Levels fluctuating

[iceman86]

I checked the line and everything seems fine.
It can't also be salinity, I got an ATO that kicks in as soon as about a litres of water evaporates.

I wonder if one of my test kits have gone bad and it's giving me bad readings. Can it be caused by calcium or mag actually being too low? My alk kit is faily new and i compared the alk to my old kit and it's only .3dkh difference. The mag is a brand new kit but the calcium is needing replacement soon but still within expiry.

[ReefMadness]

Originally Posted by iceman86

I checked the line and everything seems fine.
It can't also be salinity, I got an ATO that kicks in as soon as about a litres of water evaporates.

I wonder if one of my test kits have gone bad and it's giving me bad readings. Can it be caused by calcium or mag actually being too low? My alk kit is faily new and i compared the alk to my old kit and it's only .3dkh difference. The mag is a brand new kit but the calcium is needing replacement soon but still within expiry.

well i personally won't put that theory to rest.
i tested water regularly but recently switched all my products over to aquaforest product (probiotic salt and their balling method) and wanted to test a little more rigorously so i bought new test kits. against my old salifert test and using the same water sample i'm getting readings of 430 calcium 8.6 kH from my old kits to 500 calcium and 11.8 kH from the new. my corals and livestock look improved at the moment so i'm not going to adjust but it's tough to trust such variance especially when the colors don't appear equal.

[iceman86]

Originally Posted by ReefMadness

well i personally won't put that theory to rest.
i tested water regularly but recently switched all my products over to aquaforest product (probiotic salt and their balling method) and wanted to test a little more rigorously so i bought new test kits. against my old salifert test and using the same water sample i'm getting readings of 430 calcium 8.6 kH from my old kits to 500 calcium and 11.8 kH from the new. my corals and livestock look improved at the moment so i'm not going to adjust but it's tough to trust such variance especially when the colors don't appear equal.

That's quite a difference in test readings!!! Are the new ones also salifert?

[ReefMadness]

yes it was another salifert test and the results are higher across the board with Cal,kH and Mg.

[tang daddy]

Why not try lowering your alk dose....

I test my alk with Hanna vs salifert and the difference can be about .4-7 on the salifert.

But let's say if your alk is at 8 and your dosing 220 ml per day and it's rising why not first try to adjust your doser 6 points belowso 210ml or 214ml per day and see if it stabilizes out. I think salifert is abit higher readings than the Hanna but this could only be for me...

[Cujo#31]

I am by far and away no expert, however I have run a 500 gallon system and if that has taught me anything it's that huge volume system perams are a lot like stopping a fully loaded freighter.........it's a long and painful process. If I were a gambling man I would hedge my bets on testing. I would also stash the salifert kits for back up testing Alk and PO4 and run Hanna. I keep test kits of each on hand just in case as a back up test to check reagent and the likes if I get odd readings, but unless you have a veritable forest of SPS your perams should not swing that badly. Calcium and Mag won't swing too terribly far unless you have the forest of SPS either.
That and you would benefit immensely from a reactor with a system that big. Good luck

[iceman86]

Originally Posted by Cujo#31

I am by far and away no expert, however I have run a 500 gallon system and if that has taught me anything it's that huge volume system perams are a lot like stopping a fully loaded freighter.........it's a long and painful process. If I were a gambling man I would hedge my bets on testing. I would also stash the salifert kits for back up testing Alk and PO4 and run Hanna. I keep test kits of each on hand just in case as a back up test to check reagent and the likes if I get odd readings, but unless you have a veritable forest of SPS your perams should not swing that badly. Calcium and Mag won't swing too terribly far unless you have the forest of SPS either.
That and you would benefit immensely from a reactor with a system that big. Good luck

You make a very good point about the freightliner lol. I pulled out my hanna alk kit and it happened to have a little reagent left so i tested it against my salifert and it gave me the exact reading.