Make sure you are doing your tests!

[RyanG]

Just a PSA for everyone make sure you are doing your tests on your schedule. I have gotten off my schedule in the last three weeks, partly out of frustration and partly out of laziness, pure and simple. Well to make a long story short my number were WAY out of whack for what I keep my system at.

These were my specs;
Alkalinity-7Dkh
Calcium-370
Magnesium-1230
Ph-8.2
NO3-5ppm

These are where things normally are-
Alk-9dkh
Cal-425
Mag-1400
Ph-was ok stays between 8.2-8.3
NO3-Cant get it lower than 2.5ppm but Im not really worried about it.

Another thing to remember is when you are on a dosing regime remember to boost your new water to your goal numbers! I also forgot to do that for last weeks water change.:frustrat:

Just hoping that you all can learn from my mistakes.

 

[daugherty]

thanks for the reminder

 

[yote]

OH GREAT,I knew I was forgetin something :shock:

Thanks for the reminder Ryan.Sometimes we all either forget or just get out of the habit for one reason or another. Just goes to show how much our water can change in a short peroid of time.

 

[wontonflip]

Yeah, I slacked with my 45 because the fuge keeps my nitrates at 0, so I didn't do a water change in a month (aware of the need for trace elements). At least I don't have corals, like you guys do.

 

[cthegame]

Thanks Ryan.

 

[parrotchute]

yeah...guilty, all I regularly check is pH (the once a week salinity when I do water changes)
In my defense, no2/3 and amm are always 0, and my calcium demand is pretty low. I've got a low bioload..

 

[Bifferwine]

I did my first tests in about a year today! Anyone care to venture a guess as to what they were (I tested only pH and nitrate)???

Hint: I have not done any water changes in approximately a year also.

 

[parrotchute]

no water changes in a year, Biff!?!? Good skimmer!

 

[yote]

I did my first tests in about a year today! Anyone care to venture a guess as to what they were (I tested only pH and nitrate)???

Hint: I have not done any water changes in approximately a year also.

I'm guessing PH at 8.2 and nitrates at 15?

 

[Bifferwine]

Hahaha, pH was 8.00 exactly (I used a digital meter that I got from work) and nitrates were ~50. I am mixing a batch of new water as we speak :)

 

[parrotchute]

How about salinity biff? Wouldn't that have dropped a bit without water changes?

 

[Bifferwine]

No, salinity has always been spot on at 1.025.

 

[parrotchute]

Nice. I think you have a secret elf maintaining your tank.

 

[RyanG]

Well after retesting today and redosing my numbers are spot on.

Alk-9.0Dkh
Cal-425
Mag-1450

Sarah I though you would have learned from the last time your system went wacko and you had the 150+NO3?

 

[yote]

She's hard headed:mrgreen:

 

[RyanG]

Like the rest of us!

 

[yote]

Like the rest of us!

AMEN to that:helm2:

 

[dcantucson]

I did my first tests in about a year today! Anyone care to venture a guess as to what they were (I tested only pH and nitrate)???

Hint: I have not done any water changes in approximately a year also.

Okay... I must confess I haven't done any tests or water changes in about 6 months! The last time I did test my PH was too low so I added a buffer to bring it up. The system went into shock and I lost a lot of things. I decided at that time to leave it alone and not test it all the time and not to keep adding crap into the water trying to get everything perfect. I add calcium but that's it. I am feeling guilty about not doing a water change though. It's just such a pain with a large system, but I gotta do it soon. So Biff, is it because you (we) have larger systems that it's easier to keep the water quality right?

 

[Bifferwine]

Biff, is it because you (we) have larger systems that it's easier to keep the water quality right?

I think that's definitely part of it. My system is a 240 gallon tank + 55 gallon sump + 35 gallon fuge. That's a lot of water volume. I also have a big skimmer and a 10-inch deep sand bed. Even though nitrates at 50 is not by any means great, I would have expected it to be A LOT worse after a year of no water changes.

But it's a double edged sword. Our larger systems may make the water more stable, but it's also the reason why I find it so hard to do regular water changes! A 10% water change in my system is like 50 gallons!! I tried to follow the "traditional" advice and change 10% a week, but that got old really fast when I had to change SO MUCH DAMN WATER.

 

[yote]

Biff,Heres something you might try.
Instead of trying to change 10% a week,change maybe 10 gallons and see how stable your tank stays.That way your not trying to do 30 gallons,and I'd about bet that the 10 gallons a week will keep it stable and healthy.