Water paramaters check..

[earthduzt]

OK so Ive had my tank up and running for about 4 months now...stock is minimum at the moment. Tank Specs are...

55g
4 x54w T5 lamps
1 36w acintic blue lamp
70lbs live rock
2 Koralia current producers (4 &2)
Red Sea Berlin X2 Skimmer (rated for 225g tanks)
1 emperor 400 (no bio wheels, just LR rubble and carbon pads if needed)
Heater with temp around 79f
RO water used only and do at least 10% water changes per week sometimes twice a week
1 tomato clown
2 firefish
1 yellow watchman
1 red stripe angel
1 LTA
1 Squamosa Clam
2 feather dusters
1 bullseye pistol shrimp

so I tested my water today and my test results came back as this...

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
PH: 8.3 (is that ok?)
Nitrates: 10ppm
Calcium: 470
Phosphate: 0ppm

I know I need to check for Magnesium and Alkalinity, but I will go and buy those tests tomorrow.

Are those good readings, as far as being able to keep coral? I feed my fish a good meal about once every 2 or 3 days and spot feed the clam and dusters plankton once a week.

With those readings is there any wya to guess that my magnesium and alkalinity should be ok? Im trying to get coraline to grow (not wanting to use purple up or anything like that) I have quite a few nice size spots of purple coraline on the rocks that I lightly scrubbbed with a toothbrush to get it to seed. So my params good? Any feedback/suggestions will be pleasantly taken. Thanks!!

 

[yote]

First off,Welcome to the site.
There are a lot of long time reefers that would kill for those kind of readings.
That being said.Theres no way to accurately guage the alkalinity and magnesium levels from looking at your other parameters.To be sure of what they,you'll need those kits.
What brand salt are you using and what if anything are you dosing?

 

[earthduzt]

First off,Welcome to the site.
There are a lot of long time reefers that would kill for those kind of readings.
That being said.Theres no wat to accurately guage the alkalinity and magnesium levels from looking at your other parameters.To be sure of what they,you'll need those kits.
What brand salt are you using and what if anything are you dosing?

hi and thank you for the welcome....

ok, Ill go get those tests tomorrow, the salt I use is Red Sea salt mix and I dont dose with anything at all...I did dose with Kent Pro Buffer DkH a couple times but that is all, but i havent dosed that in a while (maybe dosed the tank with that 3 times) I just do religious water changes, like I said at least once a week 10% sometimes twice a week. I have this obbsession with getting coraling to grow lol....so I leave my T5s on for about 6 hours and then the rest of the day I leave just my acintic blues on for the entire day until the whites come back on, Im trying not to add anything new to the tank until I get coraline to grow haha.....So far all my LR is looking good, it is covered in green and different shades of pink and purple coraline (all my LR started off with hardly any coraline on it at all. except for a few splotches)

Im wondering how does calcium get added if it is not dosed in? Should I but some calcium or a bottle of trace element supplements?

 

[yote]

Calcium is in the salt mix.And with the levels yours is at,theres no need to add anymore.

Heres a tip on getting coralline to grow.Quit thinking about it.Forget its even in the tank.Keep your parameters in check,and you'll eventually be cussing that pink and purple plague.
You can also lightly brush what coralline you already have with a soft bristled tooth brush.That will cause the coralline to release spores that will settle in other places in your tank.

 

[earthduzt]

Calcium is in the salt mix.And with the levels yours is at,theres no need to add anymore.

Heres a tip on getting coralline to grow.Quit thinking about it.Forget its even in the tank.Keep your parameters in check,and you'll eventually be cussing that pink and purple plague.
You can also lightly brush what coralline you already have with a soft bristled tooth brush.That will cause the coralline to release spores that will settle in other places in your tank.

lol yeah I should forget about it, like I said Ive been obsessing about it...but will try to not make it such a big deal. Im new to the whole reef tank thing, Ive just had FOWLR tanks so excuse the many questions...but heres another one, what exactly does strontium do and should I be concerned about that?...thanks again for all your input.

 

[yote]

Nobody is really sure about what strontium really does.I can tell you that it caused algae for me.Your salt has plenty of it in there,so theres no need to worry about that.
Just keep your calcium,alkalinity,and magnesium in check along with the PH and you'll be golden.
I'll also suggest that you take a look at the helpfull articles at the top of the page.They'll answer a lot of your chemistry questions and give you a good idea of what exactly is going on in your tank.
And dont worry about posting any questions you have.Thats why we have this awesome forum.So we can all learn from each other.

 

[earthduzt]

very good, yeah reading some of the articles now...and thanks again for the input...it can just be overwhelming sometimes when I go to my LFS, seeing all this additive stuff on the shelves wondering what it does lol


thanks for the input:bounce:

 

[yote]

Not a problem.

Anytime you see something at your LFS that your not sure about.Ask about it here before you buy it.
I help at a LFS and know how some can be.A lot of em ( though not all of em)are just out to take your money and will sale you something you dont need.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome...Yote has you covered.

 

[tankedchemist]

+1 yote about the strontium. natural seawater has approximately 8ppm of strontium in it, which makes testing it problematic because calcium is chemically very similar, and about 50 times more abundant than strontium... so basically, most any 'strontium test' you find would be highly inaccurate and not worth the money.

as an interesting side note, studies have shown conclusively that strontium is required for developing sea squirts. Without it, their shells develop abnormally. This is likely true for snails and hard corals, too, but no one's tested it yet (to my knowledge). You can think of strontium as similar to calcium, but not as good... though still necessary in tiny amounts (from your salt mix). :)
Probably more than you wanted to know, so I'll stop now. :) Happy reefing!

 

[earthduzt]

Hello and welcome...Yote has you covered.

thanks for the welcome! :Cheers:

 

[earthduzt]

+1 yote about the strontium. natural seawater has approximately 8ppm of strontium in it, which makes testing it problematic because calcium is chemically very similar, and about 50 times more abundant than strontium... so basically, most any 'strontium test' you find would be highly inaccurate and not worth the money.

as an interesting side note, studies have shown conclusively that strontium is required for developing sea squirts. Without it, their shells develop abnormally. This is likely true for snails and hard corals, too, but no one's tested it yet (to my knowledge). You can think of strontium as similar to calcium, but not as good... though still necessary in tiny amounts (from your salt mix). :)
Probably more than you wanted to know, so I'll stop now. :) Happy reefing!

definately good to know, like I said I just see all these additives on the shelves and wonder if I need any..I will take Yote's advice and consult the gurus first before buying any of that stuff..:bowdown:

 

[yote]

+1 yote about the strontium. natural seawater has approximately 8ppm of strontium in it, which makes testing it problematic because calcium is chemically very similar, and about 50 times more abundant than strontium... so basically, most any 'strontium test' you find would be highly inaccurate and not worth the money.

as an interesting side note, studies have shown conclusively that strontium is required for developing sea squirts. Without it, their shells develop abnormally. This is likely true for snails and hard corals, too, but no one's tested it yet (to my knowledge). You can think of strontium as similar to calcium, but not as good... though still necessary in tiny amounts (from your salt mix). :)
Probably more than you wanted to know, so I'll stop now. :) Happy reefing!

I didnt know that:D