Can someone please help a first timer with their first ATI results?

olonmv

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Hi all! just received my first ATI test results and I was hoping that someone could give me a hand deciphering them. Not sure how bad they are. Screen Shot 2021-07-31 at 2.55.09 PM.png Screen Shot 2021-07-31 at 2.56.04 PM.png
 

rtparty

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They're pretty bad. What salt are you using? How often are you changing water? How are you measuring salinity?
 
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olonmv

olonmv

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I’ve since brought my salinity up to 1.026 (it got low with all the water I’ve pulled out to do testing). Did a 2 gallon water change and started dosing calcium because, according to my Red Sea and Hanna calcium tests it was low. These were the recommendations made by ATI.
F1672A89-BB0D-4EFE-8DCB-507FCEA7A835.jpeg
 
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olonmv

olonmv

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They're pretty bad. What salt are you using? How often are you changing water? How are your leaving salinity?
Red Sea salt. Water changes are usually about 20% every week but longest was less than a month in between (when tank was fallow). I usually have salinity at 1.026 and use a refractometer but had done a ton of testing right before sending off samples. The day I took samples my DKH was at 8.9 my calcium was at 380 and salinity was 1.021.
 
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rtparty

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Red Sea salt. Water changes are usually about 20% every week but longest was less than a month in between (when tank was fallow). I usually have salinity at 1.026 and use a refractometer but had done a ton of testing right before sending off samples. The day I took samples my DKH was at 8.9 my calcium was at 380 and salinity was 1.021.
Some of your low parameters can be attributed to salinity being low. I'd be double checking every pump and magnet to see where tin and zinc are coming from.

Phosphates are super high as well
 
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olonmv

olonmv

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Some of your low parameters can be attributed to salinity being low. I'd be double checking every pump and magnet to see where tin and zinc are coming from.

Phosphates are super high as well
When checking magnets and pumps, what is it that I’m looking for? Rust? The funny part is that my phosphates are within range according to my phosphate tests. I use Red Sea for phosphate. I don’t understand the super high read out when the sample that was sent was reading it at .08…….as of yesterday it was .05ish. Is phosphorus and phosphate the same thing because, I search phosphorus and just get phosphate results? Also have read that low iodine isn’t a huge concern.
 

rtparty

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When checking magnets and pumps, what is it that I’m looking for? Rust? The funny part is that my phosphates are within range according to my phosphate tests. I use Red Sea for phosphate. I don’t understand the super high read out when the sample that was sent was reading it at .08…….as of yesterday it was .05ish. Is phosphorus and phosphate the same thing because, I search phosphorus and just get phosphate results? Also have read that low iodine isn’t a huge concern.

Yeah looking for any rust. Any metal clamps on any plumbing?

There is some debate on the accuracy of ICP and phosphate but so far my ICP testing is pretty close my Hanna. I trust ICP more than the hobby grade kits we have.

I follow the Reef Moonshiners method and iodine is dosed daily. I've never had better success in my 16 years of reefing than I have now.
 

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When checking magnets and pumps, what is it that I’m looking for? Rust? The funny part is that my phosphates are within range according to my phosphate tests. I use Red Sea for phosphate. I don’t understand the super high read out when the sample that was sent was reading it at .08…….as of yesterday it was .05ish. Is phosphorus and phosphate the same thing because, I search phosphorus and just get phosphate results? Also have read that low iodine isn’t a huge concern.
Hi, I have had trouble with Red Sea phosphate test kit but your icp says 0.8 not 0.08. Either Your icp p04 result it horribly wrong or phosphate is really really high. Phosphate is definitely more of a problem at lower levels but 0.8 is high. Do you have algae or a photo? Also I’m not sure why they are recommending calcium at 340? Most all reefers I know run minimum of 400.
 
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olonmv

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Yeah looking for any rust. Any metal clamps on any plumbing?

There is some debate on the accuracy of ICP and phosphate but so far my ICP testing is pretty close my Hanna. I trust ICP more than the hobby grade kits we have.

I follow the Reef Moonshiners method and iodine is dosed daily. I've never had better success in my 16 years of reefing than I have now.
Got it. I’m gonna do a water change and clean of the tank today I’ll look but, mostly everything is stock in my evo 13.5 except the green machine uv sterilizer. I’ve been using Red Sea test for a while now and have gotten it down from .8 to .04 and have maintained that level(ish) for a while now. I may have a bad test kit but I would have never guessed my phos was .8 but I can’t rule it out.

I read mixed opinions on the benefits of iodine .
 
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olonmv

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Hi, I have had trouble with Red Sea phosphate test kit but your icp says 0.8 not 0.08. Either Your icp p04 result it horribly wrong or phosphate is really really high. Phosphate is definitely more of a problem at lower levels but 0.8 is high. Do you have algae or a photo? Also I’m not sure why they are recommending calcium at 340? Most all reefers I know run minimum of 400.
I may have a bad test kit. But highest I’ve read since I’ve started testing for pho’s was .8 I’ve since been down to as of yesterday at .04. I’m having a bit of an issue but nothing crazy. This is a pic of my tank with my sample water parameters. I feed super heavy because I have a mandarin that I’m trying to fatten up like a sausage because people on here scared the poo outta me, saying he was in his deathbed. He eats about 3 times a day frozen mysis and brine as does the rest of the tank. F30C876C-76E5-4826-810B-B1B20343A337.jpeg B4009788-ADC4-4698-8876-02B10A4AB273.jpeg
 
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