trippclark
Member
Several days have gone by. Some things seem to be getting better, but lots of what is going on is still stumping me. First the good news is that the corals appear to be doing marginally better. Some are starting to open up some. The greeen star polyps are still doing great. The yellow polyps are opening pretty well -- not 100% but much better. It may be my imagination, but they do not appear to be as bright yellow as before and may have a slightly brownish tint. The zoos are still almost completely retracted, but appear to be opening slightly. The ricordia are still very retracted and shrunk up to perhaps 20% of their former size.Many of my readings are still wierd -- KH, CA and PO4 have been unstable. Here is the complete activity for the past 4 days and all readings . . .
Feb 12
PH=8.0
NO3=0
KH=14
CA=375
PO4=0.2
SG=1.027
Activity/Notes: To lower SG, I removed about 2 gallons of tank water and added back RO/DI water. When removing water, I siphoned algae off the back glass. I added 4 scoops of Tropic Marin Bio Calcium to try to raise CA (maximum recommended daily dosage is 1 scoop per 10 gallons of tank water. I estimate that I have not more than 60 gallons of water). I also added Purigen (75 - 100 mL) in a filter bag to my sump in a flow area to try and pull out some organics/impurities.
Feb 13
PH=8.0
NO3=0
KH=11
CA=345
PO4=0.1
SG=1.025
Activity/Notes: I removed 2.5 gallons of tank water while siphoning algae and added 2.5 gallons on new saltwater. I was amazed that CA actually dropped even after adding large quantities of biocalcium. This day I added 5 scoops of biocalcium.
Feb 14
PH=8.0
NO3=0
KH=12
CA=360
PO4=1.0
SG=1.025
Activity/Notes: I added 2 scoops of biocalcium in the morning and another 5 scoops in the evening (I am still amazed by how much calcium my system is currently consuming!). I removed 2.5 gallons of tank water while siphoning algae and added 2.5 gallons on new saltwater. I had a huge PO4 spike! Presumably this is because I am removing algae which formerly was consuming the PO4. I still have no idea of the source.
Feb 15
PH=8.0 (perhaps slightly less, but well above 7.7 . . . the next PH on my scale)
NO3=0
KH=19
CA=360
PO4=0.8
SG=1.025
Activity/Notes: I added 2 scoops of biocalcium in the morning and plan to add another 5 scoops tonight. This huge amount of calcium is not raising my CA levels like I an trying (tested with 2 different kits), but I am afraid to add any more per day since this is already marginally above the recommended daily dosage. I can't figure out why KH is spiking so high, but this is troublesome. Fearing that my NO3 kit may be outdated and not accurate, I purchased a new test kit tonight (Sera - my LFS does not carry Salifert) and am still getting a reading of 0 on NO3. I installed a Phosban Reactor 150 with Phosban to try to get the PO4 down.
I would be grateful for any insight from any of y'all. KH, CA and PO4 are all concerning me right now, and I am also a bit concerned that PH is a bit lower than I would like. Normally I have used the Seachen Marine Buffer to raise and maintain PH, but since that causes KH to go up, I do not dare add that now. Thanks in advance for any help or ideas!!!
Feb 12
PH=8.0
NO3=0
KH=14
CA=375
PO4=0.2
SG=1.027
Activity/Notes: To lower SG, I removed about 2 gallons of tank water and added back RO/DI water. When removing water, I siphoned algae off the back glass. I added 4 scoops of Tropic Marin Bio Calcium to try to raise CA (maximum recommended daily dosage is 1 scoop per 10 gallons of tank water. I estimate that I have not more than 60 gallons of water). I also added Purigen (75 - 100 mL) in a filter bag to my sump in a flow area to try and pull out some organics/impurities.
Feb 13
PH=8.0
NO3=0
KH=11
CA=345
PO4=0.1
SG=1.025
Activity/Notes: I removed 2.5 gallons of tank water while siphoning algae and added 2.5 gallons on new saltwater. I was amazed that CA actually dropped even after adding large quantities of biocalcium. This day I added 5 scoops of biocalcium.
Feb 14
PH=8.0
NO3=0
KH=12
CA=360
PO4=1.0
SG=1.025
Activity/Notes: I added 2 scoops of biocalcium in the morning and another 5 scoops in the evening (I am still amazed by how much calcium my system is currently consuming!). I removed 2.5 gallons of tank water while siphoning algae and added 2.5 gallons on new saltwater. I had a huge PO4 spike! Presumably this is because I am removing algae which formerly was consuming the PO4. I still have no idea of the source.
Feb 15
PH=8.0 (perhaps slightly less, but well above 7.7 . . . the next PH on my scale)
NO3=0
KH=19
CA=360
PO4=0.8
SG=1.025
Activity/Notes: I added 2 scoops of biocalcium in the morning and plan to add another 5 scoops tonight. This huge amount of calcium is not raising my CA levels like I an trying (tested with 2 different kits), but I am afraid to add any more per day since this is already marginally above the recommended daily dosage. I can't figure out why KH is spiking so high, but this is troublesome. Fearing that my NO3 kit may be outdated and not accurate, I purchased a new test kit tonight (Sera - my LFS does not carry Salifert) and am still getting a reading of 0 on NO3. I installed a Phosban Reactor 150 with Phosban to try to get the PO4 down.
I would be grateful for any insight from any of y'all. KH, CA and PO4 are all concerning me right now, and I am also a bit concerned that PH is a bit lower than I would like. Normally I have used the Seachen Marine Buffer to raise and maintain PH, but since that causes KH to go up, I do not dare add that now. Thanks in advance for any help or ideas!!!