Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Alk, cal, mag, salinity are what we are looking for with ocean/reef water samples.It looks like the ocean water seems OK.
PH: 8.4
Ammonia: 0.25 PPM
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
That incoming ammonia is probably not so helpful.
Idk if you want my honest opinion I think the only way you can turn this around is to seriously listen to the advise people gave you on the other thread, the info people gave you was right. Get your salinity up to 1.025, trust your hydrometer since you don’t have a refractometer, drop your temp to 78F, remove all filtration stuff, clean it, put in fresh filter floss, don’t put the green one in, make sure the salinity stays steady at 1.025, no fluctuations at all. Stop using prime or any chemical, let it do it’s thing. You also need a major light upgrade. What you said about the ocean water having all the elements in correct proportion also isn’t factual unfortunately, most people that use ocean water have to add alk, cal, mag, and usually raise the salinity slightly. Unless your collecting water from thriving reefs elements will not be correct in most cases. If your salinity is that low from your collections you can already predict this to be true.
Where are you collecting it from that it’s that low? Either way it needs to get up to 1.025.I do listen to all of the advise and implement what seems rational. Removing the live sand, adding more lighting, 10% water change, cleaning the entire tank of detritus. The ocean water is coming in at about 1.018 SG which is why I'm worried about raising it much above 1.022
Alk, cal, mag, salinity are what we are looking for with ocean/reef water samples.
Where are you collecting it from that it’s that low? Either way it needs to get up to 1.025.
By design they can’t be wrong, just difficult to read.The port is within a mile of a river and it is rainy season. The rain and the river are what I suspect is the reason and hoping the hydrometer isn't completely wrong.
This is key info right hereThe port is within a mile of a river and it is rainy season. The rain and the river are what I suspect is the reason
It looks like the ocean water seems OK.
PH: 8.4
Ammonia: 0.25 PPM
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
That incoming ammonia is probably not so helpful.
Ralph, thanks for the tidbits of information. Based soley on what you have stated, you are nowhere near ready for coral. If that coral makes it, I'd be amazed. I STRONGLY suggest that you head over to...
New to Saltwater & Reef Aquariums? Post Here
Then pay special attention to the "Stickie" particularly...
Cycling an Aquarium
The beneficial bacteria in a freshwater system, for the most part, do not live in a marine environment
Additionally...
The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium
and, finally...
Beginners Guide to Acclimation and Quarantine
Best of luck.
Hydrometers can be wrong and yes, also hard to read. I used to use one way back in the day. The swinging arm can get salt in it and you have to swing it manually until it sticks. But then you shake it and it moves up or down. Quite frustrating. Refractometers are the only thing I use now.By design they can’t be wrong, just difficult to read.
At least there is some good news today. www.iquaticsonline.co.uk just contacted me and confirmed they'll ship internationally. That nearly doubles the chances of this tank surviving, to about 2%
Oh really? Didn’t think of that. In theory though it’s just based on buoyancy in different salinities though correct?Hydrometers can be wrong and yes, also hard to read. I used to use one way back in the day. The swinging arm can get salt in it and you have to swing it manually until it sticks. But then you shake it and it moves up or down. Quite frustrating. Refractometers are the only thing I use now.
You’re in the Philippines right? I’m across the water in Hong Kong. Literally an hour away. If you’re really interested, I can see if shops here can ship to you. I can also help to facilitate it. I’m sure shipping and price of goods is much cheaper coming from Hong Kong. Also, I have some coral dealers from the Philippines. You could probably get some amazing corals. A lot of my corals came from PI.
Make a list of what you need. (Perhaps ask someone here). I will let you know if it’s available and the cost. For salt, it’s heavy to ship. I don’t mind helping you but you’ll definitely have to pay a lot for shipping.Thank you. Please PM me. I am looking for suppliers since Lazada doesn't have what I need and their delivery times are horrible. Won't be adding bio-load for at least a month or two and I have a local supplier for LED light, but for virtually everything else I have no supplier. I am looking at iquatics for salt but that is it. Things I'm looking for includes bulkheads, overflow, pumps, reactors, cheatobacteria, etc. If this tank survives 6 months I intend to upgrade to a larger tank with sump but there are no suppliers so filling that tank is going to be a problem.
Did your sponge look like this?I've added half a cap of Prime, and did a 10% water change with live water with added synthetic salt to bring salinity from 1.018 to 1.030 in the source, and 1.024 in the tank. I removed any detritus and brown algae from the sand, and I'm quite sure I wiped out a baby colony of sponge in the process. The sponge came free with the ocean sand and I'm not even confident that it is a sponge because it has never become solid. The one torch which was bleeching has been gone for 2 days, I suspect its gone forever. It has about 1 to 2 mm of tentacles showing but I've seen that happen on another torch that only had about 5 tentacles remaining and it died within days. The remaining 4 torches, star coral, and clownfish, seem to be thriving. If they last a few more weeks I'll upgrade to LED.