Just got my ati results, help please

[steallife904]

Just got my results back from my water lab test. Will post results. I knew my nitrates where up but had no idea the nutrients where this high! I also have no idea why my alkalinity is in the 11 range? I don’t dose any and I use brightwell salt that should mix at 8dkh, I will test a fresh batch and see. They also say I should dose iodine. Should I? Anything else you see I should do? Any other level off I should do something about?

should I put my gfo reactor back online to lower phosphate? Haven’t run it in 2 years.

//lab.atiaquaristik.com/share/a8f5a8eace4375d7cd84

 

[steallife904]

Here are some pics of some results Incase link doesn’t work

 

[steallife904]

I made a new batch of salt water and the alk was 8.2 dkh (tested 2 times with my Hanna meter). So no clue why the tank is so high? I don’t dose anything other than Red Sea reef energy A and B every now and then. Maybe that? Or does it have to do with my nutrient levels being high?
Let me know any help you can provide

 

[User1]

You can shoot ATI an email while you wait for replies here. They are usually pretty quick in responding to questions about the results. If you include the manual test like you noted above and their readings it will help.

I also received my report them them but unlike yours mine are within range of what I manually tested and also what my Trident is reporting. Thus my comment about sending them a quick email.

 

[steallife904]

There response was to dose iodine and lower nutrients.... well I ordered some Seachem iodide and I have been doing 5-10 gallon water changes for the past 3 days. Will do it again tomorrow and test. Anything else anyone can see I should do or dose or change?
Should I setup my gfo reactor again?
and is my alk so high because nutrients are high?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Does the tank seem ok?

I’m not convinced that dosing iodine is useful.

on the nutrients, phosphate is high but there’s no need to panic. Bring it down slowly.

 

[steallife904]

Thank you for response. I have just been doing a 5 gallon water change a day to try to slowly bring down, have fed less as well. I tested fresh saltwater after mixed just Incase and it was fine.
no algae problems in the tank but have had some receding issues with some corals.
I will dose very little iodine then but keep it in mind. Anything else I need to adjust?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Water changes are not going to be useful. Even a 100% change will hardly lower phosphate due to the large amount that is going to be bound to rock and sand. Nitrate, yes, phosphate, no.

 

[steallife904]

Should I run my gfo reactor or just leave it be and let it come down on its own?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I’d use a reactor. It may not come down on its own.

 

[Waters]

For what it is worth, it appears that most of their tests come back with low iodine....not sure if it has something to do with how it is tested for? Mine came back low also and I do large, automatic water changes all week long. I actually picked up some iodine and a test kit and started dosing based on my results.....didn't make any difference to my tank at all so I stopped.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

Be extremely cautious about using GFO (or aluminum oxide - i.e., Phosguard) to lower dissolved phosphate. Especially if you don't currently have any algae problems. Many have killed a number of their corals by using too much phosphate-adsorber and lowering their phosphate tank water concentration into the sub-100 ppb range in a day or two.

And there are many of us that don't make any adjustments in the 0.3-0.5 ppm range - we just monitor it to ensure that it's not increasing rapidly.

If you decide to reduce it, I'd run just a very small amount in a mesh bag in a filter sock and test the phosphate again before adding more. Ideally, you'd like to take 6 weeks or more to go from 0.5 ppm to sub 0.1 ppm.

On the alkalinity aspect, I'd review how you're using your test kit to ensure that you're not under or over titrating it. If not, and you're getting consistent results in the range that you want to be at, I'd ignore the ATI results, as they may be in error.

 

[steallife904]

Ok so you think a small amount in mesh bag in filter sock instead of my reactor. I can do that.
I have used 2 test kits and they all are within what ati gave me (around 11dkh) but my fresh saltwater is closer to 8 so idk???? Will just focus on bringing down nitrate and phosphate for now, maybe it will balance out? So looks like the plan is a bit of gfo in a mesh bag in filter sock and water changes. Anything else or something different? Thank you all!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Ok so you think a small amount in mesh bag in filter sock instead of my reactor. I can do that.
I have used 2 test kits and they all are within what ati gave me (around 11dkh) but my fresh saltwater is closer to 8 so idk???? Will just focus on bringing down nitrate and phosphate for now, maybe it will balance out? So looks like the plan is a bit of gfo in a mesh bag in filter sock and water changes. Anything else or something different? Thank you all!

that’s a fine way to start.

 

[lapin]

If you test your tank and the alk shows 8.X You test your salt mix and it shows 8.X something is amiss if ATI says 11.X Have you tested your hanna meter with the STD kit?
I got low iodine. I too put in some iodide. 10ml a month for 600gallons. I did notice a small difference in some coral but its prob not enough to warrant me buying a new bottle when this one is gone.
You can also look into carbon dosing for help in nutrient control.

 

[steallife904]

My tank matched what ATI said my alk was, so tank and ati where both 11. When I tested just the fresh saltwater it was in the 8s. So I’m not sure why my tank is in 11s

 

[Dkeller_nc]

If you've done no dosing with an alkalinity supplement, then the source of the alkalinity rise may be artificial rock. Artificial rock is made with what amounts to cement, with various aggregates such as calcareous sand, crushed coral, and shells. The cement is composed of calcium oxide/hydroxide, which when mixed with water will combine with CO2 from the air to form calcium carbonate. However, this is a very slow process to completely convert the calcium hydroxide/oxide to calcium carbonate, and so it's possible that some of the unconverted calcium hydroxide is dissolving into your tank water, which will raise the alkalinity.

Note that it takes very, very little of the total mass of the artificial rock to raise the alkalinity of the tank water from about 8 to 11 dkH. This effect will slow down and stop over a period of time, so it's not something to worry about.

 

[steallife904]

my rock is pretty much all artificial rock. Its been in the tank for 3 or 4 years and only noticed the alk rise the last few months. Is it possible if that's the source it just took that long?

 

[Dkeller_nc]

Probably not unless the rock was taken out and broken or otherwise sculpted. If that's not the case, I'd have to think that perhaps one of the previous batches of your salt was a lot higher in alkalinity than 8.