Do I need to dose on anything?

Hannahmunt · May 2, 2022

Garf said:
Nah, there’s something else going on here. From the information you’ve supplied so far it appears the hanna checker is playing games with you.

Oh man

I do have a salifert test for alkalinity so will use that one and compare the two. The hanna ones are meant to be very accurate I thought…well considering the price they should be.

Garf · May 2, 2022

Hannahmunt said:
Oh man I do have a salifert test for alkalinity so will use that one and compare the two. The hanna ones are meant to be very accurate I thought…well considering the price they should be.

Nothing wrong with Salifert, that’s what I use mostly.

Hannahmunt · May 2, 2022

Hannahmunt said:
Oh man I do have a salifert test for alkalinity so will use that one and compare the two. The hanna ones are meant to be very accurate I thought…well considering the price they should be.

The only other thing I can think off is last week I did treat the tank with hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid to treat ick, not sure if they could have any affect.

Garf · May 2, 2022

Hannahmunt said:
The only other thing I can think off is last week I did treat the tank with hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid to treat ick, not sure if they could have any affect.

Peroxide won’t do it, dunno what paracetic acid is.

gbroadbridge · May 2, 2022

Hannahmunt said:
Oh man I do have a salifert test for alkalinity so will use that one and compare the two. The hanna ones are meant to be very accurate I thought…well considering the price they should be.

Just to correct a common misconception - Hanna Checkers are no more accurate than any other hobby grade test kit. They are still +- 0.3dkH same as just about all other tests.

They're just easier to read.

Try another test kit if you have one.

Lionfish hunter · May 2, 2022

Hannahmunt said:
Oh so these are all good? They’ve been stead for the past week.

someone told me my ph was to high.

I’m not sure in the salt water. The salt water is natural sea water.

Perfect ph is around 8.3, yours is fine. Ph is more of a concern with stony corals as it is easier for them to make their calcium carbonate skeletons faster and stronger with higher ph.

Lionfish hunter · May 2, 2022

gbroadbridge said:
Just to correct a common misconception - Hanna Checkers are no more accurate than any other hobby grade test kit. They are still +- 0.3dkH same as just about all other tests.

They're just easier to read.

Try another test kit if you have one.

You're lucky if their accuracy fall within their limits. I just got a new bottle of reagent and the dkh change was .6 between the two bottles. And their ph checkers are just straight garbage, worst I have ever used for ph. Hannah is the only option with copper and makes life easier for dkh, phosphate, and nitrate. But I am really not impressed with the quality compared to price.

Lionfish hunter · May 2, 2022

Hannahmunt said:
Oh man I do have a salifert test for alkalinity so will use that one and compare the two. The hanna ones are meant to be very accurate I thought…well considering the price they should be.

They might not be super accurate but their dkh checkers to seem to be very consistent between readings. That is the only thing that matters for alkalinity. 7-12 dkh is just fine but what really matters is consistency. With hannah you can tell by the day if your alk is going up or down. Impossible to tell that with others. Imo the hannah alk checker is by far their best product and I have all their checkers.

Lionfish hunter · May 2, 2022

Hannahmunt said:
I use the hanna checker. All other tests are done using salifert. I was thinking of dosing calcium which should bring the alkalinity down…?

Dosing calcium will not lower alkalinity.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 2, 2022

There's no reason to be concerned about the current values of any of the parameters you posted.

Keep watching alk to see if it keeps rising.

Lionfish hunter · May 2, 2022

Hannahmunt said:
I do feed a lot, have recently done a water change, added two new fish and a few corals.

The water change will 100% change alkalinity and is probably why it is rising? And just so it's clear, your alkalinity level is totally fine. 10.7 is very acceptable and is about what I keep mine at. It's not so much the number, it just needs to stay consistent. If your alkalinity is in the 6s then after a water change spikes, that is not consistent. In that scenario your alkalinity drops low and then suddenly shoots up high. Not good for corals but also might not affect the soft corals as much that you have. If the water change isn't the cause of your rising alk, then the test is probably off.

Lionfish hunter · May 2, 2022

If you end up dosing, buy the all for reef powder. It is so easy to use. Just a 1 part additive that accounts for everything. Calcium, alk, magnesium, and trace elements.

A good starting point would be to match your tanks alkalinity with the alkalinity of your fresh made salt water. Then test every 2 days to figure out what you need to dose to maintain that level. The calcium and magnesium will more or less fall right in line. And I wouldn't worry much about ph with your current corals. Then when you do a water change, the alkalinity will match what is in your tank.

Garf · May 2, 2022

@Hannahmunt im staring at my screen waiting for your Salifert test result

Lavey29 · May 2, 2022

Just a suggestion, your tank is one month old, it's going to go through a variety of ugly stages very soon and over the course of the first year. You may want to slow down with adding corals because it is difficult to maintain steady parameters in a new tank with various algae coming and going. You will find yourself with struggling and dying corals. Work on building biodiversity and microfauna. Weekly water changes in a new tank. Not to much light to start either.