Reef nutrition

Aquarium Water Testing services.

stubbsz

stubbsz

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It's time to see what is up with my water.... Testing for Alk/CA/Mg and keeping those steady isn't stopping my corals turn ghostly pale so I figured it might help to have some thorough testing. I think I should do a set of tests with my Salt mixture.. to see what the stuff I'm adding looks like and a test of my current tank water.

I'm pretty close to coming working on a plan to tear it down and rehouse my fish in a FO tank as I don't like looking at pale tan corals.

opinions on these testing services appreciated and links if you have em.

-ADrian
 
Adrian, I've heard mixed results about their testing, and from what I've read don't trust them anymore than I do hobby kits.



My advice to you is to start a tank thread and have the BAR community take a crack at solving your problems, it could be something very simple. Sometimes just a picture of your setup/coral can say a lot.
 
do a search on some of Rich's threads - he did the water testing service thing. Your water can't be that bad- you do changes and have a skimmer right? are you getting much skimmate? maybe you can take your water in to Dophlin and have them test it. I know they do servicing to, maybe you can get Tyler to come out and do an evaluation on your tank. I don't think I have seen a full tank shot yet, can you send me one? It took me a few years to get the colors I get on my tank now. I think it was the addition of my vortec and my 900 watts of lighting that I have been using that finally got me going. I am sure my water is worse than yours since I don't have anything running on my tank....just carbon sometimes.
 
Junk I tell yah. I sent in 3 blind samples of the water and got back three wildly different numbers from them. IMO as well as others they do not understand their equipment as it pertains to salt water nor is their equipment all that accurate. They also tell you something tests at 0 and that is a big no no. It's "below the resolution of the test". They also do not list their margin of error which is pretty critical in such testing.
 
Junk. :D
The list that makes it so continues to grow, sadly.

They use a notoriously bad probe for the Ca. They seem to know its bad, but only say so after being asked.
Their K test is questionable.
They have issues with the Si test.

And, like Gresh, the list of people who sent the same water in twice and got different results is large. Large enough to make me not consider needing to do it again.

Hopefully they will get kinks out some day because it really would be nice if it worked.
 
Well. Thank goodness I asked. I saved some time and money there.

Jeremy, I have limited Photography skills but I'll try a tank thread. I need a hobby :)

I do have a skimmer; but who needs one, I just looked at the latest pictures from your tank Arnold.
 
Thanks - But don't do what I do, I think its works only because its an 5 year established tank. I had the skimmer running for at least 3 years. No one else seems to run the tank the same way as mine in the club. I do use RC salt too.
 
Arnold does quite a bit to maintain his tank as is.

He does consistent does weekly water changes, and adds kalk as well. There is a lot of rock in the tank along with a healthy sandbed too boot. I think the big softies pull quite a bit of nutrients from the tank as well. The clams do their filtering part as well.
 
Singing doesn't help much......anyone wants some of that big softie? Adrian, I can give some of my water and you can test it against yours if you want. Honestly I am real lazy and don't test much either. I think I want to add more sand to the tank, I think the bed it getting too shallow.

I also sacrafice 1 clam or coral frag a month to appease the reef gods. : )

On a side note - I wonder if my dead CSL T5 pump is leaking anything (rusting or something) into the tank? I should remove it one day huh?...but maybe that will be bad for the tank?
 
Arnold I'd like to give a whirl on that leather when the pruning time comes.

And the "rust leaking" is your auto iron dosing pump is the reason your tank flourishes
 
My softie tank doesn't get much maintenance either, water changes? oy... I can't remember the last time I did a water change and then I think it was from the waste water from a water change on my stony tank. I think having the thing filled with soft corals definitely does play into it big time (no clams in there though :D) but like Arnold I wouldn't recommend anyone do it, because for all I know I could have a slow creep up of some chemical (nitrate for instance) and then one day poof everything starts dying and I might wonder "what just happened?"
 
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