levels all high

[machome79]

hey all,

I am stumped. i did all my testing this morning. all my levels are on the high side. here there are and really not sure what to do if I should do anything at all.

mixed reef
salanity 1.025
78 degrees
nitrate 17
alkalinity 11
mag 1470-1500
calc 520

75 gallon tank with 15 gal water change weekly
note* I have dosed brightwell coralline accelerator twice last week at minimum dose

so what should I do? larger water change or let it be?

 

[Rmckoy]

First question what salt are you using ?

what’s different from your last tests ?

mag and cal are the only ones I would consider to be high but alkalinity is higher than I would prefer to keep .
this would depend on the salt you’re using .

nitrates are a little high but nothing to worry about .
have you tested phosphates ? Im not 100% sure what’s in the coralline accelerator but one can only assume some sort of alkalinity , calcium and magnesium booster ?

 

[GARRIGA]

These look fine to me.

 

[Auquanut]

How confident are you in the accuracy of your salinity tests?

 

[machome79]

I am using reef crystals salt. my salinity tester is the hanna digital checker. my last tests were in the normal range. have not tested phosphates. now I'm curious

 

[LeftyReefer]

Often times, when many of your params test high, there is a good chance your salt level is higher than you think. I'd double check the salinity measurement before making any changes to anything else.

 

[vetteguy53081]

What test kits are you using?
Are you testing right after a water change?

 

[machome79]

I mix water on friday night and change water on saturday morning to ensure its dissolved. tested this morning.
my test kits are
red sea alk
api calcium
salifert mag
hanna salinity checker digital
hmmm... maybe I can justify to my wife buying more corals to soak up the minerals

 

[Rmckoy]

I mix water on friday night and change water on saturday morning to ensure its dissolved. tested this morning.
my test kits are
red sea alk
api calcium
salifert mag
hanna salinity checker digital
hmmm... maybe I can justify to my wife buying more corals to soak up the minerals

Corals won’t soak up that much , that fast unless they are large sps colonies .

 

[Rmckoy]

I am using reef crystals salt. my salinity tester is the hanna digital checker. my last tests were in the normal range. have not tested phosphates. now I'm curious

By normal how much is elevated and what parameter ?

Im pointing towards the coralline additive to be the suspect .
but knowing rc has higher alk but never using that particular salt I’m not 100% on the rest of the parameters .
If salinity is mixed lower salinity than on the bucket , naturally other parameters will not match .

 

[reefingaz]

My MG and CA were also high. Trust me, Buy a new Calibration fluid and test again. I went 9 months seeing corals not look so good yet my salt calibrated to 1.026 multiple times a week. Bought new fluid and my 3 tanks were 1.031!!!! To be safe I went and bought two other brands of calibration fluid and 3 tanks tested 1.030-1.031 and using my old fluid it was still testing 1.026.
Threw it away and now I use multiple bottles to calibrate salinity. I will buy new fluid once a year and never trust just one brand. Within 3 weeks of fixing my salt my tanks improved 100%
Everyone out there don’t use a single calibration fluid!

 

[Tankkeepers]

I am using reef crystals salt. my salinity tester is the hanna digital checker. my last tests were in the normal range. have not tested phosphates. now I'm curious

Make a few fresh batches of saltwater and test it to see if the high levels are comming from it

Reef Crystals is not the best when it comes to consistency nor is regular io personal experience

I use Red Sea it mixes pretty constantly and each batch is tested and posted so you can see what's what

I hear real good things about tropical marine but I have not used it

So first step verify it's not the salt mix then go from there

Honestly tho your just about when I run my system all the time alittle on the high side

My salinity ranges from 1.026 to 1.028 with 1.027 being the average

I run 1500 mag
And 550 calcium
Alk 11
Ph 7.9 day 8.1 night