Water

[bruce 1]

I have been testing my water everyday, does it look good? How do I get the Hardness to go down? Thank you Bruce

Day------------- 1... 2...3... 4... 5
--------------------------------------------------------------
Ammonia --------0 ...0 ...0 .. 0.. 0

Nitrite-----------0....0....0....0....0

Nitrate----------- 40...40...20...40...80

Total Hardness---250..250..250..250..250

Alkalinity--------180...180...240...240...180

PH------------- 7.2...7.2...8.0...8.4.....8.4

Salinity------- 1.015... 1.021 ...1.021...1.021...1.021

 

[cr500_af]

What tests are you using? The only alk tests I've used measure in dKH (normal values 8-10) or meq/L (normal values 3-5). Your numbers have me confused.

And why would your nitrates go down, then back up, then up more? Is this a new tank (no fish)? Did you do a water change at day 3 or something?

And, your salinity is a little low (especially for a reef tank). 1.024-1.026 is typical for reef tanks. 1.021 won't hurt anything though, especially a FO tank.

 

[bruce 1]

cr500_af;550292 wrote: What tests are you using? The only alk tests I've used measure in dKH (normal values 8-10) or meq/L (normal values 3-5). Your numbers have me confused.

And why would your nitrates go down, then back up, then up more? Is this a new tank (no fish)? Did you do a water change at day 3 or something?

And, your salinity is a little low (especially for a reef tank). 1.024-1.026 is typical for reef tanks. 1.021 won't hurt anything though, especially a FO tank.

Mardel test kit.
The alk test is from 0, 80, 120, 180, 240, 300 and it says on the kit 120 to 180 is ideal. and it is in ppm

it is a new tank no fish

No water change
going to be reef and fish.

Thank you for any help.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

+1 on taking water in for testing.

 

[brianjfinn]

I'd get new test kits, too. I've never heard of that brand, and the ones people swear by are Salifert and Elos. They're more expensive, but when dealing with a reef tank, you really can't skimp on the test kits. What's the point in testing if you aren't getting accurate results? The fact that nitrates dropped in half one day and then doubled the two days after make me think the test is inaccurate.

By the way, what's the point of testing ammonia and nitrites? Are you in the process of cycling or just finishing a cycle?

 

[lilrobb]

Forget this and get some halfway decent kits, please...

 

[skriz]

In short, no, those parameters are not good. 5 days is not long enough to get a good reading of anything anyway. Let the tank cycle for a bit and see where you are.

I would test weekly for now (with a proper test kit). You should see your nitrites rise and fall, as well as your ammonia. Your nitrates will need to be much lower to sustain life; nothing to worry about at this moment, though.

Your salinity is fine, but I'm guessing your not using a refractometer to test it. That's going to be the only way to accurately determine your salinity.

Buy a few things now and save a ton of money and aggravation later:

decent test kits
refractometer
books

 

[jhutto]

Bruce is not cycling a new tank. Its a break down and move of an existing long term set up.

 

[jennm]

I tested the water today, and provided him with a report. I don't remember all the numbers off the top of my head, but SG was 1.017 (he has a refractometer - needs calibrated).

No ammonia or nitrate but nitrate was off the map. My kit reads to 50 PPM, and it was greater than that (exact number sort of a moot point).

He did move an existing setup and re-used some of the water from it. I suspect that was the issue. Phosphate was high too, I want to say 2.5 (working from memory).

pH was good I believe it was 8.2. I didn't test alk as some work needs to be done before fine tuning parameters.

If it was a long-term setup, that would likely explain the high nitrates. Not all older/mature systems have high nitrates if the water is carefully maintained, but if it isn't, that's what typically happens.

Bruce and his wife and I spoke at length today, and discussed how to get the parameters in line (and I can calibrate his refractometer when he visits again).

Jenn

 

[brianjfinn]

Way to go Jenn!

 

[bruce 1]

Just changed out 40 gal. of water I hope this gets the numbers down. Thanks Jenn.