Water Parameters help

[MarkS]

Hi,

I have had fish for a couple of months and slowly adding corals, 4 frags so far. Going for mixed tank.

Below are my water parameters; what advice would you give, I know some are a bit high but retesting every 3 days to see if they go down a bit.

Red Sea Reef Master kit
PH 8.0
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrate 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Salinity varies from 2.3 - 2.5, currently at 2.4

Red Sea Pro kit
Calcium 500 (max for test)
Magnesium 1,600 (max for test)
KH 14.0

Coral is ok, there is some white on some of the edging of coral?

Any advice welcome, I want to get stabilised before adding any more.

TY Mark

 

[Newstead]

Your alk looks high - is it consistently testing at 14?

 

[MarkS]

Hi Newstead, yes it is. How can I lower? What are the side effects of this?

 

[A sea K]

Not sure on your salinity (2.3-2.5 ??) please clarify. Should be around 1.026sg or 35ppt for reef. Actually all of the big 3 are a little high. No need to target those levels. If your not dosing then you should look into a different salt mix as that may be the cause.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Yes, your ALK, Calc, and Mag are all high. What salt mix are you using? Did the color change on the Mag and Calc test? If you didn't get a change in color and maxed out the 1.0 ml, then both of those numbers are actually higher.

What corals do you have in the tank, and what are your NO3 and PO4 readings and what kind of light are you using. White on the edges of SPS corals is a sign of bleaching probably caused by the high ALK.

Do you have any pictures?

Edit: I also don't understand your SG measurement.

 

[MarkS]

Not sure on your salinity (2.3-2.5 ??) please clarify. Should be around 1.026sg or 35ppt for reef. Actually all of the big 3 are a little high. No need to target those levels. If your not dosing then you should look into a different salt mix as that may be the cause.

Sorry, 1.23 - 1.25.

I was dosing but I did too much I think which is why high. Haven’t dosed for 4 - 5 days now, waiting for it all too lower.

I also read online that Red Sea Magnesium test always reads 1600 and to use another brand, is this treat?

 

[ndrwater]

You should only be dosing what your tank consumes to maintain your levels. As mentioned above, all parameters (except SG) Are a tad high. I would continue to test daily until you see things level off.
A tank CAN be run at an ALK of 14, but it is a bit unusual for most circumstances. Many reefers try to keep ALK somewhere in the 8-9 range. Seeing white tips on your acros sounds a lot like Alk burn.

 

[A sea K]

Sorry, 1.23 - 1.25.

I was dosing but I did too much I think which is why high. Haven’t dosed for 4 - 5 days now, waiting for it all too lower.

I also read online that Red Sea Magnesium test always reads 1600 and to use another brand, is this treat?

Thats a little low but not really problematic. Dont know about the test kit, I use Salifert for Alk, Cal, and Mag. For starters if you are dosing anything stop until you can get a handle on things.
How big is your system and what salt mix are you using. With so few frags I would think a decent water change schedule should keep everything in check until the demand starts to come up. If your using a salt mix that runs high in those values a simple salt change and water changes should get you straightened out.

 

[MarkS]

Thats a little low but not really problematic. Dont know about the test kit, I use Salifert for Alk, Cal, and Mag. For starters if you are dosing anything stop until you can get a handle on things.
How big is your system and what salt mix are you using. With so few frags I would think a decent water change schedule should keep everything in check until the demand starts to come up. If your using a salt mix that runs high in those values a simple salt change and water changes should get you straightened out.

Thanks will do.