Moved
 

Actually it was moved

Maybe because of the coral nature

No, I moved it because that forum is for articles, not posts.

Where should I post new questions for newbs
 

Can you direct me to the proper place to post questions for newbs?

Sure.
Reef related - Reef
Coral Related - Coral
Fish related - Fish
Etc

Oops
 

Ok so newb error...

On my calcium reading I was wrong it's around 380

Nitrate - 0
Phosphate - < .25
KH - 9

That seems to be in the right ranges

Also I replaced my blue light as it was aged and after a day there are polyps starting to come and my Kenya tree is actually standing up a bit instead of drooping

Last question for the pros... What's the best salinity level?

One of the charts said 1.026

Are there preferred salinity levels?

Much appreciate the help

Typical levels on reefs is 1.026. I can't see any reason to not use that value.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4400

I rest my case. :mrgreen:

I had a sea clone once :)

1.0264 SG or 35 ppt is NSW (natural seawater) so that's always a common recommendation for reef tanks. Some people keep FO (fish only) tanks at lower salinity.

Your phosphate is quite high. Is 0.25 ppm the lowest reading on the test kit that you're using? Are you saying that there is color in the test tube, but it is less than the lowest reading?

Me too. It's embarrassing. I even paid $250 for a Prizm protein skimmer in the mid-90s.

HEHE I love this thread...

When I started reefing I started with API test kits... and all I can also vouch for their low quality test kits... you get what you pay for...

From API i went to ELOS which was a good step-up although still not satisfied I bought Red Sea test packages like the foundation (Ca, KH, MG) and this seemed to be good then I purchased the Red Sea Color test kit (K,I, Fe) and they seemed to be OK until the Red Sea test kit started to crap out and I wasn't getting a proper reading due to color discrepancy... The Red Sea KH solution will get tainted if you recycle whats left in the syringe...

Then i bought the Hanna Alk Chlorimeter along with Hanna Ultra Low Range Phosphorous Chlorimeter and holly molly what a breakthrough...
I test my alk every 3-4 days and sometimes every day and adjust my dosers accordingly as it literally takes 1 min to do a test and there is no color guessing here... just the plain number...
Now I wish they had the checkers for Potassium as well...

And to wrap it all up, each person is different and will use different methods to achieve the same or close end results and that's the beauty of this hobby... just because one method works for one person, doesn't mean it will work for everyone else and its mainly due to many factors like time, cost, ease of use and many other factors.

For example I use all brands of test kits according to whichever I think gets me the best results and also the ease of use is critical as I'm not the best when it comes to colors...

Examples:
For Amonia/Nitrite i use API
For Nitrate I use ELOS
For Calcium/Mg I use Red Sea and test against API if bored
For Potassium/I/Fe I use Red Sea
For Alk/Phosphate I use Hanna and I there is no way I'm going back to any other test kit (wish all test kits were Hanna)

Now is that what I use and that's what works for me, but doesnt mean it will work for everyone...


Now API is the wort test kit possible :) if you want proof go to the pharmacy and purchase a 5ml or 10ml syringe(very inexpensive 50cents at most) and add 5ml to the vial... you will be amazed to see their 5ml line is not very accurate and I think its off by .5 to 1ml out of the total 5ml of tank water... That, right off the bat can be a discrepancy of 10-20% of the end result if not more :)

Left work before finishishing the post

Let's say the discrepancy on ATI test kit is 10-15% and we do a test for mg and cone up with 1000 ... After we factor in the 10-15% discrepancy that water can be 850-1150 mag when your target is 1250-1350..

At this point you might be as well guessing

Have you tried the Hanna Calcium checker yet? You might change your mind! :p

I agree though, I wish all kits were like the Hanna Alk and Phos kits. Potassium would be a break through.

He he, I did my homework on that and potassium would be amazing if it was a Hanna chlorimeter but my understanding is that it can't be made that way.

New season
 

hey again, so since I originally posted this topic I have purchased a bunch of sali test kits, Hanna phosphate test

Upgraded my dosing chemicals to the highest quality crystals I can get

Things are growing and stable

Just need to swap my calcium tester, which is the absolute best ?

Hanna?

Good on you to spare no expenses and being proactive.

I used to use API Ca test but upgraded to Red Sea, much easier to read/do. I have no experience with other brands but most should be fine IMO (not API).

My favourite Ca test is Elos, but J&L don't carry it no more :(

Reef Supplies carries Elos.