Are my water parameters good?!

[Chosmic]

Hey guys, this is my first tank and it's a 20 gallon tank, little over a month old, aiming towards almost 2 months. maybe 16 lbs of live rock , and 10 lbs of sand (estimation). Livestock includes, 1 blue spot puffer, 1 oce. clownfish, 1 purple dottyback, 1 azure damsel, 2 hermits, 2 turbo snails, 2 peppermint shrimp, 1 featherduster worm, and 1 little blue mushroom coral (:.

My test kit is called Red Sea Marine Care Test Kit
as of today (water changed yesterday) my levels are:
ph-7.6 (added a ph buffer today i know ph is fairly low)
Nitrite - 0.1
Nitrate - 2
Ammonia - 0
Salinity - 1.024


Thanks for taking the time to look over my stuff, means alot (: also ... little extra question i know it may just be a "bloom" but i just cleaned off a ton of brown algae off my glass, and already there is more, if i get more hermit crabs and maybe another turbo snail, will i see a prettier tank (:?

[bertoni]

This article covers all the water parameters:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

The pH level probably is wrong unless the alkalinity is very low. I'd probably check that. The other numbers should be acceptable for a wide range of animals.

[Chosmic]

thank you so much

[Chosmic]

thank you so much also one last question, when people speak of phosphates, are they the same as Nitrates and Nitrites?

[bnumair]

not sure what ur trying to ask about phos and nitrites and nitrates, nitrites should always be 0 after cycle and nitrates should be ideally kept under 20ppm while phos under 0.1 and ideally 0.03. nitrates and phos are the fuel for algae so they should be monitored and kept under control.

[Chosmic]

Oh you anwsered my question in your reply sorry ahah I worded it poorly, anyways do my parameters seem good?

[bertoni]

Personally, I would raise the SG to 1.0264, which is the canonical ocean average. The pH is low, but that's probably a testing issue or an alkalinity problem.

[Chosmic]

hey guys, pH is at 8.0 right now (: im going to add my buffer again right now, and ill give you another result tomorrow!

[ClownsRCoo]

I dont think your tank is finished cylcing. Either that or your bio load is to high for your size tank and what it can currently handle. Any Nitrites at all are a clear sign of that. That should always remain at 0. Any traces of that is harmful to your fish. It might not kill them but it lowers their quality of life which is not what we are reefers are trying to do.

I guess it could also come from how much you feed, if you are feeding very heavily. Which ever it is you should really make sure to keep up with your water changes and do them more frequently then others have too.

Phosphates are a totally seperate parameter from the rest and should be monitored as well. It doesnt require as frequent testing once you have figured out what is causing any increased levels you have and correct the source. I personally only test for phosphates every 2 or 3 months. I run GFO and have a refugium with very little algae growth in the tank now so i know im not having any type of spike in phosphates until i see abnormal algae growth.

Your salinity seems on the lowest of the acceptable range. I think you will be ok and not cause any harm to your tank with your current levels but it doesnt leave any room for fluctuation (not that you want any at all anyway). If you vary from that for any reason and have any type of drop in your salinity then you are out of that range. I like mine at 1.025 so that i am in the middle.

[Stackemdeep]

Take care to monitor your Alk. Many new reefers send Alk through the roof trying to raise the PH. IME PH will take care of itself with balanced Calcium and Alkalinity. Good Luck!

[Chosmic]

okay thank you guys for the tips

[bertoni]

Nitrite isn't very toxic in saltwater systems:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

The reported level should be safe for animals, although I agree nitrite typically reaches zero fairly early in the lifecycle of a tank.

[kiko81]

Ideally for your tank I would say ph of 8.1 but ur parameter looking good. But as stated above you may want to raise your salinity to 1.026 slowly.

[bnumair]

i dont wanna advocate this but i have in past due to some unfavorable circumstances subjected my fish to nitrites levels as high as 3ppm with no ill effects, and this fish are still with me for yrs now. Again this doesnt mean anyone should try this and start adding fish when ammonia goes down and nitrites are still in the picture. Its best not to add till nitrites go down to 0.
Also i agree on raising salinity a bit to 1.026 which will help in bringing some of the other parameters as well.

[tmz]

Phospahte(PO4) is not the same as nitrate(NO3). Phosphate is a source of inorganic phosphorous, nitrate adds nitrogen.

Buffers are not a good way to manage pH. At best they will raise pH for a couple of hours. CO2 from the air will negate the pH raising effect leaving high alkallnity and the same low pH. They are for raisi9ng alkainity no matter what the manufacturer says.

I agree, 1.026 if a preferred sg for a reef tank .

Nitrite is of no ral consequence , though if you see it it may mean ammonia is still present and in the first stage of oxidation.

[Chosmic]

Oh thanks tmz. Also I usually have my salinity about there.. but I tried using less this time. Anyway can I just put some more salt in my tank? Or no? Also how would I raise my pH without a type of buffer?

[bertoni]

I would top off with salt water for a while. Adding salt can irritate animals and it's easy to overdose.

Fresher air will help with the pH. Carbon dioxide is driving the pH down. 8.0 is fine, IMO, and I wouldn't worry. You could consider using Kalk, which is a very high-pH alkalinity supplement, but I wouldn't bother.

[Chosmic]

Okay thank you so much john, also I have a lid on my tank but am getting a New light soon so I won't have a lid on my tank anymore, could this help pH because thered be fresher air in the tank?

[tmz]

Open water could help or hurt depending on the CO2 content of the air in the room the tank is in relative to the CO2 level in the tank water. In any case a small opening in the cover at the back ,say an inch or so should provide enough air to the water surface.

[Chosmic]

Ahh I understand,