test results good or bad

dermer

New member
temp 79-82 day 75 -79 night
salinity 1.025-1.027
ammonia 0
phosphates 0
nitrates 0
nitrites 0
ph 8.2-8.4
callcium 580
carbonate hardness 25dkg or 447.5ppm (way to high i think how do i fix

what are your thoughts on my results the tank is 75g and has been see up for 8 months it is a mixed reef assorted corals and fish
 
I would like to see a little less temp swing a controllercould help with that. Salinity needs to be stable as in 1.025 or 1.026 all of the time. Ca is also high along with your alk. They will both come down if you dont dose anything for a while. Do you have any idea how thry got that high?? I would be wanting to know that for sure.
 
thats the weird part i havent added any thing in over 2 months and when i stopped adding callcium it was at 420 just water changes and top off all with ro water i use instant ocean salt im not sure im that is it but i would think if anything that would lower it all a little bit
 
holy **** that is some high alk and calc. levels. best of my knowledge as to why it is so high is either test kits that have gone bad or user error! i found out the hard way, i was using it improperly (adding too much tank water).

what type of test kits are you using?
how often do you do waterchanges?
how many gallons do you do when you do a waterchange?

a decent amount of waterchanges should have fixed the "overdose" if you did once add chemicals into your tank. with my tank i was around 600ppm+ with the calcium and withing 2 waterchanges i fixed it. I change 5 gals in my tank and the total water amount i have is around 40gals. Keep in mind I do waterchanges weekly.
 
If you have not added anything and you have been doing water changes with IO then my first reaction is that your test kits for Calcium and Alkalinity are way off. If you had that alkalinity level and Calcium you would have seen a lot of abiotic precipitation by now.
Step number one before you try to adjust anything is to verify your measurement.
There is nothing worst than trying to fix a problem that does not exist.
 
No doubt testing error. As was said, if you are not adding any additives, with IO salt there is no way the calk would be that high. IO only runs about 370 or 380 if your lucky. Alk wouldnt be that high either.

I would have someone else check it with other test kits or get yourself some good new Salifert kits. They are accurate.

Your temp swings are too large as well. A good controller will eliminate that. I use this controller.

http://diyreef.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=68&products_id=212

Regards,

Pat
 
I would agree it's definitely a testing error. Just tested my new batch of IO for calcium today - it was about 350. Get some new test kits (i use salifer too) and get the salinity to stick at 1.025. Drastic temp shifts are easy to have. I would invest in a good controller.
 
You can lower your temp swing by making your heater keep the tank a little warmer all the time. I would maybe set the heater to keep the tank at 78 or 80 and use a fan to keep it lower then 82. If you use a fan make sure you have plenty of topoff water.
 
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