My Parameters

[Daddi0]

My son and I are fairly new to reefing (9 months) so I thought I would double check with you "old timers" to see if our parameters seem in line or if we should be making adjustments. Our tank system is approx. 100 gallons with about 200lbs of rock, 100 mixed corals, and maybe 10 fish and such. We have been running Kalk (with vinegar) for a month now. Tank gets fed twice a day with phyto, pods and rotifers and 1/2 cube of Marine Cuisine and 3ml each Red Sea Energy A/B once a day.
Parameters are:
DKH - 10
Calcium - 520
PH range 8.21-8.39
No Nitrates and no phosphate
I think this is good?
Tank is getting approx. 1 1/4tsp of Kalk and 100ml of vinegar a day.
Corals look good and I see no signs of a bloom.
Cheers! Mark

[fabulousfavia]

You want to keep phosphate at almost zero but still readable. Everything else looks good

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[Daddi0]

Originally Posted by fabulousfavia

You want to keep phosphate at almost zero but still readable. Everything else looks good

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I was under the assumption that we wanted phosphates at 0?

[Reef of Fillory]

Originally Posted by Daddi0

I was under the assumption that we wanted phosphates at 0?

It depends on what you're using to measure phosphate with. If you're using an ATI test kit and reading zero, but not doing anything extra to export phosphates ( running a large amount of gfo or dosing a phosphate removal product) then it's likely your phosphate levels are fine. If you're testing 0 phosphates on a Hannah checker, you're going to have a problem. If you know someone with a Hannah checker it's a great way to validate numbers, most test kits can't detect phosphates to the levels that we want to ideally keep in a reef tank. Nitrates <5 and detectable phosphates is a great range to be in.

Your calcium and alkalinity are in the higher side, but as long as they are stable that's not an issue.

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[RobZilla04]

Good numbers. Remember that stability is the key. Don't get caught chasing one particular value. A good way to gauge overall reef health is by the appearance of the corals (Soft, LPS, & SPS).

[bertoni]

People report success with a range of phosphate readings. Some people report issues if there's no measurable phosphate in the system, with a detection limit of about 0.03 ppm or so. If your tank is doing well enough, I'd leave well enough alone. We don't have enough data or accurate enough testing to be sure about what's happening with phosphate readings down in the 0-40 ppb range or so.