Having some troubles with the parameters.

[AmberLynn97]

My Calcium and Kh seem to be sky rocketing. I attached a picture of my water test that I did. My PH is a little low and I’m assuming it’s due to the high cal and kh. I also have some phosphorus in my tank. Any tips on how to lower these and get everything back in line. I have a 66 gal Fluval Shaker. I have quite a few fish in there already but want to add a puffer to the mix but don’t want to add him until I get my tank in line. Mainly due to recently losing my damsel and cleaner shrimp. Also the only chemical I have in my tank at the moment is copper-aid due to my powder brown tang having ich.
I tried to cover all bases oh what’s going on in my tank so if I missed anything please ask. I really need all the help I can get.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I cannot tell what values any of those tubes correspond to, but I can say with certainty that elevated calcium and alkalinity do not contribute to low pH.

 

[Rmckoy]

I can’t honestly remember 100% but calcium results used to be the number of drops multiplied by 20
So 500 ppm cal ,

1 drop oh reagent is 1 dkh
If it takes 15 drops to turn yellow it’s somewhere between 14 and 15
That’s extremely high
Ammonia should be yellow with no shade of green at all .
Ph looks about right but not having the colour chart it’s hard to tell exactly .
Is is the saltwater high range ph test kit

Nitrates look a little high but again without a chart it’s hard to tell the exact value .

first … I’d recommend a higher quality test kit such as salifert .
IMO ph and nitrites are not necessary .
Ph will fluctuate throughout the day

the phosphate kit … it’s range is either zero or 0.25 which is on both ends of the acceptable scale .
0 is not enough ( chances are it’s not actually zero ) and 0.25 is extremely high .
You want anywhere between 0.03 to 0.1 as a acceptable range .

 

[AmberLynn97]

I can’t honestly remember 100% but calcium results used to be the number of drops multiplied by 20
So 500 ppm cal ,

1 drop oh reagent is 1 dkh
If it takes 15 drops to turn yellow it’s somewhere between 14 and 15
That’s extremely high
Ammonia should be yellow with no shade of green at all .
Ph looks about right but not having the colour chart it’s hard to tell exactly .
Is is the saltwater high range ph test kit

Nitrates look a little high but again without a chart it’s hard to tell the exact value .

first … I’d recommend a higher quality test kit such as salifert .
IMO ph and nitrites are not necessary .
Ph will fluctuate throughout the day

the phosphate kit … it’s range is either zero or 0.25 which is on both ends of the acceptable scale .
0 is not enough ( chances are it’s not actually zero ) and 0.25 is extremely high .
You want anywhere between 0.03 to 0.1 as a acceptable range .

I’m not sure if this helps at all. I used the API salt water master kit and the API reef master kit to test.
My nano tank I have have had no problems at all. My harlequin shrimp and my 2 Percula clowns are thriving great. This 66 gal is kicking my butt. I just want my fish to thrive. Any advice to lower these would be appreciated!!

 

[Rmckoy]

I’m not sure if this helps at all. I used the API salt water master kit and the API reef master kit to test.
My nano tank I have have had no problems at all. My harlequin shrimp and my 2 Percula clowns are thriving great. This 66 gal is kicking my butt. I just want my fish to thrive. Any advice to lower these would be appreciated!!

Generally . A larger system with more volume is easier to maintain
Given the proper water conditions .

first are you using a rodi unit for water ?

I want to point out in reference to your last picture with the identification cards .
Your ph is around 8.2 ?
Ammonia is high
How long has the tank been running ?

 

[AmberLynn97]

Generally . A larger system with more volume is easier to maintain
Given the proper water conditions .

first are you using a rodi unit for water ?

I want to point out in reference to your last picture with the identification cards .
Your ph is around 8.2 ?
Ammonia is high
How long has the tank been running ?

No, I’ve just been treating tap water with marine stress coat. I work at a pet store so I can start getting R/O water. Honestly should have been doing that anyways.

I was thinking ph was around a 7.8 or 8.
I can get a ammonia reducer
Tank has been running for 6 months today. Still a new tank. About a month after starting it went through new tank syndrome but I got that under control and it was been fine since about 2 weeks ago.

 

[Rmckoy]

No, I’ve just been treating tap water with marine stress coat. I work at a pet store so I can start getting R/O water. Honestly should have been doing that anyways.

I was thinking ph was around a 7.8 or 8.
I can get a ammonia reducer
Tank has been running for 6 months today. Still a new tank. About a month after starting it went through new tank syndrome but I got that under control and it was been fine since about 2 weeks ago.

Treating tap
Water can be contributing to a lot of your issues

what salt are you using ? And how are you measuring salinity ?

15dkh is very high . For a little idea . Natural sea water is around 7-7.5 dkh

7.5 is where I have kept mine for years .

 

[Rmckoy]

Just noticed ..
you used some sort of copper medication in the system ?

do you plan on using the rocks or substrate later ?

you might never be able to get the copper out .

 

[AmberLynn97]

Treating tap
Water can be contributing to a lot of your issues

what salt are you using ? And how are you measuring salinity ?

15dkh is very high . For a little idea . Natural sea water is around 7-7.5 dkh

7.5 is where I have kept mine for years .

I’ve been using instant ocean to make my saltwater. And treated tap water with API stress coat. Salinity I use my coralife Deep Six hydrometer.

As for the copper. I had looked on at packaging and it had said to just replace carbon after treatment and that the copper treats the tank for a month. My tank is a 66gal and the bottle only treats 50. I know copper is still copper tho.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’ve been using instant ocean to make my saltwater. And treated tap water with API stress coat. Salinity I use my coralife Deep Six hydrometer.

As for the copper. I had looked on at packaging and it had said to just replace carbon after treatment and that the copper treats the tank for a month. My tank is a 66gal and the bottle only treats 50. I know copper is still copper tho.

The problem with copper is it’s next to impossible to remove .
a lot of corals and inverts will not be able to live in the system that’s constantly leaching copper into the water .

stress coat .
it does not remove impurities from the water or detoxify ammonia
Depending on the quality of your tap watwr , it might be ok . But it’s a gamble .. let’s hope you don’t end up struggling with algae or fluctuating parameters with no reason to explain it .

do you have a picture of the tank ?

 

[ScottJ]

My Calcium and Kh seem to be sky rocketing. I attached a picture of my water test that I did. My PH is a little low and I’m assuming it’s due to the high cal and kh. I also have some phosphorus in my tank. Any tips on how to lower these and get everything back in line. I have a 66 gal Fluval Shaker. I have quite a few fish in there already but want to add a puffer to the mix but don’t want to add him until I get my tank in line. Mainly due to recently losing my damsel and cleaner shrimp. Also the only chemical I have in my tank at the moment is copper-aid due to my powder brown tang having ich.

What is quite a few fish? Maybe too many? It's still a pretty young tank.

 

[AmberLynn97]

The problem with copper is it’s next to impossible to remove .
a lot of corals and inverts will not be able to live in the system that’s constantly leaching copper into the water .

stress coat .
it does not remove impurities from the water or detoxify ammonia
Depending on the quality of your tap watwr , it might be ok . But it’s a gamble .. let’s hope you don’t end up struggling with algae or fluctuating parameters with no reason to explain it .

do you have a picture of the tank ?

I’m not looking to add any corals to my tank. But I do have anemones, snails and hermit crabs in there. I really wish the person I had gotten the help from before would have told me this. I feel like my tank is screwed.
The api stress coat removes chlorine and Chloramines as well as detoxifies heavy metals but also has aloe Vera in it to replace the stress coat of the fish. Is the packaging false advertisement? If it is the same person that gave me advice for the copper aid is the same person for the API.
I had a bad outbreak of red slime algae and hair algae in the first two or three months but it has all died down. I had my rock set up a different way but about a month and a half ago I re-did the love rock and found some sponge growing on the back of one but since moving everything around it has died and gone away. And the rock in the back left corner has what looks to be three mushrooms growing on it. Which with the copper I feel that will die now as well.
I did another water test this morning and the ammonia has gone down but the ph seems to be the same. I did add rhino prime to it as well for the high ammonia.

 

[AmberLynn97]

What is quite a few fish? Maybe too many? It's still a pretty young tank.

I have a humu trigger, powered brown tang, gold nugget maroon clown, gold stripe maroon clown, dragon wrasse, indigo dotty back, bullet goby, algae blenny and a mandarin blenny. But I’m probably gonna take the mandarin back. He’s beautiful but I don’t think right for me.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’m not looking to add any corals to my tank. But I do have anemones, snails and hermit crabs in there. I really wish the person I had gotten the help from before would have told me this. I feel like my tank is screwed.
The api stress coat removes chlorine and Chloramines as well as detoxifies heavy metals but also has aloe Vera in it to replace the stress coat of the fish. Is the packaging false advertisement? If it is the same person that gave me advice for the copper aid is the same person for the API.
I had a bad outbreak of red slime algae and hair algae in the first two or three months but it has all died down. I had my rock set up a different way but about a month and a half ago I re-did the love rock and found some sponge growing on the back of one but since moving everything around it has died and gone away. And the rock in the back left corner has what looks to be three mushrooms growing on it. Which with the copper I feel that will die now as well.
I did another water test this morning and the ammonia has gone down but the ph seems to be the same. I did add rhino prime to it as well for the high ammonia.

Beautiful tank ..
I like the way the rocks are setup .
Sadly … I think the lfs might have gave you a lot of mid information
For example … adding copper is a huge no no in display tanks .
not preaching water quality but selling stress coat instead .

api kits are ok for setting up and the initial cycle but not reliable or accurate when it comes to stability

I’ll attach a picture of mine .
the same rocks have been used in 4 different setups over the last 25years
If my rodi cartridges are in need of change I notice is with cyano or gha and end up battling it for months to get it back .

 

[AmberLynn97]

Beautiful tank ..
I like the way the rocks are setup .
Sadly … I think the lfs might have gave you a lot of mid information
For example … adding copper is a huge no no in display tanks .
not preaching water quality but selling stress coat instead .

api kits are ok for setting up and the initial cycle but not reliable or accurate when it comes to stability

I’ll attach a picture of mine .
the same rocks have been used in 4 different setups over the last 25years
If my rodi cartridges are in need of change I notice is with cyano or gha and end up battling it for months to get it back .

thank you. It took me a while to find a good set up so the wrasse would stop knocking things over. Lol

I’m hoping I can save the tank. I’m going to try some water changes with premixed saltwater and some R/O. I also think I’ll stick to R2R for any tank questions from now on.

beautiful tank! And beautiful fish! I can’t get over the stunning coral!

 

[Rmckoy]

thank you. It took me a while to find a good set up so the wrasse would stop knocking things over. Lol

I’m hoping I can save the tank. I’m going to try some water changes with premixed saltwater and some R/O. I also think I’ll stick to R2R for any tank questions from now on.

beautiful tank! And beautiful fish! I can’t get over the stunning coral!

The corals aren’t that special .
only Xenia , gsp and regular cheap green palys .

I would strongly suggest using ro water at least . And mix your own to proper salinity ( 1.026
With no corals you can go a little lower ( 1.024

It would be Good even to do frequent ( once per week ) 10% water changes .
On your system it’s only 5 gals of water .
But that small water change can make the world of difference

 

[Rmckoy]

thank you. It took me a while to find a good set up so the wrasse would stop knocking things over. Lol

I’m hoping I can save the tank. I’m going to try some water changes with premixed saltwater and some R/O. I also think I’ll stick to R2R for any tank questions from now on.

beautiful tank! And beautiful fish! I can’t get over the stunning coral!

Ha ha .. stunning corals ?
If you were close I’d give you a
Bunch of it .
I can’t get rid of It

 

[Uncle99]

I have a humu trigger, powered brown tang, gold nugget maroon clown, gold stripe maroon clown, dragon wrasse, indigo dotty back, bullet goby, algae blenny and a mandarin blenny. But I’m probably gonna take the mandarin back. He’s beautiful but I don’t think right for me.

I’m surprised that trigger has not ate any fish or corals for lunch. IMM, not reef safe.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’m surprised that trigger has not ate any fish or corals for lunch. IMM, not reef safe.

Pink tail has always been my favourite triggerfish .

one of the only ones said to be reef safe .
but … I added 2 sand sifting gobies not too long ago .
he ate one as soon as I dropped it in
The other just disappeared and thinking it was also lunch .
No carpet casualties found yet

 

[Rmckoy]

Back on the parameter topic .
I would first grab a cheap refractometer from Amazon . It will cost roughly $20

next I would grab a bucket of salt ( your choice ) but be sure it’s close to the same parameters you want . The issue with io it’s good . Many use it but you will have to dose to maintain or achieve proper levels later .

rodi unit would be the next purchase .
and lastly . A higher quality test kit . I would recommend salifert as it’s affordable but accurate .
The only one you will need first would be nitrates and alkalinity .
you will rarely ever use a ammonia test kit again.
nitrites are not important in saltwater
Ph will fluctuate from day to night . ( I haven’t tested ph in almost 20 years . I don’t plan on starting either .
Salinity is by far your most important at this time .
frequent water changes will keep nitrates in a tolerable range .

do you have a skimmer ?