Re_Run Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 any thoughts on wether I should dose and what, and wether I should bring my phosban reactor on line thanks phos 0-.25 nitrite 0-.25 ph 8.0-8.2 ammonia .25-.5 calcium 480 km alk 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 You should really have zero nitrite and ammonia. A higher ph would also be good. Are these #'s on a new tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 If your tank has cycled I don't belive you should be showing any ammonia. Also magnesium would be helpful. PH is also in the low range Your calcium and alk seem normal but it would depend on what life you have in the tank and how fast they will use it. I am a idiot on dosing so I wont give bad advice on it LOL Edit Matty beat me to it (laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 tank is about 2 years old, just added a calcium reactor trying to get it dialed in,, have added quite a few sps and lps in the last couple of months and a few fish,, was getting a swing on calcuim rangering for 320- to 500 and dosed with 2 part and got a snow storm.. lol so add a really nice pm calcium reacotr 6" by 22 tall, ato and reef keep come on line next week .. just found out to my ro/di was messed up and some of the waste water was getting mixed with the good out put.. was thinking of turning on my posh ban reactor but want some in put 1st, all ready run a carbon reactor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 going to do a 10% water change with the new good ro/di water tomorrow evening but wanted some thoughts 1st Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhand Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 what size of a tank is this how much total vol of water because i would suggest a larger water change than that maybe more along 30% then next day 20% then in two days 10-20% depending on param. imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 it's a 120g with a 40g ish sump (have to do the math but figure about 25g use able) so about 145g total volume, after allowing for equipment, rock displacement ect, comes out to about 100-110g useable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick T Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Usually ammonia in those levels, in a well established tank, means something has died and is rotting away. You probably have some Nitrites also. If your newly mixed SW is close in parameters (PH, Alk, Cal and Temp) to your tank IMHO you could a 40%-50% change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Usually ammonia in those levels, in a well established tank, means something has died and is rotting away. You probably have some Nitrites also. If your newly mixed SW is close in parameters (PH, Alk, Cal and Temp) to your tank IMHO you could a 40%-50% change +1 on this...also when we talked last night you said you were looking for better growth? Any idea what the mag is? After you get the other 3 prams under control w/ WC that's when I personally would start adding equipment (but that's me), adding new equipment while things are kind of off w/ the system makes it hard to tell how the new stuff is really effecting the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocboat Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 You also stated that phosphate is 0-.25 ppm. That is a large range and should be around .03 ppm if keeping SPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 thanks for catching that the chart goes from 0 to .25 the color was just noticeable above 0 next level on the chart was 0.25 sry for this confusion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 did a 30% water change today cleaned out the sump, skimmer, refuigum, return pump after 3 hrs 10/06/2012 phos 0 slightly above but not to the next level (close enough that you could call it 0) nit 0 ph 8.3 ammonia 0 calcium 480 km alk 11.5 sugestions? still running carbon reactor, and cal. reactor.. should I bring the phosban reactor on line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 your alk is a tad high, your calcium is a bit low and you should be testing for mag. everything else looks good, and there is no reason to remove phos unless it gets high. a little phos is actually needed for the health of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefboy Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 your alk is a tad high' date=' your calcium is a bit low and you should be testing for mag. everything else looks good, and there is no reason to remove phos unless it gets high. a little phos is actually needed for the health of the tank.[/quote'] I gota ask ware you see 480 cal being a tad low? natural seawater has a level of 425-450. I agree on the mag being tested and 11 is a tad high on the alk but if he is maintaing a 480 cal level his test may be testing high as if it was to high it wouldnt allow for much of a cal level to be held due to precipitation. And ph is great to0, do you get much of a swing from lights on to lights off? that can be the biggest thing with ph I have tanks that do great at a lower ph (7.9-8.0) they just dont swing during the diffrent photo periods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 I gota ask ware you see 480 cal being a tad low? natural seawater has a level of 425-450. I agree on the mag being tested and 11 is a tad high on the alk but if he is maintaing a 480 cal level his test may be testing high as if it was to high it wouldnt allow for much of a cal level to be held due to precipitation. And ph is great to0' date=' do you get much of a swing from lights on to lights off? that can be the biggest thing with ph I have tanks that do great at a lower ph (7.9-8.0) they just dont swing during the diffrent photo periods.[/quote'] my response was not the long drawn out documentary version that can be found on google in about 3 seconds. most salt mixes tend to mix a bit higher than those numbers if your salinity is in the 1.025-26 range plus he is running a reactor. my concern would be that if his alk is high he may be suppressing his calcium. he may see a calcium spike a bit if he lowers his alk but not knowing where his mag is kind of defeats the purpose of this conversation. i just spoke out of general ranges to be brief and to let him know that his parameters don't appear to be in ionic balance from the information we have. just speculation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 I'll pick up a mag test kit and let you know. From what I read cal and alk run in lock step with mag so if those 2 were more less in balance the mag should be ok.. Now I see that its something I should also be testing for while I get the cal reactor dialed in. will post new parm with mag after I pick up the test kit. so everthing else looks more or less okay, what your saying and not to bring the phosban reactor on line at this time. should I still be using the carbon reactor? I also think part of the problem came from using contaminated ro/di water// when I had the filters changed a bout amonth or so ago, the waste line form the ro unit got swapped with the good out going into the di unit.. noticed more aglea so took it in to have it checked and found this out. So with this water change and going to do one more tomorrow the should take care of that .. any more suggetions on anything else I should be doing? thanks also bringing on line a new ato system/ using about 5-7g a week in evap water, also a reep keeper lite to monitor temp and ph balance, I run my lights 12hrs a day, the moon lights at night.. also have a nigth light over the refugium during the photo cycle to help stablize the ph at night.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 your headed in the right direction. there is no perfect solution but what ultimately works in the end for you. some people say run carbon, some say no. i'm in the thinking that you don't run or do anything that isn't necessary or doesn't have a purpose. if you plan on having a mixed reef with lots of varied species, carbon can prove useful to help polish the water of chemical warfare but its a waste if you are not using it for a purpose, the same with phosban. the trick with most of this stuff is to achieve as much stability as you can obtain. ato is a must have and i also have a reefkeeper and love it. your light cycle might be a little long which may cause you excess algae buildup on the glass later down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefboy Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 my response was not the long drawn out documentary version that can be found on google in about 3 seconds. most salt mixes tend to mix a bit higher than those numbers if your salinity is in the 1.025-26 range plus he is running a reactor. my concern would be that if his alk is high he may be suppressing his calcium. he may see a calcium spike a bit if he lowers his alk but not knowing where his mag is kind of defeats the purpose of this conversation. i just spoke out of general ranges to be brief and to let him know that his parameters don't appear to be in ionic balance from the information we have. just speculation. I see your point there are allot of varibles especially not knowing ware his mag levels are at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 post calcium reactor // before the calcuim and alk were all over the place one day to the next 10/05/2012 phos 0 def over but not to the next color level on chart which is .25 nitrite 0-.25 closer to .25 than 0 ph 8.0-8.2 ammonia .25-.5 calcium 480 km alk 11 3 hours after cleaning in skimmer, sump, pumps and putting on a new filter sock 10 micron and a filter pad to clean out the debris kicked up by cleaning 10/06/2012 phos 0 slightly above but not to the next level nit 0 ph 8.3 ammonia 0 calcium 480 km alk 11 changed filter sock removed filter pad made sure water was topped off to correct level waited 1 hour prior to testing 10/07/2012 phos 0 maybe just a hair above not quite 0 color but just barely nitrite 0 ph 8.25-3 ammonia 0 calcium 460 had the calcuim reactor running but after the good cleaning last night forgot to turn on the co2 bottle.. :( temp 78.6 sg 1.025 km alk 11.5 magnesium 1360-1400 (1380?) changed half way between the 2 levels seems high using red sea test kit pro checked it 3 times same results new kit btw the sps and lps look the happiest I have seem them since I put them in the tank great polyp extentsion better color. Could be just me and wishfull thinking But, to me they look better.. ie more stable water.. happier corals. Didn't think that water pram It could effect them that fast in 3 days. but a def differnce. so.. after all this and thank you for all your input and help.. I owe you one frag each or a beer or 2 at happy hour.. LMK any thing else I should be checking for and how long should I be doing daily checks? be for going to 2-3 time a week? also what should target numbers be.. I know there are a lot of schools of thought so give the middle of the road where I can expect good growth? thanks again for all the help looks like its almost dialed in .. and how would I adjust the alk, mag if needed? so should I proceed with the 20% water change tommorow or keep testing everyday for a few days to see how it goes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 just a few pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 [ATTACH]13354[/ATTACH] and [ATTACH]13353[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]13355[/ATTACH] thanks for looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Nitrite and ammonia should be zero always. If they creep up just a little...everything may start dying:( I don't know what your nitrates are, but they should be in the 0-20ppm range. Ammonia can creep if something has died and is decaying...if you lose a good size fish or coral you gotta get it out. I've seen tanks crash(mine included) because a big tang or other fish died and I couldn't find it. Ammonia and nitrite are super toxic...while nitrates, phosphates, alk, and ca should be maintained at constant levels to increase color, polyp extension and growth. pH and oxygen levels are also obviously quite important to maintain consistency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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