[turboTSI]

Well I tested the water in my 30g tonight and these are the readings...

High Range PH: 7.8

Amonia: .25

trItes: 0

trAtes: 160 MAXED OUT CHART!!!

ok what do I do to get my trAtes down.. I heard that the bio-wheels can cause this is this true.. if so should I remove them??

I was also thinking about removing one of my filter pads and adding some new Ehim Substrat in one side of the 440

what should I do to remove them...

also I tested my SAL and I think my hydrometer may be bad.. I tested tap water (no salt) and it read 1.032... I tested my tank (salt tank) and it read 1.032 so I was curious if u guys think I need to "re-season" the hydrometer or if u think it is broken (I have not used it in a long time)

also another question.. I do 5g waterchanges usually every sunday (once and a while I skip a week)... anywho I sometimes dont take out 5 gal due to evaporation... shoudl I only be adding the amount of salt to the amount of water I REMOVE.. or if I am adding 5g at a waterchange I should be adding 5g worth of salt????

Dave

[Reefland]

Dave,

It sounds like you need some real help here.

First of all, yes ditch this hydrometer and pick up a new one. When you do pick it up before you leave the store have the store verify hydrometer reading with a refractometer. Hydrometers are not the most accurate but they are consistent so if you can get an idea of where it compares to a refractometer, you'll be able to get a good reading with it.

Secondly, you should only add 5g of saltwater when you remove 5g of saltwater. In between these water changes, you should be adding fresh top off water to keep your water level and salinity consistent. If occasionally you add 5g of saltwater to make up for evaporation, your salinity is going to rise to fatal levels.

[turboTSI]

damn thats what I thought... and what about my trAtes


Dave

[charlie]

How old is your tank, and what do you have in there. If you do have fish in there, it sounds like you are feeding way to much.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by turboTSI

Well I tested the water in my 30g tonight and these are the readings...

High Range PH: 7.8

Your goal here should be to maintain your pH between 8.0-8.4; 7.8 is a bit too low unless that reading was taken early in the morning but even then you would want it to be at least 7.9.

Amonia: .25

This should be undetectable. However, most hobby ammonia test kits are quite unreliable. You needn't bother testing for ammonia if you are testing for nitrites and nitrates and those are both normal.

trAtes: 160 MAXED OUT CHART!!!

For a FOWLR tank, you would want to get your nitrate reading down to at least 40 ppm. For a reef tank, your goal should be to get nitrate down below 10 ppm.

also I tested my SAL and I think my hydrometer may be bad.. I tested tap water (no salt) and it read 1.032... I tested my tank (salt tank) and it read 1.032

It is impossible to get a reading of 1.032 specific gravity on your tapwater. The tapwater should read very close to 1.000 (pure freshwater would read 1.000). If your specific gravity is really 1.032 in your aquarium, it's TOO HIGH! Bring it down around 1.025-1.026.

also another question.. I do 5g waterchanges usually every sunday (once and a while I skip a week)... anywho I sometimes dont take out 5 gal due to evaporation...

This is the cause of your high specific gravity. All evaporation should be replaced with freshwater (preferably R.O./D.I. water). You may want to use limewater (Kalkwasser) for part or all of your evaporation replacement depending on your calcium and alkalinity test results.

shoudl I only be adding the amount of salt to the amount of water I REMOVE.. or if I am adding 5g at a waterchange I should be adding 5g worth of salt????

To perform a 5-gal water change you would first mix up a 5-gal batch of artificial saltwater AT LEAST 24 hours before. It would be better to mix it up three or four days before. Then after your new saltwater has been aerated and aged for at least 24 hours, you would remove exactly 5 gallons of tank water and replace it with exactly 5 gallons of new saltwater.

[ick sucks]

to really help on those pollutants i would get some plants in there(real one of course). maybee get a refugium and shine a bright light over top of them, in my opinion this should eliminate the pollution.

you ph is probably low because of the pollution. nitrates and ammonia are foms of acids;hence the low ph. if you get some plants it should help alot.

[turboTSI]

this tank houses a 10-12" snowflake eel, and a 1.5" Volitan.. (yes they will both be moved to a 125g in the next couple months)..

anywho I only feed one cube of mysis a day and my eel eats that the lion has not adapted to it yet and has only had ghost shrimp as of yet. 1 every 3-4 days...

I got some 8.3 buffer I will use tommorow after I do my waterchange.... (I have to get some salt)

now as for the rest.. I will look into it more.. THX alot guys

Dave