Death to all hard corals in my tank?

[ac7av]

How much salt to add per day?

How much salt should I try to add per day for the .001 increase? So far it’s been a few days but the levels have not changes a measurable amount with 4 cups. I’m a bad judge of how much to put in the tank but I think at this point it will be a month or more to get the levels up. Not that that’s a bad thing, I would just like to get it up and holding a bit to get the other levels in check before trying again. I have approximately 230 gallons of water.
Thanks.

 

[thatguy559]

mix new water with the desired salinity and use that as your top off until you reach your salinity level

 

[ac7av]

mix new water with the desired salinity and use that as your top off until you reach your salinity level

I check the salinity of what I was topping off after talking to you the other night and it was almost perfect. I think after measuring the top off water and volume I am actually using in a day it is less then 2 gallons, not as much as I thought it was. After almost a week I think the levels are up only .0005.

 

[bigblue141]

Do some water changes and mix your new water a little bit higher until you reach 1.025. If you have any toxins in your water this will also help remove them and will replace trace elements that are getting used up.

I too am having the same coraline problem. I only have olive drab green (When I left in Sept.) I had tons of purples, pinks, and bright greens when it was all in my 75.

 

[thatguy559]

are you using a refractometer or a hydrometer

 

[Brie]

are you using a refractometer or a hydrometer

+1 to this question, I was about to ask the same thing. The swing arm hydrometers are invariably 2-3 points off. So I.E. even if you are testing at 1.020 it may actually be 1.017(bad bad bad). Definitely spring for a refractometer. And if using a refractometer, make sure its been calibrated recently.

 

[ac7av]

Yes I have one and as far as I can tell it’s calibrated but I just use ro water to calibrate it. It reads the same as the instant ocean hydrometer I got years ago. I would think between the two of them even if I average it, it really has just not much of a change yet. Last couple of days I’ve been doubling the dose and the currant reading is 1.0218, so making some head way on it now.

What is everyone’s opinion on the optimal salinity levels to have in a coral tank? I’ve read people having everything up to 1.029 but is insane or what?

 

[trido]

1.024-1.026 is optimal.
Ive had my salinity as low as 1.021 and as high as 1.031 without death but this was in a well established SPS dominated tank and the changes occured slowly due to my negligence. I always corrected offsets over a period of a week.

 

[NC2WA]

+1 to what Trido says.

Personally, 1.026 is the highest I've ever had in a tank. Right now I'm about 1.023/4

 

[thatguy559]

i got mine at 1.026 no issues....also i calibrate my refractometer with distilled water called for it in the instructions it came with. i dont think r/o is a suitable calibration fluid

 

[NC2WA]

just curious on why you feel distilled water is better to use than RO water?

 

[thatguy559]

well my refractometer said to calibrate with distilled water. i didnt say it was better. simply stating that mine said to use distilled water. i have heard of people using ro water and their calibration is off

 

[NC2WA]

ok..sorry I inferred incorrectly.

 

[thatguy559]

no worries

 

[vinny2261]

I would also like to add that you can test the water your frags are arriving in to compare conditions of what they are actually surviving in and what your conditions are. Hard corals also prefer more flow in thier system. But I agree that your parameters need to be adjusted and start with a couple of easy cheaper corals first. Maybe a friend can help out.

 

[ac7av]

Okay so I tested the water again today and looks like I’m making some headway. If my estimations are correct this next weekend I should be where I want it and since it’s the 1st of the month I will be doing a water change using the higher salinity level.

My questions today is about the test kits. What is the best kits to buy for the calcium, magnesium and alkalinity? Now I know everyone has an opinion on who has the best kit but if it’s so complicated I can’t figure it out or get a consistent reading with it what good is it. I guess the better question is what’s the best easiest kit to get?

 

[FreakinReefin]

Okay so I tested the water again today and looks like I’m making some headway. If my estimations are correct this next weekend I should be where I want it and since it’s the 1st of the month I will be doing a water change using the higher salinity level.

My questions today is about the test kits. What is the best kits to buy for the calcium, magnesium and alkalinity? Now I know everyone has an opinion on who has the best kit but if it’s so complicated I can’t figure it out or get a consistent reading with it what good is it. I guess the better question is what’s the best easiest kit to get?

Honestly, I have API, Salifert and Elos kits for dKh and I find the API to just be easier to use. It may not be the most accurate...but it is close enough for what I need. The Elos is okay...but you have to use twice the amount of reagent to get a reading. With Salifert you have to use a syringe and work packwards against the amount that you have used to get your reading. These are not bad, just more effort.

Calcium, I also use API. They are just easier to use, but again...not as accurate.

 

[ac7av]

That was my problem with the red sea magnesium test kit as well. It’s almost like your work backwards to get the results and the tube and syringe measurements just kill me in the accuracy department because Its just to complicated, too many measurements for the same test.

 

[ac7av]

I think then I will just stick with the API kits I have for most of the stuff. I couldn’t get an API for the magnesium test. Maybe they don’t make one. Any recommendations on an easer to use test kit for that then the red sea?

 

[FreakinReefin]

I think then I will just stick with the API kits I have for most of the stuff. I couldn’t get an API for the magnesium test. Maybe they don’t make one. Any recommendations on an easer to use test kit for that then the red sea?

I've never used the Red Sea, however Magnesium is not an easy test to do. I have a Seachem test kit which requires you to drip into different vials through a cotton filter and all kinds of weird stuff. One of the most time consuming and PITA tests to do.