High Kh High Ph

[shawna1972]

Just put my tank back together and ordered jungle test strips for now "No fish yet" my kh is reading light blue >over 300
and ph is 8.4- 8.8 cant tell? FYI>Im using well water with external filter.
Is this a concern? I have new "liquid" test kits on their way just wanted to check water quality before hand and this is what I got for readings.

 

[dschwartz]

I found things 1000% simpler by starting with RO/DI water versus tap or well water. You will probably be constantly fighting battles with trace elements, etc.
Buy purchasing the RO/DI from my LFS, I was able to take a difficult part of the equation out...Just my experience.
David.

 

[natclanwy]

I wouldn't do anything until you confirm it with better test kit, the test strips are notoriusly inaccurate. I also wouldn't worry about either parameter until your cycle is complete and remember that you cannot fix Ph directly the only way to fix Ph is figure out what is causing the low or high Ph and fix it.
Your well water could be an issue with other problems down the road but isn't causing high alk or Ph. What type of external filter are you using anything but an RO/DI filter will allow heavy metals, nitrates, phosphate ect... through. If you really want to use your well water I recommend having it tested by a professional lab before you invest several hundred dollars in livestock only to kill them off with toxins in your well water. A better solution would be to just buy an RO/DI system probably not much more expensive than what the water test will be.

 

[shawna1972]

Thanks for the reply.I am planning on using my well water, had it tested already it's pretty hard but thats about all nothing bad. Yeah I figured I'd be facing phosphates ect... I'm going to use something> pads/phos reactor/water conditioner/chemi-pure and maybe few other things. I'm on a well and can't get my husband
to budge on ro -unit because the waste water,We used distilled all the time but that got old So we got a unit that attaches to our sink and has resin that turns color when time to change It's working out pretty well.
As far as my tank I don't think I'm going to cycle? I may though
I have put my live rock that was in Qt for 9 months back in tank and going to let it build bacteria back up for at least 6 weeks or longer before adding fish
Yeah think I'm going to wait for new test kits to come in before jumping the gun but if after I re test and these are true readings then what do I do?
Thanks again

 

[natclanwy]

The minerals that make your water hard are bad in a closed system, because you have no way to export the minerals and they will build up over time to toxic levels because when the water evaporates the minerals are left behind and when you top off your tank you add more minerals. You can get a RO setup with a float valve and store your RO water in a container when the container is full the float valve shuts off the supply so that the filter isn't constantly discharging water, only while it is making RO water.
If this is a new setup with freshly mixed saltwater and you haven't dosed alk or PH buffer to your system then I am pretty confident that the tests are inaccurate. If they prove to be accurate then water changes are the only way to bring them back down to normal. You also will need to get a calcium test kit alkilinity and calcium are tied together. A Magnesium test kit would also be benifitial but if you aren't keeping corals don't waste your money.

 

[shawna1972]

I hear ya . Thanks for the reply.I had so many problems in the past trying to keep calcium up Ph stable "using bionic,ph buffers and since using well water Ive had more coraline growth so I'd like to keep using it

been all over getting advice some say "never use well" some say "they would not go back to RO."

My 125 is well> considered new again. All new sand all new water "same live rock" just started it back up used ,1/2 distilled to fill/half well and used instant ocean salt> 1023 nothing added.
I'm keeping a fowlr for now, No fish yet.Getting ready to start looking I have my qt set up, plan to keep them 6 weeks in qt and add to display.
Tank is a 125> 72"X18" .......2>#4 Koralias..1>nano Koralia........Fluval Fx5.....packed with Bio balls/chemi-pure.
Skimmer > 2>Corallife super skimmers 125.
2" Sand bed...... Live rock? maybe 80 lbs. << getting more after my fish are out of Qt.> need the Qt tank for rock.
Thanks for your time.

Shawna