Water Test Results

[burntjello]

I tested my water today... here were the results:

pH 8.0
Alk 1.7-2.8 (was normal range on my color chart)
No2 0 ppm
No3 I think was 20 ppm... but color was awfully close to the next one up which is 50... =/
Ammonia 0

So whats up with my No3!? I did a partial water change as well so I guess i'll test again tomorrow and see if its any better.

My 12g nano has been going for a week with no inhabitants. I'm getting anxious to get a clean up crew at least to have something to look at :anxious

 

[Jennie]

Did you test for amonia? I'm suprised that you would have an No3 reading without detecting any No2. If there are no inhibitants, you can skip the waterchanges to speed the cycle up.

I would hold off on the clean up crew for awhile and let the tank completely cycle. Some inverts are highly sensitive to not only amonia but nitrates as well.

 

[burntjello]

Did you test for amonia? I'm suprised that you would have an No3 reading without detecting any No2. If there are no inhibitants, you can skip the waterchanges to speed the cycle up.

I would hold off on the clean up crew for awhile and let the tank completely cycle. Some inverts are highly sensitive to not only amonia but nitrates as well.

Ammonia was 0...

Here is a pic of my drastic difference in NO2 and NO3... I hear patience is key when maintaining SW tanks... so guess i'm waiting some more... :bawlg:

 

[Jennie]

That's interesting.

Let's wait and see what the next reading shows, now I'm curious :lol:

 

[burntjello]

New results as of 4/16/06

Ph - 8.0
Ammonia - 0
Alk - Normal 1.7-2.8
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 5.0
Temp- 78
Salinity 1.021

I guess these results are alot better than my last... Tank has been cycling for about 2.5 weeks

 

[sadielynn]

wow your just about there
You may wish to bump that salinity up abit to 1.023-1.026
other than that you are almost done :mrgreen:

 

[reefman23]

wow your just about there
You may wish to bump that salinity up abit to 1.023-1.026
other than that you are almost done :mrgreen:

I would bump it up to about 1.026 if you are using a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity.... those things usually read about .003 higher than the level actually is. This means that if it read 1.026, then the level probably is somewhere around 1.023.

Jesse

p.s. the best way to get a good reading with the hydrometer is to take a sample to a LFS and have them read the SG using a refractometer and then compare that reading to that of the hydrometer. then you will have a good idea of the variance that your hydrometer has.