My first water test!

[Rue]

My SW tank has been running with the LR in it for 11 days...I just noticed some new teeny-tiny feather dusters...more polyps are growing...some red algae...lots of macro...and lots of green hairish algae...

Playing with the skimmer...getting some skimmate, but not very much, compared to what I expected...with the die-off I expected a serious amount...but maybe the rock didn't die that much? I got it within 12 hours I believe.

Did my first water test:

Calcium 520+ ppm
KH 7o dKH
Phosphate 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm

That's all my kit tests for.

As far as I can tell...calcium is good
KH is a wee bit low
...and the other two perfect...

However, with the algal growth I was expecting phosphates and with the tank being so new I expected nitrates...

Any ideas? I can't possibly be cycled yet, can I?

 

[taillonjohn]

maybe your ammonia and nitrite are still climbing? your nitrate will stay zero till these first 2 spike and then drop. maybe get test kits for these as well

also, skimmers usually take a couple of weeks to break-in, and then you should be getting more skimmate

 

[Rue]

...I could look for some more SW tests...I don't suppose my FW ammonia and nitrite test would work for SW?

 

[kkyyllee]

i dont think they will

 

[Rue]

I didn't think so either...I was just hoping...

 

[bertoni]

The FW tests likely will work. If the live rock was clean, the tank might never show any ammonia, etc. That's fine. I'd wait a few weeks to be sure, and then start stocking slowly.

 

[Rue]

Would they work? It would be useful if they did...

I'll go give it a try then...

Thanks!

 

[kkyyllee]

sw uses dif. cloros then fw so strips wont be accurate

 

[Rue]

No, no strips...I do the crazy chemist thing with test tubes and drops...

...go figure! All those chemistry classes I took at University WERE useful for something! (...or not...)...

 

[Rue]

Went to the LFS to get my SG checked...and my swing-arm is close enough to the refractometer that I don't need to worry.

While I was there I bought (along with a couple of Julian Sprung Guides) a Sailfert nitrite test.

It also read 0 ppm...

Am I out to lunch? Shouldn't I have phosphates, nitrites or nitrates given the amount of algal growth I have? I can't believe the cycling hasn't even started yet!

 

[bertoni]

The algae likely are absorbing the nutrients as quickly as they are released to the water column. That's not particularly surprising or rare.

 

[Rue]

Okey-dokey! I'll keep waiting! Thanks...

...btw...my new books have been very useful...what I thought were cute little feather dusters...are I believe...evil, nasty hydroids instead...

 

[jon99]

Becareful with that calcium level. I would not let it get any higher and would feel safer with it at more like 400-450. Too much calcium=snowstorm=trouble if you have coral in your tank

 

[Rue]

Yes...I thought it was high...and at the LFS I was told that was way higher than what's in the Ocean Pure! When I told him I was testing with the API test kit he mentioned that they're unreliable and to go with Sailfert.

Well...I suppose I need to use up my API, but I'll replace the tests with more Sailfert test kits as I go along...