Everybody has perfect water- yeah....

[cannonman]

I am by no means an expert but I have a little bit of SW experience and in the years that I have been in the hobby I'm not sure that I have ever had PERFECT water perameters, I keep logs of all my water tests and everthing I do from water changes to nitrate levels to livestock... everything and looking back through my log I have not found a single day where everything was perfect, often close but I almost always have 5-10 ppm nitrates for example, so what's the deal with this forum where 95%+++ people who post questions start off by saying their water is perfect? I have 0 trates, 0 trites, 0 phosphates, CA is 450, temp constant 79, etc Do I suck that bad that I'm always "off" with my tank or are half these people full of it?
I mean there's people who have had a tank up and running for all of a month and claim everything is perfect... c'mon now!
Sorry, had to get that off my chest, it peeves me something terrible.

 

[coolguy818]

I agree with you 100%...... I have never been able to achieve 0 Nitrate.
Its always hovering around 10-15.....
Perfect water to me is a myth..........

 

[cannonman]

I think that maybe sometimes a person will test their water and it will not be perfect but close enough to call it so and then they don't test it again for a few weeks, in the meantime their Alk or trates or something plunge into the danger zone and things start to get sick/die but the person is still assuming all is well...I don't know.

 

[reefforbrains]

I feel the complete opposite. I agree many just say "oh water is all good" but tend to gloss over things.
However.
I ALWAYS have 0,0,0. I am on the opposite side of the looking glass always saying to myself -"why do so many have problems with simple trates?"
I push my Cal and ALK especially ALK pretty hard but the basic Trates, Trites and Amonia seem totally foreign to me to have ANYTHING BUT ZERO.
Who knows. Each tank is completly different than the next......

 

[cannonman]

yeah- I know, I'm not saying it isn't possible you see- I'm just tired of reading posts like my tank is covered in green hair algae but my water and lights are perfect OR my corals are all starting to die and look sick but my water is perfect OR my tank has been up and running for two weeks now so I added ten fish, they are starting to die.... but my water is perfect - I find 0 trites, 0 ammonia to be normal for most people, even green horns but I don't believe for one minute that 95% everybody on this forum has perfect water as it would seem reading many of the posts.

 

[reefforbrains]

Oh I see,
Then yes I whole heartedly agree.
Algea WILL NOT GROW in epic amounts when everything is in check.
Corals will not spontainiously Brown out when conditions are kept pristine.
People do make it like things in the tank spontainiously happen, but thats expected in this hobby. It's like a constant unintentional urination match for keeping corals to some. When problems happen they ignore them or pretend they dont exist. Denial is both very powerful, and very abundant in this hobby.

 

[reefreak29]

i also think that people dont understand that lots of algea can give u good readings, the algae is useing up the nutrients, giving you false readinds

 

[reefkprz]

Originally Posted by reefreak29
i also think that people dont understand that lots of algea can give u good readings, the algae is useing up the nutrients, giving you false readinds
hit that nail on the head, this is extremly common for nitrates and phosphates. if corals are dying and coraline is fading and algae is blooming you have a phosphate problem I dont care what the test shows.

I have a minor red slime issue, my tests show nothing detectable but obviously there are excess nutrients to support the cyano. tests only show detectable levels people seem to think this means true zero, it doesnt. it means the concentration of free availability is below the capacity for the test to show.

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by reefkprZ
hit that nail on the head, this is extremly common for nitrates and phosphates. if corals are dying and coraline is fading and algae is blooming you have a phosphate problem I dont care what the test shows.

I have a minor red slime issue, my tests show nothing detectable but obviously there are excess nutrients to support the cyano. tests only show detectable levels people seem to think this means true zero, it doesnt. it means the concentration of free availability is below the capacity for the test to show.
exactly

 

[windmill]

Last time I tested my aquarium, the water was about as perfect as it could be. Then again, I have all of 2 fish in a very mature 100 gallon system. I'll even admit I haven't done a water change in nearly a year.
It's really quite easy to achieve perfect or "ideal" parameters. An experienced hobbiest should not have any trouble. It's those people that think they can stuff 10 medium to large sized fish in a 150 gallon system that will never have ideal water.
Proper filtration, proper lighting, proper feeding, low bioload, and only natural stuff in tank should mean no worries about fluctuating water quality.

 

[jerthunter]

Some people may say "I have perfect water conditions" when asking a about something because they already considered their levels and are only looking for other ideas that they might not have considered. I have seen plenty of posts where someone asks a question and gives their parameters and they get a ton of replies not related to the question but advising them to raise or lower certain numbers.
I agree that there are probably a lot of people who use the 'my levels are perfect' response because they are too lazy to measure, to embarressed to admit their levels, or they just have a loose definition of 'perfect'.

 

[reefkprz]

I have used the term my water patrameters are fine, many times because some times the answer of parameters has NOTHING to do with the question, and also because of the amount of time I have had my tank and tested often, now I dont test a lot. I can usually tell by looking if something is "off" with my tank, thats when I test. and find out what. some people think a parameter reading is going to provide the answers to all, and half the time it doesnt tell you squat. same thing with whats your turnover rate..... I dont care if you have 40x turnover if your powerheads are pointed in a manner that defeats the flow then its going to be a moot point, you can have dead spots with ANY turnover rate. its about positioning just as much a actual flow rate.

 

[jennythebugg]

almost everytime tobin tests its at like 3am so im not there but he always tells me the results and they are all ok .every once in a while the nitrates are slightly elevated but do a water chance and clean up in the sand bed and they go back

 

[ophiura]

IMO, everyone posting about a problem needs to be up front and post parameters first thing, because often what is "perfect" for one type of animal is fatal for others. Specific gravity being a good example. If you are not willing to do post them or consider the possibility, then I would not expect much help. Often the problems are right in front of our faces, we are just not aware that it is a problem.
Fundamentally this is a relatively closed system, and most problems can in some way be traced to water quality at the root, somewhere along the lines. It is the first thing to address.

 

[aztec reef]

IMO NO TANK has perfect parameters even if you read 00000000 on everything that just means that there's no testable amount of parameters/impurities/organics ect... Even the ocean doesn't have perfect parameters all the time although you cannot compare a enclosed system(any size ) with the ocean, but in the ocean sometimes salinity fluctuates but in a slow motion scale. have you heard of ice melting and adding fresh water to the sea due to global warming? although fluctuations in the ocean are really slowed motion compare to our tanks that's nature and we cannot clone it. but we can try to mimic.
parameters are the most important thing in any problem tank.. even in a clean healthy looking tank is important.. if it looks clean it doesn't mean is perfect.. that's impossible our tanks are never perfect or as perfect as the ocean.
Water quality is always the problem in any closed system.. we cannot keep our tanks as pristine as the ocean. the ocean gets as much as 10x 100%waterchanges daily.. so if you can do 10, 100% waterchanges in your tank daily then i'll believe that your tank parameters are perfect...
here's why: our tank's water quality changes through out the day. cause of the nitrogen cycle, evaporations, additives, c02 ect.. that ONLY difference is that our tanks keep all of this parameters stable and withing range due to the GOOD pratices that we do..
So it's not so much about what parameters you have, it's about keeping this parameters withing range and consistantly stable.. that's the goal.

 

[murph145]

i guess my tank must be the only one that has perfect readings! haha

or maybe im the only one sure enough to make that claim.... if u can get better water than mine tell me your secret
perfect water is a subjective meaurement cuz perfect is different for all tanks and animals living in that tank.... some tanks work better with higher nutrients a DOC's while some like mine do better with very clean water....
heres my measurements u tell me
temp 79-80
alk 8.3dkh
calcium 420
magneisum 1250
nitrates 0
nitrites 0
ammonia 0
phosphates undetectable
ph 8.0-8.2
each coral came from a different condition and its hard to get every coral in your tank to be happy under one new condition but hey u can always strive for perfection

 

[aztec reef]

well that just shows you that NO TANK is the same..the fact that your tank uses up nutrients before they accumulate is great and should be a +,it sholuld be regulary and everyone should strive for it. no doubt.
what is your secret for perfect parameters? do you think a tank with the same exact equipment and practices as yours will have the same exact parameters? if you have untestable levels then you know what your doing, to keep it that way. As long as you keep up with your rituals that keep those parameters consistenly stable then your tank should be perfect always..unless you change something.
it doesn't matter where corals come from, you're not going to try to achive perfect water quality for that specific coral. Corals will adapt to any enviroment. especially if that environment is close enuff to seawater..
i also strive for optimun water quality,we all should . i only do testing monthly if any, but that doesn't mean i can compare any of my tanks with anybody's tanks . cause again no tank is the same.. just like no parts of the ocean are the same, they may look like it but they are not..
In a enclosed system like our tanks PARAMETERS will be the #1 root for problem..
In the ocean parameters aren't that much of a factor cause they don't change much..unless there's a phyto bloom, or some type of polution..

 

[murph145]

ill tell u my rituals and what equipment i use....
as for equipment i have a ASM-G4 skimmer in my sump with the mesh modification done to the needlewheel.
i run a Phosban Reactor to help pull out any unused phosphates
i run a large amount of Cheato and Caulerpa in my sump with a 150W Daylight bulb ran on opposite light cycle
i have a 18W UV filter
i run a 1/2hp chiller for temp
i use RO/DI top off water dosed with Kalk.
i run a MRC-CR2 Calcium reactor and a 10lb CO2 bottle inline PH meter to keep my Alk and Ca levels as stable as possible. " Alk and Calcium are the main things that can go astray in SPS tanks since my tank uses a ton of calcium and alk i have my reactor turned way up and i do weekyl testing of calcium and every 3 day testing of alk and dose if needed."
i think my 225lbs of LR and the way i have my flow set up really helps the live rock really utilize its filtration abilities... i have a closed loop setup that pulls water throught the rock work and then back to the top of the tank....
i also believe a sand bed is a necessary thing to keep nitrates at zero
i dont have one ounce of nuiscance algae in my tank so i know the waters good
i only do a 30G water change every 8-10 weeks when i remember
Lighting and Flow are other things corals need
im not saying my tanks the best by anymeans but i have found a nice balance where it seems to stay very stable and runs in an almost perfect fashion

 

[petjunkie]

Hard to say any tank is perfect seeing as we only test for a small percentage of things.

 

[seasalt101]

my saltwater tank water taste better than my tap does that count?...tobin