I just did a 10% water change, and tested a few hours after. I'm using the red sea test kit. My alkalinity is at 12 Dkh, Calcium is at 370 ppm. and magnesium is at 1360 ppm. Phosphate at .5 ppm. Now i dont have any corals in my tank, but just wondering if these are suitable for soft and lps corals. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, saltinity, and temp are all good.
Parameters test ok?
- Thread starter cam08
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ryan_ferguson25
New member
Alk is high
Cal is a little low
Mag is good
PO4 way too high
Cal is a little low
Mag is good
PO4 way too high
mcgyvr
New member
Recommended ranges/info here..
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/
mcgyvr
New member
Phosphate could be from overfeeding.. Stopping that and the phosphates should come down.. Some also run GFO to remove excessive phosphates..
As to alk/cal/mag.. I suspect your salt mix now is whats getting you those numbers.. Some are higher in those than others.. And really thats just fine..
I wouldn't do anything about it now and as you get corals they will start consuming it and the number will drop.. Then its just are they consuming it too fast where the water changes alone aren't enough to keep it stable/consistent.. And then at that point you start looking into dosing (2 part/kalk,etc...) to keep it stable between water changes..
Frankly you probably don't/won't have to do anything.. Time will tell.. Just realize that when/if you go corals they like stability (specifically alk).. And adjust as needed..
As to alk/cal/mag.. I suspect your salt mix now is whats getting you those numbers.. Some are higher in those than others.. And really thats just fine..
I wouldn't do anything about it now and as you get corals they will start consuming it and the number will drop.. Then its just are they consuming it too fast where the water changes alone aren't enough to keep it stable/consistent.. And then at that point you start looking into dosing (2 part/kalk,etc...) to keep it stable between water changes..
Frankly you probably don't/won't have to do anything.. Time will tell.. Just realize that when/if you go corals they like stability (specifically alk).. And adjust as needed..
You can buy supplements for alkalinity buffer, calcium, and magnesium, if your salt is short, or if your corals are using calcium fast (stony corals and clams do). Kent brand is good. But while you're new and before you have corals, the numbers (except the phosphate) are not bad. You can lower phosphate by using gfo, if it proves a persistent problem. You ARE using ro/di water, right? Phosphate can come in from rock, or from city water.
neiltus
New member
I would use their advice above and possibly considering giving more info about your tank, age, contents, size, goals, water you use for salt mixing, live rock type and cured/uncured, sand type, fish/coral/inverts. What type of salt your using?
With a lot of this stuff, there is a level of objectivity that comes with what your trying to do and the steps you used to get there.
If this is a SPS, FOWLR, LPS, softy, nem tank, they all kinda need slightly different things. If you have a trigger and a grouper in a 125g tank, your parameters are fine.
And I agree, PO4 is high. Your dkh might also be on the high side. More water changes might lower your PO4 by the %age of your change, and it also may raise your dkh some more too.
ALLIDOISREEF
New member
Soft Corals and some LPS will do ok in those parameters. I would wait a while though and make sure you have some stability and consistent test results before adding corals. Your tank is still very young. You will probably get some ugly algae and cyano as your tank progresses in the next few weeks. Which are easier to deal with if you don't have to worry about them affecting your new corals.
neiltus
New member
And as other have said, you might look into working on the PO4 via feeding lightly, water changes and perhaps tumbling a small amount of GFO.
I had PO4 that was 1ppm until I started using GFO in very small amounts and changing it frequently. I would use around 1/3 cup per 75g and change almost weekly for a couple months. Now I use the same amount and change it about once every 5 weeks or so and I stay well under .05.
I also added a small amount of cheato to the sump. It grows well, but I feel it takes up NO3 better than PO4 and the amount I have would only slightly effect PO4. e.g. most of the change in PO4 came from the GFO.
I had PO4 that was 1ppm until I started using GFO in very small amounts and changing it frequently. I would use around 1/3 cup per 75g and change almost weekly for a couple months. Now I use the same amount and change it about once every 5 weeks or so and I stay well under .05.
I also added a small amount of cheato to the sump. It grows well, but I feel it takes up NO3 better than PO4 and the amount I have would only slightly effect PO4. e.g. most of the change in PO4 came from the GFO.
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