GUIDE MEEE

[Crod1758]

Lol ok so had my water tested still new to saltwater my ph ,nitrate, and nitrites came out good but ammonia and alkalinity came high and calcium came low how can I correct this to add fishes in my tank.

 

[Anthony king]

Have to wait for the cycle patience is key

 

[Adam]

The tank needs to finish cycling. When ammonia and nitrite are zero do a water change and add a fish or two.

 

[Crod1758]

Have to wait for the cycle patience is key

Thank you

 

[Crod1758]

Thank you

Thank you

If alkalinity is high will that harm fishes and corals and also with low calcium

 

[jcook54]

My first question is what is the alkalinity? It won't harm any fish and it's probably fine for corals. Unless you are dosing alkalinity it should be fine. Alk can swing a decent bit and a good "general" alkalinity level is 8 dKH. Some folks shoot for 10 dKH and that could be considered "high" by some. Kinda the same thing with Calcium. A good general number is around 390ppm with most reefkeepers running it 420+. You calcium might be 360 and considered "low" by some.

 

[jcook54]

Here's a good article that gives the general ranges for reef keeping.

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

Don't try and take the whole article in and just pay attention to keeping Calcium and Alk in the acceptable range.

 

[Crod1758]

My first question is what is the alkalinity? It won't harm any fish and it's probably fine for corals. Unless you are dosing alkalinity it should be fine. Alk can swing a decent bit and a good "general" alkalinity level is 8 dKH. Some folks shoot for 10 dKH and that could be considered "high" by some. Kinda the same thing with Calcium. A good general number is around 390ppm with most reefkeepers running it 420+. You calcium might be 360 and considered "low" by some.

Nice for the time being I should focus on my ammonia then right and what can I use to keep alkalinity and calcium high out of curiousity can I dose? Will that be ok or will that bring up my ph and nitrates if I'm not careful while doesing

 

[jcook54]

Focus on ammonia and nitrites. That's the cycle and patience is the only way to get though it (those need to be 0). The next thing I would do is start getting testing kits. The big 4 are a calcium test, an alkalinity test, a nitrate test and a phosphate test. Some folks throw magnesium in there but I test for Mg every other months. You can get more but those are the most important. Find out what you levels are for calcium and alkalinity and we can look at the best way to proceed for dosing. I'm a fan of the "2 Part" system. Once is calcium and the other alkalinity. I personally use Seachem products but there are TONS of options.

 

[Crod1758]

Focus on ammonia and nitrites. That's the cycle and patience is the only way to get though it (those need to be 0). The next thing I would do is start getting testing kits. The big 4 are a calcium test, an alkalinity test, a nitrate test and a phosphate test. Some folks throw magnesium in there but I test for Mg every other months. You can get more but those are the most important. Find out what you levels are for calcium and alkalinity and we can look at the best way to proceed for dosing. I'm a fan of the "2 Part" system. Once is calcium and the other alkalinity. I personally use Seachem products but there are TONS of options.

Wow thank you so much you are very helpful honeslty