tested water

[e-cat]

i tested my water today with seachem and hagen test kits and got the following results, seachems free ammonia is 0.0 and total ammonia is 0.03 and a ph of 8.0 and a alkalinity of 3 a nitrite of 0.0 and a nitrate of 2.0 and with hagen i got ammonia of 0.0 a ph of 8.1 and kh of 140mg/l and a nitite of 0.1, now my ph seems too low, what do you think i should use too raie it too a higher ph? and i want my kg around 120 or 125 any ideas on lowering how too lower that? should my alkalinity be a 4 or a 5 if so then how should i raise it? my SG is 1.022. the fish are a picasso trigger and a snow flake moray eel so if my parimaters are fine for them ill leave them the way they are but if not then let me know what too change and whats your opinion on the best way too do it. thanks.

 

[steve-s]

The alkalinity of the water is relavent to the Ca. Raising or lowering the alk would depend moreso on that. Personally I prefer keeping the alk a little higher but there is no real issue with 125 mg/l. The main issue is that the two are balanced which you can check >>here<<.

As far as the ph goes, 8.0-8.1 is not that low depending on when it was tested. Keep in mind that early in the photoperiod the ph will be low due to the tank overcoming the CO2 produced during the night. As the day progresses, the ph will rise naturally as the O2 rises in the water. Best time to determine the ph is midway in the tanks photoperiod or test in the early AM and just before the lights go off and get an average.

If you have a higher ph in the late evening you most likely have nothing to worry about. If the ph is low, you should determine if it's a gas exchange problem before adding chemical to the tank. Easiest way of doing that is removing a sample of water in a wide mouth glass or bowl and let it sit for ½-1 hr in a well ventilated area. Then test to see if you get a higher ph than that of the tank by doing a side by side comparison. If the sample pulled earlier has a better ph than the recent tank sample, then you will either have a GPH/surface aggitation problem or not enough exposed surface area.

Cheers
Steve

 

[e-cat]

thanks for the post but i went out and bought some of seachems marine buffer and already put it in the tank, i guess ill just have too see how that worked out, it says it wont raise the ph above 8.3 and the alkalinity may raise by 1, ill post my perimaters later and see how they changed.

 

[e-cat]

well my seachem results are a ph of 8.3 and a total alkalinity of 4 and hagen results are a ph of 8.4 and a kh of 160

 

[steve-s]

What about the calcium?

Cheers
Steve

 

[e-cat]

i dont have a calcium test kit

 

[steve-s]

I would strongly suggest getting one. Any buffer additions will also affect the Ca levels. One addition won't unless drastic but it will happen if you keep adding it. You need to keep the two balanced to keep the tank healthy.

Cheers
Steve

 

[e-cat]

im going too grab one today if i can make it too my lfs before it closes ill post what my calcium is if i get one.

 

[jackdp]

IMO...If all you have in the tank are fish and or the eel. Then your parameters as is are fine. The whole calcium and alkalinity balance is much more important in a reef tank with calcifying corals and inverts. Also, if you have live rock you would want to keep the calcium between 400-450ppm and the alkalinity in the range of 2.5-4.0 meq/L or 8-12dkh. For fish only a pH in the range of 8.0-8.4 is fine as long as it is relative stable to within +/- .2 or so.

 

[e-cat]

there is live rock in the tank, the calcium is at 400mg/l

 

[steve-s]

Personally I have always found maintaining proper chemistry helpful in preventing problems. Each person should decide wether the benefits outweigh the gains and I leave that to the individual. If you are going to suppliment the tank chemistry with additives, both ends of the equation should be monitored or problems will result. If you are not going to test it, don't add it.

If indeed for only FO or FOWLR, then simple water changes in most cases will correct for most anomalies in chemistry providing the saltmix is up to par. That is if the problem was chemical and not environmental.

Cheers
Steve