Should I dose my tank?

blazej01 · 08/27/2012, 08:13 PM

My water perimeters:

S.G: 1.025
Ph: 7.8
ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0
Calcium: 440
KH: 143.2 ppm, using API test
phosphate: <.25
Alk: 2.0 meq/L, using red sea test

Corals that I have in my tank:
frogspawn
torch
2 - hammers
2 - flower pots
zoa frag
2 - Lobos
Pumping Xenia
Brain
Candy Cane
Anemone, that likes to hide in the rocks.

Waddleboy · 08/27/2012, 08:39 PM

nothing but your alk is super low. Also when i say low i dont mean dose to make it higher, i mean when you mix your water, alk shouldnt be that low. also can you put units next to your kh and alk reading. They are the same thing but without units we dont know what you are talking about

gonpostal · 08/27/2012, 08:55 PM

KH (or dKH) is the same thing as ALK and you have 2 different readings listed, I'm assuming your 2.0 ALK reading is in meq/l and not dKH? If your ALK level is 2.0 meq/l, that's equal to 5.6 dKH, which is pretty low and you should dose to get it up to at least 8-9 dKH. Hopefully it's not 2.0 dKH, which is extremely low. Your KH reading is 143.2 (probably ppm) which equals around 8 dKH, and that's within range.
You should also try to get your phosphates lower, everything else looks okay. I'm not sure what test kits you're using, but you're going to have to figure out which ALK reading is accurate and dose accordingly. The suggested range for ALK is between 8 and 12 dKH, I like to keep mine between 9 and 10.

blazej01 · 08/27/2012, 09:12 PM

I just redid the test with API test kit and it reads 161.1 ppm.

What is a good way to bring phosphate down?

hollister · 08/27/2012, 09:15 PM

Water source and flow rate would help. With a fwe water changes with ro water.

gonpostal · 08/27/2012, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blazej01

I just redid the test with API test kit and it reads 161.1 ppm.

What is a good way to bring phosphate down?

If that ALK reading is accurate then you're good to go.
You can use GFO (or other phosphate media) in a reactor to keep your phosphate level down.

blazej01 · 08/27/2012, 09:23 PM

I am using RO/DI water, and have MP10 for flow at about 50%. I do 10 gallon water changes every week.

dunc101 · 08/27/2012, 09:43 PM

Are you using the API test kit for phosphates? I believe it only has a range of.... 0, then .25, then .5 or something like that. The API test kit is pretty useless for phosphates, imo. If you are not having algae problems, then I probably wouldn't worry so much about phosphates atm. If you dive into SPS or are having algae problems, you might want to invest in a Hannah phosphate checker or another test kit that reads low levels of phosphates (fwiw, a good phosphate level for SPS corals are .03 and I "believe" under .1 for other corals to prevent algae)

SaltyWenStirred · 08/28/2012, 03:34 AM

What do you think of your pulsing xenia?

I really want one. But the guy at my LFS said they grow so fast that I'd hate it. Did that happen to you?

dunc101 · 08/28/2012, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltyWenStirred

What do you think of your pulsing xenia?

I really want one. But the guy at my LFS said they grow so fast that I'd hate it. Did that happen to you?

I'm very glad the guy at the LFS is being honest with you and giving you his personal opinion. Sometimes they grow crazy fast (most of the time it seems lol), and sometimes they melt away (ULNS tend to do this). With that said, it is up to you if you want it or not. If you do, I would HIGHLY recommend placing it on its own rock away form everything else. Even then, I have heard of it still propagating across the entire tank.

dh350twin · 08/28/2012, 07:23 AM

i would put this in the class with majanos and aiptasia....imo.

blazej01 · 08/28/2012, 10:14 AM

I do have some brown algae on glass

08/27/2012, 08:13 PM	#1
blazej01 Registered Member. Join Date: May 2012 Location: Queens, N.Y. Posts: 81	Should I dose my tank? My water perimeters: S.G: 1.025 Ph: 7.8 ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 5.0 Calcium: 440 KH: 143.2 ppm, using API test phosphate: <.25 Alk: 2.0 meq/L, using red sea test Corals that I have in my tank: frogspawn torch 2 - hammers 2 - flower pots zoa frag 2 - Lobos Pumping Xenia Brain Candy Cane Anemone, that likes to hide in the rocks. Last edited by blazej01; 08/27/2012 at 08:54 PM.

08/27/2012, 08:55 PM	#3
gonpostal Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 550	KH (or dKH) is the same thing as ALK and you have 2 different readings listed, I'm assuming your 2.0 ALK reading is in meq/l and not dKH? If your ALK level is 2.0 meq/l, that's equal to 5.6 dKH, which is pretty low and you should dose to get it up to at least 8-9 dKH. Hopefully it's not 2.0 dKH, which is extremely low. Your KH reading is 143.2 (probably ppm) which equals around 8 dKH, and that's within range. You should also try to get your phosphates lower, everything else looks okay. I'm not sure what test kits you're using, but you're going to have to figure out which ALK reading is accurate and dose accordingly. The suggested range for ALK is between 8 and 12 dKH, I like to keep mine between 9 and 10. __________________ Current tank: 40 breeder, 20 long sump, Eheim Compact+ 3000 return pump, Reef Octopus Classic 110-INT skimmer, 2x Koralia Evolution 600, Viparspectra T300 LEDs.

08/27/2012, 09:43 PM	#8
dunc101 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 758	Are you using the API test kit for phosphates? I believe it only has a range of.... 0, then .25, then .5 or something like that. The API test kit is pretty useless for phosphates, imo. If you are not having algae problems, then I probably wouldn't worry so much about phosphates atm. If you dive into SPS or are having algae problems, you might want to invest in a Hannah phosphate checker or another test kit that reads low levels of phosphates (fwiw, a good phosphate level for SPS corals are .03 and I "believe" under .1 for other corals to prevent algae) __________________ Duncan

08/28/2012, 03:34 AM	#9
SaltyWenStirred Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 245	What do you think of your pulsing xenia? I really want one. But the guy at my LFS said they grow so fast that I'd hate it. Did that happen to you? __________________ Innovative Marine 38g Nuvo Tank; Skkye 92W LED light Innovative Marine AuqaGadget - Skimmate Protein Skimmer, midsize Innovative Marine MiniMax All-In-One Media Reactor (PhosGuard) Nikon D90 35mm

08/28/2012, 07:23 AM	#11
dh350twin Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: kent island md Posts: 599	i would put this in the class with majanos and aiptasia....imo. __________________ Epic Reefers~~~~Carry Epic Corals!!! Current tank:240 peninsula mixed reef- Atb 1050-white v2 skimmer, Mp 60wes (2) ecotech's Mp40w's, ATI Sunpower 8x80. with reef brites, custom sump. JBJ ATO, bubble magnus tripple doser. Rip custom 150 gallon mixed reef Current Tank Info: 240 gallon peninsula mixed reef tank

08/27/2012, 08:39 PM	#2
Waddleboy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 766	nothing but your alk is super low. Also when i say low i dont mean dose to make it higher, i mean when you mix your water, alk shouldnt be that low. also can you put units next to your kh and alk reading. They are the same thing but without units we dont know what you are talking about

08/27/2012, 09:12 PM	#4
blazej01 Registered Member. Join Date: May 2012 Location: Queens, N.Y. Posts: 81	I just redid the test with API test kit and it reads 161.1 ppm. What is a good way to bring phosphate down?

08/27/2012, 09:15 PM	#5
hollister Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,037	Water source and flow rate would help. With a fwe water changes with ro water.

08/27/2012, 09:23 PM	#7
blazej01 Registered Member. Join Date: May 2012 Location: Queens, N.Y. Posts: 81	I am using RO/DI water, and have MP10 for flow at about 50%. I do 10 gallon water changes every week.

08/28/2012, 10:14 AM	#12
blazej01 Registered Member. Join Date: May 2012 Location: Queens, N.Y. Posts: 81	I do have some brown algae on glass