trouble with Chemistry

[saltyfins]

I am having issues I think, and if anyone would please chime in, I'd appreciate it.

I completed most of my testing just now, and the readings so far are: Alk:8 pH:7.8 Ca:520 Nitrate 5 phos 0.2 Nitrate/amonia 0 the magnesium I have issues understanding...but I "think" it's 1400

everything is growing like crazy, No dosing of anything, I feed frozen only, and I feed Reef Roids 2x a week by hand. I feel that pH is way too low, as is alk, as before I ran about 9. I have looked at the soda page, but I cannot make sense of it, and I dont want to royally mess things up. I do not have a doser, I do everything by hand, if needed. everything seems to be growing and pretty happy...and this tank has been going for over 15 years...but only started with LPS in the past year. Had some losses, so I started really trying to follow this group, and see what I could learn. I have seen a lot of growth with everything, minus zoa's. cannot grow those to save my life. However, Paly's are bananas in my tank, my Stylo is growing a new tip probably every other week, and hammers are exploding.

is there anyone that can explain this to me in a way that ...perhaps a 10 yr old could understand??? ;Shy

I would sincerely appreciate it.

 

[KingTideCorals]

In my honest opinion chasing numbers is not always the solution, what I am seeing here in this situation is an extremely well matured reef with a good core. This is allowing you to have success and by not changing routine or anything of that sort you are allowing good things to happen for the tank.

As for your numbers I feel like they are really good! Ph can be a pain, and that can be changed by a couple things.. some simple ones could simply just be getting more windows open and allowing more Oxygen into the area with the tank! As for the ALK you could simply utilize kalkwasser in your ATO RO chamber to help with the number in raising it if you are trying to stay hands off. There are tons of videos and threads here that can help you out if you want to go that route.

In conclusion, if you are getting good growth, things seem happy.... Id leave it be! Unless you WANT and NEED change then you can chase after some certian things, but overall if your tank is happy why fix what is not broken! Cheers!

 

[saltyfins]

In my honest opinion chasing numbers is not always the solution, what I am seeing here in this situation is an extremely well matured reef with a good core. This is allowing you to have success and by not changing routine or anything of that sort you are allowing good things to happen for the tank.

As for your numbers I feel like they are really good! Ph can be a pain, and that can be changed by a couple things.. some simple ones could simply just be getting more windows open and allowing more Oxygen into the area with the tank! As for the ALK you could simply utilize kalkwasser in your ATO RO chamber to help with the number in raising it if you are trying to stay hands off. There are tons of videos and threads here that can help you out if you want to go that route.

In conclusion, if you are getting good growth, things seem happy.... Id leave it be! Unless you WANT and NEED change then you can chase after some certian things, but overall if your tank is happy why fix what is not broken! Cheers!

Oh ok. I just feel like the Alk is low, and the Ca is High? pH I've never had luck with. it's finally warmer here (the great PNW) and I open my windows all day from about 11-4 daily. even the doors, as so far there's no bugs out. I also have a few powerheads pointed to the water top. salinity is 1.025
I'll try YouTube, as I have never thought about that. duh. and I dont have ANY equipment. stand doesnt support it, and with toddlers and kiddo's, I dont feel safe about having something that they could potentially touch. I use a canister filter, which I am SUPER good at keeping it clean, so that it's not a factory for yuck. I change out floss etc twice a week, and run Purit as my carbon. Ok. well I sincerely appreciate the help! Thank You

 

[KingTideCorals]

Oh ok. I just feel like the Alk is low, and the Ca is High? pH I've never had luck with. it's finally warmer here (the great PNW) and I open my windows all day from about 11-4 daily. even the doors, as so far there's no bugs out. I also have a few powerheads pointed to the water top. salinity is 1.025
I'll try YouTube, as I have never thought about that. duh. and I dont have ANY equipment. stand doesnt support it, and with toddlers and kiddo's, I dont feel safe about having something that they could potentially touch. I use a canister filter, which I am SUPER good at keeping it clean, so that it's not a factory for yuck. I change out floss etc twice a week, and run Purit as my carbon. Ok. well I sincerely appreciate the help! Thank You

I am in the greater PNW area as well, and feel your pain about getting the windows open! HA!

I see where you are coming from though and feel like you have to hit those numbers, but in my experience if the reef is happy and things are growing let it be! Hope I could help a little.

 

[mdb_talon]

Calcium a little high is not going to hurt anything unless you are getting precipitate, but that is mostly a self correcting issue. PH is on the low side, and as previously mentioned there are some things you can try. I agree with ReeferBlaine though in that if the tank is doing well be careful trying to "fix" it.

You mention somewhat recently adding LPS and they are growing well. I would keep an eye on your ALK and if consumption starts increasing then may want to look at dosing. However I would wait until you see it dropping on a daily basis.

 

[saltyfins]

Calcium a little high is not going to hurt anything unless you are getting precipitate, but that is mostly a self correcting issue. PH is on the low side, and as previously mentioned there are some things you can try. I agree with ReeferBlaine though in that if the tank is doing well be careful trying to "fix" it.

You mention somewhat recently adding LPS and they are growing well. I would keep an eye on your ALK and if consumption starts increasing then may want to look at dosing. However I would wait until you see it dropping on a daily basis.

Got it. Ok. well, I checked it on Sunday and it was 7. so I did a larger water change than normal, which is 15 gallons on my 125 that I figure to be about 100 gallons give or take. I did 30 gallons. then I checked it sunday evening, and today, and got 8. so yes, my tank is losing the alk. and the precipitation is where I guess I'm concerned, because the way I understood it, alk and ca work together, and if one's higher than the other by that much, (meaning alk is falling when calcium is staying high) there's an issue.

so, I was thinking today I would try to find something to dose alk with, and other than Kalkwasser, is there a supplement that is good to use?
Thank You so much, for your help!

 

[ATAquariums]

BRS has a lot of good videos explaining water chemistry in detail.

 

[saltyfins]

BRS has a lot of good videos explaining water chemistry in detail.

I will look more there as well. I am just a bit anxious, as I am flying out friday for a weekend vacation to see my son, and my Husband is clueless about anything with my tank. I'm sure it'll be fine, I am probably just over reacting somewhat.
Thanks for the Heads up, about BRS.

 

[Brew12]

I will look more there as well. I am just a bit anxious, as I am flying out friday for a weekend vacation to see my son, and my Husband is clueless about anything with my tank. I'm sure it'll be fine, I am probably just over reacting somewhat.
Thanks for the Heads up, about BRS.

Your tank seems normal for a system with light calcified coral growth. Alkalinity will drop faster than calcium so that isn't completely abnormal. Keep in mind that there are 2 major factors for pH in a reef tank and they are Alkalinity and CO2 content. Note that this is CO2 content, not air content. More air circulation into the tank will not impact pH unless the added air has a lower CO2 content than the previously mixed air.
I'm not sure what salt you are using, but testing a freshly mixed batch or looking up its expected chemistry results may give you some insight into why your calcium is high relative to alkalinity. Precipitation shouldn't be an issue at these levels because of your slightly elevated magnesium. Precipitation becomes more of an issue with low magnesium levels.

 

[saltyfins]

Your tank seems normal for a system with light calcified coral growth. Alkalinity will drop faster than calcium so that isn't completely abnormal. Keep in mind that there are 2 major factors for pH in a reef tank and they are Alkalinity and CO2 content. Note that this is CO2 content, not air content. More air circulation into the tank will not impact pH unless the added air has a lower CO2 content than the previously mixed air.
I'm not sure what salt you are using, but testing a freshly mixed batch or looking up its expected chemistry results may give you some insight into why your calcium is high relative to alkalinity. Precipitation shouldn't be an issue at these levels because of your slightly elevated magnesium. Precipitation becomes more of an issue with low magnesium levels.

so, how do I make that happen, with the co2? I also use reef crystals. I tried using Red Sea pro...but really didnt like those levels, I didnt actually notice anything bad per se, but I guess I'm just an R/C user

 

[Brew12]

so, how do I make that happen, with the co2? I also use reef crystals. I tried using Red Sea pro...but really didnt like those levels, I didnt actually notice anything bad per se, but I guess I'm just an R/C user

The CO2 issue is why people recommend opening windows. CO2 can build up in a house when it is closed up, especially if there are a few people living there. Opening windows helps lower CO2 in the house which means it is also going to be lower in our aquariums. But you shouldn't have any issues with it at 7.8. SPS especially seem to do better at pH above 8.1 but it is far from necessary.
Nothing wrong with RC salt although I would prefer it didn't have organics in it. Are you sure your salinity isn't running a little high? Like around 1.027? That would make the Calcium and Mg levels make sense. Although RC can be a bit inconsistent, but typically not enough to cause issues.

 

[saltyfins]

The CO2 issue is why people recommend opening windows. CO2 can build up in a house when it is closed up, especially if there are a few people living there. Opening windows helps lower CO2 in the house which means it is also going to be lower in our aquariums. But you shouldn't have any issues with it at 7.8. SPS especially seem to do better at pH above 8.1 but it is far from necessary.
Nothing wrong with RC salt although I would prefer it didn't have organics in it. Are you sure your salinity isn't running a little high? Like around 1.027? That would make the Calcium and Mg levels make sense. Although RC can be a bit inconsistent, but typically not enough to cause issues.

well, I dont use a swing arm hydrometer, I use a refractometer, and thats what it says...? so trusting that.. I did for giggles, look at it with the hydrometer, and it was actually the same. but I see where you were going with that. I actually questioned it myself, so that's why I thought maybe I'd check one against the other. Is there another way to raise pH? because I'm not having luck with the windows, I may also see about hooking up my skimmer to an outside line, like other's have done, and see if that helps.

 

[Brew12]

well, I dont use a swing arm hydrometer, I use a refractometer, and thats what it says...? so trusting that.. I did for giggles, look at it with the hydrometer, and it was actually the same. but I see where you were going with that. I actually questioned it myself, so that's why I thought maybe I'd check one against the other. Is there another way to raise pH? because I'm not having luck with the windows, I may also see about hooking up my skimmer to an outside line, like other's have done, and see if that helps.

I run my skimmer to an outside line but that is effectively the same as opening the windows. Nothing special about it. You can do a fairly simple test. Take a batch of tank water in a small bowl outside and wisk it for a few minutes then test it's pH. It should come in around 8.3.
People get in trouble using things marketed as pH boosters. These work by raising alkalinity. I very sadly large number of people have killed coral by trying to use these additives to try and raise pH while not understanding they were making their alkalinity spike.
Since you do have a small amount of alkalinity demand you can add kalkwasser to your make up water. Part of the reaction when the kalkwasser mixing with your aquarium water is the consumption of some CO2 giving a temporary pH boost.
You can also use a refugium to help consume CO2 which can boost pH.

 

[saltyfins]

I run my skimmer to an outside line but that is effectively the same as opening the windows. Nothing special about it. You can do a fairly simple test. Take a batch of tank water in a small bowl outside and wisk it for a few minutes then test it's pH. It should come in around 8.3.
People get in trouble using things marketed as pH boosters. These work by raising alkalinity. I very sadly large number of people have killed coral by trying to use these additives to try and raise pH while not understanding they were making their alkalinity spike.
Since you do have a small amount of alkalinity demand you can add kalkwasser to your make up water. Part of the reaction when the kalkwasser mixing with your aquarium water is the consumption of some CO2 giving a temporary pH boost.
You can also use a refugium to help consume CO2 which can boost pH.

I'll try that