reef chemistry

Hi reefers, Just got result for my first ICP test, wondering if anyone can help read the result. I have a mix reef with sps and LPS, and I was using instant ocean reef crystal for almost a year, and recently switched to regular IC salt. Roughly 10% WC weekly, doses BRS two parts with Magnesium...

Hey Guys, My calcium has been sitting at 470 for the past 5 weeks and doesnt seem to be lowering at all. Previous to that my Ca was needing to be topped regularly to maintain. Im thinking this is due to the Ca being too high? Usually i shoot for 450-470. Current Perimeters Temp: 25 Degrees C...

Hey everyone, I’m trying to wrap my head around why has my Alk risen and whats depleting calcium and magnesium. And what’s the solution. I recently added a hammer garden (9 heads) and a yumma mushroom and soon after I noticed my Alk jumped to 10 and resulting in depletion of my calcium and...

Hi Everyone, Im pretty new to reefing (9 months) but have had some relative success in a short amount of time with my system, at the same time my alk and Ca consumption has gone up quite a bit - especially since the coralline algae really decided to kick off I bought some kalkwasser the other...

A few weeks ago, I dosed ESV B-Ionic alkalinity and calcium. I used half the recommended starter dose and my alk went from 8 to 20+ on both the Hannah and Red Sea titration test. I did water changes to try and rectify the spike, but only made it worse using different than normal salt. Alk...

Hey Guys, It's a pleasure to e-meet you all, I'm Francesco, I'm a fellow reefer from Italy and this is my very first post. I have a question regarding GAC and iodine number, by digging a bit further into the various type of GAC, aside from the raw material they're made from, I understood that...

Basically i got a low PH problem and the way i been dealing with it is feeding the skimmer air from outside aswell as topping off with pretty high PH water around 9-10 PH the way im getting the PH so high is by sprinkling some marine buffer by SeaChem into the RO. Now I'm worried about any side...

Hi all! I am glad to announce the first part of my interview with Lou Ekus of Tropic Marin USA. We've discusses the following topics in 1-st part: Basic Reef Chemistry Minor and major elements Trace elements Water parameters to measure Phosphate and Nitrate Carbon Dosing Methods of Carbon...

I have 3 mixed reef tanks with fish--Office 75 gal, Dining 120 gal, and Living 75 gal. All have sumps with refugiums, protein skimmers, and APEX with Trident. I have never measured the phosphate before but I bought a Hanna Marine Master for Christmas and decided to give it a shot. The phosphate...

Hello, I have an LPS dominant tank. The Hammers are not fully open, and I can't figure out why. My parameters are: Nitrates: 13 (Hanna HR Nitrate) Phosphate: 0.01 (Hanna ULR Phosphate) Magnesium: 1520 (Red Sea) dKH: 8.5 (Red Sea) Calcium: 400 (Red Sea) Do these parameters look good? Does...

Dear all, I have installed in sump calcium reactor by Octopus. It is their 220 model. It worked fine for about a week with partially closed gas recirculation conduit. Now it has a bunch of gas circulating trough it. The regulator is Carbondoser. The effluent is pulled through with the Kamoer...

So I just spent quite a bit on a 25 pack of 5-in-1 test strips. After having gotten home and using 2 already, I realized that the precision of the strips is sorely lacking, and that I could have gotten a 100 pack for a bit less than I paid for the 25 on Amazon. Of course, I had looked before I...

Hey reefers, So I was wondering that our hobby relies alot on attaining "stability" but in it's raw form, what does stability even mean? I have few theories on what, why and how of stability in a reef tank. Feel free to correct me or share more opinions. What: - Stability is a range not a...

I know I will need to test before doing additives. I don't have a LFS nearby and want to get some supplies in advance. My tank has been cycling and I want to be ready as I stock my tank. What additives should I have on hand for fish, soft, sps, and lps reef tank? I obviously won't have all of...

So I'm having a suspicion that my LFS might have metals or chlorine in their water. I finally decided to order an RODI unit, but it's going to take about a week until it gets here and I can make new water. Should I use water conditioner or wait it out? I've never used it before, but corals...

Alright guys, I'm getting a little frustrated over dosing and what is going on in my tank. I'm still pretty new to this as this is my first saltwater tank so bear with me. So I'll give you all the info I can: JBJ 45 Lighting: Hydra 52 HD (ran around 30%) Filtration: Stock media baskets...

Hi All I am in search for the pro effects and con effects to a mixed reef with a diatom filter used intermittently every month or so? Thanks in advanced

I just tested my Alk and it came up 12.2 dKH, I normally run it at 8.0 and it stayed there up until the middle of November. I did a water change with red sea salt and I turned my doser to 2ml every other day and that was about two weeks ago but now like I said before 12.2, before the water...

this might be a little early but it is coming up fast. what are some good Christmas ideas and also what are some good places to get gift certificates from?

I am hoping to get some help with pH level on my tank. My pH is always stuck around 7.6 - 7.7. My house has AC running almost 24/7, the tank is in the basement and there is only one door leading outside that's always closed since no one is in the basement besides me when I go down there after...

ok I feel like I'm not sure how to maintain my levels at a stable point. I did a water change on May 26 and checked my alk and it read at 9.5 dKH(Hanna) I checked it today and it showed 7.6 dKH(Hanna). I want to keep my levels between 7-8. how would I one keep them stable and how would I dose or...

should I get a good nitrate test kit or a good phosphate test kit first? I would like to get both but I can only get one for right now.

ok I got a piece of strawberry shortcake from Jason Fox at a frag swap awhile back. I also got other sps frags. all of the are doing fine but the strawberry shortcake, its actually white now. I don't understand what happened because the of acros I have by it are doing great. I thought it might...

I had alkanity spike pretty high recently in my tank. I'm thinking maybe I didn't rinse my dosing container the last time I added new soda ash/calcium chloride? There was a good amount of residue in the btm of both containers and in both dosing tubes. I test Alk usually every other day and try...