Store bought water

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56cbr600rr

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Hi. I have and purchasing premixed water from one of my local stores since I’ve had my tank. Because some of my more recent corals have been a little bit more pricey I’ve decided to check my parameters. I also tested the store-bought water before I added tonight and got these numbers

4.5 alkalinity
7.4 PH
440 calcium
2 phosphate
Magnesium test should be in tomorrow, I’ll check it then.

what are y’all thoughts on the Phosphate, alkalinity, and PH?

id rather alkalinity be A little over 8.

Should I start mixing my own salt? What brand if so.
 
"what are y’all thoughts on the Phosphate, alkalinity, and PH?"

If those numbers are accurate, I would find another source!
 
I would invest in an RO/DI and start mixing your own water. For salt I have used reef crystals,live aquaria salt,and fritz. I had good luck with all of them. Most big name salts are fine just find one that mixes closes to the parameters you want you tank to be at
 
56cbr600rr said:
Hi. I have and purchasing premixed water from one of my local stores since I’ve had my tank. Because some of my more recent corals have been a little bit more pricey I’ve decided to check my parameters. I also tested the store-bought water before I added tonight and got these numbers

4.5 alkalinity
7.4 PH
440 calcium
2 phosphate
Magnesium test should be in tomorrow, I’ll check it then.

what are y’all thoughts on the Phosphate, alkalinity, and PH?

id rather alkalinity be A little over 8.

Should I start mixing my own salt? What brand if so.
Click to expand...
Here is a great resource for Parameters
reefstable.com

Reef Stable | Saltwater Fish Tanks Made Simple

Reef Stable is a saltwater aquarium blog and online coral retailer. The mission at Reef Stable is to educate and simplify successful reef tanks to grow the reefing community.
reefstable.com reefstable.com

I pulled this from another forum for a good starting point but the most commented on statement was Stability.
The more stable the more sucess because the tank will adjust some if needed.

Nitrates: 5-20
Phosphates: .05-.3
Calcium: 375-450
Alkalinity: 7-11
Magnesium: 1250-1350
Salinity: 1.025-1.027
Iodine: .04-.06

I agree with all the other post above, best to make your own water or at least look for another source.
I cant see how the Alk will go up if all of the water has come from the same place with the same parameters.

Good Luck!
 
hzheng33 said:
that's crap.....my waste water is better than this.

but out of necessity and to give the store the benefit of doubt,

what are you using for testing of these parameters? and did you confirm your result by doing another test?
Click to expand...

Tested 2-3 times. The calcium, alkalinity, and phosphate are all Salifert. The store tested their own water with their own kit and got 5 with the alkalinity.

What is strange however, is my alkalinity is usually 7.0-7.7.
 
Store bought water always sux.
I did it when i first started and after finally learning how to test i couldnt believe the numbers i saw . Even had salinty 10 and 20 points off b4.
 
Did you check the salinity?
Needless to say those parameters, if accurate, are not very good.
 
Wow, that's... not good at all. Until you get setup, feel free to drop by here and get a bucket of water!

It's gotten me curious enough to test my Reef Crystals mix. I am NEVER precise with it (about 1/2 cup per gallon, but I don't even fill it up all the way) and let it mix for a few days in the garage. Here's what I just got testing with everything:

SG: 1.023
pH: 7.8 (Hanna)
Alk: 6.1 (Hanna) 8.6 (Salifert)
Ca: 552 (Hanna) 490 (Salifert)
Mag: 1310 (Aquaforest)
Phos: 0 (Hanna) 0 (Seachem)
Copper: 0 (Hanna)
Nitrates: Undetectable (Giesemann)
 
I would check salinity of the water. I believe most fish stores sell it at 1.021, so I wouldn’t be surprised. Secondly, phosphate reading. Is that 2ppb? I’m not familiar with Salifert but some
fish stores might not be as diligent about changing filters.
I highly recommend getting an ro/di if you plan to be in this hobby long term go save yourself some worries.
 
Thanks, might have to take you up on that! lol

Meant to check the store bought RO water yesterday, ran out of time..

bzb said:
Wow, that's... not good at all. Until you get setup, feel free to drop by here and get a bucket of water!

It's gotten me curious enough to test my Reef Crystals mix. I am NEVER precise with it (about 1/2 cup per gallon, but I don't even fill it up all the way) and let it mix for a few days in the garage. Here's what I just got testing with everything:

SG: 1.023
pH: 7.8 (Hanna)
Alk: 6.1 (Hanna) 8.6 (Salifert)
Ca: 552 (Hanna) 490 (Salifert)
Mag: 1310 (Aquaforest)
Phos: 0 (Hanna) 0 (Seachem)
Copper: 0 (Hanna)
Nitrates: Undetectable (Giesemann)
Click to expand...
 
Not that I would do this... but you could mix a batch with tap water and Prime to neutralize the chlorine.

I'm not going to knock any stores but I have never and will never get water from one. Either get an RODI and make your own or see if you can work out something with a reefer local to you.
 
I did this for over a yr . Never again. I purchased water from 3 stores in one day and tested them and all were below par in my opinion.
 
Years ago, when all we kept were soft corals, using dechlorinated tap water and salt was the standard. That just won’t do now.
 
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