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Water test help!


Jdc88

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New tank. Day 15 cycle just completed.I went to my lfs to get me a cuc but since I do not have any algae yet I decided to just get a few fish and one coral. I picked up a galaxea which should not be by other corals so I put it on top by its self. I understand they need lots of light. I tested my calcium and KH and got 161 on KH. And 440 on calcium. Is that in range?

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SchnauzerFace

440 calcium is definitely within good levels.

 

For the alkalinity, it's probably best to convert ppm into a more traditional scale.

1ppm= 0.056dkh

161x0.056 = 9.0 dKH (which is the more common testing scale)

 

Natural seawater is close to 7, but I prefer to keep mine right at 9. Anything from 7-9 or 10 is in range (though some run their tanks higher ... I don't think anyone purposely runs lower than 7 for a reef tank), but the key is consistency. If you only have one coral (and not a very demanding coral at that), your tank shouldn't be sucking up too much alkalinity or calcium. And since the rock is brand new, you won't have coraline algae draining your water, either.

 

​I'd stick with whatever salt mix you've got, because those are very good levels, imo.

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What size tank is it and what fish did you get? I assume you cycled with dry rock and a bacterial starter or possibly a small piece of cured LR? Just curious.

 

Here's a cool write up that explains a lot of what you're trying to find out. Don't get too caught up in the "other" parameters though, focus on the critical ones.

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

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