My parameters are out of wack in my first salt water nano reef (fluval evo 13.5)

[kiran]

Hey guys, new to this place so forgive me if I posted in the wrong section. I'm having some issues with my tanks elements. I posted a screenshot below if you guys could look it over and give me some advice on getting my tank stable. I have a Fluval Evo 13.5gal

I've done 2 water changes in the past 3 days (50% water change) and replaced my filter pads. I also bought some bioculture called microbacter7 because thats what one of the aquarium shop owners recommended I do after the water changes.

I did a test today and these are my new parameters (I only had test kits for these elements):

• Temp: 25.6c
• Salinity: 32ppm
• Ammonia: 0.2ppm
• Nitrite: 5ppm+ (My api test kit maxes out at 5ppm so I dont know how high it really is)
• Nitrate: 20ppm
• Ph: 7.8
• Calcium: 360
• Alkalinity: 17dKH (this also seems weirdly high)
• Phosphate: 0.25
• Iodine: .06

I'm really worried that my tank is gonna crash. I've had 2 fish die on me in a week. The rest seem to be doing ok and my corals are blooming and look alright for the most part but being new to this hobby I'm not entirely sure.

I went to get my water tested by a fish shop owner today and they said my nitrates were fine but I dont think he tested anything else tbh.

Thanks guys.

 

[blaxsun]

I wouldn't be concerned with the nitrites, and API testing kits are notorious for inaccuracies and consistency. The nitrates and phosphates are a little high, but nothing to panic about. Calcium is a little low, but also nothing to be overly concerned with.

I believe you mean 32ppt for salinity, and that's right on the lower range of what you typically want (32-35ppt). I would try to slowly increase this over the next few water changes to 33.5-34.0ppt to give you some "wiggle room".

Your alkalinity seems way high, but I'd get that tested at your LFS to rule out an error with testing.

 

[Aqua Man]

I'm really worried that my tank is gonna crash. I've had 2 fish die on me in a week. The rest seem to be doing ok and my corals are blooming and look alright for the most part but being new to this hobby I'm not entirely sure

Are you using RODI water and mixing your own salt? What salt brand?

How many fish do you have now?

 

[kiran]

Are you using RODI water and mixing your own salt? What salt brand?

How many fish do you have now?

I buy my saltwater premixed from my LSA.

I have 7 fish and a handful of corals, I think around 7-9. They're all little frags.

 

[kiran]

I wouldn't be concerned with the nitrites, and API testing kits are notorious for inaccuracies and consistency. The nitrates and phosphates are a little high, but nothing to panic about. Calcium is a little low, but also nothing to be overly concerned with.

I believe you mean 32ppt for salinity, and that's right on the lower range of what you typically want (32-35ppt). I would try to slowly increase this over the next few water changes to 33.5-34.0ppt to give you some "wiggle room".

Your alkalinity seems way high, but I'd get that tested at your LFS to rule out an error with testing.

I don't know if it's my LSAs water but I can never achieve anything above 32ppt. Should I let some of the water evaporate to bring up the salinity?

 

[Aqua Man]

buy my saltwater premixed from my LSA.

I have 7 fish and a handful of corals, I think around 7-9. They're all little frags.

7 fish for a 13.5 gallon?!! Might explain why some of your numbers are way out of normal range.

Test the water from your LFS! Ask them what the parameters should be. Alkalinity of 17 is crazy high.

To slowly bring up salinity, top off with saltwater instead of freshwater.

 

[kiran]

7 fish for a 13.5 gallon?!! Might explain why some of your numbers are way out of normal range.

Test the water from your LFS! Ask them what the parameters should be. Alkalinity of 17 is crazy high.

To slowly bring up salinity, top off with saltwater instead of freshwater.

Should I donate a few of them to my LCA? 3 of them were a gift from my mom so I didn't know what do with them at the time. I have 1 wyoming white clownfish, 3 banggai cardinals (these are the ones my mom gave me), 2 orange spotted prawns, and 1 green war paint goby.

 

[arking_mark]

Too much too fast...this hobby is about patience.

To get you parameters right, a couple larger water changes over the next couple of weeks with a quality salt. This approach avoids swings and innaccurate measurements as a quality salt will mix to the right parameters. Choose a salt that matches what you would like your targets to be. If you want to continue with the premixed from the LFS...then trust that it's good and keep those as the target parameters.

Take your measurements with a grain of salt. Our hobby test kits are prone to error. What test kits / probes are you using?

The 12 Commandments of Reef Keeping

Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank Triple-check before you believe any observations or make any changes to your tank Only make one change at a time in your reef tank Use the right tool for the right job Only dose what you can test for Don't chase #s, chase stability. When altering the...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Aqua Man]

Should I donate a few of them to my LCA? 3 of them were a gift from my mom so I didn't know what do with them at the time. I have 1 wyoming white clownfish, 3 banggai cardinals (these are the ones my mom gave me), 2 orange spotted prawns, and 1 green war paint goby.

That was very nice of your mom! The clown and banggai will outgrow the tank eventually though. Prawn goby also will grow to 3-4”, are they a pair?

With that many fish in a small tank you do risk all of there health. Which ones are your favorites? 2 small fish would be ok in your tank.

 

[kiran]

Too much too fast...this hobby is about patience.

To get you parameters right, a couple larger water changes over the next couple of weeks with a quality salt. This approach avoids swings and innaccurate measurements as a quality salt will mix to the right parameters. Choose a salt that matches what you would like your targets to be. If you want to continue with the premixed from the LFS...then trust that it's good and keep those as the target parameters.

Take your measurements with a grain of salt. Our hobby test kits are prone to error. What test kits / probes are you using?

The 12 Commandments of Reef Keeping

Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank Triple-check before you believe any observations or make any changes to your tank Only make one change at a time in your reef tank Use the right tool for the right job Only dose what you can test for Don't chase #s, chase stability. When altering the...

www.reef2reef.com

I use the API test kits.

 

[kiran]

That was very nice of your mom! The clown and banggai will outgrow the tank eventually though. Prawn goby also will grow to 3-4”, are they a pair?

With that many fish in a small tank you do risk all of there health. Which ones are your favorites? 2 small fish would be ok in your tank.

I really want to keep the wyoming white and the war green face goby. Should I donate the others?

 

[aSaltyKlown]

If you keep up with water changes and don't overfeed, you can do 3 fish. I currently have two clowns and a YWG in my Evo. I did have a yellow clown that I could not get to eat much. I'd keep one of the prawns along with the green face and clown.

 

[arking_mark]

I use the API test kits.

API tests are not the best...

 

[arking_mark]

I really want to keep the wyoming white and the war green face goby. Should I donate the others?

You can keep lots of fish in a 13gal. It's just a matter of fish mass and your filtration.

Lots of fish in a small tank will equal high nutrients which could impact coral.

It's best to start with small load and expand at the tank matures.

There are several rules of thumb for fish mass per gallon.

 

[kiran]

Hey guys,

So I did a massive water change.

Here are my new parameters. My Alkalinity just seems to keep rising and I dont know why. I buy my water premixed from my local LFS.

• Temp: 25.6c
• Salinity 36ppt (I added some RO water to lower it a little so it should be 33-35ppt now.
• Ammonia: .1ppm
• Nitrite: 1.5ppm
• Nitrate: Around 5-10ppm
• Ph: 7.8
• Calcium: 400ppm
• Alkalinity: 21dKH (375.6ppm)
• Phosphate: .25ppm

My parameters do seem to be falling in line from my last post but Alk seems to keep rising.

Any advice would be appreciated. I've been doing water changes every few days to bring down the nitrite and ammonia but alk is still giving me trouble. I also can't seem to lower my phosphate levels.

I'm still using the API test kit but I have a red sea on the way.

I added fritz turbo start after I did the water change. I'll post a new update tomorrow to see if anything has changed.

Thanks everyone!

EDIT: I also gave away two of my diamond gobys and now I only have 5 fish. Spotted Blenny, Green War Paint Goby, 2 Cardinal Banggais, and a Wyoming White clown fish. Should I give up a couple more?

 

[arking_mark]

Hey guys,

So I did a massive water change.

Here are my new parameters. My Alkalinity just seems to keep rising and I dont know why. I buy my water premixed from my local LFS.

• Temp: 25.6c
• Salinity 36ppt (I added some RO water to lower it a little so it should be 33-35ppt now.
• Ammonia: .1ppm
• Nitrite: 1.5ppm
• Nitrate: Around 5-10ppm
• Ph: 7.8
• Calcium: 400ppm
• Alkalinity: 21dKH (375.6ppm)
• Phosphate: .25ppm

My parameters do seem to be falling in line from my last post but Alk seems to keep rising.

Any advice would be appreciated. I've been doing water changes every few days to bring down the nitrite and ammonia but alk is still giving me trouble. I also can't seem to lower my phosphate levels.

I'm still using the API test kit but I have a red sea on the way.

I added fritz turbo start after I did the water change. I'll post a new update tomorrow to see if anything has changed.

Thanks everyone!

EDIT: I also gave away two of my diamond gobys and now I only have 5 fish. Spotted Blenny, Green War Paint Goby, 2 Cardinal Banggais, and a Wyoming White clown fish. Should I give up a couple more?

An alk of 21 isn't possible...you must be performing or reading the results wrong.

 

[kiran]

An alk of 21 isn't possible...you must be performing or reading the results wrong.

I did it twice actually because I wasnt sure about the first time. They both ended up at 21.

I ordered a Hanna Instruments Alkalinity meter so hopefully my test kit was just bad and this Hanna meter gives me the proper results.

EDIT: I added the drops 1 by 1, inverting the bottle several times inbetween drops so they would mix properly like the kit said. At 21 drops it turned from blue to yellow concluding the test was finished. It took me 21 drops to get it to turn from blue to yellow (with the last drop instantly turning the liquid from blue to yellow). I did it in 2 different brand new API vials as well.

 

[Aqua Man]

Any advice would be appreciated. I've been doing water changes every few days to bring down the nitrite and ammonia but alk is still giving me trouble. I also can't seem to lower my phosphate levels.

Since you are using water from your LFS, ask them what the parameters SHOULD be.

Then you can test the water when you bring it home before your water change. Your results should be close if testing correctly.

What salt brand are they using?

 

[homer1475]

I'm going to agree that a DHK of 21 is not possible without some sort of precipitation event going on.

I would double check with some better test kits.

You added some RO water, did you check it before adding it to the tank, or just guess it was lower?

Ammonia 1? Also a fault of the API kit, it always hspws a hint of green in SW. The same kit is used for FW as SW. In SW the color is always slightly green even though it's 0. It is never that bright yellow of 0 like it is in FW.

Before doing anything else, get some better test kits designed for SW.

 

[kiran]

I'm going to agree that a DHK of 21 is not possible without some sort of precipitation event going on.

I would double check with some better test kits.

You added some RO water, did you check it before adding it to the tank, or just guess it was lower?

Ammonia 1? Also a fault of the API kit, it always hspws a hint of green in SW. The same kit is used for FW as SW. In SW the color is always slightly green even though it's 0. It is never that bright yellow of 0 like it is in FW.

Before doing anything else, get some better test kits designed for SW.

Thanks for the reply. I honestly just guessed it was around there. I dropped and broke my old refractometer a couple days ago so I ordered a hanna salinity tester and waiting for it to arrive.

I ordered a red sea test kit. Not sure how accurate those are? I want to get a full hanna electronic kit but I'm gonna have to collect those slowly because of the price. I ordered a hanna alkalinity tester but now I'm thinking about getting ammonia and nitrate testers as well.