New readings...good/bad?

[fishmom]

Yesterday we finally removed the nasty crushed coral from the 55 gallon tank.....scrubbed the sides of the tank.....and meticulously replaced some new base rock, argonite live sand, 85 % new water (combo saltwater from LFS and mixed up RO water from Wally's). At the end we realized we still needed enough water to top off the tank and used 4-5 gallons of tap water mixed.....
Of course the water was very cloudy for the remainder of the day but this morning it looks really nice. I will likely stir some things up because I do NOT like the position of the rocks..

Did a water test this morning: keep in mind I understand things will remain "messed up" for a while.....

pH = 8.2 to 8.4 (still having trouble reading those vague shades of lavender)

nitrites = 0.05

nitrates = 2.5

Alk = 2.9 to 3.6 (again--vague shades of greenish blue)

Ammonia = 0.25

Now I will sit and wait to see what happens over the next week or 2 (or 3 or 4--Christmas!)

Thanks for any feedback--
~debi~

 

[fishmom]

:frustrat: Uh--the instruction on the ammonia test say to "calculate the 'toxic' ammonia"......

Ph=8.2----and water temp is 79 =8.8

multiply the reading (.25) by 8.8/100

.25 X .088 = 0.022

Does that make any sense to you folks?:question:

 

[Smitty]

Congrats on a job well done...all you can do now is just wait. It's normal to have some readings because you did just entirely re-do your tank. It should clear up all the way within the next day or so.

 

[Bifferwine]

Those readings look totally normal for the changes you've made in the tank. They will go down over the next days and weeks.

 

[tankedchemist]

Great work! just a note, you can get an RODI unit to use at home, rather than having to haul water from the store. I'm sure you know, but tap water can cause some really nasty algae problems later, so it's better to not use it at all.

 

[fishmom]

Yesterday we finally removed the nasty crushed coral from the 55 gallon tank.....scrubbed the sides of the tank.....and meticulously replaced some new base rock, argonite live sand, 85 % new water (combo saltwater from LFS and mixed up RO water from Wally's). At the end we realized we still needed enough water to top off the tank and used 4-5 gallons of tap water mixed.....
Of course the water was very cloudy for the remainder of the day but this morning it looks really nice. I will likely stir some things up because I do NOT like the position of the rocks..

Did a water test this morning: keep in mind I understand things will remain "messed up" for a while.....

pH = 8.2 to 8.4 (still having trouble reading those vague shades of lavender)

nitrites = 0.05

nitrates = 2.5

Alk = 2.9 to 3.6 (again--vague shades of greenish blue)

Ammonia = 0.25

Now I will sit and wait to see what happens over the next week or 2 (or 3 or 4--Christmas!)

Thanks for any feedback--

debi~

Okay--now, 5 days later (Thursday):

pH = 8.2-8.4 (still trouble with the colors)

Alk = 2.8 / 2.9 (ish)

nitrites = 0.05

nitrates = 5.0 (went up a bit)

ammonia = Less than .25 (but not quite 0)

water is crystal clear.....I did add one 7# aquaculture live rock 2 days ago...(wow, is that thing pretty!!)

1) Am I headed in the right direction?

2) Also, needing to add some water (evaporation)...is that safe to do right now?

No fish.....just the new live sand, live rock, and one lonely little crab that somehow survided this whole mess!...(he is tiny--less than the size of a pencil eraser).

 

[BL1]

That seems fine, next time you test you should see 0 ammonia and your nitrates should start dropping soon too. I would top it off, start keeping the salinity stable now.

 

[tankedchemist]

keep toping off... but nitrates won't drop unless you do water changes or have a lot of algal growth. I think BL meant nitrites will drop.

keep up the good work. :)

 

[BL1]

Yep, that's what I meant to say Tanked.