Water Testing In Edmonton

Baldy · #1 11-22-2011, 03:40 AM

Hello All,

Lately ive been kind of perplexed by whats happening with my 75g reef. I have a few soft coral, not too much tho. a branching hammer, candy cane, lots of kenya trees, some palys, xenia, a fuzzy mushroom, and some others most of which hitch hiked on the live rock i bought. after i set up my tank, a couple months after i had growth everywhere. the palys were going crazy, the xenia were like wildfire, then all of a sudden, everything kind of stopped. I lost a couple small colonies of zoas (grr), and nothing else has really grown much since.

during the summer, i had a lot going on and admittedly let tank maintenance slip more than i should have. the water changes were quite sparse, but ive been running biopellets, and nitrates and phosphates remained unreadable.

im wondering if maybe i depleated some trace elements by not doing enough water changes. maybe iodine or stront or something. i finally got my DHK back to 10 from 5, calc never got very low. is there a LFS in edmonton that tests water? i dont really want to spend 80$ on 2 test kits to satisfy my curiosity.

Myka · #2 11-22-2011, 02:00 PM

Iodine and Strontium are not likely to be the issue. Regular waterchanges and time should fix it now you have the parameters in check. Alkalinity is rather high though, definitely on the high side of the norm.

Baldy · #3 11-22-2011, 03:14 PM

I brought it back with seachem (I think) reef fusion, the alkalinity part of the 2 part dose. It got a bit higher than I would have liked, I plan on keeping it around 9.

what would you recommend as regular water changes? I've been doing 10g every two weeks, but I'm bumping it up to once a week for a while. I have a 75g tank with a 15-20g sump, so its a bit better than 10%

Beverly · #4 11-23-2011, 03:55 AM

If your tank was neglected over the summer, take time now to compensate for the neglect. If this was my tank, I'd be fixing it by doing weekly 20% to 30% water changes for the next month or so. Or, do two 20% water changes each week for a two weeks. This will help turn things around. And after that, do weekly 10% to 15% water changes forevermore

paddyob · #5 11-23-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beverly

If your tank was neglected over the summer, take time now to compensate for the neglect. If this was my tank, I'd be fixing it by doing weekly 20% to 30% water changes for the next month or so. Or, do two 20% water changes each week for a two weeks. This will help turn things around. And after that, do weekly 10% to 15% water changes forevermore

That's overkill and not necessary unless you have deep deep pockets. It's ok for tanks like a 10g but not best option for larger tanks. I used to do maintenance and I object to anyone doing weekly changes. I found simply doing a monthly or two weeks is best. And only to 20% a month. This is my opinion. Anyone doing weekly , that's your option so dont beat me up ha ha!

How old are your bulbs? Might be time to swap them out.

Do you run carbon? Softies release a lot if toxins. Might be causing stress. Carbon helps remove them.

paddyob · #6 11-23-2011, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheNewGuy

Hello All,

Lately ive been kind of perplexed by whats happening with my 75g reef. I have a few soft coral, not too much tho. a branching hammer, candy cane, lots of kenya trees, some palys, xenia, a fuzzy mushroom, and some others most of which hitch hiked on the live rock i bought. after i set up my tank, a couple months after i had growth everywhere. the palys were going crazy, the xenia were like wildfire, then all of a sudden, everything kind of stopped. I lost a couple small colonies of zoas (grr), and nothing else has really grown much since.

during the summer, i had a lot going on and admittedly let tank maintenance slip more than i should have. the water changes were quite sparse, but ive been running biopellets, and nitrates and phosphates remained unreadable.

im wondering if maybe i depleated some trace elements by not doing enough water changes. maybe iodine or stront or something. i finally got my DHK back to 10 from 5, calc never got very low. is there a LFS in edmonton that tests water? i dont really want to spend 80$ on 2 test kits to satisfy my curiosity.

Aquarium illusions will test your water. Take a jar in. Dont let it sit too long before your trip as it can become stagnant.

I cannot confirm... But I am sure any of the "good" shops will test for you as well.