reef chemistry high.

[sergifed91]

I tested my water today for CA, MG and alk levels. and they were a little high out of range. and the normal tests as ph, no2, no3 and ammonia.
i'm not to concerned about the following
ph - 7.8
no2 - 0
no3 - between 0 and 10.

but the following i am a little concerned about. I was looking around and saw alot of posts that the levels will level out them selves over time.
alk - 13.4
mg( low) - 1350
CA - 470.
I will retest tomorrow again for the MG. I was having some issues with that. I use the salifert test for all 3. the mg I filled the syringe with 1 ml and it didn;t change color but I did have to add and additional .20 to it to get it to change to a gray or blu color. so i tested it twice. will retest it again tomorrow. but I am concerned with the ALk and CA levels a little bit.

Pics below

 

[sergifed91]

I have 3 of these. and I believe I have 1 frag of Zoas.

I now these are Xenias which I have 2 frags of those.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

1,350 ppm for magnesium is not low at all. It's the level that most aquarists target. The way you describing the testing procedure seems incorrect. At a level of 1,350 with the Salifert Mg test, you should still have 0.10 ml of titrant left. You should not need to use another syringe of titrant.

Your alkalinity and calcium are a bit high, but there's not much you can do to reduce them. That's probably why most people tell you to just leave them. If you are dosing for carbonate alkalinity or calcium, stop until the levels reach what you desire. Also test your newly mixed saltwater to see what magnesium, calcium and alkalinity levels you get. It's possible to lower your Ca/Mg/Alk by doing water changes if your salt mix has lower parameters than your tank, but it would take a lot to make a significant change, especially if your salt mix produces water close to that of your tank.

 

[Fishfinder]

1350 isn't low for mag. I wouldn't worry about 470 for cal, that's not bad

 

[sergifed91]

i'm not doing anything at all this week with the water. although I will be adding a few mangroves later on that I ordered through liveaquaria.com. so that should also lower the ca and also the alk a little bit along with the nitrates.

 

[sergifed91]

I don't add any additives. I only do WC every 2 weeks depending on my nitrate levels. and when I do WC I empty 20 gallons and refill it with 20. which is almost way to much for a 60 gallon tank but with my live sand and 60 lbs of rock I fill i'm almost doing 50% water changes when I do them. I also feed the fish every other day. which I might switch to every 3 days over time. the LFS fed the fish every day. so I try to do it slowly to a 3 day feeding interval..

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i'm not doing anything at all this week with the water. although I will be adding a few mangroves later on that I ordered through liveaquaria.com. so that should also lower the ca and also the alk a little bit along with the nitrates.

Mangroves will not consume alkalinity or calcium. [emoji3]

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The alk and calcium reflect the levels in your salt mix. What salt mix and what salinity?

 

[sergifed91]

Instant ocean. Salinity 1.026. Gonna take a sample to lfs Monday evening to test it. Instant ocean with reef crystals.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Instant ocean. Salinity 1.026. Gonna take a sample to lfs Monday evening to test it. Instant ocean with reef crystals.

Those values are about right for that mix with that specific gravity.

If you want alk to decline, you'll need to reduce or stop water changes, switch to a lower alk mix, or add muriatic acid to your new salt water to lower the alkalinity (then aerate it well to bring the pH back up).