Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 OK, so I have been battling low Alk and High Ca and nothing was working.....I finally bought a Refractometer and it came UPS today. So I busted open the box, did a quick calibration and tested my tank....ouch 1.032 WTF, that damn Hydro I was using sucks....it is off by .007...no wnder I have been having to dose so much Alk and I have had two new coral deaths right after adding to my tank. New Refractometer So, the big question is how much SG can I safely lower each day without stressing my corals and fish? I was thinking taking about 7 days and lower it .001 each day. I have around 12 net gallons so I'll need to calculate what that will take... Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 What..I thought for sure I would get bombarded with this thread...oh well the NR crew must be giving me a break since its Friday...ha ha... Link to comment
dsoz Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 You can do slightly more than 0.001 in a day. You may even get by with 0.003 in a day. I would not put a bunch of DI water in the tank. I would remove 2 cups, then use one of them to mix with DI water, and slowly add the half saline water back into the tank (the key is to not see too much of the swirling density differences). Let it mix for 30 minutes to equilibrium, then use your new toy to measure the SG. Do this about once an hour, and watch the SG drop. When it gets to the right spot, 1.025, then you are golden. dsoz Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 It kinda depends what corals you have in there. If you have mostly softies, I think you could get away with lowering it .02 per day as long as you do it gradually. Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 dsoz - that sounds like a good plan...but I think I will stop at .01 per day using your method... Weetie - I have mostly SPS(9) and LPS(4), few Zoas, Ric, GSP, Yellow Polyps, PomPom... Link to comment
DESERTHEATRACING Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I would just drop it like a rock before you loose anything else. Dropping it to 1.025 will not hurt anything especially since it is that high right now. Or just take out a cup of water and add a cup of fresh every 30 minutes until you get it down. Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 I would just drop it like a rock before you loose anything else. Dropping it to 1.025 will not hurt anything especially since it is that high right now. Or just take out a cup of water and add a cup of fresh every 30 minutes until you get it down. uhhhh...I'm not sure about that...sounds drastic...plus all the inhabitants have been this way for 3 months....only two new additions suffered. It would be different if the coral or fish looked unhealthy... Link to comment
DESERTHEATRACING Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 uhhhh...I'm not sure about that...sounds drastic...plus all the inhabitants have been this way for 3 months....only two new additions suffered. It would be different if the coral or fish looked unhealthy... Then do what you please A cup every 1/2 hour is no big deal unless you have a 5 gallon tank. Nothing is going to drop dead from the change, however keeping the tank for a long time at that sg is doing 10x more harm than the just lowering it over a few hours. And 3 months? Surpised most of the tank is not looking horrible. Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 ... A cup every 1/2 hour is no big deal unless you have a 5 gallon tank. ... Well...5 gallon bowfront with a 10 gallon fuge probably net around 12 gallons....I have been using the same hydro for 3 months so I'm guessing that it has been that way the whole time... Maybe some corals can adjust better than others.... Link to comment
DESERTHEATRACING Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Well...5 gallon bowfront with a 10 gallon fuge probably net around 12 gallons....I have been using the same hydro for 3 months so I'm guessing that it has been that way the whole time... Maybe some corals can adjust better than others.... Did you check the calibration on the hydrometer with at least distilled water at a minimum? Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 Did you check the calibration on the hydrometer with at least distilled water at a minimum? The hydrometer? Or the Refractometer? My hydro started at 1.017...I calibrated the Refractometer before I used it... Link to comment
DESERTHEATRACING Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 The hydrometer? Or the Refractometer? My hydro started at 1.017...I calibrated the Refractometer before I used it... What did you use to calibrate it? 53mS solution? Tap water? Ro? Distilled water? Just curious. Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 What did you use to calibrate it? 53mS solution? Tap water? Ro? Distilled water? Just curious. Most swing arms are usually off .02 or so, .07 is pretty uncommon but not unheard of. I cal'd the Refract with the bottle of Distilled water it came with...tested my tank...did not believe it..cal'd it again with RO/DI water from my system...same reading 1.032....the hydro was reading 1.025.... Link to comment
DESERTHEATRACING Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I cal'd the Refract with the bottle of Distilled water it came with...tested my tank...did not believe it..cal'd it again with RO/DI water from my system...same reading 1.032....the hydro was reading 1.025.... Ouch, yeah I recently went through somthing similar when I bought my first decent quality refractometer. Both my swing arms were off .003 from the refract. I thought I was at 1.025 and was at 1.028. Lowered it down and man things are MUCH more happy. Swing arms pretty much SUCK. Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 Swing arms pretty much SUCK. +1 I should have bought a refractometer a long time ago...now I know... Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 So, as not to effect my PH, Alk, or Ca negatively, when I am replacing my water to bring the SG down...should I really use RO/DI? Or should I use mixed salt replacement water at a really low saline level, like 1.020 or something....Or should I balance my RO/DI water for PH and Alk? Link to comment
filefish949 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 note to self, clean my hydro every few months with vinegar your low Alk and High Ca issue is most likely a magnesium problem, do you have white precipitant on your heater and powerheads? high salinity will typically give you high alk and ca ok, if you calibrated your refractometer with RO/DI, you may want to go slow with any adjustments you make to salinity, that method may not be all that accurate, get some .35ppt calibration solution. this graph will show why much better than I can explain So, as not to effect my PH, Alk, or Ca negatively, when I am replacing my water to bring the SG down...should I really use RO/DI? Or should I use mixed salt replacement water at a really low saline level, like 1.020 or something....Or should I balance my RO/DI water for PH and Alk? RO/DI should have no hydrogen ions or hydroxide ions, so it will have negligible impact on pH aside from dilution of your existing H+/OH- ratio Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 your low Alk and High Ca issue is most likely a magnesium problem, do you have white precipitant on your heater and powerheads? My Mg measures at 1450 using the salifert test kit. ok, if you calibrated your refractometer with RO/DI, you may want to go slow with any adjustments you make to salinity, that method may not be all that accurate, get some .35ppt calibration solution. Where can I get that? Any suggestions? RO/DI should have no hydrogen ions or hydroxide ions, so it will have negligible impact on pH aside from dilution of your existing H+/OH- ratio OK, so use RO/DI and go slow until I can get some .35ppt solution...Do you think the .001/.002 per day is OK? Thanks FileFish....that is some useful information, I feel better... Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 With the corals you have in there, I would go with .001 per day. Totally OT-- can I assume from your Av that you have a Bloodhound? I ask because I just got a puppy that I believe is a Lab/Redbone Coonhound mix. If you do have one, I would love to hear any Hound Dog input you have, just go to my 16g thread linked in my sig and post there. Alright, back to the regularly scheduled program. Link to comment
filefish949 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 marine depot sells the calibration solution, I prefer the single use packs, the bottles can be contaminated with evaporation LOL Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 marine depot sells the calibration solution, I prefer the single use packs, the bottles can be contaminated with evaporation LOL Great...I will get some ordered today...thanks Link to comment
Sctn4Elk Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 OK, replaced 1/2 gallon of tank water with RO/DI...now reading is 1.030....I thought 1/2 gallon would only move it .001 but I guess not....will do this again tomorrow and recheck... Link to comment
HeyLookItsCaps Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Where did you get your refractometer? Now you have me scared. Does anyone know where to get 1 the cheapest? Link to comment
Pickle010 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Where did you get your refractometer? Now you have me scared. Does anyone know where to get 1 the cheapest? I got mine right down the road from you... I think it was OC Aquatics on Brookhurst. It was almost a year ago but I remember the price was better then some of the stuff I could of bought on line and I've been really happy with it. Link to comment
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