What's wrong?

[Awibrandy]

Ran some test this morning. I hated chemistry and got out of it thinking I'd never needed. Guess I should've stayed. Any who, Below are my readings to my 155 BF mixed reef.
Temp. 77
Salinity 1.025 Refractometer
Hanna Marine Test Deluxe Kit
PH 8.3
Ammonia 0
Nitrite .1
Nitrate .5
P04 .25 I know, cheap test kit if it is not a Hanna meter .25 is way higher
Salifert Test Kits
Calcium 440
KH/ALK This one always confuses the heck out of me, so if someone can help me to understand the value of the numbers I would greatly appreciate it. I've no idea if these # are good or bad.
KH value in dkh
5.4
ALK in meg/L
10.8
Magnesium 1440

 

[prattreef]

Awilda,
The PO4 is very high. I'd run that test again. Are you running Phosban or the like?
The Alk numbers don't make sense either:
A dKH of 5.4 = 1.94 meq/l of alkalinity both of these are extremely low.
10.8 meq/l is off the charts high for Alk. so something is not jiving there.

Everything else looks fine.

 

[tosiek]

1440 mag is really high also. retest the alk, dkh, and mag. and the Po4 woul;d be good too just for good measure.

Mag levels over 1400 start to show problems the closer you get to 1500 with certain coral and it starts to mess with your alk/cal levels. I doubt your dosing so it should be alot lower so my guess is you read the mag kit wrong or its old.

 

[Awibrandy]

Awilda,
The PO4 is very high. I'd run that test again. Are you running Phosban or the like?
The Alk numbers don't make sense either:
A dKH of 5.4 = 1.94 meq/l of alkalinity both of these are extremely low.
10.8 meq/l is off the charts high for Alk. so something is not jiving there.

Everything else looks fine.

The P04 test is Hagen and the color in the tube was barely noticeable, but not clear. Chart starts at 0 and the next # is .25 from there it just goes up.
Was running PHOsar until I ran out and someone had given me Phosban so I used that for a couple of months. Now I'm getting ready to use Bulkreefsupplies' GFO.
I think the problem with the ALK numbers is that I have no idea what I am doing once I'm done with the mixing. All is good until it is time to read the results. The number where the stopper stopped is 5 + 4 lines before 6. I know that really shows my ignorance, but so be it.

1440 mag is really high also. retest the alk, dkh, and mag. and the Po4 woul;d be good too just for good measure.

Mag levels over 1400 start to show problems the closer you get to 1500 with certain coral and it starts to mess with your alk/cal levels. I doubt your dosing so it should be alot lower so my guess is you read the mag kit wrong or its old.

Tony the test kits are new Salifert kits. The only thing I think(not sure that my doser is dosing properly to begin with) I've been dosing was B-Ionics 1&2, just switched to Bulkreef's Calcium, Alkalinity & Magnesium. But I have not dosed the Mag as yet cause I was waiting for for the test kit. But with that one I almost emptied the syringe before the test changed colors, there were only 4 lines left.

 

[Pinkheine]

The salifert mag test is a doozy. I feel your pain Awilda, I end up doing it three times everytime because I feel like I'm not doing it right. Though the good readings(the ones you want to see) do come when almost the entire syringe is empty, if not nearly all of it. I don't have it in front of me but if I remember correctly that is how it is. First time I did the test I was left perplexed like wtf. I read and reread the instructions. Testing is by far the worst part of all this reef keeping business. lol


Thanks for the reminder to test... somehow I always forget that part... I wonder why:tongue1:.

I hope you get things figured out.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I find that DKH is far easier to test and keep track of than meq/l. It also stood out to me that the 2 readings you listed are at opposite ends of the spectrum. It's good to do both if one is reading what you believe to be off as a back up standard but those don't make any sense.

My next question would be what salt are you using and what if anything are you dosing the tank with?

The presence of any nitrite would be cause for some concern in an established tank. Not to cause alarm but you might have caught a problem here early on before it got out of control.

 

[Awibrandy]

The salifert mag test is a doozy. I feel your pain Awilda, I end up doing it three times everytime because I feel like I'm not doing it right. Though the good readings(the ones you want to see) do come when almost the entire syringe is empty, if not nearly all of it. I don't have it in front of me but if I remember correctly that is how it is. First time I did the test I was left perplexed like wtf. I read and reread the instructions. Testing is by far the worst part of all this reef keeping business. lol


Thanks for the reminder to test... somehow I always forget that part... I wonder why:tongue1:.

I hope you get things figured out.

I'm glad(sorry) to know someone else is feeling my pain.LOL

I find that DKH is far easier to test and keep track of than meq/l. It also stood out to me that the 2 readings you listed are at opposite ends of the spectrum. It's good to do both if one is reading what you believe to be off as a back up standard but those don't make any sense.

My next question would be what salt are you using and what if anything are you dosing the tank with?

The presence of any nitrite would be cause for some concern in an established tank. Not to cause alarm but you might have caught a problem here early on before it got out of control.

OK, I believe my problem is in the reading of the test!!! Once I've done the test and I turn the syringe needle pointing upwards and see where the stopper is I see the liquid between 5 & 6, 4 lines follow the 5.
WHAT I'm I suppose to do next? Can someone clarify that for me?
I was dosing B-Ionics 1 & 2 for the past 2 years, or so I thought. I don't think my doser has been operating properly. I just changed to "BulkreefSupply.com" Calcium, Alkalinity and I have magnesium but have not even tried to dose the mag.
I was using IO, but recently changed to Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. And I do 20 gallons or so w/c weekly.

 

[prattreef]

when you turn the syringe upside down the numbers should read 0.5, 0.6 etc. the lines in between are increments of .02 between the numbers. look where the top of the black stopper is--sounds like 0.58 . that reading is the # in ml.

On the instruction sheet the left column is the ml reading (0.58 in your case ) the next column is the reading in dKH ( 6.7) and the last is in meq/l 2.40.

If the numbers above are accurate, your Alk is low.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I've never personally liked the red sea salt try testing the mixed water before you put it in the tank next time you do a change so you can eliminate the salt mix as the culprit. Just mix it as you normally would and test it the same way. It's entirely possible you got a bad batch or need to change salt mixes but like I said, it's just a starting spot to figuring this out.

 

[Solace Aquatics LLC]

Phosban can also cause some funky readings if too much is used. Careful with that stuff. Be sure to read the directions and measure accordingly.

Just my 2 cents, hope everything works out for ya... I am sure you will find the culprit.

I also agree with testing the a newly mixed batch of salt. And perhaps switching to a new mix.

Also have someone else with kits come over and take readings for you, compare the two and see what you come up with it. Salifert has been known to come up with bad batches, that's why they put batch numbers on their products.

 

[Wes]

i think you mixed up your meg/L and dkH values.

5.4 meg/L and 10.8 dkH makes more sense

 

[Awibrandy]

While holding the syringe needle facing up towards the ceiling and plunger down towards the floor, the black part on the plunger sits between the .5 & .6 just at the 4th. line that follows the 5. I'm really feeling quite stupid at this point. I don't think I am making any sense to you guys. So if I understand Randy correctly my reading is .58ml's, 6.7dKH, 2.40meg/L which is low. It needs to be .50ml"s, 8.0dKH, 2.86meg/L, or even a little higher from what I have read. So I need to raise my alk?
I think I now understand how to read this test. Thank You Randy/Prattreef!!
I did the KH/Alkalinity test over and this time I got .5 on the line. So If I read it correctly my Alk is; .50ml's, 8.0dKH and 2.86meg/L, which going by Salifert it is actually on target. This I have a hard time believing.

Also the earlier test was done in the morning just before, or as the VHO were coming on. This test was just done after several hours of the lights being on. Does that have an impact on the test?

I don't think anyone wants to come out to the Rockaways to test my water.lol What I will do is try to find an LFS that is willing to test it for me while showing me how to do the test correctly.

Thank You Randy, Syb, Tony, lfsmarineguy, Leo and Wes!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys & gal have terribly helpful and supportive.:hug:

I honestly hope there is nothing wrong with the Red Sea salt as I had just ordered another batch yesterday............

 

[Awibrandy]

I stopped by WWoF yesterday and had Eddie test my water.
He tested the alk, cal and ph:
alk 2.0, cal 560, ph 8.0
In an earlier post in this thread I posted my mag level being 1440.
I do run GFO in a TwoLittleFishies reactor.
I am trying to get over to ReefExotics to pick up new Salifert test kits today!!

My new question is: Do I start dosing Alk right away and how much? I am taking my Duo AquaMedic doser off line today. I feel that I will have better control on what is being dosed if done manually.
Please respond to my above question.....

 

[Awibrandy]

New Salifert kits. Thank you Tony of ReefExotics.com Cal 500+, Alk 8.6 dKH, Nitrates somewhere between 0 & 2 on the High Range Test.

AquaMedic doser is now dosing TOP OFF water..