First Time Water Test Results.

[soccerbo24]

Hey I am new to the hobby of saltwater had many successful freshwater but wanted to try saltwater! I have done a lot of research and now I have my tank all setup! it is a 29 gallon tank with 30 pounds of Natures Ocean live sand. 26 pounds of live rock from my local marine store a Marineland Bio-Wheel penguin 200 filter, a Marineland Maxi-jet 400 powerhead, a Topfin 150 Watt submergible heater, and a Marineland Hood with LED light system. I have just done my first test after 4 days of letting everything sit and letting the water clear up. I used the saltwater master test kit from API. I Think my pH is to low.. How do I fix that? my ammonia looks to be at about .25 ppm how can that go to zero? and both my nitrite and nitrate look to be good it is my first day of testing so I'm not sure if I have had any spikes in nitrite of nitrate? or if everything has settled? what do I do? it has only been 4 days so I'm pretty sure its not done cycling. also my hydrometer always reads above 1.032 it has read that everyday except one day it read 1.025 that is only day I actually got a reading and it was 2 days ago. Am I using it wrong?? what can I do to fix it if it reading 1.032 not sure? I have little bubbles at the top of the surface on the wall? is that normal? also I want to add 15 pounds of Florida reef rock to fill the tank up is that okay? do I need to clean the rock before or what?

 

[bang guy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Soccerbo24 http:///t/396075/first-time-water-test-results#post_3528227
I Think my pH is to low.. How do I fix that?
I would recommend that you ignore your PH values while the tank is immature. It is by nature unstable and the PH will reflect that.
That said, a low PH isn't something to fix, it's a symptom. Similar to you having a fever. You need to find the cause of the symptom and treat that. Usually low PH is either excess Carbon dioxide or accumulated metabolic acids from decaying material.
In this case it's probably both but let the tank mature a bit before you do anything.
Quote:
my ammonia looks to be at about .25 ppm how can that go to zero?
API tests used to often give false positive ammonia reading. I don't know if that has been fixed but if not you may always ready 0.25ppm unless you get a better test kit. If it's a real 0.25ppm then the bacteria colony will eventually grow to where it can keep up with ammonia production.
I would advise ghost feeding the tank once you see 0.00ppm to maintain your bacteria population until you add a fish.
Quote:
and both my nitrite and nitrate look to be good it is my first day of testing so I'm not sure if I have had any spikes in nitrite of nitrate? or if everything has settled? what do I do? it has only been 4 days so I'm pretty sure its not done cycling.
I wouldn't even test for Nitrite, it's pretty much irrelevant. The only time Nitrite is important is for diagnosing a problem.
Ghost feed your tank and see if it can keep up with the ammonia produced. Feed about the same amount of food as you would if you had a fish in the tank.
Quote:
also my hydrometer always reads above 1.032 it has read that everyday except one day it read 1.025 that is only day I actually got a reading and it was 2 days ago. Am I using it wrong?? what can I do to fix it if it reading 1.032 not sure?
Find someone with a refractometer. Sometime a local fish store will have one. Compare your hydrometer to what the refractometer reads. Keep in mind that the refractometer measures salinity which is not affected much by temperature but your hydrometer measures water density with is significantly affected by temperature.
Also, keep in mind that as your tank water evaporates the salinity will increase. You need to topoff with fresh water often to avoid having the salinity fluctuate.
Quote:
I have little bubbles at the top of the surface on the wall? is that normal?
The bubbles are fine. It's just algae making oxygen. You can scrape the algae off to keep the glass clean.
Quote:
also I want to add 15 pounds of Florida reef rock to fill the tank up is that okay? do I need to clean the rock before or what?
Now is a good time before you have any fish. Be sure to pull off any visible sponges or they will rot & stink up the house.

 

[soccerbo24]

To ghost feed I should just buy some flakes or pellets and just drop them in the tank??? Will the food eventually break down? or what will happen to it? I do not have a clean up crew in there yet

 

[bang guy]

I'm normally not a fan of flaked food but it's fine for ghost feeding. The bacteria will break it down.
Even though you have no cleanup crew there should be plenty of critters on your live rock to eat whatever you put in there.

 

[pegasus]

Good points, BG. Just wanted to add a little to the conversation. Ammonia is typically high when a tank is cycling, and is really the only thing you need to monitor. Once the ammonia spikes and drops to zero, the tank should be cycled. If you're planning on adding more rock, then be prepared for an extended cycle. No matter how well you clean live rock, there's always going to be dead particulate left behind. Once this starts decaying, it will cause another ammonia spike. Once the spike is over and ammonia reads zero, you should have enough beneficial bacteria to handle what's in the tank. A water change, and you can think about adding fish in small increments. One or two to get the ball rolling. Doing so will allow the beneficial bacteria time to keep up with the increased load. As tempting as it is, you do NOT want to rush things at this point. Actually... at any point, but you catch my drift.
If you don't tap the needle on the hydrometer to remove any bubbles, you will get erratic readings. The eraser of a #2 pencil works great. Just tap the top of the needle and let it bounce off the bottom of the hydrometer. 100% agreement on the refractometer. I started with a hydrometer, and once I got a refractometer, I couldn't believe how bad off it was! I thought it would be close. Not even. Hydrometer read 1.023, but it was actually 1.030 according to my refractometer. That's a HUGE difference, and I'm glad I was just cycling the tank. If you can't afford one, borrow one. Once you get your salinity where you want it on the refractometer, check it with the hydrometer. Tap the needle, then use a sharpie to mark the location of the needle. This mark will be the target for future salinity tests. Once you've tested the salinity, always rinse the hydrometer with fresh water to keep salt from building up on the needle. Makes it less inaccurate...

 

[geridoc]

Completely agree about using a refractometer instead of a hydrometer. However, using a refractometer is no guarantee, the can also be inaccurate. The only way to be sure of your water salinity is to calibrate the refractometer. You can buy an inexpensive calibrating solution that you put onto the refractometer, then adjust the reading to the correct value. Then subsequent readings of tank water will be correct. You would be amazed how many refractometers are uncalibrated, and give incorrect readings.

 

[pegasus]

Agreed. I check mine periodically to be sure it's still calibrated. My refractometer is a Milwaukee MR100 ATC, and they recommend distilled water for calibration. Cheapest calibration solution I can find... LOL! It will read zero. If not, it needs to be calibrated. Yeah, a lot of people overlook this simple verification procedure. I would still trust an uncalibrated refractometer over a notoriously inaccurate hydrometer. Even water temperature will affect hydrometers. I don't trust hydrometers to get me in the ball park, so to speak. That said, I have a used hydrometer that I'll let go really cheap. Basically all you'll have to pay for is shipping and handling. Any takers???

 

[sweatervest13]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pegasus http:///t/396075/first-time-water-test-results#post_3528296
Agreed. I check mine periodically to be sure it's still calibrated. My refractometer is a Milwaukee MR100 ATC, and they recommend distilled water for calibration. Cheapest calibration solution I can find... LOL! It will read zero. If not, it needs to be calibrated. Yeah, a lot of people overlook this simple verification procedure. I would still trust an uncalibrated refractometer over a notoriously inaccurate hydrometer. Even water temperature will affect hydrometers. I don't trust hydrometers to get me in the ball park, so to speak. That said, I have a used hydrometer that I'll let go really cheap. Basically all you'll have to pay for is shipping and handling. Any takers???
LOL

I think every hobbyists has an old hydrometer that they don't use anymore. I know I do. Used if for a couple of months, than bought a refractometer. I have not looked back since.