What are "safe" parameters??

[Saltydrip]

I have been doing water changes every 2 days in my QT but just let side a phew days and noticed a loss in color in my flame angle and the 6 line was swimming a little funny. I imediatly did a water change. They immediately turned around. Like a breath of fresh air and are bake to what looks like great health. I didn't bother with a test because I knew it was time for fresh water and I didn't want to easy time! I did a 50% water change asap and tested the water after the change. Perametrrs were, just under .25ppm ammonia, .25ppm nitrite, 20ppm nitrate and 7.8 ph.

I did another 50% water change this morning and cut on back the feedings. I will do another 25% water change tomorrow and if all is good I'll go back to every other day.

I know we want NO bad chemistry but where is the line? At what point do thes chemicals begin to damage our fish?

 

[Dragon moray ki]

There should be no nitrite or amonnia notates are ok if it's fish only how old is the tank.

 

[Playa-1]

I would do water changes to get the ammonia undetectable or at least use an ammonia binder as part of the QT. I wouldn't bother tracking nitrite or nitrate in a QT just keep the ammonia undetectable, ph stable, temp stable, and keep the QT well aerated.

 

[Saltydrip]

I know where it needs to be and I did add some kent Pro-ammonia Detox after the last water change that I forgot to mention. The QT is new to there fish. That's why I was doing water changes every other day but I missed a change. I couldn't believe how fast the chemistry went bad. Now that I know the speed things can change I'll be more careful.

I think I'll post this in the chemistry forum. I'm really more interested about the different exposure levels and damage caused at what level.

 

[gmate]

You want PH over 8, preferably 8.2
Temp 78-80
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0
SG 1.025-ish
Ca 400-450 for corals
Mg 1200-1400 for corals
DKH in the range of 13 is pretty good

Some things to shoot for...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

There is no concern about the nitrite at nearly any level, but 0.25 ppm ammonia is undesirably high and I'd look to keep it lower.

These have more:

Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/index.php

Nitrite and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

from the first one:

Ammonia can also be very important during tank crashes. In all of these situations, I recommend striving to keep ammonia below 0.1 ppm total NH4-N. If the level rises above 0.25 ppm total NH4-N, I suggest taking immediate action, such as using an ammonia binder or performing water changes.

 

[Saltydrip]

Thank you Randy! That was just what I was looking for.

 

[jdm01]

agree with gmate and Randy.

 

[Saltydrip]

I totally agree as well. I was just curious about the damage that is caused and what kind of exposure to different elements/chemicals. What Randy posted answered several questions and gave me direction to find the rest.

It's as if your exposed to loud noise at work. OSHA says you can have a certain level of Db in an 8 hour shift and that's it. It can all be in 5mins or extended over 8hr. Or something along those lines. It was a curiosity about exposure more than safe limits I guess.