Help! Tank going crazy!

[Mtrask]

Things are starting to look up!

 

[Reefinmike]

Generally speaking those api kits are all horribly inaccurate. Do yourself a favor and throw the kits away. The alkalinity kit is accurate but with 1dkh increments it leaves much to be desired. Red sea, nyos, and salifert are reliable quality tests. The hanna phosphate and alk checkers are good as well. Plastic swing arm hydrometers are horribly inaccurate. Buy a refractometer and calibration solution if you don’t already have one.

Your hawkfish eating the shrimp is simply an incompatibility issue. He saw dinner and acted as expected.

 

[Reefinmike]

Sorry double post

 

[MnFish1]

Welcome to R2R!!!
Looks like you added your fish faster then your tank could handle the bio load. Start doing water changes ASAP as those levels of Ammonia and Nitrites are deadly to your livestock.

The nitrites are not a problem in salt water - but they suggest a problem with the cycle...

 

[MnFish1]

Generally speaking those api kits are all horribly inaccurate. Do yourself a favor and throw the kits away. The alkalinity kit is accurate but with 1dkh increments it leaves much to be desired. Red sea, nyos, and salifert are reliable quality tests. The hanna phosphate and alk checkers are good as well. Plastic swing arm hydrometers are horribly inaccurate. Buy a refractometer and calibration solution if you don’t already have one.

Your hawkfish eating the shrimp is simply an incompatibility issue. He saw dinner and acted as expected.

This is simply not true. They give a general idea. My comment would be that anyone trying to suggest that 8.5 vs 8.6 is important (alk wise) is incorrect. There is a possibility to perform the API tests 'incorrectly'. There is a possibility that when you use expired API kits that they are not accurate. But - Im not sure that you can say what you do. BTW - plastic hydrometers are not 'horribly inaccurate' - but - they are not sensitive enough for a reef tank.

IMHO (heresy alert) - People that calibrate things every time they test are overly anal. These tests are designed for the 'average person' not a super precise lab. Nothing should change the calibration of a refractometer unless a person has left salt, etc on it before doing a retest.

 

[Reefinmike]

I’m just speaking from experience getting back into the hobby full force. I bought api kits for things such as ph, calcium and alkalinity. I had two kits of each. The ph kits showed a ph of 8.2 when it was actually 7.7 when measured with two quality calibrated ph probes. The calcium kits showed levels between 420-440 when red sea and salifert kits showed 550. Two instant ocean hydrometers measured specific gravity .002-.004 below actual readings. Kits weren’t expired, shipped in mild weather and hydrometers were always rinsed in ro/di.

The api alk test does NOT have 0.1 dkh resolutions, it has 1.0 dkh between drops. This kit is the only one I used that provided consistent results in line with other quality tests. This is just fine for a very low demand reef but certainly not a test i’d use in conjunction with any sort of dosing.

I’m not saying tests need to be super precise but i’ve certainly learned to only buy quality tests and have two ways to test and verify the most important parameters. Salinity, temp, alk. Ph, calcium and nitrate are important but not as vital as the first three.

Ammonia and nitrIte tests may be useful for new hobbyists as they learn the process but i feel they have no place after that very first fish tank. I haven’t tested either the past 13 years i’ve had sw tanks and many other reefers dont own either test.

 

[MnFish1]

I’m just speaking from experience getting back into the hobby full force. I bought api kits for things such as ph, calcium and alkalinity. I had two kits of each. The ph kits showed a ph of 8.2 when it was actually 7.7 when measured with two quality calibrated ph probes. The calcium kits showed levels between 420-440 when red sea and salifert kits showed 550. Two instant ocean hydrometers measured specific gravity .002-.004 below actual readings. Kits weren’t expired, shipped in mild weather and hydrometers were always rinsed in ro/di.

The api alk test does NOT have 0.1 dkh resolutions, it has 1.0 dkh between drops. This kit is the only one I used that provided consistent results in line with other quality tests. This is just fine for a very low demand reef but certainly not a test i’d use in conjunction with any sort of dosing.

I’m not saying tests need to be super precise but i’ve certainly learned to only buy quality tests and have two ways to test and verify the most important parameters. Salinity, temp, alk. Ph, calcium and nitrate are important but not as vital as the first three.

Ammonia and nitrIte tests may be useful for new hobbyists as they learn the process but i feel they have no place after that very first fish tank. I haven’t tested either the past 13 years i’ve had sw tanks and many other reefers dont own either test.

I agree - Im just saying - IM not sure anyone needs .1 dkh accuracy. Have never had a problem with API tests - funny thing is though - when you see people doing them and posting pictures - you often see the 'after' results - below the white line - (which is where the water is supposed to be to start). I just think people don't do them correctly. Or the tests are expired. If you follow the directions exactly - (hold the bottles correctly, add the correct amount of water to start, etc)
- I think that are as good as others - but that's JMO.

 

[Reefium]

Fritzyme 9 works well. I used that and biospira when I moved tanks. A sd ding a variety of bacteria (multiple brands) over time could help maintain parameters.