My First Calc/Mag tests

[Saltine]

So I've been in the hobby for almost a year now, recently moved to a red sea reefer 250 on 1/1/16. I swapped out the sandbed so I've been battling new tank woes. Currently have an abundance of hair algae. Dosing Red Sea NoPx daily, my nitrates have gone from 80 to 7 in about a month now (also did large water changes). Hair algae is still there I'm assuming it's my phosphates, just waiting for NoPx to do its job.

Calc seems a little high though, should I worry about this? I have kalk in my ATO.

Nitrates: 7
PH: 8.02
Alk: 10.4
Salinity: 1.025
Calc: 465
Mag: 1260
P04: ? right now

Any thoughts are welcomed!

Salt

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Everything seems OK to me. Calcium is fine.

Nitrate could be a tiny tad lower.

I'd personally let the specific gravity rise a little, which will also boost magnesium.

 

[Saltine]

Everything seems OK to me. Calcium is fine.

Thanks! I'll just keep on keepin on then.

Salt

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I edited my post to add some more comments, but the conclusion is the same.

 

[Saltine]

Bonus question, do I run a 3 day black out if the hair algae is really starting to tick off corals? ie. zoas no longer opening?

Salt

 

[Saltine]

I edited my post to add some more comments, but the conclusion is the same.

Thanks! yea I like to run 1.026/7 but have been selling a but load of coral recently so the gravity has creeped down. I'm doing water changes with 1.026/8 to get it up again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don't know if I'd do a black out. How old is the tank?
Any creatures in it that eat algae?

 

[Saltine]

I don't know if I'd do a black out. How old is the tank?
Any creatures in it that eat algae?

Tank is 4 months old (1/1/16). Live rock is over a year old. I just put in an emerald crab and more blue leg hermits. Ive got a yellow tang, algae Blenny, and coral beauty that pick at it every once in a while. Astrea snails of course.

Salt

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Are you feeding the yellow tang nori or something else it like more than green hair algae? If so, maybe make it earn its keep.

 

[Saltine]

I rarely feed nori. But he doesn't seem keen on the algae lol.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Maybe feed the whole tank a bit less so he gets a taste for it.

 

[Reefer4Ever]

No3 and po4 tests are going to be inaccurate as the gha is feasting upon it. What do you feed, how much and how often? What is your water change schedule like assuming you do wc and how much.

 

[twilliard]

Throw a few Sally Lightfoot crabs in and done deal

 

[Saltine]

I do 5g out of the 65g every week. Feed half a cube of either mysis or mixed food. Or I do a small portion of live black worms. Mostly do live black worms and maybe 1/4 cube of something as my coral Beaty won't touch the worms

 

[Saltine]

My nitrates sky rocketed due to old feeding habits and the wife. Used to feed twice a day and now it's once about half what they used to receive.

 

[Reefer4Ever]

What is the tank stocked with fish wise? Do you feed any coral foods?

 

[Saltine]

What is the tank stocked with fish wise? Do you feed any coral foods?

Bi-color chromis, yellow tang, 2 mandarin clowns, coral beauty, algae blenny. I target or broadcast feed corals with reef roids twice a week, I've stopped for the past week now though.

 

[Saltine]

My last tank had an established sandbed that was about 2 years old, when moving to the new tank, I just fed freely, as I could do that before without issue. Then it seems the new sand bed didn't hold the same nitrifying bacteria my last one did, so nitrates went through the roof. I've cut back feedings, added 2qt of marine pure balls in the sump, and done several 10g water changes. It's just a time thing right now before they dissipate. My main concern was the algae killing corals...

Salt

 

[Reefer4Ever]

Manually remove what you can from the tank and I personally would cut back on feedings to ever other day the same amount as you currently use. A huge wc would be the quickest way to drop them but 5% or 10% I isn't going to change much with levels that high. Are you growing any macro algaes I believe your sump?

 

[Bunnee911]

You say your live rock is a year old. Could it be leaching? My 20 year old rock was in a fowler and leaches bad. It was covered with red carpet algae. So far, it had been reduced to a few patches. NoPx and weekly water changes for me.