Reef dying again. Any ideas?

TheAsian0328 · Oct 1, 2016

Added an air stone to bring the ph up if I can. If that doesn't work then I'll have to take more drastic measures.

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 1, 2016

TheAsian0328 said:
Added an air stone to bring the ph up if I can. If that doesn't work then I'll have to take more drastic measures.

It fine. Air will do it.

Surfandturf · Oct 1, 2016

Yea, I do not have a lid on mine so the PH is steady. One thing I noticed awhile back is when I used some saltwater that was made two weeks prior and the lid was closed, the ph seemed lower . I started opening up the container for about 20-30 mins before water changes.

TheAsian0328 · Oct 1, 2016

Surfandturf said:
Yea, I do not have a lid on mine so the PH is steady. One thing I noticed awhile back is when I used some saltwater that was made two weeks prior and the lid was closed, the ph seemed lower . I started opening up the container for about 20-30 mins before water changes.

I do the same and test water before it god in now.

drawman · Oct 1, 2016

Just to be sure you were previously using tap water correct? If I remember correctly when I lived there Phoenix water had a lot of TDS in it so 30-40 may not even be correct. What TDS meter are you using to measure?

As others have said I would strongly suggest investing in an RODI unit and get familiar with changing filters. That or there are several local fish stores in the Phoenix area where you can buy water from. Good luck!

TheAsian0328 · Oct 1, 2016

drawman said:
Just to be sure you were previously using tap water correct? If I remember correctly when I lived there Phoenix water had a lot of TDS in it so 30-40 may not even be correct. What TDS meter are you using to measure?

As others have said I would strongly suggest investing in an RODI unit and get familiar with changing filters. That or there are several local fish stores in the Phoenix area where you can buy water from. Good luck!

I live in an apartment so an rodi system is a bit of a challenge to hide from the complex. But I have just installed a light to grow algae and an air stone for o2 movement. Tds meter is in the picture.

it's off slightly but still in good condition.

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 1, 2016

You'll get it! Nice work.
Keep an eye out for units like this. It's pretty compact.
http://m.marinedepot.com/products/a...-stage-reverse-osmosis-system-w-tubing-50-gpd

And plenty of folks here willing to help you figure out how to hook it up and store it.
Little by little piece by piece.
And patience.

TheAsian0328 · Oct 2, 2016

saltyfilmfolks said:
You'll get it! Nice work.
Keep an eye out for units like this. It's pretty compact.
http://m.marinedepot.com/products/a...-stage-reverse-osmosis-system-w-tubing-50-gpd

And plenty of folks here willing to help you figure out how to hook it up and store it.
Little by little piece by piece.
And patience.

I'll look into that for sure. My house water ph is in the 8.2 range. So that would rule out ph if I can start using that water.

Macdaddynick1 · Oct 2, 2016

TheAsian0328 said:
0 and I'm not running gfo.

Thats your problem .

Surfandturf · Oct 4, 2016

Ok I did not see that you are living in Phoenix. If you are, DO NOT use the tap water! That water is super hard and has a lot of other crap in it as well. That is where I started reefing. I used an RODI system that I installed. I did own the home though. I believe the water ran through the water softener first and then through the rodi

TheAsian0328 · Oct 4, 2016

Surfandturf said:
Ok I did not see that you are living in Phoenix. If you are, DO NOT use the tap water! That water is super hard and has a lot of other crap in it as well. That is where I started reefing. I used an RODI system that I installed. I did own the home though. I believe the water ran through the water softener first and then through the rodi

Yeah it sucks. That's why I'm looking into an ro/di system that will be easy to uninstall.

TheAsian0328 · Oct 4, 2016

Can't seem to get my ph up at all. How can I do this?

TheAsian0328 · Oct 4, 2016

Alk went to 11 over the past week. But I think that had something to do with the sodium carbonate I am using.

skim · Oct 5, 2016

With numbers like what you have and a Ph of 7.8 is a sign of CO2 build up. Add a Air Stone and open a window in your room if you can and you will see your Ph rise.

TheAsian0328 said:
Water test this morning
Mg: 1320
Ca: 415
Kh/alk: 9.8
Ph: 7.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0

TheAsian0328 · Oct 6, 2016

skim said:
With numbers like what you have and a Ph of 7.8 is a sign of CO2 build up. Add a Air Stone and open a window in your room if you can and you will see your Ph rise.

I thought that too. I installed one but it barely did anything. I started dosing sodium carbonate in my ato and that seems to be helping.

Cory · Oct 7, 2016

Surfandturf said:
I have been running distilled water for my water top off and it works just fine. Someone on here please tell my why distilled water is bad.

Distilled water is my next choice for my reef tank. I will never use reverse osmosis again. If distilled water reads zero tds then its nearly pure or 99.9%. The only concern with distilled is how it was made to condense. Sometimes they use copper coils, and copper is bad, and sometimes stainless steel which is fine, but best would be silicone tubing to condense distilled. With distilled the filter is very simple, boil the water and collect the steam-99.9% pure.

With ro/di you must make sure your carbon filter is good and not allowing the chlorine to destroy the exspensive membrane, you must monitor deion resin, that it doesnt burn out and release ammonia! Ro/di has way to many variables that can surprise you with good water, bad water, or very bad water.

The reason people dont use distilled is because its exspensive. Im building a solar disiller, it uses the sun to evaporate the water. Cost? Nearly free. Peace of mind. Not having to change or check filters? Priceless.

Cory · Oct 7, 2016

As to to thread owner:

Test your alkalinty test kit for accuracy. Api isnt the best btw.

Go to a pharmacy and ask them to weigh out 1.135g of baking soda. Add this to 1 gallon of distilled water. Take a sample and test your kit. It should read 10dkh.

1.135g of baking soda in 1 gallon distilled =10dkh

Lenny_S · Oct 7, 2016

@TheAsian0328, a couple of weeks ago you posted that you sent out a sample to Triton for testing. Did you get those results back yet?

TheAsian0328 · Oct 8, 2016

Lenny_S said:
@TheAsian0328, a couple of weeks ago you posted that you sent out a sample to Triton for testing. Did you get those results back yet?

Multiple metals in my water from water and ice and other sources of water. My source of water was contaminated and causing all my problems. I'm saving to get a ro system at the moment, but I have a friend that is supplying me with quality water till I get the ro system. Been using his water and corals are coming back. Never trust Arizona water unless you purify it your self. I'll post an update tomorrow with progress. Thank you everyone for the advice! It has helped me in more ways than I can count!