Emergency newbie needs help please

fishguy242

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hi welcome to the reef going to love it here!!
lots of fun/info/fun/help/fun....
pics and parameters will help :)
 
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Newbieneedinghelp

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fishguy242

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hi for starters,i would say tip the powerhead toward surface ,get a little more surface movement,less sand blowing around :)
 
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Hi sorry for the late reply, so high range ph is around 8.0. ammonia is around 0.25 ppm, nitrite around 0.50 ppm, nitrate around 30ppm, gradually getting everything down day by day.. I've tried for the past few day to get test kits for alk, mag, cal and phos but due to covid-19 everywhere I ring are out of stock.. have a feeling its one or all of these are contributing to my problem.
Temp is 23*c
Salinity is 1.022
Have attached photos above
Also forgot to mention water is very cloudy as im sure you can see
 

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Hi sorry for the late reply, so high range ph is around 8.0. ammonia is around 0.25 ppm, nitrite around 0.50 ppm, nitrate around 30ppm, gradually getting everything down day by day.. I've tried for the past few day to get test kits for alk, mag, cal and phos but due to covid-19 everywhere I ring are out of stock.. have a feeling its one or all of these are contributing to my problem.
Temp is 23*c
Salinity is 1.022
Have attached photos above
Also forgot to mention water is very cloudy as im sure you can see
Welcome to R2R!
As everyone has said slow down and take a breath. With ammonia and nitrite showing up means to me your tank did not complete its cycle. You want all zeros and a reading on nitrate. The cloudiness could be a bacteria bloom. I believe some stated above but aim that powerhead up and get some surface agitation. With a bac bloom your oxygen can drop and you will need that surface agitation to raise your oxygen levels.
 

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Hi sorry for the late reply, so high range ph is around 8.0. ammonia is around 0.25 ppm, nitrite around 0.50 ppm, nitrate around 30ppm, gradually getting everything down day by day.. I've tried for the past few day to get test kits for alk, mag, cal and phos but due to covid-19 everywhere I ring are out of stock.. have a feeling its one or all of these are contributing to my problem.
Temp is 23*c
Salinity is 1.022
Have attached photos above
Also forgot to mention water is very cloudy as im sure you can see

Welcome to R2R! I would SLOWLY raise your temperature to 77-80 and your salinity (I like to keep mine at 1.025).
Which test kits are you using?

Happy Reefing!

giphy.gif
 
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Newbieneedinghelp

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Welcome to R2R! I would SLOWLY raise your temperature to 77-80 and your salinity (I like to keep mine at 1.025).
Which test kits are you using?

Happy Reefing!

giphy.gif
Have fresh water test kit, as i also have two fresh water setups, was told I could use same test kit which includes pH, high pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Was told to just compare with online saltwater card. Is that a bad idea?
 

fishguy242

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Have fresh water test kit, as i also have two fresh water setups, was told I could use same test kit which includes pH, high pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Was told to just compare with online saltwater card. Is that a bad idea?
i am not sure about that ,not 100% but do not think freshwater tests good for saltwater 30 yrs in,never heard of!! go slow with changes salinity/temp :)
 

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Have fresh water test kit, as i also have two fresh water setups, was told I could use same test kit which includes pH, high pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Was told to just compare with online saltwater card. Is that a bad idea?

I've been told the same but I have the API Saltwater kit as well just in case. Put here is a video of someone comparing them (). However, I have realized (along with other more experienced reefers chiming in) that the ammonia test results may not be accurate (mine always tests for 0.25 ppm). Heard some good reviews on switching to salifert!

As for other test kits, I initially got the Red Sea Foundation test kit for (calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium) but those parameters all sound pretty high. Got some hanna checkers last month and honestly should have just gotten these instead of that kit imo.
 

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i am not sure about that ,not 100% but do not think freshwater tests good for saltwater 30 yrs in,never heard of!! go slow with changes salinity/temp :)

Agreed. Simply because the composition of our “sea water” is drastically different than freshwater. We operate with different alkalinity and ph, temp, and salinity. It’s possible that the reagents in freshwater tests behave similarly with saltwater, but I wouldn’t trust it unless there was some pretty solid evidence that they’re equivalent. Also, if freshwater tests worked with saltwater, why are there so many marine specific tests?

(just my 2 cents)
 
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Newbieneedinghelp

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I've been told the same but I have the API Saltwater kit as well just in case. Put here is a video of someone comparing them (). However, I have realized (along with other more experienced reefers chiming in) that the ammonia test results may not be accurate (mine always tests for 0.25 ppm). Heard some good reviews on switching to salifert!

As for other test kits, I initially got the Red Sea Foundation test kit for (calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium) but those parameters all sound pretty high. Got some hanna checkers last month and honestly should have just gotten these instead of that kit imo.

Ok thankyou so much will look at getting the right one asap. What are the Hanna checkers?
 

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