# a few questions about my new set up.



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

hey there guys and gals i have had my salt water set up for about a month now .
here are my water parameters 
a=0
n03=0
n02=0
p.h=7.8
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salinity =1.025 used a refractometer and double chked with the floating type 

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i purchased a calcium kit and a kh kit but find them a little akward to understand the instructions 
ca =22 drops = 440 
k/h=13 = 214.8
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i used r/o water with my used/new kit , have not used a tds meter tommorow i will take the water to the water store and have them test it to make sure my filters are ok . if not i will need to buy new filters .
i used my refractometer to chk the r/o water and my reading was " 0 "
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i was a little concered about the flow in my tank so i upgraded my koralia pump to a num 3 from a num 1 , do u guys think that is too much flow in a 29 bio cube , that is pretty much my only concern.
thanks again 
tom


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

You will probably want more flow, so the upgrade was good with your koralias. I wish I had a more powerful powerhead to eliminate dead spots in the tank.
Refractometer reads salinity, so RO water not having any salt in it should read 0.

Your pH seems a bit low, but as long as it is steady you should be ok.


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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

Hi,
You're measuring alkalinity in ppm of calcium carbonate equivalents (CaCO3), right now your seem to be on the high side, ideally you may want to get it down to 125ppm(reference). Calcium is 'OK' at 440, but most maintain it in a range of 400-420.

Use your refractometer to measure the salinity of your saltwater, should be in around 35ppt, I personally use a reference solution to calibrate my refractometer, but using RO will also work fine, set it to zero.

Some light reading for your leisure...
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/index.php#20

Regarding flow, as long as it's not splashing over the top you should be fine  , I have no experience with the Koralia brand.



tom g said:


> hey there guys and gals i have had my salt water set up for about a month now .
> here are my water parameters
> 
> i purchased a calcium kit and a kh kit but find them a little akward to understand the instructions
> ...


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank questions*

hey there so what is the best way to bring down my numbers to an acceptable level , i relaize my calcium is at 440 and should idealy be around 400
and my KH is high at 214.8
any ideas would be greatly appreciated 
thanks again 
tom


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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

Hi,

I would just let it drop down on its own. Don’t add any buffers to the water, just let it continue its cycle for a few more weeks. Check you parameters again in a week or so. 

A key to remember in this hobby nothing good happens fast.


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## BBOSS (Jan 30, 2010)

Naoko said:


> Hi,
> 
> I would just let it drop down on its own. Don't add any buffers to the water, just let it continue its cycle for a few more weeks. Check you parameters again in a week or so.
> 
> A key to remember in this hobby nothing good happens fast.


+1

Both Calcium at 440, and Alkalinity at 13dKH are fine. It is more important if you can keep the parameters stable.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank info*

hi there , here is some info of my tank . 
---
--magic wave 102 -- i beleive it turns out to be 26 gals 
--it is very similar to a oceanic bio cube prob a knock off 
--it has 5 chambers in the back of the tank .
the first chamber with the outlet into the tank has a pump and a nozzle that 
blows into the tank .this is located to the very left of the tank.
--the chamber beside it has a heater in it which is removable
-- teh chamber located in the middle has a light in the hood i have live rock and cheato in it .
-- the chamber to the right of the middle chamber has sponges in it .
--the chamber at the end or to the very right has a skimmer in it 
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one more question - how does the skimmer work , stupid question sorry tryin to find a name on the skimmer but no luck . there is a air line fittting on the top of the chamber where i am assuming the gunk goes into , what is suppose to go inside the skimmer , i have had it running and nothing has gone into the top chamber . but when i lift it out i can see water swirling inside , just not sure if it is working corectly , sorry again for asking these questions 
---------------------
any ideas on if i have the right set up am i doing something wrong 
i have looked on the internet and can not find any owners manual , do no tthink i will since it is a knock off tank .
any ideas will be greatly appreciated 
thanks again 
tom


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

I think this line is intake of the air to the pump. Whe I got this from the guy he told me that I should blow air inside to clean a air intake. I lookkrd now on my my Coralife skimmer and there is also some kimd of whole to clean air intake.

have a look there and make a larger view of the image

http://www.marineandreef.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=RES33002



tom g said:


> hi there , here is some info of my tank .
> ---
> there is a air line fittting on the top of the chamber where i am assuming the gunk goes into , what is suppose to go inside the skimmer ,---------------------
> any ideas on if i have the right set up am i doing something wrong
> ...


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank update*

hey there everyone , just chking out my tank today , having a issue wiht one hammer coral , has recided and is almost non existant . 
my water parameters have not changed at all
any ideas , only thing i can think is poss that my tank has not cycled 
any ideas , i dont want to start adding stuff to the water that is not necc
thanks again 
tom


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## GT3 (Nov 24, 2010)

pH 7.8? Bring it up to at least 8.0

It's way to early to keep LPS, stick with softies like zoas and mushrooms.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*set up*

yes i know that now . how do i get the p.h to rise 
to 8.0 
what do i have to doo 
thanks 
tom


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## GT3 (Nov 24, 2010)

Calcium carbonate

There are a lot of different ways but I haven't tried them myself, my pH is constant 8.3 but I am not using RODI

Let's wait for other members to comment on this.

For the skimmer, is it just the normal biocube skimmer? You put the air tube into one end of a wooden air stone, and stick it in at the bottom the chamber so when water goes through the bubbles brings the gunk up to the top collection cup. Each time you turn it on you have wait for it be adjusted, similar to breaking in, it doesn't skim right away.


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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

tom g said:


> hey there everyone , just chking out my tank today , having a issue wiht one hammer coral , has recided and is almost non existant .
> my water parameters have not changed at all
> any ideas , only thing i can think is poss that my tank has not cycled
> any ideas , i dont want to start adding stuff to the water that is not necc
> ...





Naoko said:


> Hi,
> 
> I would just let it drop down on its own. Don't add any buffers to the water, just let it continue its cycle for a few more weeks. Check you parameters again in a week or so.
> 
> *A key to remember in this hobby nothing good happens fast.*


Your tank is roughly one month old, in my opinion there should not be anything in there yet, let it cycle - build up beneficial bacteria, give it some time before adding anything else, and stay away from the LFS for a month or so 

Your alkalinity is high, don't add any calcium carbonate (CaCO3), you can use Kalkwasser to increase pH, but read the article before purchasing any and using it, this chemical is not something to play with.

HTH


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

Agree with Naoko
I was told on this forum by knowledgeable guys do not care about PH on this stage.
PH also changes depends on the time of the day ( if I remember correct)

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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

Hi,
Yes, in my opinion I would not worry too much about pH this early, as the tank is still going through the nitrogen cycle it will naturally be low. However, Tom has some livestock in his tank, so it would be wise to get the pH in an acceptable range, if it already is not, 7.8 being the low range.

The pH will be lowest before lights come on and highest just before lights out, all else being equal.

Low pH; Causes and Cures



sig said:


> Agree with Naoko
> I was told on this forum by knowledgeable guys do not care about PH on this stage.
> PH also changes depends on the time of the day ( if I remember correct)


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