NanoFever Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 So I have a 16G Nuvo and my Monti has been deteriorating over the past 2 days. Did water change the previous night, went out and bought new Red Sea test kits and found some alarming numbers in my magnesium and Calcium. Assuming a bad batch of salt? If its not the salt and I have to dose Ca that should bring down the Mg? Never dosed Ca before. Can anyone provide some input? THANKS! Ph 8.0 Alk 9dkH Ca 350?!?! Mg 2000?!?! Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0 ppm Nitrite 0 ppm Temp 79-80F Link to comment
seabass Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Shake up the container of salt (or roll it around if it's too heavy), then make a new batch of saltwater. Test this new batch before you put it in your tank. This should tell you if there is a problem with your salt mix. Also, you might bring in a sample of your water to have your LFS verify your test results. You might be able to restore your water chemistry with water changes. Dosing might be necessary, but let's try to figure out where things stand before going down that road. Link to comment
NanoFever Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Ok, I will see what I can come up with this weekend! Tests from last night: Ph 8.0 Alk 9dkH Ca 350 Mg 1400 (did the test wrong for the 2000 reading causing the high lead) Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0 ppm Nitrite 0 ppm Temp 79F I am going to go out and get a Phosphate kit over the weekend and give that a shot. Seabass I might take a water sample to the LFS but I have tried 2 different test kits so far with same results. One a brand new Red Sea. Link to comment
Veng Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Are these tests of the water in the tank or the freshly mixed salt water? Also, what salt mix are you using? Link to comment
NanoFever Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 The tests above are in my tank currently. I am using instant ocean. I am going to test fresh made water tonight too and see what it looks like. Link to comment
Veng Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 The tests above are in my tank currently. I am using instant ocean. I am going to test fresh made water tonight too and see what it looks like.Unless you are doing 100% water change, the parameters are going to be different than what the salt mixes to. My guess, is you had low Ca before your change and the change helped some, but still need more to bring it back in line. It doesn't mean you have to dose to fix it, you just have to either increase your water change OR dose. Dosing can be more convenient and cheaper depending on the size of the tank and how heavily stocked it is. On the flip side, you'll rarely see pico tanks with dosers as it's much easier to just do 100% water changes when you're only changing 0.5-1 gallon of water. Link to comment
paulrw Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 check what instant ocean guarantees their levels are mixed. i'm not sure about the magnesium levels but every thing else looks fairly normal. what salinity are you mixing to? instant ocean the purple box is targeted towards fish only systems, some folks use it and dose and have luck but you might be better off using I.O. reef crystals or a reef targeted salt. i would definitely check else were for problems. good luck. Link to comment
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