Water Parameters

[ldybkr]

I am hoping my son will get home before the LFS closes so I can get some water. My question is, will w water change fix this?

Ph 7.8
Nitrates 0
Nitrites 0
Calcium 300 ( I added some)
Ammonia 0
Phos 2.0 ( I turned up the phosban reactor but will replace the media when i get it.)
sp gravity 1.026
Kh 125
Mag 1470
Iodine .09

If I use buffer to increase the pH slowly, how will that affect the Kh?

I know the iodine is high, I had added 3 gtts to the 120 gal. Obviously was too much.

I usually do a 10% water change, Do you think I should do more?

 

[derek_s]

Most buffers raise the KH. Your KH looks wrong. it should be 8-12 dkh, unless you are measuring in meq/L (which would mean oyu are looking for 2.8-4.3 meq/L)

Do a waterchange of 10-20% wait a bit and test again. It should help your ph and phos.

The key to the low PH is not to over react. If your ph is always this low, just slowly raise it over time, by maybe just .1 every several hours. A lot of probelms usually come from people getting panicked and trying to adjust things too quickly. THis usually results in overshooting and bigger problems.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Ya that KH number is off somewhere... Do you mean 1.25 meq/L or 12.5 dKh? Iodine will leave your system on its own in a day or two. I would not worry about it too much. Your Phos is way too high and a water change (if it is good water) will help correct that a bit. Your PH is low and you (depending on your KH levels) are a bit imbalanced ionicly between CA/ALK/Mag but nothing too bad. If you main worry is the PH, I would not worry too much. 7.8 is honestly what most of our tanks are at.

 

[derek_s]

Xyzpdq0121;243813 wrote: Ya that KH number is off somewhere... Do you mean 1.25 meq/L or 12.5 dKh? Iodine will leave your system on its own in a day or two. I would not worry about it too much. Your Phos is way too high and a water change (if it is good water) will help correct that a bit. Your PH is low and you (depending on your KH levels) are a bit imbalanced ionicly between CA/ALK/Mag but nothing too bad. If you main worry is the PH, I would not worry too much. 7.8 is honestly what most of our tanks are at.

I honestly second that. I learned from Brandon a while back that a stable PH is more imprtant than one that yo-yos between low and 8.3.

 

[ldybkr]

It is a nutrafin test. It measures it in mg/L.

 

[ldybkr]

you measure the drops and multiply the number of drops by 10.

 

[derek_s]

Try it again, or re-evaluate your results. How many drops did it take you? 12.5?

You should be getting a very low number like 2, 3, 4.4, etc... IF it is in meq/L

BTW, to convert meq/l, you multiply it by 2.8.

i.e: 2.8 meq/L x 2.8 = 8 dKh

 

[derek_s]

And remember that KH tests usually are REALLY sensitive, so be sure that the test kit isnt really old, or the cap hasnt been left off, or the vials/droppers are contaminated (wash them really well, then rinse really well with the water you are testing).

Any small contaminate can really throw things off.

 

[ldybkr]

What test do you use?

 

[ralph atl]

for ALK use API or Elos.

 

[derek_s]

I use APi and salifert.

 

[ralph atl]

I agree with everything the 2 gentlemen said up there except:

water changes do very little to correct phosphate as phosphate is absorbed by algae, rock, sand, etc. There is very little in the water column.

turning up your gfo reactor will make things worse, IMHO.

 

[ralph atl]

Salifert almost crashed my tank 2 years ago. Habib was run out of reefcentral.

 

[ralph atl]

do your water changes though.

 

[ralph atl]

10-20%

do you have a publix near you? Do you have a TDS meter? TDS meters cost like 10 bucks or so.
I tested the water from 4 different LFS (I know it's not the one you go to), and all were just as bad as tap water.

publix has a RO machine that gave me from 5-10 on the tds meter. Good enough, not perfect.

 

[ldybkr]

My son called and will get me some water today and I will do a 10% water change x3 over the next few weeks. I will try the sera kit that I have. I API kit I have did not have the Kh. I will also test the water wehn I get it today and see what it is. When I get to Publix I will see if they have the TDS meter. I sure appreciate all your help. Should I change out the Phosban that has been in there for the last 3 months?
I sure appreciate all your help. My fish and coral all look good so far.

 

[ralph atl]

sorry for the confusion. I was suggesting that u should get a TDS tester, because your lfs water might be as good as tap water IF they don't change their filters. Also, in a pinch, u can get ro water from publix, as I've tested their water repeatedly and results are have always been between 5-10.

 

[ldybkr]

Thank you for the offer, you are very kind. My son picked me up several jugs of water.

 

[cameron]

Here is my wisdom... don't worry about the params unless you see a problem. Water changes from a reliable source are fix alls to most problems and if you keep them up with regularity you will likely not see a serious param problem. Also, try not to fixate on one reading. Slow and steady changes are better than correcting a param problem overnight. My pH was notoriously low and I had a very healthy tank.

 

[ldybkr]

Did a 10% water change, took me a long time to refill it. Everything loks good but will test today. I went o publix but didnt find it. what isle is in? i certainly appreciate your help.