Water testing and what to do?

[fishheadreef]

Hello, I wanted to see if there is anything in the forum about newbies solving for water variants like salt, ph, ORP. I know that it is very basic. Just wanted to get a quick reference on what and how to correctly get these items back in their proper ranges.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Sure, there are tons of articles on reef chemistry linked at the top of this page.This is a good place to start:

Optimal Parameters for a Coral Reef Aquarium: By Randy Holmes-Farley

[note: edited on 5/29/2022 to update the nitrate and phosphate sections with higher recommended levels.] One of the main roles of an aquarist with a coral reef aquarium is to ensure that the conditions are right for their tank inhabitants. There are many different attributes of the aquarium...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[mike550]

@fishheadreef welcome to R2R! I’m only six months or so into a new reef tanks and just a couple of thoughts to offer on water chemistry.

First, what you measure changes over time. You’ll hear a lot about cycling and a tank stabilizing enough to host fish safely. So initially, I tracked pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. As my tank is starting to mature and I’ve added corals, I’ve dropped testing for pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and added Alkalinity, Phsophate, Calcium, and Magnesium.

Second, managing to specific numbers is really hard. It takes time for the tank to react and make changes. Patience matters. Also, I think a lot of people will tell you don’t manage to the numbers but monitor them and watch for changes.

Hope this is helpful

 

[fishheadreef]

Thanks Mike, The primary reason for my questions is that I have set up my reef tank (115Gallons) and I am two weeks into a cycle. As I continue to track all of the numbers on the system I find that my salt is always a little high and my ph is a little low. Its still within range but I do not like were they are. I have not fully completed the cycle as of last night. I still have some traces of NO2 left and the NO3 is still on the rise. I should also mention that I am one of those really geeky reefers. I have already setup a Neptune APEX NG to monitor all of the tank perimeters. So with that being said I know that while I am going to have different numbers on the water test and refragmonitor than I do on may APEX I am still not sure about how to correct for the real numbers. I have been toping off my tank with RO water for a week trying to get the salt down. As of yet the salt still stays higher than I would like it to and the PH is always a little low. I asked the fish store about water changes and I was told not to perform one until I was completed with the cycle. I have posted a few pictures from the water test last night and the current APEX reading, I have tried to speak about this on the Neptune community forums but I was meet with either no answer to my posts or someone actually told me that I was hijacking someone else's posts. I don't know if it a forum that takes newbies as a pests or just to advanced for me to understand.

Thanks a lot in advance for any thoughts on this,

 

[Steveoliv]

so if your trying to get your salt salinity down i would just take out a gallon of water from ur main tank an replace with gallon of ro water , if you have fish or coral i would add the ro water to your sump instead of your main tank . check salinity in a hr do it over till u have ur level where u like it

 

[mike550]

Thanks Mike, The primary reason for my questions is that I have set up my reef tank (115Gallons) and I am two weeks into a cycle. As I continue to track all of the numbers on the system I find that my salt is always a little high and my ph is a little low. Its still within range but I do not like were they are. I have not fully completed the cycle as of last night. I still have some traces of NO2 left and the NO3 is still on the rise. I should also mention that I am one of those really geeky reefers. I have already setup a Neptune APEX NG to monitor all of the tank perimeters. So with that being said I know that while I am going to have different numbers on the water test and refragmonitor than I do on may APEX I am still not sure about how to correct for the real numbers. I have been toping off my tank with RO water for a week trying to get the salt down. As of yet the salt still stays higher than I would like it to and the PH is always a little low. I asked the fish store about water changes and I was told not to perform one until I was completed with the cycle. I have posted a few pictures from the water test last night and the current APEX reading, I have tried to speak about this on the Neptune community forums but I was meet with either no answer to my posts or someone actually told me that I was hijacking someone else's posts. I don't know if it a forum that takes newbies as a pests or just to advanced for me to understand.

Thanks a lot in advance for any thoughts on this,

Thanks for the additional info. As far as cycling goes nothing looks really out of line to me (as a newbie). But progress is a function of how you’re cycling. But pH doesn’t look bad.

What do you want for your salinity?

 

[fishheadreef]

Thanks for the additional info. As far as cycling goes nothing looks really out of line to me (as a newbie). But progress is a function of how you’re cycling. But pH doesn’t look bad.

What do you want for your salinity?

I am hoping for 35. When I did a specific gravity last night it was 1.027 about 38

 

[lapin]

You need to be patient in this hobby. I know it will be hard for you. 2 weeks in is not the time to worry about too much. Salinity you can fix with salt water removal and rodi replacement. Or wait until you do the big water change in a month or so. Test your salt water mix before adding it to the tank. Your tank is going to change for the next few months. Alk will go up and down. Ph will do the same. Depending on your salt mix, calcium, magneisum and alk can rise if nothing is using it up. Things have a way of working out without too much messing around. Your tank will be fine