Hanna test results

[pepperjack]

ok, just got my new hanna and started running phos test.
discharge from phos reactor .01
aquarium .02
RO water holding tank (0-tds) .00
salt mixing tank (using IO RC) .20


Is this normal for that salt? Anyone else getting high numbers like that? Don't know if i should throw out the IO RC and go back to red sea coral pro.
Kinda hate to do a water change with those high readings.

 

[Scooterman]

You might be surprised how much you will find in others salts, IO is one of the lowest!

 

[trido]

You might be surprised how much you will find in others salts, IO is one of the lowest!

Yep, We cant fill our oceans with fertilizers and dish soap and not expect the salt we get from it to be free of impurities.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...Don't know if i should throw out the IO RC and go back to red sea coral pro.
Kinda hate to do a water change with those high readings.

The real question is... are you having any issues with your tank? I mean, if all is well, then why change?

Seems like this happens a lot when we either change brands of test kits, or switch over to electronic testing. Before, we think our water is just fine because everything reads "0". Then we get a different way of testing, and literally overnight our water is not as pristine as we'd thought. Nothing's changed with the water, just our testing. So does that mean we have to run out and try to take out that last ten thousandths of whatever out of the water? Or does it just mean we have a better understanding of what's in our tank, and adjust to the new norm?

If it ain't broke... don't fix it.

 

[pepperjack]

Thanks scooter, i didn't realize all salts were so high in phos. The lable says 0 phos.

Kurt, the answer is... I am having issues with my tank. Algae. Added a phos reactor about a month ago and it seems it might be helping. My other kits showed 0 phos on everything but the hanna showed me different. It also showed me the importance of a phos reactor and where the phos was comming from. Won't the phos keep building without a reactor? Not good for SPS.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

OK... didn't know if you were having problems, or just wanted "0" phosphates. Even though all salts have some measurable phosphates in them, that number for IO seems kinda high.

Yeah... you're right - if you keep doing water changes with 0.2ppm PO4 water, then you're going to accumulate them... kinda. Algae will consume it, so in reality it won't really accumulate! But then you didn't want the algae to start with, right!

 

[pepperjack]

I'm considering adding a phos reactor to the mixing tank. Anyone else doing that? Kinda makes sense to remove the phos before putting it in the tank then trying to remove it. I would still have a reactor in the tank to take care of the phos from the light feeding i do. Ok, is this an overkill? I have 12 new sps frags and trying to keep things in check. What do you guys think?

 

[Scooterman]

IMO overkill, just keep your tank up to snuff & the corals should be fine!

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

The way I look at it is that there are a TON of folks using IO successfully, with gorgeous tanks. Pretty sure none of them run PO4 reactors on their SW holding tanks. So they're all in the same boat as you. I see where you're coming from, but agree with Scooterman... seems like overkill.

Since the PO4 tester is brand new, I assume it's calibrated, but did you double check the calibration to be sure? That just seems high for IO, or any salt for that matter.

Not sure if you've seen this report...

http://www.aquariumwatertesting.com/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf

... but it lists some PO4 quantities for various salts. You'll see they either buggered up one of the tests on IO, or they got an inconsistent batch. Not going to get into the issues about this report (search this and other forums for the umpteen pages of discussion) but at least it gives you some ballparks of what you might expect.

 

[Skeptic9962]

wow if those results are acurate with IO nitrates on it is really high...is that what im seeing....:shock:

 

[-=dieseldave=-]

I tested a mixed batch of Reef Crystals after reading this thread. The test came back < .03
That's also as low as that test kit goes(Salifert) Its definently no HANA calorimeter. Have you double checked your tests an procedures for the test. .2 ppm po4 is a big deal for a reef salt and should not be used.

 

[pepperjack]

Ok guys, just got through checking the mixing tank. Still came up with .2 re-ran test with same results, .2 ... At this time the mixing tank has about 12gal or 1/3 full. I noticed a dark film coat on the inside wall, ran my finger across it and couldn't believe at how dirty it was. It's a black tub and never really noticed. Been using that tub for about 5yrs. Anyway, i decided to mix a small batch of saltwater in a clean 1/2 gal jug. Gave it a lil time, got it dead on 1.026, checked phos and this time got .01..., ran another test, same thing, .01... guess i'll be cleaning that tub this weekend, better yet, a good time to upgrade to a new 50gal. So in reality I.O. R.C DOES have a low phos. Sorry for the confusion however you guys might want to check your mix tanks : )

 

[pepperjack]

Now that i think about it, 5yrs ago we had fish only and didn't have a r/o unit. Over the yrs we up-graded to a 6-stage unit but obviously that tub had collected alot of phos before that.,,,hmmm,,don't know,,glad i found the culprit though