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Post by jasonbowdoin on Nov 1, 2014 16:36:02 GMT -5
Nitrate.25 phosphate.04 alkalinity Meq/l 3.5 dkH 9.8 calcium 350. Not sue what these results mean with the res sea test kit
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2014 19:34:36 GMT -5
I don't test for alk, calcium, etc, so I have no clue what to aim for there, but your nitrate and phosphate readings are perfectly fine, in fact, most soft coral might do better in a dirtier tank. looks like you're on the right track.
if i remember from previous posts, you're new to the hobby - my advice would be don't beat yourself up too much over your water parameters... when I first started I was trying to get all of my parameters perfect, and it was driving me crazy. while getting your parameters exactly where you want them is not a bad idea, i quickly learned that for most "beginner corals" (soft corals and the more forgiving species of lps and sps) you don't need to worry about too much other than making sure your source water going into the tank is good, you have plenty of flow in the tank, and you're keeping up with your weekly water changes... and of course not doing anything counterproductive like overfeeding the tank or overstocking it with too many fish. follow that basic advice and before you know it, you'll rarely be breaking out the test kits... most reefers get lazy with testing after they get into a routine that seems to be working - i know i do.
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Nov 1, 2014 19:43:56 GMT -5
Great advice!
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Post by Syntax on Nov 1, 2014 20:29:28 GMT -5
Calcium seems low. You may want to test mag as well. Mag plays a crucial role in balancing alk and calcium. Try searching RC for more information.. Other parameters look good. I agree that "beginner corals" may not be very fussy; however, it's never a bad thing to make sure calcium, alk and msg are in their proper proportions in case you see that gorgeous red planet or purple dragon sps frag that you just have to have..... Do not say you don't like sps, one look at corals like that and you may be hooked!  . It happened to me |
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Post by jasonandsarah on Nov 1, 2014 20:36:54 GMT -5
Everything looks great except calcium that's a little low. Like others said though not a big deal right now.
Once you've had a tank awhile you can get lazy because you know exactly what your tank uses everyday and would know if anything was out of wack just by looking.
Then again this all normally comes because we all drove our selves wacky at first testing and retesting our testing.
Comes with the territory imo. In the long run this is a wacky hobby so drive your self wacky and test, test and test! Lol you'll know your tank better for it.
Cal would be better around 420 to start imo. I personally keep mine at 460 but I have a ton of sps and sps frags suck up the cal.
Sent from my SM-N910R4 using proboards
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Post by jasonbowdoin on Nov 1, 2014 20:42:41 GMT -5
Mag 1200 calcium 350
That advice helped... My wife and I are going crazy with seeing how to bring things up and others down with out screwing anything up... Ryan thanks again too. I'm letting this tank sit for a few days and test again
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Post by jasonandsarah on Nov 1, 2014 22:52:50 GMT -5
Mag 1200 calcium 350 That advice helped... My wife and I are going crazy with seeing how to bring things up and others down with out screwing anything up... Ryan thanks again too. I'm letting this tank sit for a few days and test again Yeah duhhh I forgot you don't have corals yet..... Sent from my SM-N910R4 using proboards |
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Post by jasonbowdoin on Nov 1, 2014 22:55:59 GMT -5
That's ok... I have two hermits left... When I rushed hings and got clowns.... Well my tank cycled and everthing spiked and they died :/ .... It's a waiting game now
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Post by Syntax on Nov 2, 2014 6:37:06 GMT -5
Can you share your tank specs? I mean everything from Tank size to all equipment (brand/model), how much live rock and where you got it from and sand. Can you post some pictures and tell us about your system design as well?
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. It happened to me 