paswed

My specific gravity went from 1.024 to 1.021 in two days it is 150 gallon tank also so my ph has dropped to 7.0 the my nitrate is o nad my nitrite is o can some one tell me what to do

sirdarksol

First of all, if your nitrate is showing as zero, it's likely that the second bottle needs to be shaken more. No established tank should have zero nitrates. The stuff likes settling into a solid, and needs to be shaken thoroughly (I slam the bottle into the palm of my hand repeatedly).
What kind of water are you using (tap, RO)? Do you know the water's original hardness (if it's RO, it's pretty close to 0, if not 0)? Original pH? What additives are you using (in addition to the marine salt)?

paswed

I am using tap water and water conditoiner called aquasafe

diver28

I would not use tap water IMO. I would go get DI water or RO water somewhere.. local fish store? Also, you should check the new water you are putting in before you do the water change as a standard rule. The PH should match and if it doesn't you should apply some PH solution to help bring it up. Infact, I would go with the solution that will increase the alkanlinity and PH to a certain level. I think SeaChem makes a good product and reefpure. DKH I believe is what its called. The alkalinity needs to be high so the PH doesn't vary as much during day and night.

What are you using to check specific gravity and do you measure it a couple times? I wouldn't go with the first measure all the time. Could be a bubble on the lever. Also, you should bring a water sample into your LFS so they can measure it against a refractioner and be more exact. that way you know if your hydrometer etc is off by say .002 or .001.. mine is off by .002 consistently. Hope this helps.

offminded

are we shooting for under 10 or under 5 in nitrates for an established tank?

sirdarksol

I would be careful with messing with the pH. Most additives to change the pH only work in the short term.
Adding stuff to raise hardness and alkalinity (if it's low) is a good idea, though, as these will buffer the pH and keep them more stable.

Not sure. Under 5 wouldn't be bad, but I think most people say under 10 (but i spend most of my time in the Freshwater section). I just know that any established tank is nearly guaranteed to have some nitrates, as the only real output for nitrates is water changes (algae binds some of it up, but very rarely can get it all)

offminded

ahhh...got ya...what would be considered an established tank? 3 months? 6? 12? how often do you recommend testing the water?

agsansoo

6+ months at least would be established. As for nitrates, you try to get zero, it just never stays there for long. It depends on bio-load, feeding and skimming of the tank.

offminded

ok...got ya. how often do you test the water? as for bio load...how "heavy" of a load is one ocellaris clown, one coral beauty, a cleaner shrimp, handful of hermits, and a handful of astraea snails in a 55 gallon fowlr?

agsansoo

Your bio-load is low. You should still test your water weekly. Don't worry about nitrates too much in a fowlr tank. Any thing from 0-100 will be safe. Mine was at one time around 140ppm and my clearer shrimp was fine ... It's just you don't want these levels over a long period of time ! If ammonia, nitrite is greater than 0 or nitrates greater than 80ppm, do a water change. SG: should be 1.026, even for fish only.

offminded

so far everything has been great...i test weekly and change water every 1 -2 weeks.

Oil_Fan

I have a low bio load as I only have 4 fish right now plus some inverts. My nitrates have always been 0 until I added more LR. One of the pieces is kicking off some nitrates bringing me up to 5.

Also what are you using to measure your salinity? Is it one of those cheap hydrometers? If so, you need to fill it with water, empty, refill it again about 6 times to get an accurate reading. Also make sure no bubbles are one the arm of the thing. What you should get when you can afford it is a refractometer. Dr Fosters & Smith have one for $45. Far more accurate and a lot quicker in getting a reading. You just put a few drops of water on it and then look through the eye piece and you can see exactly what the salinity is.