How's my water parameters?

[DJasak]

pH: 8.0 how can I safely bring this up?

Nitrite: 0ppm perfect!

Nitrate: 40ppm anyway to bring this down without doing water change? I'm out of salt and have to wait til Friday when I get paid to get more.

Ammonia: 0ppm perfect!

Anything else I should test regularly?

Test kit I'm using: API Saltwater Master Test Kit

 

[Luke Schnabel]

Macroalgae will reduce Nitrate.

Depends on if your trying to have a fish only tank or a reef tank.
Fish only you can get away with just testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. A reef tank you need to test for Calcium, Alkalinity, magnesium, and Ph

 

[DJasak]

I already have a few corals, I do plan on making it a reef. I have calcium and pH tests I'll pick up alkalinity test this weekend

 

[sir_dudeguy]

What types of corals do you have? That will determine what you need to test. Softy tanks, there's no reason to check for a lot of stuff you'd be checking in sps/lps tanks. Regular water changes would supplement all your soft corals needs.

Chaeto helps bring nitrates down. If you don't have a sump with a fuge, a simple aqua clear hob filter works ok for a ball of chaeto. Most people will just give you a ball of it for free...

 

[DJasak]

I have a green finger leather, green star polyps, zoas, duncan coral, trumpet coral, Kenya tree, and an unknown piece of montipora.

 

[DJasak]

I don't have a sump, and I would like to get something that looks nice enough for me to want to add it to my display and still does pretty well at nutrient export. I'm thinking maybe turtle weed or dragons breath? Any experience with these?

 

[CStrickland]

You want to be looking at alk instead of ph.

This is a good article on parameters, and what they mean. It has a good chart you can print and keep by the tank or save as a pic on your phone. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

It wont hurt anything to wait until Friday for a waterchange to fix your nitrates

 

[sir_dudeguy]

I personally don't have too much input on the different types of macros, but check out some of the seahorse tanks. Not that I'd recommend putting seahorse down there, but some people do some pretty cool lookin stuff with the macros in those tanks

 

[DJasak]

Ok thanks guys I'll pick up the all test this weekend, if it does read low like my pH how do I raise that safely?

 

[DJasak]

*alk

 

[Mark9]

Ok thanks guys I'll pick up the all test this weekend, if it does read low like my pH how do I raise that safely?

Don't chase ph, like others have said, watch your alk.
Nothing wrong with 8.
Running a fresh air line to your skimmer will raise ph, or open a window.

 

[disc1]

Ok thanks guys I'll pick up the all test this weekend, if it does read low like my pH how do I raise that safely?

Your pH isn't low. It is right smack in the good to go zone.

 

[DJasak]

Ok Thanks guys! I'll grab that alk test this weekend and check that. Then go from there.