How do I make my water like seawater?: try this.

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 10:23 AM

Seawater varies by locality, depth, and numerous factors, but if you want to adjust your water to a good approximation of 'average' seawater, try this.

1. Salinity: 1.024-6: increase slowly upward by salting your topoff water. Decrease slowly by adding fresh. Some fish-only tanks keep it lower to discourage parasites. Always know what your lfs keeps THEIRS at, and if convenient, match up. This aids you in acclimation.

2. Temperature: within 2 degree swing of 80. Change very slowly. Use fans across your sump to decrease daily heating.

3. Alkalinity: 8.3-11 [use alk test to determine: use a buffer to elevate: if too high, it will fall on its own once water is in balance.] This is the Ace of all tests: if too low, your fish are miserable and your corals are annoyed, because their water is too acid. You wouldn't like to bathe in lemon juice, either...

4. Calcium: 400-450. [use calcium test to determine: use calcium additive to increase: if too high, it will fall on its own relative to alkalinity. This is the builder of skeletons and the activator of muscle. Without it at adequate levels, nothing moves.

5. Magnesium: 1200-1300. The stabilizer. If your alk and cal won't rise, this is almost always the problem. Test. Use Tech M or other mg additive to elevate.

6. Iodine: assists shellfish to molt and xenia to pulse. Usually adequate within your salt mix. This is why you do weekly water changes of 10%.

7. Strontium: assists lps corals to hold to skeleton. Usually adequate within your salt mix. This is why you do weekly water changes of 10%.

8. Other minerals. Usually adequate within your salt mix. This is why you do weekly water changes of 10%.

KEEP A LOG BOOK: learn to spot trends. This means you can spot the RATE at which your calcium, say, is dropping, and add calcium to bring a borderline reading up to midrange BEFORE it drops low enough to annoy your specimens. Write down what the reading is, what you did about it, any new additions, water changes, or other salient facts.

FYI: I use: Salifert tests; a refractometer [salt]; personally I don't test ph, since if alk and cal balance in that range, I have pretty good confidence that my ph is going to be 8.3, pretty reliably---when I did get a meter, tests bore that out; but ask Randy in Chemistry about that one before you bet your own tank on it!; I add Kent Super Buffer and Kent Turbo Calcium. There are other good recipes, depending on tank size and your available space to store chemicals.

m3rcury · 06/19/2006, 10:28 AM

quick question. since i don't know the chemistry behind this, is your statement "I don't test ph, since if alk and cal balance, your ph is 8.3, pretty reliably" always true? in other words, if my Ca is 430 and my Ak is 3.45, then my pH will be around 8.3 ? my question is probably more suited for the chemistry section.

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 10:32 AM

Probably so. I didn't even own a ph meter for the first 5 months, then decided, well, maybe I should get one. I'm fanatic about balance, and when I ran the ph, it was 8.3. Every time after, it's been 8.3. I really question whether I should have made that statement without 'I think', but this is what I was told. It's certainly worth flying past Randy. I know that I would be more worried relying on a ph meter without those tests, than I am relying on my tests without a ph meter.

But you're right: while I can still edit, I'm going to go back and modify that absolute statement before I get someone in trouble.
I could be right, but I don't want to bet someone else's fish on it.

m3rcury · 06/19/2006, 10:50 AM

thanks for the reply. my tank is about 4 months old and i'm still trying to get everything stablilized. my pH was around 7.8 to 8.0 with my Ca and Ak pretty balanced. but, then i discovered that a water seal on the probe had busted and the meter was reading wrong. so, i have no idea what the actual pH is, but everything in my tank is SUPER happy and excited. that's why i was asking. thx

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 11:02 AM

Yes---absolutely, and you were right to question me on that absolute statement!

But read your corals above all else. You learn to select 'bellwether' corals [you know: the old ewe with the bell that leads all the others] to predict trends. If certain of my corals are annoyed, I know to head for the test kits.

Your probes and tests can be off, but your corals don't know how to lie.

And probably you really can get along without that ph meter, but watch the tests and the corals. That's another thing worth logging: at what readings your corals have the greatest extension and life.

Jocko · 06/19/2006, 11:02 AM

LOL. What inspired this post? Hoping to get a sticky? :-)

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 11:11 AM

No. Nobody reads the stickies.

I like to help, but I figure if I can spread good info in advance of a problem, people will tell each other, and there will be fewer posts like: my ph is 5.3 and my fish are dying---help! I find the daily help piece much more fun than trying to help someone who's already in a hole.

michaeldaly · 06/19/2006, 11:13 AM

Or you could just use natural seawater!

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 03:57 PM

It's a wee bit far of a drive for me...

People who live where they can scrape stuff off pilings and get seawater from an enterprising fellow with a boat are way lucky, imho.
Us inland folk just have to mix and hope.

Indermark · 06/19/2006, 04:33 PM

This should be a sticky. I read most of them before I ever posted. Don't quote me on that.

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 04:40 PM

Bless you, Indermark---if more people started their info-quest with the stickies, there'd be far fewer tank crashes. I read them, myself, because I was in this hobby back in the 80's/90's, then took a hiatus while the whole world changed---I KNEW I didn't know this new equipment, when they started talking about no filter and live rock.

But way many people are already well into their system-setup before they get to RC and just don't go back and research the basic informational posts.

sjm817 · 06/19/2006, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r

personally I don't test ph, since if alk and cal balance in that range, I have pretty good confidence that my ph is going to be 8.3, pretty reliably---

You might want to research this one some more. Different ca/alk supplementation methods will have very different effects on PH. A ca reactor will lower a tanks PH. Kalk will raise it. You could have very different PH readings with identical ca/alk levels.

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 05:48 PM

Yes, sjm, and thank you for clarifying that; I've never used either, and something was nagging me about that. You're quite right. It works for me, because I hand-add certain products {Kent} and don't inject Co2, among other things, but the kalk and reactor systems are different---I know that much. As you read above, I started out pretty sure of my point, and then rethought, and I think it's worth re-thinking yet one more time: ph meters can be useful things, indeed; and that's why it's very important to read the discussion below any post!

Amphiprion · 06/19/2006, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r
6. Iodine: assists shellfish to molt and xenia to pulse. Usually adequate within your salt mix. This is why you do weekly water changes of 10%.

7. Strontium: assists lps corals to hold to skeleton. Usually adequate within your salt mix. This is why you do weekly water changes of 10%.

I am afraid I have to disagree with these two. There is not adequate evidence to support the 'need' of these particular elements. Sure, they may be stored or incorporated, but it does not support whether or not they are needed. I am also a little unfamiliar with the purposes of these supplements that you listed.

kevin2000 · 06/19/2006, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by m3rcury
quick question. since i don't know the chemistry behind this, is your statement "I don't test ph, since if alk and cal balance, your ph is 8.3, pretty reliably" always true? in other words, if my Ca is 430 and my Ak is 3.45, then my pH will be around 8.3 ? my question is probably more suited for the chemistry section.

Not really ... ph will be different in every tank based on a number of factors including stocking levels. The more important point is that PH often manages itself so long as you have adequate aeration and you maintain an appropriate level of alkalinity.

Alkalinity is simply a "buffer" and as a buffer it mitigates/buffers changes in Ph but a certain level of alk isn't going to give you a specific level of PH. Further .. your PH is going to rise and fall naturally during a 24 hr cycle ... your PH will be highest right before you turn the lights off and lowest when you first turn on the lights .. this occurs because algae is photosynthetic and generates oxygen when the lights are on but generates CO2 just like your fish when the lights go off .. C02 in water generates carbonic acid which depresses PH.

My tanks PH tend to range from 8.0 -8.4 during the summer .. but during the winter when my house is closed up and I have higher levels of CO2 my PH range changes to 7.9-8.1.

bertoni · 06/19/2006, 06:50 PM

I agree with the two previous responces. There's not any evidence for iodine or strontium being necessary, although shrimp are known to take up iodine from the water. pH can vary for a lot of reasons, including the method of calcium and alkalinity supplementation. I use limewater, which tends to drive the pH up, for example.

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 10:30 PM

Amphiprion, Kevin2000, Bertoni: thank you for the opportunity to clarify. I listed these supplements simply because they are sold as independent supplements, and I list what I've heard claimed for them when offered for sale. My statement was intended to reflect no particular need to add these, imho, since to my understanding they're already included in the salt mix. I stand by the "If you can't test for it be real reluctant to add it" maxim, and while I do have a test for iodine, I don't have the supplement nor do I add it. I do use Kent Coral Vite: I bought some to try experimentally and didn't know that 'box' meant a whole lot of doses: seemed a shame not to use it if I had it and it's done no harm---I do test for the primary ingredients to be sure it's not pushing anything above levels.

I debated whether to put anything at all about strontium and iodine in a post intended for newbies, and decided, well, they'd see the bottles on the shelf and might wonder if they should buy it---no, is my own inclination on the matter; and I'm well convinced I shouldn't have have put in the sidebar about ph, even when I tried to qualify it and suggest it was more complicated than that: just should not have indicated anyone should rely on 'by-guess' rather than a meter.

PatMayo · 06/19/2006, 11:00 PM

Nice post everyone. I really enjoyed this one and quite frankly learned some more in the process. I appreciate the way this one progressed and you know it will be beneficial to all who read it.

I know it was for me and I'm trying hard to learn. I had a little ummmm, calcium precipitate problem the other day and my main pump gave up the ghost. Luckily no harm done but I am rethinking the way I supplement the tank.

Thanks SK8r. And the the best part is no one got defensive!!

Regards,

Pat

Sk8r · 06/19/2006, 11:15 PM

Thank you, Pat Mayo. The purpose of my post was to try to get a little spotlight on a very important part of reefkeeping, and with the kind help of some folk who know this art of water adjustment far better than I do, I hope that's the result.

Amphiprion · 06/20/2006, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r
Thank you, Pat Mayo. The purpose of my post was to try to get a little spotlight on a very important part of reefkeeping, and with the kind help of some folk who know this art of water adjustment far better than I do, I hope that's the result.

I just merely wanted to add to it, nothing personal or anything like that. I apologize if I came across any differently. I think that a good combination of posts will clarify anything better.

Sk8r · 06/20/2006, 05:15 PM

Absolutely, Amphiprion...it's why I feel 'safe' in getting a bit out on a ledge in this forum: ultimately someone comes along with the right info. Thank you.

06/19/2006, 10:23 AM	#1
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	How do I make my water like seawater?: try this. Seawater varies by locality, depth, and numerous factors, but if you want to adjust your water to a good approximation of 'average' seawater, try this. 1. Salinity: 1.024-6: increase slowly upward by salting your topoff water. Decrease slowly by adding fresh. Some fish-only tanks keep it lower to discourage parasites. Always know what your lfs keeps THEIRS at, and if convenient, match up. This aids you in acclimation. 2. Temperature: within 2 degree swing of 80. Change very slowly. Use fans across your sump to decrease daily heating. 3. Alkalinity: 8.3-11 [use alk test to determine: use a buffer to elevate: if too high, it will fall on its own once water is in balance.] This is the Ace of all tests: if too low, your fish are miserable and your corals are annoyed, because their water is too acid. You wouldn't like to bathe in lemon juice, either... 4. Calcium: 400-450. [use calcium test to determine: use calcium additive to increase: if too high, it will fall on its own relative to alkalinity. This is the builder of skeletons and the activator of muscle. Without it at adequate levels, nothing moves. 5. Magnesium: 1200-1300. The stabilizer. If your alk and cal won't rise, this is almost always the problem. Test. Use Tech M or other mg additive to elevate. 6. Iodine: assists shellfish to molt and xenia to pulse. Usually adequate within your salt mix. This is why you do weekly water changes of 10%. 7. Strontium: assists lps corals to hold to skeleton. Usually adequate within your salt mix. This is why you do weekly water changes of 10%. 8. Other minerals. Usually adequate within your salt mix. This is why you do weekly water changes of 10%. KEEP A LOG BOOK: learn to spot trends. This means you can spot the RATE at which your calcium, say, is dropping, and add calcium to bring a borderline reading up to midrange BEFORE it drops low enough to annoy your specimens. Write down what the reading is, what you did about it, any new additions, water changes, or other salient facts. FYI: I use: Salifert tests; a refractometer [salt]; personally I don't test ph, since if alk and cal balance in that range, I have pretty good confidence that my ph is going to be 8.3, pretty reliably---when I did get a meter, tests bore that out; but ask Randy in Chemistry about that one before you bet your own tank on it!; I add Kent Super Buffer and Kent Turbo Calcium. There are other good recipes, depending on tank size and your available space to store chemicals. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. Last edited by Sk8r; 06/19/2006 at 10:35 AM.

06/19/2006, 10:32 AM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Probably so. I didn't even own a ph meter for the first 5 months, then decided, well, maybe I should get one. I'm fanatic about balance, and when I ran the ph, it was 8.3. Every time after, it's been 8.3. I really question whether I should have made that statement without 'I think', but this is what I was told. It's certainly worth flying past Randy. I know that I would be more worried relying on a ph meter without those tests, than I am relying on my tests without a ph meter. But you're right: while I can still edit, I'm going to go back and modify that absolute statement before I get someone in trouble. I could be right, but I don't want to bet someone else's fish on it. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2006, 11:02 AM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Yes---absolutely, and you were right to question me on that absolute statement! But read your corals above all else. You learn to select 'bellwether' corals [you know: the old ewe with the bell that leads all the others] to predict trends. If certain of my corals are annoyed, I know to head for the test kits. Your probes and tests can be off, but your corals don't know how to lie. And probably you really can get along without that ph meter, but watch the tests and the corals. That's another thing worth logging: at what readings your corals have the greatest extension and life. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2006, 11:11 AM	#7
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	No. Nobody reads the stickies. I like to help, but I figure if I can spread good info in advance of a problem, people will tell each other, and there will be fewer posts like: my ph is 5.3 and my fish are dying---help! I find the daily help piece much more fun than trying to help someone who's already in a hole. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2006, 03:57 PM	#9
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	It's a wee bit far of a drive for me... People who live where they can scrape stuff off pilings and get seawater from an enterprising fellow with a boat are way lucky, imho. Us inland folk just have to mix and hope. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2006, 10:28 AM	#2
m3rcury Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 325	quick question. since i don't know the chemistry behind this, is your statement "I don't test ph, since if alk and cal balance, your ph is 8.3, pretty reliably" always true? in other words, if my Ca is 430 and my Ak is 3.45, then my pH will be around 8.3 ? my question is probably more suited for the chemistry section.

06/19/2006, 10:50 AM	#4
m3rcury Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 325	thanks for the reply. my tank is about 4 months old and i'm still trying to get everything stablilized. my pH was around 7.8 to 8.0 with my Ca and Ak pretty balanced. but, then i discovered that a water seal on the probe had busted and the meter was reading wrong. so, i have no idea what the actual pH is, but everything in my tank is SUPER happy and excited. that's why i was asking. thx

06/19/2006, 11:02 AM	#6
Jocko Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Boston Posts: 595	LOL. What inspired this post? Hoping to get a sticky? :-)

06/19/2006, 11:13 AM	#8
michaeldaly Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Earth Posts: 2,009	Or you could just use natural seawater!

06/19/2006, 04:33 PM	#10
Indermark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Troy, Illinois Posts: 670	This should be a sticky. I read most of them before I ever posted. Don't quote me on that.

06/19/2006, 04:40 PM	#11
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Bless you, Indermark---if more people started their info-quest with the stickies, there'd be far fewer tank crashes. I read them, myself, because I was in this hobby back in the 80's/90's, then took a hiatus while the whole world changed---I KNEW I didn't know this new equipment, when they started talking about no filter and live rock. But way many people are already well into their system-setup before they get to RC and just don't go back and research the basic informational posts. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2006, 05:48 PM	#13
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Yes, sjm, and thank you for clarifying that; I've never used either, and something was nagging me about that. You're quite right. It works for me, because I hand-add certain products {Kent} and don't inject Co2, among other things, but the kalk and reactor systems are different---I know that much. As you read above, I started out pretty sure of my point, and then rethought, and I think it's worth re-thinking yet one more time: ph meters can be useful things, indeed; and that's why it's very important to read the discussion below any post! __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2006, 06:50 PM	#16
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I agree with the two previous responces. There's not any evidence for iodine or strontium being necessary, although shrimp are known to take up iodine from the water. pH can vary for a lot of reasons, including the method of calcium and alkalinity supplementation. I use limewater, which tends to drive the pH up, for example. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

06/19/2006, 10:30 PM	#17
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Amphiprion, Kevin2000, Bertoni: thank you for the opportunity to clarify. I listed these supplements simply because they are sold as independent supplements, and I list what I've heard claimed for them when offered for sale. My statement was intended to reflect no particular need to add these, imho, since to my understanding they're already included in the salt mix. I stand by the "If you can't test for it be real reluctant to add it" maxim, and while I do have a test for iodine, I don't have the supplement nor do I add it. I do use Kent Coral Vite: I bought some to try experimentally and didn't know that 'box' meant a whole lot of doses: seemed a shame not to use it if I had it and it's done no harm---I do test for the primary ingredients to be sure it's not pushing anything above levels. I debated whether to put anything at all about strontium and iodine in a post intended for newbies, and decided, well, they'd see the bottles on the shelf and might wonder if they should buy it---no, is my own inclination on the matter; and I'm well convinced I shouldn't have have put in the sidebar about ph, even when I tried to qualify it and suggest it was more complicated than that: just should not have indicated anyone should rely on 'by-guess' rather than a meter. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2006, 11:00 PM	#18
PatMayo Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 2,843	Nice post everyone. I really enjoyed this one and quite frankly learned some more in the process. I appreciate the way this one progressed and you know it will be beneficial to all who read it. I know it was for me and I'm trying hard to learn. I had a little ummmm, calcium precipitate problem the other day and my main pump gave up the ghost. Luckily no harm done but I am rethinking the way I supplement the tank. Thanks SK8r. And the the best part is no one got defensive!! Regards, Pat __________________ 90 AGA Megaflow (Setup 1-24-06) 120 Lbs. Liverock EuroReef RS 100 Skimmer 2 X 150 MH 2 X 96 watt PC Actinic 2 Clarki Clowns (31 months old) 1 Niger Trigger (Owned 6 months) 2 Tunze 6055 PH Current Tank Info: 90 AGA Megaflow To Be Mixed Reef

06/19/2006, 11:15 PM	#19
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Thank you, Pat Mayo. The purpose of my post was to try to get a little spotlight on a very important part of reefkeeping, and with the kind help of some folk who know this art of water adjustment far better than I do, I hope that's the result. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/20/2006, 05:15 PM	#21
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Absolutely, Amphiprion...it's why I feel 'safe' in getting a bit out on a ledge in this forum: ultimately someone comes along with the right info. Thank you. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.