Fluval evo 13.5

[franklin8583]

So I'm new to the saltwater scene and recently bought a evo 13.5. I set it up per all the info I have read and researched. I boosted the cycle with dr tims and got it to cycle around 21 days.i have 10 lbs of dry live rock 15 lbs of live sand and about 2lbs of established live rock form a LFS. And things where stable for 3 to 4 weeks so I decided to add 2 clowns. Within 2 hours ph dropped from 8.2 to 7.8 tank continued to crash and I lost them both. I then set everything back up and in the process of starting over. However all ranges are fine except for kh, po4, ca.
KH- 16/18
PO4 - 5
Ca - over 550
I was wondering how to get any of those numbers down. Thanks in advance and if more info needed. I will happily give more.

 

[thomas_neil]

So I'm new to the saltwater scene and recently bought a evo 13.5. I set it up per all the info I have read and researched. I boosted the cycle with dr tims and got it to cycle around 21 days.i have 10 lbs of dry live rock 15 lbs of live sand and about 2lbs of established live rock form a LFS. And things where stable for 3 to 4 weeks so I decided to add 2 clowns. Within 2 hours ph dropped from 8.2 to 7.8 tank continued to crash and I lost them both. I then set everything back up and in the process of starting over. However all ranges are fine except for kh, po4, ca.
KH- 16/18
PO4 - 5
Ca - over 550
I was wondering how to get any of those numbers down. Thanks in advance and if more info needed. I will happily give more.

When you say KH do you mean dkh? What salt are you using? Are you dosing anything? What test kits are you using? If you dosed beneficial bacteria, did you ghost feed the tank so the breaking down food would release ammonia?

 

[franklin8583]

When you say KH do you mean dkh? What salt are you using? Are you dosing anything? What test kits are you using? If you dosed beneficial bacteria, did you ghost feed the tank so the breaking down food would release ammonia?

Yes dkh. I'm using instant ocean coral. Not dosing anything. Using to bare minimum test kits API, working on getting better ones. I did goust feed one cube of brine shrimp. At this point in my restart, ammonia is 0, nitrites 1 nitrates 5, ph 8.2, dkh 16, po4 5, ca over 500 salinity 1.025. Not using rodi water but am using filtered water that's is treated and tested before mixing salt and that water before salt is testing normal.

 

[thomas_neil]

Yes dkh. I'm using instant ocean coral. Not dosing anything. Using to bare minimum test kits API, working on getting better ones. I did goust feed one cube of brine shrimp. At this point in my restart, ammonia is 0, nitrites 1 nitrates 5, ph 8.2, dkh 16, po4 5, ca over 500 salinity 1.025. Not using rodi water but am using filtered water that's is treated and tested before mixing salt and that water before salt is testing normal.

Check the bag of salt and see what is speced for dkh and calcium. Every brand is different, like I use red sea coral pro and that has a dkh of 11-12 and calcium range of 360-380. Try testing just the water you are using before you mix the salt in. Some alkaline waters have a high dkh and some add calcium for benefits for us. If those come out high and then you add your salt mix to it, that could give you really high end results.

 

[franklin8583]

Ok will look into all of that. If my source water is high in dkh and calcium should I switch to rodi water.

 

[thomas_neil]

Ok will look into all of that. If my source water is high in dkh and calcium should I switch to rodi water.

I would recommend ro/di. For a smaller tank you don't need to get a huge one off of BRS. I've seen some smaller ones on amazon for around $70. You can also buy premade ro/di water from a lfs for pretty cheap and since you will only need to do about 4 gallons of water a month for water changes you won't go through that much. and you will always have some on hand for top off.