Important

[jservedio]

4 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Thank you.

 

I'm gonna check with RoDi, then with the fluid. Then test all parameters.

 

I'd love to go with one of the digital readers for salinity but milwaukee is expensive and hanna seems to have had a lot of issues 

 

 

 

What about American Pinpoint? Been using one for about 8 years without issue. It's slow, but no issues.

[William]

You can dose ammonium chloride, but i very low doses .... not an ideal solution though 

[Clown79]

12 minutes ago, jservedio said:

What about American Pinpoint? Been using one for about 8 years without issue. It's slow, but no issues.

Don't you need a Neptune or controller system?

 

I prefer to keep things super simple and at almost $200 each here for the American Pinpoint it would get costly if I need 1 for each tank

[Clown79]

12 minutes ago, William said:

You can dose ammonium chloride, but i very low doses .... not an ideal solution though 

Ammonium chloride dosing for nitrate increasing? 

[jservedio]

7 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Don't you need a Neptune or controller system?

 

I prefer to keep things super simple and at almost $200 each here for the American Pinpoint it would get costly if I need 1 for each tank

It's a standalone box with a probe. No controller or anything needed. Turn on, dip probe in tank, fresh salt mix, etc. and wait 30-45 seconds and you have a reading.

 

Mine was only 79$, but I guess prices have gone up over the years and CAD conversion. They work great, last forever, and I've never had issues.

[Clown79]

7 minutes ago, jservedio said:

It's a standalone box with a probe. No controller or anything needed. Turn on, dip probe in tank, fresh salt mix, etc. and wait 30-45 seconds and you have a reading.

 

Mine was only 79$, but I guess prices have gone up over the years and CAD conversion. They work great, last forever, and I've never had issues.

Ya the cheapest here I could find $168. Forget our amazon, it charges about $50-$100 more than stores.

 

Pricing here is definitely more plus 13% tax. 

 

Lol.Milwaukee on amazon.ca $198! Its $166 at reef stores.

 

I never buy reef stuff on amazon. Highway robbery.

 

So I might go that route if I don't need a controller and it can be used as you explained.

 

Thank you cause I wasn't really sure if it was an option.

[squamptonbc]

11 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Yes we garden but the ingredients in the products uses no potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate. These can't be sold in store to general public.

 

Just like Bayer, we sell it but not the one you guys use. 

 

Environmental laws and safety laws.

 

Anything with potassium nitrate or sodium you can't find and it can't be shipped in.

 

 

 

 

I know right! 

 

 

 

I wonder how Sea Chem sells its Nitrogen product for freshwater in Canada ,according to the label its derived from potassium nitrate but maybe the Urea in it makes a difference in how it can be sold, rules in Canada can make the aquarium hobby tough sometimes.

 

Anyhow Aquarium Depot does sell the Brightwell NeoNitro and its in stock according to their website, they are based in Ontario. (not to be confused by a company I believe with the same name in the US.) 

 

ICP testing, I know ATI is available in Canada, but never used it, but seen it on a few of the online vendors websites.

 

Is the Hanna digital salinity tester any good? Its only $99 at least out west its $99, but no idea if its any good, never used it myself and only recently became available locally.

 

 

 

 

[squamptonbc]

5 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Ya the cheapest here I could find $168. Forget our amazon, it charges about $50-$100 more than stores.

 

Pricing here is definitely more plus 13% tax. 

 

Lol.Milwaukee on amazon.ca $198! Its $166 at reef stores.

 

I never buy reef stuff on amazon. Highway robbery.

 

So I might go that route if I don't need a controller and it can be used as you explained.

 

Thank you cause I wasn't really sure if it was an option.

 

Only $195 today..ha ha (its like $160 at the local stores though) 

 

Looking at camel camel Amazon hasn't offered it at a good price since 2018 when they had it for $124, average is $175 for the Milwaukee on Amazon.

 

It's the 3rd party sellers that ruin Amazon ca, they list something at an idiotic price, then Amazon jacks their price up to just below the 3rd party sellers.

 

The only time I buy fish stuff on Amazon is if a local store doesn't have it, and I would have to pay shipping from back east, Amazon can be cheaper at that point and faster, but largely their prices are idiotic when it comes to fish stuff, I can often buy off Amazon com pay the exchange difference + shipping fees and still be cheaper than Amazon ca lol

[seabass]

9 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Checked refractometer using rodi, read exactly 0

Checked with brand new calibration fluid read 35ppt

Good, so no slope miscalibration, as one might suspect.  Now you can save money by calibrating with RO/DI.  Plus, no need for another expensive instrument.

 

9 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Checked tank params.

• 25g phos 0.29(so still gotta use small amounts of phosguard with frequent monitoring)
• Alk for both tanks is 9dkh, a little higher but not huge. Usually 8.3/8.4
• Ca is fine 450
• Mag 1290

Nitrate- well ran out of the liquid part of salifert test, lots of powder left though so don't know what they are at.

 

Gonna let alk drop naturally...

If alkalinity is still high after diluting it (to fix salinity), then it was even higher prior to this.  The corals can easily be reacting to the previous alkalinity spike, as well as the current salinity instability.  It might take some time for them to recover.

 

Sounds like you have this going forward.  Good luck.

[Clown79]

11 minutes ago, seabass said:

Good, so no slope miscalibration, as one might suspect.  Now you can save money by calibrating with RO/DI.  Plus, no need for another expensive instrument.

 

If alkalinity is still high after diluting it (to fix salinity), then it was even higher prior to this.  The corals can easily be reacting to the previous alkalinity spike, as well as the current salinity instability.  It might take some time for them to recover.

 

Sounds like you have this going forward.  Good luck.

Thanks so much Seabass. Appreciate the help.

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, squamptonbc said:

 

Only $195 today..ha ha (its like $160 at the local stores though) 

 

Looking at camel camel Amazon hasn't offered it at a good price since 2018 when they had it for $124, average is $175 for the Milwaukee on Amazon.

 

It's the 3rd party sellers that ruin Amazon ca, they list something at an idiotic price, then Amazon jacks their price up to just below the 3rd party sellers.

 

The only time I buy fish stuff on Amazon is if a local store doesn't have it, and I would have to pay shipping from back east, Amazon can be cheaper at that point and faster, but largely their prices are idiotic when it comes to fish stuff, I can often buy off Amazon com pay the exchange difference + shipping fees and still be cheaper than Amazon ca lol

I know, its laughable the prices! $175 for salt. 

[Clown79]

13 minutes ago, seabass said:

Good, so no slope miscalibration, as one might suspect.  Now you can save money by calibrating with RO/DI.  Plus, no need for another expensive instrument.

 

If alkalinity is still high after diluting it (to fix salinity), then it was even higher prior to this.  The corals can easily be reacting to the previous alkalinity spike, as well as the current salinity instability.  It might take some time for them to recover.

 

Sounds like you have this going forward.  Good luck.

I'm a little confused by the alk because my test results have been staying the same although the salinity was clearly higher than normal. I would have expected to see 9-10 dkh with the salinity being at 1.030 but they were 8 ish with my regular 2 time a week tests.

 

Now that the salinity is down to 1.027 it's at 9

 

 

 

 

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, squamptonbc said:

 

I wonder how Sea Chem sells its Nitrogen product for freshwater in Canada ,according to the label its derived from potassium nitrate but maybe the Urea in it makes a difference in how it can be sold, rules in Canada can make the aquarium hobby tough sometimes.

 

Anyhow Aquarium Depot does sell the Brightwell NeoNitro and its in stock according to their website, they are based in Ontario. (not to be confused by a company I believe with the same name in the US.) 

 

ICP testing, I know ATI is available in Canada, but never used it, but seen it on a few of the online vendors websites.

 

Is the Hanna digital salinity tester any good? Its only $99 at least out west its $99, but no idea if its any good, never used it myself and only recently became available locally.

 

 

 

 

Isn't neonitro for reducing nitrates? 

 

I have been seeing mixed reviews on the Hanna pen. I like the price. 

[seabass]

24 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

I'm a little confused by the alk...

Could be testing inconsistencies, maybe reagent problems.  Which test kit are you using again (Hanna)?

[squamptonbc]

49 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

I know, its laughable the prices! $175 for salt. 

 

Amazon salt prices are generally insane, I have seen some okay prices for Fritz but can't compared the usual price since nobody sells it near me,but the other brands on Amazon tend to be a fair chunk more, I saw 10 gallon box of IO on Amazon not long ago for $44, I laugh considering the local saltwater store sells a 50 gallon bag for $18.95 which has gone up a bit but exchange rate sucks so I expect we will be facing higher prices coming our way.

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

Could be testing inconsistencies, maybe reagent problems.  Which test kit are you using again (Hanna)?

Hanna. It was an open and new regent. Alk has tested the same over weeks.

[seabass]

6 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Alk has tested the same over weeks.

That's the problem, as dilution should have dropped it some.  Plus you say that it's currently high, so it was even higher before.

 

IDK, I'm not a Hanna hater (especially their phosphorus and alkalinity checkers), but the alkalinity checker is specified to vary by as much as ±0.3 dKH (or ±5% of the reading). So one result could be 8.5, and another one (performed immediately after) could be 9.0 dKH; and both could theoretically be within the margin of error.

 

Hobby grade kits are only so accurate, and that's if we do things 100% correct.  But they get us in the ballpark, and help us monitor trends.  Again, I'll chalk it up to testing inconsistencies.

 

However, assuming that alkalinity is still high, even after dilution, we might conclude there was previously an unintentional spike (which, along with the salinity swing, might explain the coral issues you are having).  Just try to keep keep things stable and on target, and you should start to see the corals improve over time (assuming that was the issue, and nothing else).

[debbeach13]

8 hours ago, seabass said:

Checked refractometer using rodi, read exactly 0

This is all I ever do. I have never had any calibration fluid. Before I got a refractometer I had a thermometer that floated and it also read the SG. I wish I still had it for a second reference. 

[Ratvan]

3 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

This is all I ever do. I have never had any calibration fluid. Before I got a refractometer I had a thermometer that floated and it also read the SG. I wish I still had it for a second reference. 

Thats what I use

[Clown79]

I check my refractometer with every waterchange and I will be adding an extra step by checking with rodi water too.

 

I just can't trust the calibration fluid anymore. This has happened twice and with different brands.

 

I'm really careful to ensure proper storage with closing the lid right away but that doesn't seem to matter.

 

 

[banasophia]

Yeah... I recently replaced my Milwaukee refractometer because I thought something was wrong with it... turns out it was the calibration fluids that were the issue, not the refractometer. 🤦‍♀️

[Clown79]

5 minutes ago, banasophia said:

Yeah... I recently replaced my Milwaukee refractometer because I thought something was wrong with it... turns out it was the calibration fluids that were the issue, not the refractometer. 🤦‍♀️

I thought my refractometer was going too, nope just the fluid.

 

Lesson learned! A frustrating one that might cost me my fav corals. 

[William]

On 5/10/2020 at 4:18 PM, Clown79 said:

Ammonium chloride dosing for nitrate increasing? 

The ammonia will get converted into nitrate, but it is far from an ideal solution, and one that could potentially be dangerous. 

[squamptonbc]

Would Refine Nitrate & Phosphate Balance help you raise your nitrate?

 

Contains USP Pharmaceutical Grade Potassium Nitrate, RO/DI Water

 

It's available in Canada out here in BC anyhow, but pricey. J&L has it.

[seabass]

Spectracide Stump Remover is potassium nitrate.  However, you should have good access to calcium nitrate.