Test results advice

wowdude11 · 05/25/2020, 07:37 PM

Hey guys Tested my water today. Have used Fritz and just switched to bright well. Did a water change yesterday and this are my result

Alk 7.28dkh (Hanna checker)
Calcium 510 ( Hanna Checker )
Phosphate .10 (Hanna Checker
Salinity 34ppt ( Milwaukee digital green one)

These checkers are 5 years old from my previous tank but I bought new reagents. Does the calcium seem way off?

As for dkh should I aim for 8? I have a mixed reef ( lots of zoas , a couple LPS and about 5-6 sps)

Lastly are my phosphate way to high ? Currently feed twice a day but I do have refugium and a rsk-300 skimmer on a Red Sea 250. I also do weekly water changes of 10-15 gallons.

Any recommendations?

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bertoni · 05/25/2020, 08:23 PM

The calcium level is a bit high, but possible. I wouldn't worry about it. The phosphate level is high enough that it might cause problems, but tanks seem to vary a lot in their responses to phosphate levels. The dKH level is fine as is, but 8 dKH would give a bit more margin for testing error and consumption.

How are the corals doing? If they are doing well enough, I would just leave the tank as is.

wowdude11 · 05/26/2020, 10:28 PM

What should I aim for as far as phosphate. I’m using the regular Hanna checker not the ULR

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bertoni · 05/27/2020, 01:28 AM

I don't think that we know for sure, but I'd limit the phosphate to 0.03 ppm or so, most likely. I'd watch the animals and pest algae, though, as well.

.oO Kasei Oo. · 05/30/2020, 04:50 AM

Have you tried to carbon dose? I have struggled to keep my levels low while keeping the the fish, nems and coral happily fed. The frozen shrimp also aided that problem. Brought my nitrates to 20ppm, phos .3, ph 8.3, alk 8.1, cal 559. I Had 2 skimmers and a refugium running and not much luck.
I started Nopox by redsea and fixed my problems. My corals are happy again and growing which increased growth and consumption of alk & calcium in my system. Hope my issue and trouble shooting on my tank helps you out.

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clevername · 06/07/2020, 05:21 PM

Congrats on solving your issues. Your in about the 1% of reefers who do through/conclusive tests and then methodically find the solution. So refreshing to see a reefer that doesnt just dump whatever in the tank because the label says something like "coral be good liquid"

05/25/2020, 07:37 PM	#1
wowdude11 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 26	Test results advice Hey guys Tested my water today. Have used Fritz and just switched to bright well. Did a water change yesterday and this are my result Alk 7.28dkh (Hanna checker) Calcium 510 ( Hanna Checker ) Phosphate .10 (Hanna Checker Salinity 34ppt ( Milwaukee digital green one) These checkers are 5 years old from my previous tank but I bought new reagents. Does the calcium seem way off? As for dkh should I aim for 8? I have a mixed reef ( lots of zoas , a couple LPS and about 5-6 sps) Lastly are my phosphate way to high ? Currently feed twice a day but I do have refugium and a rsk-300 skimmer on a Red Sea 250. I also do weekly water changes of 10-15 gallons. Any recommendations? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05/25/2020, 08:23 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	The calcium level is a bit high, but possible. I wouldn't worry about it. The phosphate level is high enough that it might cause problems, but tanks seem to vary a lot in their responses to phosphate levels. The dKH level is fine as is, but 8 dKH would give a bit more margin for testing error and consumption. How are the corals doing? If they are doing well enough, I would just leave the tank as is. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/27/2020, 01:28 AM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I don't think that we know for sure, but I'd limit the phosphate to 0.03 ppm or so, most likely. I'd watch the animals and pest algae, though, as well. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

06/07/2020, 05:21 PM	#6
clevername Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Manchester, MO Posts: 1,125	Congrats on solving your issues. Your in about the 1% of reefers who do through/conclusive tests and then methodically find the solution. So refreshing to see a reefer that doesnt just dump whatever in the tank because the label says something like "coral be good liquid" __________________ In process: 210gal, VARIOS-8 return, Kessil Lights, 80 gal sump, mp60's, and REGAL 200EXT 8" RECIRCULATING skimmer

05/26/2020, 10:28 PM	#3
wowdude11 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 26	What should I aim for as far as phosphate. I’m using the regular Hanna checker not the ULR Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05/30/2020, 04:50 AM	#5
.oO Kasei Oo. Registered Member Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 4	Have you tried to carbon dose? I have struggled to keep my levels low while keeping the the fish, nems and coral happily fed. The frozen shrimp also aided that problem. Brought my nitrates to 20ppm, phos .3, ph 8.3, alk 8.1, cal 559. I Had 2 skimmers and a refugium running and not much luck. I started Nopox by redsea and fixed my problems. My corals are happy again and growing which increased growth and consumption of alk & calcium in my system. Hope my issue and trouble shooting on my tank helps you out. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk