heres my water??????

[am3gross05]

ph .............. 8.0
ammonia..... 0.30
nitrite.......... 0.1
nitrate......... 4.0
what do i need to do if these arent ok? i have a 55 gallon with a 29 gallon refugium. i have about 65 pounds of l/s and about 100 pounds of live rock.any and all help is greatly appreciated!

 

[tthemadd1]

How long has your tank been up...?

 

[tthemadd1]

It looks pretty good. You might want to wait a little while longer if you are cycling. Not long though. Your ammonia levels are pretty low. Has your Nitrite already peaked? What was you last set of readings?

 

[am3gross05]

this is the first time i ever tested.....)i know .....i know.....)the tank has been set up for over a year. would adding live rock and then doing the test cause my nitrates to jump right away like that.....because i did just add 50 pounds of live rock.do i need to do a water change?

 

[ophiura]

Your tank appears to be experiencing a mini cycle because of the added LR. Do you have fish in the tank currently? Since you haven't been testing, I strongly encourage you to also get an alkalinity and calcium reading. How old are your test kits, and what brand? Always good to have it cross checked at the LFS as well.

 

[snipe]

Agreed!

 

[am3gross05]

the tests are brand new. i just bought it at the store. it is saltwater master liquid test kit by aquarium pharmaceuticals. i do have fish in there too. i also have a magnum 350 on there for added filtration.should i do a water change?

 

[ophiura]

It wouldn't hurt to do a water change, but I would also strongly suggest a double test of the water at the LFS. Even though new, some test kits are not extremely accurate.

 

[am3gross05]

is the nitrates the only thing that is kinda high?

 

[ophiura]

No, ammonia and nitrite should be O, these compounds are extremely toxic whereas nitrate is less so. YOu don't want nitrate to get too high as it becomes a fertilizer for algae and can cause issues with certain fish and inverts at higher concentrations. Also, the higher it gets, the longer it takes to lower it.