Water tests

[Shawn_epicurious]

Wow, I am impressed with my system now : )

about 4 hours after a water change (is that too soon?)

salinity is back up to 1.025 (it was 1.022 last week)
PH is between 7 and 8
NO3 is between 0 and 5 (very close to zero on the color scale
PO4 is between 0 and .25 (again, very close to zero)

happy, happy!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Tank looks pretty good to me!

 

[AJsReef]

What test kits are you using? Your ranges are extremely wide, teetering on not useful and allowing a large margin of error.

pH you want to be able to read pH in a range of .1 and phosphate is generally read in .01

Sub 7.6 pH would be extremely low for a salt tank and .25 PO4 is very high for most tanks.

For example, a tank may target 7.9-8.1 pH and .03-.05 PO4

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Tank looks pretty good to me!

Thank you

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

What test kits are you using? Your ranges are extremely wide, teetering on not useful and allowing a large margin of error.

pH you want to be able to read pH in a range of .1 and phosphate is generally read in .01

Sub 7.6 pH would be extremely low for a salt tank and .25 PO4 is very high for most tanks.

For example, a tank may target 7.9-8.1 pH and .03-.05 PO4

I am using the newbie stuff. The LFS guys keep telling that because of what I have in my tank, I don’t need to test at the level you are testing at. When I said my PH is between 7 and 8... I am just counting drops I have to put in the vial to get the correct color change. The NO3 and PO4 are kind of idiot proof. Count drops, shake and time things out. The color match on the card looks much closer to the zero color than the next one down. (If I am being honest...? That‘s only the second time I did the tests on my water on my own)

I am a newbie after all

 

[Ron Reefman]

I am using the newbie stuff. The LFS guys keep telling that because of what I have in my tank, I don’t need to test at the level you are testing at. When I said my PH is between 7 and 8... I am just counting drops I have to put in the vial to get the correct color change. The NO3 and PO4 are kind of idiot proof. Count drops, shake and time things out. The color match on the card looks much closer to the zero color than the next one down. (If I am being honest...? That only the second time I did the tests on my water)

I am a newbie after all

Ha. I haven't tested for pH in 5 years. It is what it is and there is very little you can do about it. And trying to do something about it is likely to screw up your tank more than make it better! AJ is right about the range for pH, but chasing a pH level is a fools errand.

You're just getting started and you don't have anything in your tank that is fussy about strict water parameters. But you will need to get better kits and start to pay more attention to Ca and alk as you get some lps and sps corals in the tank. Just don't rush things. Oh, and I don't care how good your LFS is, verify everything they tell you by doing internet research or asking questions here.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Ha. I haven't tested for pH in 5 years. It is what it is and there is very little you can do about it. And trying to do something about it is likely to screw up your tank more than make it better! AJ is right about the range for pH, but chasing a pH level is a fools errand.

You're just getting started and you don't have anything in your tank that is fussy about strict water parameters. But you will need to get better kits and start to pay more attention to Ca and alk as you get some lps and sps corals in the tank. Just don't rush things. Oh, and I don't care how good your LFS is, verify everything they tell you by doing internet research or asking questions here.

About my LFS guy... yeah... loosing faith a bit. I am at a point where I google pretty much anything he says (kinna doing that with advice given here as well) you guys are steering me in the right direction better the store guys... you guys care about “your” tanks... those guys care about selling things

anyway, at this point I am the master of MY tank. ...finally

 

[Ron Reefman]

Good approach. Even 'experts' here, and even Reef Squad members sometimes differ on how things should be done. That's one of the big issues in this hobby. So many times there is not just one right way. And sometimes if you go down one path, there are other successful approaches that you can't use because you headed in a different direction.

Just take your time and do your research.

 

[ScottR]

Are you using an ATO? Salinity shouldn’t drop that much.