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#1
03-16-2010, 01:26 AM
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Help: Some of my test results are worrying
Have a 150 gallon reef tank up and running for one year to this point. Some LPS and SPS coral and 5 fish, some cleaner shrimp and snails/crabs. I do a 15% water change EVERY 10 days. My last tests a day after the last W/C (yesterday) were:
Calcium ~350 Magnesium ~1200 KH ~ 6 PH ~ 8.7 All other tests looked fine. The tank and critters all look fine too, except my small clove polyp softie all died after it has been there for about 6 months. I have been dosing Calcium, Magnesium and KH from those Coralife store bought bottles......Is there something I can do to bring these levels back. Please advise......much appreciated! 
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#2
03-16-2010, 01:34 AM
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I dunno, your levels don't look *that* bad to me. Odds are, your SPS and LPS are growing in your tank and your ca/mg demand is higher than it used to be. You could dose calcium/magnesium/alk in higher amounts if you wanted or just increase the levels in your waterchange water. Odds are you might need to look at a calcium reactor or automatic doser to supplement calcium as eventually it will be difficult to keep up with dosing. There are several vendors on this board that sell calcium chloride, magnesium chloride/sulfate and sodium bicarbonate to keep your parameters in check, you might want to go that route.
What salt are you using?
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Christy's Reef Blog My 180 Build Every electronic component is shipped with smoke stored deep inside.... only a real genius can find a way to set it free.
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#3
03-16-2010, 05:56 AM
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I had some cloves die on me as well as star polyps most people say those are a pest, but I can't keep them alive. Sometimes things just die. If everything else is good I would not worry to much.
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150 Gal system 3'x3' 400W M/H, Bekett skimmer, Dart return,1/4 HP Chiller 180 Gal Drop tank, LED lights, Bubble master 250 skimmer,Hammerhead on a closed loop, Speed wave return.
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#4
03-16-2010, 03:06 PM
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I have used H2Ocean almost since the start.......
but changed to a box of Meersaltz (on a LFS recommendation) and have just started using Instant Ocean when the Meersaltz ran out. Maybe part of the problem was the change in salts?
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#6
03-16-2010, 03:23 PM
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Thanks Leah.....
I will stick with Instant Ocean going forward (really no choice as I bought 3 pails of the stuff....lol)
Anyway, so should I just keep dosing Mag and Calcium as I have been, or is something more radical in order?
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#7
03-16-2010, 03:33 PM
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If you suddenly changed salts that could be the problem......I always recommend to customers that you start mixing the different salts together when there is roughly half a bucket of the original salt left, if you can.....this will lesson the potential for a shock to the system......
IO is low in all of the big three (Ca Mg and DKH).....a better choice would have been "reef crystals" by IO.....it has elevated levels of the "big three"....like Christy said, your levels arent that bad, so a minor adjustment in how much you dose should help bump those levels up......
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260g mixed reef, 105g sump, water blaster 7000 return, Bubble King SM 300 skimmer, Aqua Controller Jr, 4 radions, 3 Tunze 6055s,1 tunze 6065, 2 Vortech MP40s, Vortech MP20, Tunze ATO, GHL SA2 doser, 2 TLF reactors (1 carbon, 1 rowa). http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=50034 . Tank Video here http://www.vimeo.com/2304609 and here http://www.vimeo.com/16591694
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#8
03-16-2010, 03:47 PM
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Thanks for that great info...
Based on the results I was getting (versus the applicable safe ranges) I was thinking there could something really wrong. Will monitor going forward.
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