFO a good idea? I run it 24/7. Maybe running 50% more to start?

 

[Reefing102]

Got a bit to unpack there so please bear with me. I’ve always found different test kits give different results for the most part. Your best bet is sticking with one kit to use as a base line then if something seems off, then maybe grab a different test.

With that said, many people rely on Hannah checkers as well as salifert, so as long as everything is clean in accordance with the instructions (such as no water spots on the vials for Hannah) the test should be relatively accurate.

.07 phosphate should be just fine. Most run around .03-.1. I personally wouldn’t run any more GFO than necessary to stabilize the phosphate.

If your Alk is running 10-11, that’s not terrible but is high for a lot of reefers. Most run around 8-9.

Your Ph should be fine as well. If you want to buffer it, you could try running a fresh air line into the skimmer (if you have one) for more CO2 exchange.

What are your other parameters? A lot of times they play off each other. Like Calcium, Alk, Mg, all play off each other.

What lighting are you running? Have there been any significant changes to it or have you checked your par recently?

Have you thought about running an ICP test to see if there’s excess metals (perhaps from a rusting piece of equipment)?

Also if you’re willing to post a couple pics of the tank, it may help.

 

[kharmaguru]

I find Salifert and Hanna are usually off by roughly a point for alk. My last test for example was 8.0 on the Salifert and 8.7 on the Hanna. It's not important as long as you know what you get and can track a trend IMO. I prefer the Hanna because it's pretty much an instant test. As for phosphate, hands down Hanna, the Salifert is impossible to distinguish at that low of a level. Not sure I understand what you mean by "undetectable" for the Salifert PH test.

I don't see anything that should specifically make corals unhappy. Any recent changes to flow, lighting? Any possible pests? Are you measuring Nitrate, Magnesium, Calcium?

 

[Spectorman]

Here are my last full tests. The tank is very well equipped. 3 hydra 32’s(no major changes) 2 Maxspect 350’s. 4 Jerpet 1300’s so there’s PLENTY of flow. Octopus 150INT skimmer. The skimmer has floss on one side and AGC on the other. Rock and so on inside the sump. A (calcium,Alkaline,mag)3 part doser about to be replaced by Kalkwasser drip. GFO reactor. I am looking to add a bio pellet reactor today. My nitrates were around 11. An ATO.
My blinds are always shut until the sun gets to the south side of the house.

 

[Spectorman]

I find Salifert and Hanna are usually off by roughly a point for alk. My last test for example was 8.0 on the Salifert and 8.7 on the Hanna. It's not important as long as you know what you get and can track a trend IMO. I prefer the Hanna because it's pretty much an instant test. As for phosphate, hands down Hanna, the Salifert is impossible to distinguish at that low of a level. Not sure I understand what you mean by "undetectable" for the Salifert PH test.

I don't see anything that should specifically make corals unhappy. Any recent changes to flow, lighting? Any possible pests? Are you measuring Nitrate, Magnesium, Calcium?

About 3 weeks ago I hit the lunar setting on my ap. It was shutting my lights off early then I discovered the button was hit and turned it back. I tried a new lighting schedule for 3 days but that was almost 3 weeks ago. You’d think they’d get over it by now. I’m not new at this but it has been a while. I may just be trying too hard and chasing unnecessarily

 

[Spectorman]

My hannas

 

[kharmaguru]

I’m not new at this

Yep, could tell that. Sometime we just need to come at things from a different angle. It can be a miscalibrated refractometer or a rusty magnet in the tank (just examples).

 

[griss]

I agree on not increasing the GFO. I recently went through the worst time in my entire time in the hobby. Wacky parameters, Cyano, weird algae, etc. I stopped using GFO, removed my filter socks, cut water changes back to every other week and started dosing kalk. Now, my tank looks great and my Acros are starting to take off.

 

[Spectorman]

Yeah. I appreciate other ways to look at stuff. I have hit a road block to where ai convinced myself that I am off track. My parameters aren’t bad. The tank is 3 months old. I have diatoms on the glass. It’s from over feeding