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Water Parameters

arvin

NJRC Member
Hello all,

I am back, again. After a not-so-brief hiatus owing to few different reasons, I am trying to get back active in the hobby. Due to lack of time, I kept the tank running in low maintenance mode and I intend to get back from where I left off.

It is nice to see veterans of the club to be on top of their game and also several new voices. Glad to be back in the fold! I am planning to be in next week's meeting and catchup. In the meantime...

I would like to start with some water testing. Got my water tested from aquariumwatertesting.com couple of months ago and below are the results.

Ammonia (NH3-4) ........................Good ......................................... 0.006
Nitrite (NO2)................................Good ......................................... 0.004
Nitrate (NO3)...............................Good .............................................4.2
Phosphate (PO4) ..........................Good ........................................... 0.16
Silica (SiO2-3) ............................. High..............................................0.9
Potassium (K) ...............................Low............................................. 234
Calcium (Ca)................................Good ............................................ 401
Boron (B) ....................................Good .............................................4.4
Molybdenum (Mo).........................Good .............................................0.1
Strontium (Sr) .............................Good .............................................9.3
Magnesium (Mg) ..........................Good .......................................... 1250
Iodine (I¯)...................................Good ........................................... 0.08
Copper (Cu++) ............................Good ........................................... 0.02
Alkalinity (meq/L).........................Good ........................................... 3.16

I changed all the filters in the RO/DI after the test. Hopefully the silica is much better right now.

The only problem right now is that I see tiny reddish brown spots on almost all the rocks. I do get this once in a while and stays on for some time and goes away. It is no so much bothersome except that it worries me that this could be a sign of bigger issues.

Although, my tank has been largely incident-free for over a year, I haven't been much successful in keeping corals in this tank. Even the hardiest ones. Apart from due diligence, where else should I make adjustments in order to be able to keep and raise some good corals?

Here is a brief summary of my setup:

72g bowfront display. Sump & Fuge in the basement with total water volume of 200+. Water circulates 24/7. Two #3 Koralias to supplement water movement. Water changes about 10% every month during the past year. From now on it will be much more frequent. I use Reef Crystals salt. No major algae issues.

Pl. ask if I missed any other detail. Thank you in advance for all the help.
 

arvin

NJRC Member
I have this RO/DI unit and I always had doubts if it is hooked up right. Can someone confirm?

This is a cheap knock off from ebay, but have worked well for me.
 
What type of lighting and what type of corals have you lost? To me the PO4 looks to be high which would inhibit calcification. Also the copper seems high as well but I'm not really sure since I've never tested for it.
 

arvin

NJRC Member
I had toadstool, frogspawn, yellow leather, mushrooms & some zoas. The lighting I have is MH.

Thank you.
 
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