water parameters?

[prosper]

I have some out of wack water parameters and Im not sure how to get them in line... they are as follows-
calcium-480
alkalinity-12kh
magnesium 1350
nitrate-5
phosphate-.10
ph-8.3

im not exactly sure why the calcium and alkalinity are so high... I am ordering some goo to deal with phosphate and the nitrates mag and ph are all in check.
what should I do to get the alkalinity down? and the calcium?

 

[Ejb]

What salt mix are you using? When I used IO my alk was at 10 or 11, I cant recall but I switched back to tropic marin pro and it went down to 7.

 

[Ejb]

My mistake 8 dkh is what I meant

 

[hkgar]

8 dKH is fine and the 480 ca is nothing to worry about. Some push it that high as it is thought to help growth of Coraline algae.

PO4 is the only one for some mild concern as it can promote algae and Cyano growth. What size tank and what is the bioload, and what is your water change amount and schedule?

I feed heavy in a well stocked 180 and use an ATS and dose carbon to keep it in check. What is this goo you speak of? GFO?

 

[prosper]

8 dKH is fine and the 480 ca is nothing to worry about. Some push it that high as it is thought to help growth of Coraline algae.

PO4 is the only one for some mild concern as it can promote algae and Cyano growth. What size tank and what is the bioload, and what is your water change amount and schedule?

I feed heavy in a well stocked 180 and use an ATS and dose carbon to keep it in check. What is this goo you speak of? GFO?

its a 38 with 40 lbs of live rock, an oversized skimmer and 2 ocellaris clownfish it has been up for about 60 days and I'm doing weekly 5 gallon water changes, I made the mistake of putting the rock on top of the sand and all the detritus just gets stuck there... I now am switching to bare bottom siphoning out sand with every water change... not sure where the phosphate is coming from???

 

[prosper]

What salt mix are you using? When I used IO my alk was at 10 or 11, I cant recall but I switched back to tropic marin pro and it went down to 7.

reef crystals mixed to 1.025

 

[prosper]

slowly bringing it up to 1.026...
because when I filled the tank a few months ago I used the 1/2 cup per gallon not realizing it would mix out to 1.023

 

[prosper]

I also forgot to mention I put the skimmer on about 4 days ago... and I do have some minor algae growth on the glass that is visible after 4-5 days w/o cleaning

 

[Sk8r]

You're not that bad at all. Nothing is going to budge too much naturally downward because of that 1350 mg---that tends to stabilize the other reading. But it will fall, over a month or so, unless your salt mix is quite high (Oceanic is, eg). Your phosphate is ok---you could support a blenny, who eats film algae. Your nitrate is where, say, frogspawn coral likes it.
Write down a set of parameters you like, and start keeping a log of where you are relative to that---that will show you how your tank responds over time. That is valuable info to have. Then you will have a good idea of the time it takes to fix a given situation.

 

[prosper]

You're not that bad at all. Nothing is going to budge too much naturally downward because of that 1350 mg---that tends to stabilize the other reading. But it will fall, over a month or so, unless your salt mix is quite high (Oceanic is, eg). Your phosphate is ok---you could support a blenny, who eats film algae. Your nitrate is where, say, frogspawn coral likes it.
Write down a set of parameters you like, and start keeping a log of where you are relative to that---that will show you how your tank responds over time. That is valuable info to have. Then you will have a good idea of the time it takes to fix a given situation.

will do

 

[Nerayan]

will do

Hi there I am new to the hobby and have been doing a lot of reading and research on trace elements but still feel I haven't grasped a few things.

Question:

1. With regular water changes( 20% every 7 days with a great salt mix) will I need to test for Calcium, Alkerlinity and Magnesium? Or will it contain enough to sustain a reef aquarium?

2. What kind Lighting schedule should i keep. How long should the white light be on and when does the blue get turned on etc.

3. Is it wise to go to hard corals rather than start with leather coral?

Sorry for asking like this but I'd prefer your advice rather than harming my tank and the corals.

Fluval m60
3 months old with 2 clownfish and CUC

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[prosper]

I'm actually 15 and this is my first tank as well but as far as I know yes you should test your parameters regularly and start adjusting dosage amounts as corals grow and consume more... other than that I couldn't really answer any of the other questions, and I'm trying to figure those things out myself, however I do recommend watching the brs series 52 weeks of reefing and all of their other videos are good as well


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[Nerayan]

I'm actually 15 and this is my first tank as well but as far as I know yes you should test your parameters regularly and start adjusting dosage amounts as corals grow and consume more... other than that I couldn't really answer any of the other questions, and I'm trying to figure those things out myself, however I do recommend watching the brs series 52 weeks of reefing and all of their other videos are good as well


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Thanks funny enough I am watching their video on dosage right now. Much appreciated

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[prosper]

No problrm


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[hkgar]

And read the "stickies" at the top of this forum and all the other sub-forums. Lot's of great information there. Explore all the areas. Chemistry, Reef, and equipment in particular;ar.

 

[Nerayan]

And read the "stickies" at the top of this forum and all the other sub-forums. Lot's of great information there. Explore all the areas. Chemistry, Reef, and equipment in particular;ar.

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