How to keep water in check

[fishguy4]

so i havent been on the forum in months but i have been trying everything i can to keep my water quality up but i just cant keep it consistent. Basically what happens is ill do a wc and the water will be great for a couple days and then it will eventually go back to being bad in less than a week. Buying the water from my lfs every couple days is getting really expensive and i really dont know how i am going to be able to keep the water quality up as i am wanting to separate my tank with some eggcrate and get a frogfish some day. but anyway can someone give me some advice on how to keep the water quality good and maybe what test kits are best too. Thx!!!

Oh and i think my canister filter could be part of the problem but idk

 

[reefer gladness]

It doesn't look like you're overstocked with fish so no problem there. I have the same size tank and a few more fish. How much and how often do you feed your fish?

Tell us a little more about your filtration system and water circulation too please. I don't know much about canister filters other than they need regular cleaning but I'm sure others can give you some good advice if you tell us what you have. Remember, any gunk inside your canister filter is still part of the system. A lot of people are steering away from canister filters for reef tanks now in favor of a sump with some form of mechanical filter (ie. filter sock) and a good protein skimmer rated for 1.5-2x the volume of your tank. Some like activated carbon and some don't, I've always run chemi-pure elite in my tank which contains some activated carbon.

What about your clean up crew? A large and diverse cleanup crew does a lot of the work in keeping good water quality.

PS - I wanna see a pic of your yellow assessor please. I have a blue assessor and love 'em. Too bad they're so hard to find and relatively expensive.

 

[steved13]

I think you'll have to be more specific about what exactly is "great water" and "bad water" What are the readings (the more the better) after a WC and before a WC?

 

[whippetguy]

I like the red sea or salifert test kits for nitrates, magnesium and calcium. I use Hanna checker for alkalinity and phosphorus, but those are a little more pricey up front. With you stocking lists, you don't have be as particular about some of the nutrient levels. I don't see any calcium coral users on your list therefore you shouldn't have to worry about your levels as much. I think just using a good coral salt mix and regular water changes should keep you good to go without much else to worry about.

 

[fishguy4]

I think you'll have to be more specific about what exactly is "great water" and "bad water" What are the readings (the more the better) after a WC and before a WC?

i cant exactly remember my parameters last wc but the spec gravity was low something like 1.018 or somethin like that. The nitrate and nitrite are always much higher than they are supposed to be and i always have a 7 point something PH. sorry about that i really cant remember any specifics and i just ran out of the other test strips (whicj is why i asked everyones favorite)

And about the canister filter it really annoys me because i clean the thing down to the wire and literally in about 3 days it completely cluttered with filth all over again. The tubes running back up to the tank is the worst. they are almost impossible to clean because they have these little indentations basically all the way up and all this crap gets stuck in them and it is a nightmare trying to get it all out it takes usually over an hour. and like the canister it goes back to normal in about 3 days

and unfortunately i dont think i can get a sump because the bottom of my tank is very narrow and tall. heres a pic of the same tank as i have from google lol

http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/CodeWilster/media/fishtank2.jpg.html?filters[term]=56%20gallon%20aquarium&filters[primary]=images&filters[secondary]=videos&sort=1&o=0

i obvioulsy have very few options as for what to put in there so any ideas would be great!

 

[DaveK]

i cant exactly remember my parameters last wc but the spec gravity was low something like 1.018 or somethin like that. The nitrate and nitrite are always much higher than they are supposed to be and i always have a 7 point something PH. sorry about that i really cant remember any specifics and i just ran out of the other test strips (whicj is why i asked everyones favorite)

And about the canister filter it really annoys me because i clean the thing down to the wire and literally in about 3 days it completely cluttered with filth all over again. The tubes running back up to the tank is the worst. they are almost impossible to clean because they have these little indentations basically all the way up and all this crap gets stuck in them and it is a nightmare trying to get it all out it takes usually over an hour. and like the canister it goes back to normal in about 3 days
...

Before you worry about the other parameters, you got to get SG correct. If your down around 1.018 your low and will need to boost it. Getting a refractometer to measure SG is highly recommended.

With out specific reading, it's tough to give advice. I will say that if you have a nitrite reading other than 0, you have some problems. For the hobby grade thest kits I like Elos or Sailfret. If money is no object then LaMotte, but there are lab grade and cost a bundle.

Get yourself regular test kits and do your own testing. Test strips can be a quick check, but are useless for actual parameters.

What brand and model of canister filter do you have? That can make a big difference. Pictures can help.

How much live rock and live sand do you have in the system? This is a big part of the biological filtration system.

 

[reefer gladness]

All good advice, put me in the Salifert test kit club as well. Along with good test kits keeping a log of your water parameters really helps too. You can use a pen/paper, Excel or other spreadsheet, I use a freeware program called Aqualog

If you're in this hobby for the long haul it really does pay off to have your own RO/DI system at home and mix your own salt water. Just occurred to me, what's the source of water for you top-off for the water that evaporates from your system? Tap water contains all kinds of bad stuff you don't want in your tank.

Your pic didn't link. From photobucket you want to copy/paste the complete link that begins with "

 

[Singlefin]

More details. How much you feed? What do you feed? Equipment list. Pics would help too.

 

[Choff]

Agree with everything above, but DaveK hit it on the head. Get a refractometer and find out if your salinity is really that low. If it is, then get your SG up to 1.024-1.026 SLOWLY. Very slowly. You should not be getting Nitrite. Nitrate is a different story and is probably related to your canister filter, but lets not worry about that just yet.


If budget is a concern, get API test kits. I myself use Red Sea, but I have API as well and for awhile I was dual testing and they came out the same. API is one of the most used test kits.

Also, you cannot worry about your PH. That is really a complex topic and not something you can easily adjust without throwing other parameters off. PH flucuates throughout the day/night and is really best to monitor it vs point in time testing. Weekly WC should keep your PH in check assuming you are getting good water from the LFS and you are using a quality salt. Any low reads could also be related to your low salinity. Must fix that first....SLOWLY.