aquarium water testing .com results.

[MikeNapoli]

Got my water tested. A little because I was curious how good my tests were (plus they test things that I don't), and a little because I hate testing myself.

These are the results.


Perameters My Reading Natural Seawater Acceptable Range

Ammonia (NH3-4) - 0.009 Good 0.010 mg/L 0.000-0.050 mg/L
Nitrite (NO2) - 0.005 Good 0.010 mg/L 0.000-0.100 mg/L
Nitrate (NO3) - 0.5 Good 0.050 mg/L 0.000-25 mg/L
Phosphate (PO4) - 0.09 Good 0.030 mg/L 0.000-0.250 mg/L
Silica (SiO2-3) - 1.4 High 0.040 mg/L 0.000-0.500 mg/L
Potassium (K) - 397 Good 390 mg/L 350-450 mg/L
Calcium (Ca) - 497 High 400 mg/L 350-450 mg/L
Boron (B) - 2.3 Low 4.6 mg/L 3.0-6.0 mg/L
Molybdenum (Mo) - 0.1 Good 0.010 mg/L 0.0-0.12 mg/L
Strontium (Sr) - 8.9 Good 8.1 mg/L 5.0-12.0 mg/L
Magnesium (Mg) - 1268 Good 1280 mg/L 1100-1400 mg/L
Iodine (I¯) - 0.04 Good 0.060 mg/L 0.030-0.090 mg/L
Copper (Cu++) - 0.00 Good 0.030 mg/L 0.000-0.030 mg/L
Alkalinity (meq/L) - 2.33 Low 2.5 mg/L 2.5-5.0 meq/L


All in all I was pretty happy. Most of my water was on point.

I highlighted what my issues/problems are.

First was Silica (which I don't test for). It's off the charts. To fix this I got a high silica remover for my RO/DI from Will at A.O.

Next was Calcium which is also High but i'm not really worried about that too much. This is probably causing my other issue with low Alk. I got an Alk buffer from Will as well. Hopefully I can remedy this with just the buffer.

The one issue that I'm not sure how I feel about is the Boron being low. I know the salt I use (Coral Pro) is low in Boron, I read that in the report someone posted months ago. I'm not sure how to add boron to my tank. Not sure I want to either. I read that it's a buffer and helps to keep Calcium and Alk inline.

Anyway. Just wanted to share. I recommend doing the test through this website at least once. If I hadn't done it I would have never fixed my Silica issue and probably would have kept getting worse and worse algae outbreaks.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Mike, are you sure you silica problem is coming from your water? Did you test your water to know that is the source? My first guess for a source would be the sand you are using or the salt. My two cents!

 

[MikeNapoli]

Yeah I used playsand from home depot in the begining of the tank but that was over a year and a half ago.

Does the sand release silicate forever or does it run out eventually?

Not sure how it works. I figure that it was originally from the sand but I didn't help it along by having the proper filter on my RODI.

I didn't check my RO water but the next test I send in will be after a few water changes and if the Silca count doesn't go down then i'll know it's the sand and not my water.

Thanks for the input.

 

[redfishbluefish]

It’s the sand!  One major difference between play sand and overpriced aquarium sand is the silica content.

Silica from your tap typically runs from a few parts per million up to a high of around 100 ppm…dependent on the source.  Realize there is no government standard for silica in tap water.  Your standard RO unit will remove…pick a number…85% of the silica.  That’s leaving you with some pretty clean water.  I’m up to four cents! 

EDITED to add: If all has been happy in the tank since you’ve started it up, I’m sure the number will continue to slowly drop with time and continued water changes.

 

[Phyl]

I found THIS interesting.

I wish they w/could test for DOC...

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

I found THIS interesting.

I wish they w/could test for DOC...

That was very interesting Phyl. Raised my eyebrows a couple of times and a few questions in my mind.
Thanks for the link

 

[JohnS_323]

We ordered our kit. I'll post our results when we get them. Gulp!

 

[redfishbluefish]

I found THIS interesting.

I wish they w/could test for DOC...

Wow Phyl…great article. I retract what I said earlier….it’s your salt (and maybe with a little sand effect). Of the thirteen salts they tested, only one (Coralife), was below the “standard” for silica? All the rest were above the acceptable level for silica. My next question is who developed the standard for aquariums at 0.000-0.500 mg/L…does this have a meaning to quality of life in the tank? As a chemist/biologist, I find this stuff real interesting. My only concern with the article is that they did not include a control (this is high school stuff), which should have been their water!

Also, although some of the numbers were not statistically significant, it still is interesting that many salts differ considerable in a “quantity” of additives they contain….sort of scary…who has the BEST salt (and other goodies not mentioned)? WHAT SALT SHOULD I BUY??? Now I don’t know. I wish I didn’t read this article…the ostrich effect (If I can’t see it, it’s not happening).

 

[redfishbluefish]

We ordered our kit.  I'll post our results when we get them.  Gulp!

According to the article, unless you are using Coralife salt, your silica numbers will be high.  Let's wait and see...and let us know whos salt you use.

 

[JohnS_323]

We ordered our kit. I'll post our results when we get them. Gulp!

According to the article, unless you are using Coralife salt, your silica numbers will be high.

I'm just curious to see how accurate my test kits are. My big concern is that I'm thinking everything is fine and I find out my Nitrates are 150, my Ca is 310 and my Alk 6. I'll run a full battery of tests on the sample I send to see how well my kits and technique compares to their numbers.

 

[MikeNapoli]

I always thought this website was a bunch of college kids with Salifert test kits and basically robbing the Aquarium hobbiests but after I got the results i'm pretty sure it's legit.

The kits come pretty quick and they are all prepaid as far as postage. And I suggest sending them out on a monday so the weekend doesn't effect how long you have to wait. If they get it by Wed, you'll have your results by Thursday.

Anyway, i'm looking foward to see your results john. Good luck.

 

[stcreef]

Over on RC there was a few big threads about this testing company. Randy goes into depth about their testing methodologies and how a few of their tests are not as accurate and not the best method as they can be. If I am not mistaken, I think silica was one of them (I may be mistaken on this one). I will try to dig up a link for ya.

 

[NJ_ychung1]

hello. sorry to hijack this post but i'm curious. why is silica considered bad? can anyone tell me? I also started with playsand and have had pretty good success this year with softies mainly and some lps. i also have some brown algae that doesn't seem to clear from the sand bed. is this the main symptom of high levels of silica in the water? what else (problems) does silica cause. if it's just minor brown algae it's more of an aesthetics problem eh? i'm curious if this is causing other problems that i'm unaware of.


thx

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

the "brown algea" is diatoms, and are from the silica in the play sand... so your assumptions are correct

 

[NJ_ychung1]

any other bad things that can happen from silica or just brown algae. also, does brown algae when covering LR, prevent other corals from growing.... sort of as an inhibitor to coral growths???

also, can i use carbon media to remove silica or do i need a better way

 

[daveh285]

These Results just in,

I have Been using Red Sea Coral Pro, Past two five gallon buckets.
Trying Reef Crystals now, five gallon bucket.

12.04.08
Water Test Summary
Ammonia (NH3-4) ......Good ...... 0.007
Nitrite (NO2).........Good ...... 0.011
Nitrate (NO3).........Good .......1.7
Phosphate (PO4) ......Good ...... 0.14
Silica (SiO2-3) ..... High........0.9
Potassium (K) ........Good ...... 413
Calcium (Ca)......... High ...... 626
Boron (B) ............Low.........2.8
Molybdenum (Mo)...... High........0.2
Strontium (Sr) .......Good .......8.7
Magnesium (Mg) .......Good ..... 1200
Iodine (I¯)...........Good ...... 0.03
Copper (Cu++) ........Good ...... 0.01
Alkalinity (meq/L)....Good ...... 2.89

95 gal wave
30 gal sump, out in garage reversed light cycle.
HOB refugium
RO/DI water
1"-2" Red Sea Reef base in tank
2"-3" Reef base/live sand mix in sump
My PH runs a consistant 8.3-8.4

Tom, see why I traded my Calcium reactor?? :
Wheres all this calcium coming from?
15 gal water change every two weeks.
My silica is almost identical to the results tested for Coral Pro(0.08)!

 

[MikeNapoli]

I was using RedSea Coral Pro as well and got similar results with Boron, Silica, and Calcium.

I have a ton of SPS so my Calcium is probably getting used more often. And I do 20% change every week.

My silica is higher because of the play sand i guess.

Not sure why my ALK was low though.

 

[daveh285]

I just remembered that occasionally I add SeaLab #28 to my sump but not regularly, When I would notice it desolved I would put in another cube, I am going to hold off on this and see if the calcium goes down. Any one know where to get Sera Silicate Remover? ???

 

[JohnS_323]

We use Red Sea Coral Pro too. I ran a bank of tests the other night and got these results:

Alk 10.6
Mg 1300
Ca 390
Sil 0.50
PO4 0.09
NO3 0.00

I just got the kit from AWT.com. I'll send out a sample Monday and see what they come up with.

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

i like the sound of this site... i wanna get the full battery of tests to start off, then maybe get the basic nessecities done bi weekly. was thinking the following, and suggestions would be appreciated.
nitrates
nitrites
phosphates
calcium
magnesium