New water Reading anything wrong?

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kaz

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Joined
Sep 19, 2005
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Location
Los Angeles
ph 7.4
amm 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 15
kh 9
gh 18
phos 2.0

and from what I research based on ph and kh my co2 levels are 10.749
 
How many watts are your lights?

You make no mention of a Co2 setup. If you do not add Co2, it will not be higher than about 3ppm regardless of what the charts tell you.

Also, I see "phos 2.0". Are you using the API Phos test kit? If so, I could probably get a 2.0 reading testing ice cream with it. Seems no matter if I am testing my tap, tank or bottled water, I get a reading of 2. UNLESS, my phosphates are way high (like 10). Others have mentioned inaccuracy with that kit as well.
 
kaz said:
and from what I research based on ph and kh my co2 levels are 10.749

The calculations are only correct if the only buffer in the water is HCO3.

There are several possible explanations:
1. You have high CO2 in your tap water - this is common if the water is from a deep well.
2. You have another buffer in the water (most common - phosphates from agricultural runoff).
3. Your tests are off.

If you take some tap water & let it sit out for 24-48 hr, the water should equilibrate to atmospheric CO2. Retest that & if CO2 now read around 3, then you have CO2 in your tap water.

Otherwise you likely have a secondary buffer in the water & cannot use the ph/KH/CO2 charts. <Since you are already measuring PO4, that is a suspect.>
 
ok i planted more plants and did a major water change yesterday and today i tested for phosphate and nitrates, i bought fertz from greg watson but havent used them yet and dont know how much or if needed which ones.

test results are

nitrates 10

phosphate .50

greg fertz i own are

1 CSM+B Plantex
1 Mono Potassium Phosphate
1 Potassium Nitrate
1 Potassium Sulfate
 
I'm going to assume this is for your 75 gallon correct?

This is my dosing schedule (but modified for your tank size) that slighly overdoses before a large 50% PWC at the end of the week:

-CSM+B Plantex, 2/3rd's teaspoon at water change and every other day

-Mono Potassium Phosphate, 1/16th teaspoon on days when CSM+B is NOT added

-Potassium Sulfate, 1 teaspoon at water change and every other day

-Potassium NitrAte, I personally do NOT add this because my bioload is large enough to not require dosing. You should monitor your levels for several days after a large water change with no nitrAte dosing. You may or may not need to dose, but its best to get an accurate picture of how much ammonia is being produced in your tank without you adding in more nitrogen. This is really the only fert that can cause harm to your fish due to overdosing (within reason of course), so don't just dump this in.

HTH

P.S. Please note this is a general guideline that should not leave any deficiencies, but each tank and water supply is different. The most important thing is to not let anything bottom out, you really cannot hurt anything by dosing more that required, its just wasteful. :)
 
7Enigma said:
I'm going to assume this is for your 75 gallon correct?

This is my dosing schedule (but modified for your tank size) that slighly overdoses before a large 50% PWC at the end of the week:

-CSM+B Plantex, 2/3rd's teaspoon at water change and every other day

-Mono Potassium Phosphate, 1/16th teaspoon on days when CSM+B is NOT added

-Potassium Sulfate, 1 teaspoon at water change and every other day

-Potassium NitrAte, I personally do NOT add this because my bioload is large enough to not require dosing. You should monitor your levels for several days after a large water change with no nitrAte dosing. You may or may not need to dose, but its best to get an accurate picture of how much ammonia is being produced in your tank without you adding in more nitrogen. This is really the only fert that can cause harm to your fish due to overdosing (within reason of course), so don't just dump this in.

HTH

P.S. Please note this is a general guideline that should not leave any deficiencies, but each tank and water supply is different. The most important thing is to not let anything bottom out, you really cannot hurt anything by dosing more that required, its just wasteful. :)

yes it is for my 75g tank
keep in mind though that I have 130w over my 75g and no co2, research says without co2 not to make water changes every week, base on plant growth lower because of the lack of co2 I assume I wouldnt be dosing every day or every other day. question comes from this thought. I thank you all so far for all the information and I appreciate the continue help
 
Since it's a lower light tank, you'll probably be able to only dose once or twice a week. The amount to dose would remain the same, just less frequent.
 
so lets think about what is the target and since I can only check phosphate and nitrate I will assume for Fe and potassium.

target levels

nitrate 10 to 30 is good to have

phosphate .05 to 2.0 is good to have

potassium and Fe is based on dosing once a week and seeing the plants health and growth I guess. is this right?
 
I would dose potassium at least twice a week. IME it is the most easily deficient of all the nutrients (when you have fish) since most other nutrients can be found in fish food/waste.
 
my current readings after dosing is

nitrate 30
phosphate 2.0
amm 0
nitrite 0
ph 7.4 to 7.6

I setup an air (limestone) to create ambient co2 levels 24/7
 
kaz said:
my current readings after dosing is

nitrate 30
phosphate 2.0
amm 0
nitrite 0
ph 7.4 to 7.6

I setup an air (limestone) to create ambient co2 levels 24/7

Those numbers look great. Keep an eye on the nitrAte and make sure it doesn't go much over 40ppm. You might find (like me) that your fish take care of the nitrAte requirement and you won't even need to dose it!

And I'd still add phosphate and continue to dose very small amounts at least once a week. By small I mean like a dash of salt. It's possible you don't need it, but it won't build up if you do PWC's occasionally, and really only add small amounts. It's just one more thing you can be confident is not the problem if algae issues arise.
 
should phosphate be no more than 2.0 and no less than 0.5?
how about the trace mix like FE and potassium I have no test kit for that but I am dosing once a week of it.
 
You definately don't want your phosphate to bottom out, but it's alright if it's higher than 2ppm.

It's almost impossible to overdose Potassium. Use your plants as a guide for both Potassium and Iron, they'll tell you if they need more of either.
 
im noticing some plants are turning yellows and dieing off, I believe 2 of my plants are ludwiga possibly and they are losing one leaf everyday should i keep dosing the fe and potassium 2 a week?
 
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