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Unread 12/27/2017, 10:28 AM   #5
2mk
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Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Hurricane Country
Posts: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by GuyInCentralVA View Post
What are all these values in your tank? That would allow us to look at them and let you know what is off and what to do.

Nitrite and ammonia should always be 0.

Nitrate should be very low, different people keep it at different exact levels. Some keep it undetectable, others 1, 5, or even 10. It also depends on the corals. SPS need lower nutrient levels (partly because they have higher lighting which can cause algae issues with nutrient levels that wouldn't cause as much algae at lower lighting levels). Softies (zoas, mushrooms, leathers, etc.) will use nutrients more than SPS.

Phosphate should be very low to undetectable, depending on the precision of the kit. I am guessing Apex will detect the ideal levels of 0.03-0.06.

PH should be 8.0-8.4. It is dependent on alkalinity and depends on what you use to dose alkalinity. Alkalinity should be 8-12 dKH. Soda ash will raise the pH better than baking soda. Most people prefer to focus on alkalinity, not pH. Chasing pH can cause you to go overboard with your alkalinity and may not be stable. If your pH is too low, dosing soda ash and even adding a CO2 scrubber to the air intake of your skimmer will help raise it (CO2 creates carbonic acid in water, which obviously lowers the pH).

You also need to test calcium and magnesium. Magnesium should be 1300-1500. Magnesium keeps calcium and alkalinity from precipitating with each other directly in the water column. Calcium should be 380-500.

I keep magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium at their maxes because I have a lot of fast-growing stony corals.

Check out BulkReefSupply's videos on chemistry, they are very good at explaining all of this.

Also check out Saltwater Chemistry (that site also has some other great articles).

You will probably need to focus on nutrient control first, then magnesium, calcium, and alkalinity. When in doubt, do less rather than more. You can always do more later, but too much is harder to fix.
Thank you for the speedy reply. This is a lot of useful information that I will try to follow closely once my test kit arrives. And possibly by more test units other than the ones I bought.

Just a side note: My Apex Parameters are either off due to bad calibrations, or my tank actually have those numbers which I don't know at this point since I never tested anything. There is not reference for me.


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Current Tank Info: 35G + 55G Combined By 30G Sump, Alexa, Apex, 2x EB832, 1x DOS, 2x FMM, 3x Flow Sensors, Neptune ATK ATO, 1x WRX, 3x Radion XR15 G4 Pro, 1x Kessil AH80, Teco Chiller, Octo Essence 130 & Red Sea Skimmers, 6x Hydor Koralias, 2x MaxiJets, Danner Pump
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