So I really hate to add threads on issues that have been answered before and are searchable. However I'm not able to find a thread for my exact circumstance.
I've been chasing high nitrates after completing cycle so I've been doing biweekly water changes of 50% to get it down fast and efficiently. Yesterday I performed the third water change and got my nitrates to 5ppm where I'm happy for the time being.
During this I've matched salinity at 1.025 or best I can tell using a refractometer on not the best eyes. (Have a digital one coming this week to eliminate that variable)
I tested 24 hours after last water change and these are my current parameters.
Temp - 78.4
salinity - 1.025. (Refractometer)
pH - 7.6 (red sea)
ammonia - 0 (red sea)
nitrite N02 - 0 (red sea)
nitrate N03 - 5 ppm (red sea)
Alkalinity - 6.7 dkh (Hanna)
Phosphate - 0.03 (Hanna)
Up until this point I've been able to maintain a consistent pH of 8.0 and alkalinity of 7.3 Dkh using the same tropic Marin pro reef. I know this salt is low in alk but it's always matched their spec.
I'm trying to figure out why my pH and Alkalinity dipped so low after the change. Is it possible I'm not mixing my salt correctly? I've been only checking salinity and temp before adding to the tank. Would a small amount of variation in the salinity that I cant see on the refractometer, caused by me putting less salt, result in the lower pH and alk?
Eventually I'm going to dose to raise alk around 8.5 anyway but before that I need to get a handle on the inconsistency at water change.
I've been chasing high nitrates after completing cycle so I've been doing biweekly water changes of 50% to get it down fast and efficiently. Yesterday I performed the third water change and got my nitrates to 5ppm where I'm happy for the time being.
During this I've matched salinity at 1.025 or best I can tell using a refractometer on not the best eyes. (Have a digital one coming this week to eliminate that variable)
I tested 24 hours after last water change and these are my current parameters.
Temp - 78.4
salinity - 1.025. (Refractometer)
pH - 7.6 (red sea)
ammonia - 0 (red sea)
nitrite N02 - 0 (red sea)
nitrate N03 - 5 ppm (red sea)
Alkalinity - 6.7 dkh (Hanna)
Phosphate - 0.03 (Hanna)
Up until this point I've been able to maintain a consistent pH of 8.0 and alkalinity of 7.3 Dkh using the same tropic Marin pro reef. I know this salt is low in alk but it's always matched their spec.
I'm trying to figure out why my pH and Alkalinity dipped so low after the change. Is it possible I'm not mixing my salt correctly? I've been only checking salinity and temp before adding to the tank. Would a small amount of variation in the salinity that I cant see on the refractometer, caused by me putting less salt, result in the lower pH and alk?
Eventually I'm going to dose to raise alk around 8.5 anyway but before that I need to get a handle on the inconsistency at water change.