Chemistry swing too much?

lilbitreefer · Oct 29, 2017

Ok so I have been fighting nitrates for a while, got annoyed with it today and maybe did too big of a water change. I think I did at least a 50% or so maybe more. Read below if you want to know what I did. Anyways, after I got the water changed My pH went from 7.66 to 8.12, Salinity 33 to 33.8 with swings up to 34.8 because I did not have the salinity exact when adding it. ORP 286 down to 202. They seem ok right now. Should I be worried? I would like to do another water change tomorrow. I am working and may not be able to do another until Wednesday. Should I wait till then or charge through and do another tomorrow?

There also seems to be an added benifit. My Scopas tang has started to attack the algae again. I noticed he had not been picking much the last few months. All my corals and anenome are open but 1 and that one seems to bee peeking open.

What I did the last two days:
After I did a 20% yetserday I tested the nitrates it was well above 50 ppm (it instantly turned purple after adding third reactant) and I didn't feel like doing the diluted version of the test (its the red sea also) since I was going to be doing water changes. I tested again today and the nitrates were still through the roof. I also picked as much algae up and palced it in my refugium. I am waiting for my chaeto to come in, but apparently the company is based in florida and got hit by that hurricane pretty bad and are still trying to get back up.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 29, 2017

I doubt there's a big problem from the salinity movement, but I'd try to keep it smaller. The pH and ORP swings don't matter.

I think there are better ways to deal with nitrate than water changes, such as organic carbon dosing.

lilbitreefer · Oct 29, 2017

What forms of carbon dosing do you mean? I currently have the zeovit system and have started adding coral snow plus, biomate and cyanoclean. Along with reducing zeofood. I am already a light feeder in general. Maybe I have not been doing this zeovit right? I also replaced my zeolite since I havent done that in maybe 6 months.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 29, 2017

Vinegar, vodka, NOPOX, etc.

There's a zeovit organic too, but I don't remember the name just now.

kyleinpdx · Oct 29, 2017

lilbitreefer said:
What forms of carbon dosing do you mean? I currently have the zeovit system and have started adding coral snow plus, biomate and cyanoclean. Along with reducing zeofood. I am already a light feeder in general. Maybe I have not been doing this zeovit right? I also replaced my zeolite since I havent done that in maybe 6 months.

By the Dr. himself http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index...ar-dosing-methodology-for-the-marine-aquarium

lilbitreefer · Oct 29, 2017

kyleinpdx said:
By the Dr. himself http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index...ar-dosing-methodology-for-the-marine-aquarium

Do you think any of this would affect the zeovit? I would like to get down to zero water cahnges which is what I was attempting but I thing I need to get my refugium up and running a bit better.