Some Questions On Water Chemisty

[cleverbs]

Ok so I am starting my SPS reef and have been doing a lot of reading but have some questions.

Here are my current water params

temp - 78.0 - 78.1
Nitrate - 0
P04 - 0
Calc - 440
Mag - 1360
Alk - 10.3 (may need to lower it?)
PH - 8.4

Now I get mixed comments about Nitrate some say you want your sps system nutrient free others say you want a very small amount in the water...well which is it?

Also what do I need to fix in regards to my other params? do I need to balance anything out?

 

[undertai]

Alk is ok I run my around 10 to 11 dkh. So you're is ok everything else is ok. I have never measured my nirates in my tank and everything is ok, but I also feed my fish a lot so pretty sure their is Some.

 

[jroovers]

I think you look pretty good parameter wise. I like to run my alk closer to 8, but that is because I have typically carbon dosed in the past.

Typically you do want a bit of nutrient in the system, otherwise your coral will starve. I would not be concerned with 0 nitrates or 0 phosphates though on test kits. For those running ultra low nutrient systems, typically they have to feed heavy or dose AA's or coral foods so that the SPS doesn't starve. The nutrient balance line is a fine one, and is tough to dial in, even with practice and experience, but over time you'll find it.

 

[cleverbs]

I feed fish heavy and plan to add a lot more fish to the system. I dont have a lot of fish right now but that will change.

I do want to start feeding coral foods at some point.

 

[swk]

If you start getting burned tips, I would be prepared to drop your alk

 

[JB NY]

Your numbers are all ok. Alk is fine, I know many people who run alk at that level and do not have problems. I still recommend that people keep it in the lower eights or so, but you can be successful with alk at 10-11, if you find it difficult to keep the alk that low.

Nitrate, you want to see just a slight amount of nitrates. But I would caution you from trying to have elevated nitrates if you are just starting out because it is easy to over do it (things looks great for 6-8 months then you have a huge algae bloom).

But for a new tank I think keeping Nitrate low until you get the hang of your tank is a safe bet.

 

[cleverbs]

Your numbers are all ok. Alk is fine, I know many people who run alk at that level and do not have problems. I still recommend that people keep it in the lower eights or so, but you can be successful with alk at 10-11, if you find it difficult to keep the alk that low.

Nitrate, you want to see just a slight amount of nitrates. But I would caution you from trying to have elevated nitrates if you are just starting out because it is easy to over do it (things looks great for 6-8 months then you have a huge algae bloom).

But for a new tank I think keeping Nitrate low until you get the hang of your tank is a safe bet.

This tank is not new. It has been set up for over 1.5years I dont want elevated Nitrates i just keep seeing in threads with people who have very nice sps tanks they say that their nitrate is ~.3 I am just trying to understand why and how they even measure this. is this .3ppm or what?

Also I would like to keep my alk lower however I dont know how to let it fall. Do I just not dose alk till it get to the place I want it then dose it based one that then do smaller water changes in the 10% range to avoid bumbing it back up? because all the salts have alk higher then 8

 

[JB NY]

You can measure Nitrates that low using the Salifert test kit.

For alk, yes just stop dosing alk for a while and let it fall. Also yes you can do water changes around 10% to keep the alk from going too high.

 

[cleverbs]

So then what are my IDEAL paramaters for a SPS tank?

450cal
1360mag
8alk?

 

[JB NY]

Yeah, stick with those numbers you will be good.