New “new guy “ to saltwater

[SamT]

Morning everyone. Went to the pet store to get my daughter the aquasphere 360. Which we did but also left with the fluval saltwater 32 gallon kit. Lots of extras to go with it all. Tanks are all set up. Used RO water and the sand with the bacteria in it. I’m not happy with the rock/coral setup. I am going to pull it and use a large saw to slice it into PCs I’d like to try to stack it and make some “selfs”. I also got the red sea test multi testkit foundations pro and foundations supplements kit. also a nice refractometer check the salt levels. I was at 1.035 last night. I am thinking pulling a few gallons and adding some RO water to bring it down. As for the other tests on the water
I could have made mistakes testing but felt pretty good on how I did it.
Kh/alkalinity was - 3.9meg/L Dkh 10.9
Magnesium level was 1600ppm
Calcium was off the chart at 700.
The girlfriend would like todo some of the soft corals. The ones that move with the current of the water. Not sure on much else other then that. I know I’ll be reading lots of posts on here. If anyone has pointers feel free to send them.

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!! Have you calibrated the refractometer? If so then the 1.035 could be a big reason for the elevated Alk, Cal, and Mag levels.

 

[Zach B]

Welcome

 

[tricky_tran]

Hey there! Welcome. go slow. make sure to get your parameters stable before adding any corals or anemones.

 

[MohrReefs]

Welcome! Use this forum as much as you possibly can!

 

[fishguy242]

hi welcome to the reef going to love it here!!
lots of fun/info/fun/help/fun....

 

[MohrReefs]

Morning everyone. Went to the pet store to get my daughter the aquasphere 360. Which we did but also left with the fluval saltwater 32 gallon kit. Lots of extras to go with it all. Tanks are all set up. Used RO water and the sand with the bacteria in it. I’m not happy with the rock/coral setup. I am going to pull it and use a large saw to slice it into PCs I’d like to try to stack it and make some “selfs”. I also got the red sea test multi testkit foundations pro and foundations supplements kit. also a nice refractometer check the salt levels. I was at 1.035 last night. I am thinking pulling a few gallons and adding some RO water to bring it down. As for the other tests on the water
I could have made mistakes testing but felt pretty good on how I did it.
Kh/alkalinity was - 3.9meg/L Dkh 10.9
Magnesium level was 1600ppm
Calcium was off the chart at 700.
The girlfriend would like todo some of the soft corals. The ones that move with the current of the water. Not sure on much else other then that. I know I’ll be reading lots of posts on here. If anyone has pointers feel free to send them.

What refractomer are you using? Did you calibrate it?

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[SamT]

Welcome to R2R!!! Have you calibrated the refractometer? If so then the 1.035 could be a big reason for the elevated Alk, Cal, and Mag levels.

Thanks. Just checked and it is showing zero when I check it with the test bottle that comes with it.

 

[fuelman]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[SamT]

What refractomer are you using? Did you calibrate it?

Sybon FG100. I just checked it with the sample they send to calibrate it. It is on point. Thank you

 

[BranchingHammer]

Welcome to Reef2Reef! Lots of info to get you started here. Good luck with the tank!

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Morning everyone. Went to the pet store to get my daughter the aquasphere 360. Which we did but also left with the fluval saltwater 32 gallon kit. Lots of extras to go with it all. Tanks are all set up. Used RO water and the sand with the bacteria in it. I’m not happy with the rock/coral setup. I am going to pull it and use a large saw to slice it into PCs I’d like to try to stack it and make some “selfs”. I also got the red sea test multi testkit foundations pro and foundations supplements kit. also a nice refractometer check the salt levels. I was at 1.035 last night. I am thinking pulling a few gallons and adding some RO water to bring it down. As for the other tests on the water
I could have made mistakes testing but felt pretty good on how I did it.
Kh/alkalinity was - 3.9meg/L Dkh 10.9
Magnesium level was 1600ppm
Calcium was off the chart at 700.
The girlfriend would like todo some of the soft corals. The ones that move with the current of the water. Not sure on much else other then that. I know I’ll be reading lots of posts on here. If anyone has pointers feel free to send them.

Hello and welcome to the channel.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[WirelessMike]

Welcome to the reef! Glad to have you. Number 1 tip is take your time! Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. Learned that the hard way when I started.

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome! Congrats on new tank! Elevated parameters more than likely caused by elevated salt mix levels. I would dilude as mentioned. Once you get it right let it cycle before adding any fish/coral.

 

[maceto]

Welcome!

 

[WIReefer]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[SamT]

Welcome! Congrats on new tank! Elevated parameters more than likely caused by elevated salt mix levels. I would dilude as mentioned. Once you get it right let it cycle before adding any fish/coral.

I pulled a gallon out tonight and replaced it with water from the ro. I would had done more but it takes forever to get a gallon out of those lol. I’ll recheck levels when I get home tomorrow from work. I think I’ll take a sample to “that fish place that pet place” and compare it to my test. They are a nice store. I don’t think I’ll be adding anything for atleast a few weeks.