trying to teach myself water testing

[DirtinLa]

how to read kh

I'm comparing my tank water to a fresh reef crystal mix to see if i'm reading my results correctly

tank mg 800 reef 1250
ca 480 reef 480
kh 135 reef 114

what's confusing me is mg and ca are within reef crystal parameters

kh says should be 420 what am I missing here why so far off?

as always thanx in advance

Fred

 

[KrisReef]

dKh, What test kit do you have? There a number of different units that these kits will report in, not sure what you have?

 

[DirtinLa]

mg/l caco

 

[DirtinLa]

mg/l caco

No way to edit thread title?

Feeling stupid tech=teach

Also result is 1= 17 mg/l caco

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

No way to edit thread title?

Feeling stupid tech=teach

Reach out to a moderator...
@Peace River , can you help?

 

[KrisReef]

Yeah, I was struggling to remember the numbers, stole a chart

dKH	meq/l	ppm CaCO3
0	0	0
0.5	0.18	8.9
1.0	0.36	17.9
1.5	0.54	26.8
2.0	0.71	35.7
2.5	0.89	44.6
3.0	1.07	53.6
3.5	1.25	62.5
4.0	1.43	71.4
4.5	1.61	80.4
5.0	1.79	89.3
5.5	1.96	98.2
6.0	2.14	107.1
6.5	2.32	116.1
7.0	2.50	125.0
7.5	2.68	133.9
8.0	2.86	142.9
8.5	3.04	151.8
9.0	3.21	160.7
9.5	3.39	169.6
10.0	3.57	178.6
10.5	3.75	187.5
11.0	3.93	196.4

I hit the report button to request help re the TYPO, hpppens to me just now,,,..

 

[KrisReef]

Looking on line, the following quote re: Reef Crystals:
"

About this item​

• Contains essential ocean reef elements in concentrations greater than those found in natural sea water
• Recommended specific gravity range – 1.020-1.026 at 77ᵒ F | Note – 1.4 lbs. of Reef Crystals is formulated to create 5 gallons of saltwater at a specific gravity of 1.021
• Our marine salt will typically set the pH of a tank between 8.0 and 8.3 while it produces between 7 and 10 dKH

"

So it looks like the salt is mixing up to specs. If you are using a large bucket it is recommended that you mix (shake) the bucket before you open it to "unsettle" it so that it mixes more evenly. I have seen some salt mixes that I could pic the mag flake out of the salt mixture, it was much larger chunks than the other salts.

 

[DirtinLa]

Thanx for the help!