Test results, now what??

[Chelo's Big Sis]

Ok, so I got a new master test kit and I got a PH and ALK kit from Chuggy. I just finished with 3 of the tests and the readings were: PH 8.4
ALK 1.7 - 2.8
Nitrate 50

So what should I do to get things straightened out? I know the Nitrate is way too high but I don't know how to get it down to 0 and thats a long way from 50! and the PH and ALK results I have now idea if they are off the chart or what to do about it. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Cindy

 

[bennyd]

Do you have a fuge with cheato? How often are you doing water changes to try and help with nitrates? How exactly are you doing your water changes while trying to lower nitrates?

I will try and find you a great link on water changes and nitrates...

 

[bennyd]

Found it! Check this out... Pretty informational in my opinion...

http://www.melevsreef.com/reducing_nitrates.html

 

[itZme]

Best thing to do would probably be to begin reading some of the chemistry articles in the RC forums. Here are all the chemistry stickies which have a TON of info in them.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605
I know it will make your head spin if you get into to much scientific stuff at once so pick a topic like "Nitrate" and read about it for a couple days. Do it in small batches so you don't hurt your head
There are Nitrate reducing items sold by many companies, most of the people I know use a deep sand bed for denitrification. you can also look into one of those nifty sulfur denitrators but it's another item you would have to buy, adjust and keep an eye on. If you like gadgets then the sulfur one is the way to go. If not, try some of the natural methods. If you don't want a deep sand bed in your display tank you could look into the "remote DSB in a bucket" method.

According to the chemist Randy Holmes-Farley you should aim for an Alkalinity in the range of 2.5 - 4 meq/L or 7 - 11 dKH. Most of the hobbyists measure in dKH instead of the way you listed yours (meq/L)

Also, don't try to correct all of the issues at once or do any of them too quickly. Most corals can handle a broad range of Alkalinity but if you change your ALK by 2 points in one day you will have trouble with almost any coral and most likely lose a lot of them. Do your changes slowly over days or weeks.

Your pH is looking good at 8.4. Most people aim for 8.0 - 8.4. It will fluctuate a lot and depending on the time of testing it could be off by quite a bit. I know people who can't keep their pH above 7.9 but the corals are fine. Again it is a matter of keeping things steady and letting the corals adjust.

It sounds like you are getting a good base of knowledge and just have to build on it slowly. Keep reading and enjoy the hobby. A lot of people spend so much time testing, adding chemicals, testing etc... that they don't ever get to step back and just enjoy it. You will never get everything perfect and just when you do something will change and you will try to fix the next thing.

Good Luck!
-- Kevin

 

[MMOORE0324]

What brand test kits are you using? Your ALK should be between 8-10DkH... But depending on what kit you are using the numbers you got maybe reading in Meq/L. Your PH is ok.. a little high but ok. I keep my PH at 8.2 As for No3... you really wont get it down to 0 until you figure out what is going on to make them that high. With that being said.. Here a few tips:

1) Reduce feeding
2) More frequent water changes
3) Heavy protein skimming

Here is a great article on how to get high nitrates down to acceptable levels quickly:
http://www.melevsreef.com/reducing_nitrates.html

And here is a wonderful piece on aquarium water chemistry by Randy Holmes-Farley
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2002/chemistry.htm

 

[MMOORE0324]

lol well everyone posted while my PC was frozen.. so sorry for the double info!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14849244#post14849244 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by itZme
Keep reading and enjoy the hobby. A lot of people spend so much time testing, adding chemicals, testing etc... that they don't ever get to step back and just enjoy it.

This is one of the best quotes that I have heard while in this hobby! Very well said Kevin!

 

[chuggy]

hook up your new ro make some water and do a change tommorow

 

[laskopyre]

+1 for water change. Did you grab the chaeto yesterday? Macro algae is very helpful at removing nitrates and phosphates. A small fuge with chaeto goes a long way in helping keep nitrates/phosphates at a manageable level.

 

[Chelo's Big Sis]

thanks for the info guys! It looks like I have some reading to do. I was planning on hooking up my new RO unit tonight but I just got home from the emergency pet hospital. My dog ate some raisins and needs to be kept for the night so I couldn't get to Home Depot to get the fittings, but I will shoot over there tomorrow. (thanks for the help w/ the RO unit Chuggy)

My test kits are Red Sea Master Kit and the Red Sea ALK/PH kit I got from Chuggy last night. Maybe I'm not reading them right.?? I tried to get as accurate as possible when I was looking at them.

I didn't get the Cheato. Someone else had wanted it and I was trying to figure out which of the additives I needed and how to use them. I will try to hunt some down.

I inherited some live rock and it had quite a bit of red algae on it and I put it in my tank. Could that have made some of my numbers high? There was reef crud on there too. I just got some snails and maybe I should get some crabs and starfish to??

I have to pick up the light that CoveBeach recommended at Home Depot and then the Cheato will live in my sump. Right now there isn't any light under there.

Thanks again.
Cindy

 

[laskopyre]

You can get some chaeto at Jurassic or someone might have some they can harvest for you. As for the red algae, it's not good to have. It will spread. I would take the rock out and put it in a bucket of tank water, and scrub it off with a toothbrush. The nitrates could have come from the bacteria die off. It does hold nitrates and phosphates, and can release it during a die off. Anytime you get new rock, you should do a little curing in a seperate tank. There are things on a rock that will die if exposed to air, and can cause levels to jump.