My first Triton water test (1 Viewer)

[webster1234]

Ok, got my first water test results today. Maybe Diesel can help decipher the results. My total tank water volume is around 300g after LR is taken into consideration. I don't dose anything and occasionally run GFO and carbon. Tank is heavily stocked and fed 2x/day. I took the GFO and carbon off line one month prior to see how my tank looks on water changes alone, which are about 15% weekly. Use Red Sea Coral Pro at 1.025sg.

Goal is to determine:

1. if I feed too much (have about 50 fish)
2. could I support an occasional SPS (currently have none, only LPS/softies); haven't had luck with SPS in the past
3. is my lack of success with SPS a result of nutrients or lighting (currently running Mitra LED's)
4. do I need to be dosing anything?
5. is my current salt mix sufficient?

Here are the results:

 

[jhill9]

Cool stuff. I can't wait to get my results. I am no expert so count me out on advice.

 

[Diesel]

Ok, got my first water test results today. Maybe Diesel can help decipher the results. My total tank water volume is around 300g after LR is taken into consideration. I don't dose anything and occasionally run GFO and carbon. Tank is heavily stocked and fed 2x/day. I took the GFO and carbon off line one month prior to see how my tank looks on water changes alone, which are about 15% weekly. Use Red Sea Coral Pro at 1.025sg.

Goal is to determine:

1. if I feed too much (have about 50 fish)
2. could I support an occasional SPS (currently have none, only LPS/softies); haven't had luck with SPS in the past
3. is my lack of success with SPS a result of nutrients or lighting (currently running Mitra LED's)
4. do I need to be dosing anything?
5. is my current salt mix sufficient?

Here are the results:

1. 50 fish is a bit on the high count but with the right filtration and weekly WC you should be ok.
Maybe getting rid of some will work.
Can you make a list for what fishies you all have?

2. As you results you can have easily some common SPS, just bring your PO4 down a bit 0,1 should be good more is better but not lower than 0.06.

3. It can be not sure, Mitra's are not bad but maybe some support from T5 would work wonders.

4. With SPS you always on a dosing schedule, so far you are ok looking to the 3 majors we can test for our self as in ALK, CAL and MAG.
Triton can not test for ALK as you noticed it's not on the sheet, Cal is a little over the 450 mark we all like to be on but not crazy high, your mag should be good some ppl like to have that close to 1450.
What is your ALK and which test kit you using?

5. Before I was using I mixed too with the RS pro, salt is good for your tank if you go onto a ULNS you want to bring your Alk donw to 7.5 but in your case it's fine as of now.

Questions for you, what skimmer you using?
Do you feed your corals or you do only fish food and how many times a day you feed, what kind of food?
What is your photo period?
What kind of flow you have through out your tank?
Any ideas about PAR through out your tank?
What is your PH at and is it steady?

 

[flipside]

Thanks for sharing, dude. You got some sexy water.

 

[webster1234]

ok, here is a list of fish:
9 Lyretail Anthias (2.5")
2 Twin spot Anthias (4")
9 Black Axil Chromis (3")
8 Bangai Cardinal (2.5")
1 Neon Dottyback (3")
1 Flame hawk (1.5"
1 LG male Naso (8")
1 MED female (4")
1 Blue Hippo Tang (7")
1 Blue Jaw Trigger (6")
1 LG purple tang (4")
1 LG yellow tang (4")
4 MED yellow tang (3")
1 Achilles tang (4")

Alk is 7.5 KH using Elos test kit

Using SRO XP-5000 skimmer

only feed fish, not corals

Feed fish NLS pellets and PE Mysis twice daily. 2 sheet algae 1x daily

Photo period ramps up at 8am and down at 8pm (probably 9 hrs daylight)

flow is moderate (not strong but very little dead areas). Have it dialed back for LPS

pH is steady at 8.2 according to profilux graph

PAR is 175 surface, 110 middle, and 80 at sand bed (LED's). I have experimented with turning them up but corals don't seem to like it.

 

[Diesel]

ok, here is a list of fish:
9 Lyretail Anthias (2.5")
2 Twin spot Anthias (4")
9 Black Axil Chromis (3")
8 Bangai Cardinal (2.5")
1 Neon Dottyback (3")
1 Flame hawk (1.5"
1 LG male Naso (8")
1 MED female (4")
1 Blue Hippo Tang (7")
1 Blue Jaw Trigger (6")
1 LG purple tang (4")
1 LG yellow tang (4")
4 MED yellow tang (3")
1 Achilles tang (4")

Alk is 7.5 KH using Elos test kit

Using SRO XP-5000 skimmer

only feed fish, not corals

Feed fish NLS pellets and PE Mysis twice daily. 2 sheet algae 1x daily

Photo period ramps up at 8am and down at 8pm (probably 9 hrs daylight)

flow is moderate (not strong but very little dead areas). Have it dialed back for LPS

pH is steady at 8.2 according to profilux graph

PAR is 175 surface, 110 middle, and 80 at sand bed (LED's). I have experimented with turning them up but corals don't seem to like it.

I think your ALK is a little low if you wanna do SPS, 8.5 should be better when you start.
Your PAR is good for softies and LPS but for SPS you need to be higher.
Here some # you can hold on of course you need to monitor your corals and corals that you have currently probably need to brought down a bit.

Low Light - mushrooms, zooanthids and other soft corals - 50/100
Medium Light - Zooanthids, LPS, Clams, some SPS - 100/200
High Light - Acropora, Monti's SPS - 200/500
Very High Light - Very few SPS but there are some - 600/1000

These are "generic minimum guidelines" of course you need to find out where corals are happy.
You start low for SPS and move them up till you find them the spot they like, this can take some weeks to find out but better save than sorry.

 

[Reefahholic]

I had my SPS mid tank and they were thriving. Moved them up high and the LED's just about killed them all. It bleached them bad because I wasn't home for a few days and couldn't tell from the dropcam. Moved them back mid tank and they recovered. The Acro I had did very well for long time with best polyp extension. When I upgraded, he did not do well and ended up dying. Sucked because I liked that particular frag. Ohh well, I'll be back in the saddle soon.

 

[webster1234]

Low Light - mushrooms, zooanthids and other soft corals - 50/100
Medium Light - Zooanthids, LPS, Clams, some SPS - 100/200
High Light - Acropora, Monti's SPS - 200/500
Very High Light - Very few SPS but there are some - 600/1000

I have heard that PAR for LED's should be lower that PAR for T5/MH. Something about LED's needing to be measured in PUR (which is the usable spectrum)? Is this true? Because of the different bulbs I guess? It seems that if I crank these LED's up higher, my corals get very unhappy. I've been thinking about using these in place of MH and adding T5's to my tank.

Also, that test shows my PO4 at 0.008mg/L. Is that the same as .08 on the Hanna Checker?