Here are my water tests.. the lfs said they are bad.. help please!!!!!

[bethany]

Nitrate 15 Iodine 0 PH 8.3
amonia 0 phosphates 4 calcium 0
alkanity - the new guy took too long so i left.
I have in my tank 1 hatian purple tip anenomie, 1 clown with the three strips, 1 royal gama, 1 18" carrot sponge, lr, ls, 1 20 watt blue light, 1 20 watt white full spectrum light..... what should my water tests be.. I want to buy test kits and do it myself. The lfs has been doing it but the new guy doesn't seem like he knows what he is doing. I want to turn it to a reef w/ anenomies, corals, and passive fish... any help is appreciated.....

 

[slothy]

calcium 0 ? is that possible ?

 

[broomer5]

Hi bethany,
I couldn't agree with you more.
Having your own test kits is the way to go.
If you don't have confidence in the results listed above - not much use discussing them now. The numbers look odd to me too.
Get some individual kits or a set for marine tanks.
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Alkalinity
Calcium
pH
Phosphate
Good way to measure specific gravity/salinty
A good thermometer
Any tests beyond these are fine - but not absolutely necessary.
Idodine and Dissolved Oxygen kits are known to be flakey.
Magnesium is good if you are heavy reefer.
IMO - Salifert it good, as is FasTest and SeaTest too.

 

[smalltimer]

well if nitrates are true, water changes are NEEDED, do 10, 10% h2o changes 10 days in a row, use ro, or rodi, if possible, I put di on my ro and made a world of diffrence, I would never use any h2o without di now.

 

[broomer5]

Doing a total of ten 10% water changes - ten days in a row to reduce nitrates ?
Small water changes such as these may work okay - assuming their are no more nitrates naturally accumulating in the tank.
If you start with 15 mg/L nitrate, and follow a 10% water change schedule - doing 10% per day for 10 days in a row - the math is pretty straight forward.
15 mg/L - no water change yet
13.5 day one - 1st water change
12.2 day two
10.9 day three
9.8 day four
8.8 day five
7.9 day six
7.2 day seven
6.45 day eight
5.8 day nine
5.2 day ten
If you do four 25% water changes - you'll reduce the nitrates to 4.75mg/L in the same ten days.
Again - assuming no other nitrates are being produced in the tank ( doubtful ) and no nitrates entering the tank from tapwater.
Here's the kicker ....
If you mix up your saltwater night before, aerate and make sure it is the same pH, specific gravity and temperature - you'll be in good shape no matter what the perecentage.
I avoid doing anything larger than 25% on a regular basis.
Doing small more frequent water changes may allow you to avoid stressing the fish - but will not reduce a toxin near as efficiently as doing a little larger percentage.
Doing larger percent water changes, will drop the nitrate readings more effectively - but may be stressful to fish/inverts IF the new saltwater does not match that of the tank.
All depends on what is in the tank - if you have delicate species, and your own personal observations of your tank water chemistry and creatures during your water change procedure.
Personally I like to do 20% water changes.

 

[bethany]

ok last night my clown fish died. The fish store told me to put some ugly brown bugs for him to eat. He hasn't eaten since I have had him so i bought the "live" food. They were all gone when i came home. Since I bought him he hasn't looked so good.
Still don't understand what ro/di water is and where can i get it. I have been using distilled water to top off. Never did a water change yet but when my salt was low I just add water bought from the lfs.
I am planning on buying alot more rock to add to the tank and upgrade to make it a reef tank. Should I just take the live stuff to the lfs and let my tank recycle?

 

[newreefers]

RO water is reverse osmosis water. you should be able to buy this at the lfs. you should also use this to make your salt water if you make it yourself, personally I buy mine pre made from the lfs. much easier.

 

[jakob4001]

you also state you would like to make it a reef tank at some point; in order to do so, you would most likely have to form a budget of some sort for stronger lighting; especially if you wish to keep happier/healthier corals & especially anemonies...the one you have now most likely is in meeking out an existance, but not happy thriving w/ the current lighting; it is also best to only keep anemones in an established tank of at least 6 months to a year...

 

[clarkiiboi]

How old is your tank? And did the LFS test your trItes? if so what were they? Since it wasnt listed, I am just wondering if there is a trace of it. Ammonia, nitrItes should be zero, and nitrAtes should be also, but that is hard (at least for me), any sign of phosphates is also not good, should be zero. Is it possible for you to buy a test kit soon, and post back with the results? Or is there another LFS to test for you?

 

[broomer5]

bethany
What tests do YOU perform at home ?
Are you checking your salinity / specific gravity at least ?
You said you add saltwater to your tank from LFS when the salt is low - so I assume you have a hydrometer.
I would take another water sample back to the LFS, but don't have the "new guy" do the tests.
Find out what your levels are first - and get them under control.
Better yet - buy a master test kit and start monitoring you water yourself.
Write down the results of each test that you or LFS does too.
Phosphate = 4 ? 4 what ?
Calcium = ?

 

[newreefers]

I too had problems in the beginning with understanding all the tests. I have created a spreadsheet with all the tests you should do with the target params on it. I do all my own tests and then every few weeks I take a sample to the lfs just to compare results. It turned out to be very helpful. If you want I will send you a copy of it. It runs in Excel. If you would like it send me an e-mail at queenofconst@aol.com.

 

[gregzbobo]

I read that you are using distilled water for topoffs. Thats probably not a good idea, lots of water distilleries use copper tubing which can lead to copper being in the water. Copper + inverts = dead inverts.

 

[bethany]

To answer questions... I don't do any tests at home yet, I buy my water premade from the lfs, don' t have a hydrmeter either. The lfs tells me if the salt is low when I have the water tested. The new guy did't test for nitrites, only nitrates. And what is the difference between them? I am stuck going to the same lfs most of the time. My days off the other 2 stores are closed. I use distilled water because the lfs told me, otherwise i would use tap water, (never knew otherwise until they told me). They said most places no longer use copper pipes. QUESTION? If i buy the master test kit, would I have to use every test or just the main ones they use at the lfs. I have seen them before and I would probably mix up all the bottles......

 

[gregzbobo]

If you have a Super Wal-mart you might look in there for one of those Culligan Water dispensers with the jugs next to it, cheap water and its RO and uv sterilized to boot. I used to use it till my LFS got an RO/DI setup, buy my water there now.