New 10g, Heavy Breathing.

[FishRhard]

Prime is treating the chloramine and / or chlorine. The water is likely safe for fish as far as that goes since it sounds like you have used it for freshwater tanks. There's 2 things going on with the water that you aren't used to coming from freshwater:
1) As your tank grows and you want to add coral, some other things in the tap water can be problematic, like copper. Some of those can soak into the rocks now and make an issue later on. It's stuff that doesn't hurt fish or people but coral won't tolerate.
2) Reef tank lights mimic the sun, so algae can have a field day if there is fertilizer in the water. That can come from food and fish waste, and also impurities tap water.

For a 10g I wouldn't buy a rodi either. The Walmart distilled water with a purple cap is the go to for many nano (small tank) reefers. A few water changes will bring the alk down but you need to be careful when you change more than 20% of the water in the tank that the new water is the same temp and salinity. In a little tank like this it's easy to shock the animals and a couple degrees difference is hard on them.

You have another issue here tho. It sounds like you have a lemon chromis, they need a bigger tank. Your stocking options are limited in a 10g because of the fish's territory, personal space, waste production, and natural swimming habits. As opposed to a lot of fw fish reef fish generally come from the wild and they need more space generally to thrive in captivity.
Honestly in your shoes I'd return the nem and the fish, get the tank on track and then start over with appropriate pets. Here's some fish that are happy in a little tank, and down the road when things are settled you can def get a nem. This website has good info about what fish need, and you can show it to the wife on your phone in the store or whatev so you aren't the bad guy who won't get the critter
http://m.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124

PS you can't just boil the water, you'd have to capture and cool the steam leaving behind the contaminates. Walmart water is like $1 gallon. Don't get the Ro or drinking water as those will have minerals that you are trying to avoid, you need distilled

All sound advice. I'm gonna run out and buy some distilled water and do some water changes in a valiant effort to bring the alk down. will update asap.

 

[gone fishin]

a good step, do some WC's and then see where you stand. I would only change a gallon or two every few days until things get sorted out.

I also agree with Cstrickland the damsel is to large for the tank. But for the time being getting your water in order is the first priority IMO.

 

[FishRhard]

okay so i just finished mixing a 4 gallon batch of salt. I'm gonna let it set for several hours and only add small increments to the tank over time. However I went ahead and took some measure of the salt batch after the salt was no longer visible in the water.

Salt Batch (Instant Ocean salt)-
Ph-8.2
alk-15dkh
salinity-1.024

I'm at a complete loss here. No clue why the alk is going from 0 to 15 just from adding salt mix. My alk test has served me well over the years. I really wouldn't suspect it to be at fault here /shrug.

 

[Marchillo]

Test kit may not be accurate.

 

[Marchillo]

Maybe bad salt mix

 

[FishRhard]

Just wanted to stop and say thanks to everyone for trying to help me save my lil fishy friend. It does mean a lot to me. If he could give all of you hugs he would

So with the possibility of an inaccurate alk test and guessing that the alk is fine. What else could it be at this point? I am utterly stumped.

 

[FishRhard]

I do have a general hardness test. Would that be of any use for this particular problem?

 

[CStrickland]

I do have a general hardness test. Would that be of any use for this particular problem?

Like the api carbonate hardness test for fw tanks? yeah, I'd test the bottled water with that, it should be zero. IDK what the dif is between that and the sw alk test, or if there is one at all.

and yeah {hug}

 

[FishRhard]

Degrees of general hardness - (dGH) is a unit of water hardness, specifically of general hardness. General hardness is a measure of the concentration of divalent metal ions such as calcium and magnesium (Ca2+, Mg2+) per volume of water.

Carbonate hardness - or carbonate alkalinity is a measure of the alkalinity of water caused by the presence of carbonate (CO2− 3) and bicarbonate (HCO− 3) anions. Carbonate hardness is usually expressed either as parts per million (ppm or mg/L), or in degree KH (dKH)

Added the two definitions so that we would all be on the same page. So I measured the GH of my tap and it was 20. I measured the GH of my 10g saltwater tank and its literally off the scale and cant be measured. like I added 100 drops shaking the test tube between each drop and it still wont turn green. I'm in dismay.

 

[CStrickland]

yeah, the sw has all the salt stuff in it. 20 is hard water so starting with that likely would put you over your goal because the salt mix is designed for zero dgh water.
It sounds like your alk test was not super inaccurate if the tap is coming in high on the dgh scale.
Do you have any bottled water left to test?
This stuff is kinda over my head, but this is a good article about alk / hardness that might help you
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/2/chemistry

 

[FishRhard]

yeah, the sw has all the salt stuff in it. 20 is hard water so starting with that likely would put you over your goal because the salt mix is designed for zero dgh water.
It sounds like your alk test was not super inaccurate if the tap is coming in high on the dgh scale.
Do you have any bottled water left to test?
This stuff is kinda over my head, but this is a good article about alk / hardness that might help you
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/2/chemistry

Thanks for hanging in there with me. Mr. Fishy appreciates it. Shouldn't the GH of the distilled water be zero? idk, this stuff is over my head too lol. Want me to test the GH of the salt mix with distilled water as well?

 

[CStrickland]

What was the gh (fw hardness test) of the distilled water without salt?

 

[FishRhard]

What was the gh (fw hardness test) of the distilled water without salt?

Just finished testing. These were the results. Mind = Blown.

Distilled - 0 dGH
Tap - 20 dGH
10g Tank - Unreadable (Stopped at 100 dGH)
Dist. Salt - Unreadable (Stopped at 120 dGH)

I literally ran out of room in the test tube for more drops to continue further testing ... I have a loss for words.

 

[CStrickland]

So that sounds like the distilled water is not hard, but the general hardness test isn't useful for knowing the alk of saltwater because of the other stuff in the salt making it harder besides alk. I'm thinking that alk would show on the gh test, but so does other stuff so gh doesn't tell you much once you add the salt.
I'm not sure how to get the alk any lower than 15 dkh if that's really what your salt is mixing to when it is added to pure, not hard, water.

Did you shake up the salt itself before you added it to the water, and let it dissolve all the way before you tested the sw you made from distilled?

 

[FishRhard]

So that sounds like the distilled water is not hard, but the general hardness test isn't useful for knowing the alk of saltwater because of the other stuff in the salt making it harder besides alk. I'm thinking that alk would show on the gh test, but so does other stuff so gh doesn't tell you much once you add the salt.
I'm not sure how to get the alk any lower than 15 dkh if that's really what your salt is mixing to when it is added to pure, not hard, water.

Did you shake up the salt itself before you added it to the water, and let it dissolve all the way before you tested the sw you made from distilled?

Shaken and stirred before mixing, and after mixing. I did just find a forum post about buffering going bad on salt that hasn't been stored properly. Also seeing as how when I first opened my small cardboard box of instant ocean I noticed there was some salt sprinkled outside the bag.

Could there have been a hole in the bag that caused the salt to lose its buffering ability during its shelf life?

 

[CStrickland]

dunno, I thought that was just if it got wet
Are you sure the salinity is accurate? If your refractometer got uncalibrated and you were adding too much salt then stuff like alk, ca etc. would also be high. It should be like a 1/2 cup salt per gallon of water

 

[FishRhard]

dunno, I thought that was just if it got wet
Are you sure the salinity is accurate? If your refractometer got uncalibrated and you were adding too much salt then stuff like alk, ca etc. would also be high. It should be like a 1/2 cup salt per gallon of water

Yeah the 1/2 cup per gallon is the ratio I've been going by and matches up to my hydrometer spot on.

 

[gone fishin]

some salt mixes list parameters on the container. The alkalinity should be listed.

 

[FishRhard]

some salt mixes list parameters on the container. The alkalinity should be listed.

only shows suggested gravity and temp : /

 

[gone fishin]

Do you happen to know what the calcium and magnesium levels of the tank?

I understand the alk level is high from the salt mix initially. I am just curious if the calcium or the mag level is low.