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OK water test advice

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  #1  
Old June 18th, 2008, 02:00 AM
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OK water test advice

Ammonia 0

PH 8.2

Nitrite .25

Nitrate 20

KH +214.8 off the chart what to do about that??

Calcium +520 off the chart 31 drops b/4 water color change on test is high cal. OK ?

P04 5.0 way high

I just did a water change today and I was late on doing my tank cleaning do to our move

I also tested our well water for the P04 to see if that was up but it was fine.. any advice please what can I do or use to help this

Current Aquarium(s) Description: 55 gal. Reef. 2 clowns, 1 powder blue tang, 1 dragonet, blue damsels., anemones
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Old June 18th, 2008, 03:14 AM
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Re: OK water test advice

Your tanks still cycling, take it easy and don't do anything, retest in a week.
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Old June 18th, 2008, 03:23 AM
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Re: OK water test advice

Nitrite is bad for fish and inverts, even in small amounts it can be fatal. A stable, mature tank should not have nitrites.

Nitrates at 20 aren't bad, but that's the limit as to when they start having detrimental effects on inverts. In a tank with corals and anemones, your nitrates should be at zero.

Phosphates are super high. If I were you, I'd run phosphate removal media like PhosBan or PhosGuard. Even a little bit of phosphates can cause big algae problems. And phosphates are bad for inverts also.

Your calcium is high, so if you are dosing calcium in liquid or powder form, I'd stop.

As for your alkalinity, water changes should help dilute it (and the other bad stuff) out, but unless you are doing water changes with RODI water, it's likely you're just adding all the bad stuff back in with the new batch of water.
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Old June 18th, 2008, 03:41 AM
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Re: OK water test advice

Yep,Your cycling.
Like McCrary said,dont add anything except top-off water and retest in a couple of days.
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Old June 18th, 2008, 04:56 AM
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Re: OK water test advice

Are these the params in your tank that includes a powder blue,dragonet and anemone?
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Old June 18th, 2008, 07:04 AM
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Re: OK water test advice

I would take a water sample to the LFS and have them test it just to make sure your levels are as off as they seem. Often, our error in testing can make things look worse than they are. You could also retest yourself, but I would really think about taking a sample to the LFS. I am not sure if you are cycling still after 2 months. maybe, but likely, you are overfeeding or somehow creating more nutrients in your tank that account for the increase of nitrates and phosphates. Cut back feedings to every other day, just a little food and keep steady with weekly water changes of 15% of your tank. Things will take care of itself if you are patient. I am a fan of letting the tank do its thing instead of jumping to panic mode and potentially making things worse.

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