Clueless about current levels

Be102 · Dec 4, 2016

Hi, I was curious about my current levels I tested tonight. I have been battling with algae and all other different other problems from over feeding/ lack of water changes/ not using ro/di (bottled distilled water from grocery stores) and ultimately removed a canister filter from my tank. I did two large water changes 25 and 20 gallons as of this weekend and then tested my levels. I am unsure what to do from here and or if I should just let nature take its course. I currently have nothing for dosing or anything like that. Just water changes with coral pro salt.

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

If you are not using RO/DI, you may be introducing nitrates and phosphates into the tank with your water changes. Do you have a TDS meter to test your bottled water? I would also test phosphates and nitrates on the bottled water. How old is the tank? I'm suprised to see ammonia. Hopefully just a false reading on the test kit. Nitrates at 50ppm and phosphates at 2 will contribute to algae growth.

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

Oh, your calcium and ALK are sky high as well.

Be102 · Dec 5, 2016

Triggerjay said:
If you are not using RO/DI, you may be introducing nitrates and phosphates into the tank with your water changes. Do you have a TDS meter to test your bottled water? I would also test phosphates and nitrates on the bottled water. How old is the tank? I'm suprised to see ammonia. Hopefully just a false reading on the test kit. Nitrates at 50ppm will contribute to algae growth.

Just set up my ro/di unit this weekend. since then did the 2 large water changes. All water before this weekend was Distilled bottle water.

Be102 · Dec 5, 2016

Triggerjay said:
Oh, your calcium and ALK are sky high as well.

Is this bad? I am believing it is my salt.. Its ranked to like 450 but i think I am getting a higher reading. No clue.. Is that possible? for salt to come TOO strong? Does too much calcium/alk cause problems?

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

Is there a functional skimmer on this tank? Really stir things up before removing water from the tank.. blow off rocks well.. that way you remove as much crap as possible.

Be102 · Dec 5, 2016

Triggerjay said:
Is there a functional skimmer on this tank? Really stir things up before removing water from the tank.. blow off rocks well.. that way you remove as much crap as possible.

Currently have a Aquamaxx HOB-1 . Should I be aiming for more of a watery or more concentrated skim? It works well. I was looking at reactors but are there any that don't require a pump? Like I could use one when I put a sump in (Soon hopefully) but until then I was going to just run some carbon/gfo. I was removing as much as I could and turned all my powerbeads on as high as I could whilst doing the water changes as well.

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

Too much calcium can precipitate out rendering it useless and ALK too high can kill coral (RTN, bleaching, etc). You must take great care to lower ALK slowly. No more than 1dkh daily. Mag is a touch high, but I don't really see issues there.. maybe some slightly sluggish . What are you using to measure SG? If it is off and your tank is higher than you are reading calcium and ALK will be at higher concentrations as well.

R33FLIF3 · Dec 5, 2016

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

You may want to look into bio pellets. With phosphates that high, you will exhaust the GFO rapidly. As with anything though, research bio pellets as they have their cons too. I personally skim wet as I feed heavy.

Be102 · Dec 5, 2016

Sg was just a basic hydrometer. Nothing fancy just yet. I honestly do not have too many corals at the moment that would be harmed I don't think. What do you recommend I do to correct the levels? Will they work themselves out themselves if I just leave them be?

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

His salinity is reading 1.025... I questioned the device he is using to measure.

Be102 · Dec 5, 2016

R33FLIF3 said:
.

1.025 I got around. Possibly even 1.024

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

Take a sample of water to the LFS and have them verify SG.. hydrometers in general are usually inaccurate. If your SG is high it would explain the high cal and ALK.

Be102 · Dec 5, 2016

Can SG just be fixed by topping with RO/DI? Can I just try that? I will be purchasing a refractometer soon. What do you recommend SG at?

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

35ppt, or 1.026, but I would have to say that you currently have no idea what level you are at. If you just dilute it, you still do not know where it really is. Other levels suggest it is above 1.025 that you are reading, but you need to verify before you make any changes.

Be102 · Dec 5, 2016

Triggerjay said:
35ppt, or 1.026, but I would have to say that you currently have no idea what level you are at. If you just dilute it, you still do not know where it really is. Other levels suggest it is above 1.025 that you are reading, but you need to verify before you make any changes.

I agree. Will purchase a refractometer sooner rather than later. Thanks for your help.

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

No problem. Post your findings here as I am curious.

Be102 · Dec 5, 2016

Triggerjay said:
No problem. Post your findings here as I am curious.

Do you recommend any refractometers? What do you use? I also am thinking about switching to a different salt after I run out of this pack, I was looking at reef crystals by instant ocean. Any thoughts on that?

Triggerjay · Dec 5, 2016

Your salt is more than likely just fine. I use a Red Sea refractometer. I had a bad experience with the cheap amazon ones.... very similar to what I suspect you are dealing with.