Extremely weird tank parameters

[bshake]

I expect your "new" salt water will be high in Mg and the other parameters will also be similar to what is in your salt mix. I think one of the Red Sea salts mixes high/similar to what you are getting?
Having elevated salt mixes makes it difficult to get dosing for CA/Alk in line because those parameters get bumped up everytime you do a water change, making stability more challenging to achieve.

You have learned, Chlorine bleach doesn't strip phosphate, only organics from old rock. I like to use salt water and lanthanum chloride in a bucket for old rock, and mabe a little bleach if the rock is totally filthy and I am in a hurry. Usually just old salt water and LC, no light and a circulation pump for me.

I don't know what is killing your LPS. Maybe start a new thread with that title and some pictures of the corals. The sickness / deaths may not be related to parameters and the water changes may have sped up their demise?

If you have brown Jelly, a picture of the sick corals would help with a diagnosis. Do you see anything on them?

I didn’t know about the phosphates in the rock until after everything was in the tank. I wouldn’t been a better idea to use lanthanum honestly with the bleach but I had no idea.

The torches are brown jellying just resection of the flesh band so far, the 2 that died few weeks ago might have brown jellied or maybe something else

 

[bshake]

It does and the rodi is the issue. The rodi still has calcium in it so it’s throwing off the test. You need pure distilled water for that test. Basically lab grade distilled water to get accurate readings. Which is why I dont like the Hannah calc test. Get a Salifert or Redsea calc test.

Really? I didn’t know that. These test kits cost so much and they’re not even accurate kinda disappointing.

 

[twentyleagues]

Really? I didn’t know that. These test kits cost so much and they’re not even accurate kinda disappointing.

They are usually pretty accurate if the test is done correctly. I dont own the Hannah calc test because of this issue so I dont know what the instructions say exactly, but I read a lot of postings on this exact issue. In my previous reef life I didnt have any hannah testers until about 2 years before I left the hobby they were not available. I used mostly API or Salifert and kept a very successful lps dominated reef and a pretty successful sps dom reef and a nps reef all run off the same sump system. The tests at least the standard titration ones like Salifert or even api are accurate enough if you do it correctly and can see when the color shifts. Hannah takes the color shift part out of the equation which is one reason they are so popular. Are they more accurate? some maybe but likely not if you have a good eye and test procedures.

 

[Mschmidt]

They are usually pretty accurate if the test is done correctly. I dont own the Hannah calc test because of this issue so I dont know what the instructions say exactly, but I read a lot of postings on this exact issue. In my previous reef life I didnt have any hannah testers until about 2 years before I left the hobby they were not available. I used mostly API or Salifert and kept a very successful lps dominated reef and a pretty successful sps dom reef and a nps reef all run off the same sump system. The tests at least the standard titration ones like Salifert or even api are accurate enough if you do it correctly and can see when the color shifts. Hannah takes the color shift part out of the equation which is one reason they are so popular. Are they more accurate? some maybe but likely not if you have a good eye and test procedures.

That's why I'm still on api for calc. It's pretty clear when the color changes and a 20ppm range is just fine for me.

 

[SliceGolfer]

When I had the LFS check the water their reading for calc was way too low like 300 something and I tested calc 2 times and came out with 512
Hmmm I think the calc requires RODI water and I pull it strait from the RODI unit in a clean glass cup

When using the Hanna Calc test, be sure you are using the tan two stage pipette correctly. 80% down to draw the sample and place into the cuvette. 100% down for cleaning the pipette. I use RODI and have no issues with the test.