aquarium water testing results

test was on 8/22/12. All levels (except silica) were very close to what I tested so that is good news. But speaking of silica: my salifert test is always reading ballpark of 0.3-0.5 so I do need to sort through this. Past tests from AWT have shown similarly high levels of silicates. Maybe I will have to get a separate silica specific resin for the RODI.
Mag is kept high intentionally for chalices.


Ammonia (NH3-4) ........................ Good ................................. 0.000
Nitrite (NO2) ................................ Good ................................ 0.008
Nitrate (NO3) ............................... Good ................................. 1.4
Phosphate (PO4) .......................... Good ................................. 0.06
Silica (SiO2-3) ............................. High.................................... 1.3
Potassium (K) ............................... Low .................................. 211
Calcium (Ca) see note below ........ Good .................................... 214
Total Calcium (Ca) see note below.. High .................................... 480
Molybdenum (Mo) ......................... High.................................... 0.4
Strontium (Sr) ............................. High................................... 15.7
Magnesium (Mg) .......................... High................................... 1463
Iodine (I¯) ................................... High.................................. 0.36
Copper (Cu++) ............................ Good ................................. 0.02
Alkalinity (meq/L) ......................... Good ................................. 3.20

www.aquariumwatertesting.com

 

Where is the info on high mag for chalices? I only thought it was used to keep algae in check.

 

Trade secret. You wont find info on it because people really dont put it out there... no scientific data, just personal observation by us.

 

I checked out the site Trent
that does seem like a great facility to have
what is the turnaround time?

do you dose silica at all in any form?

 

Not algae, bryopsis. And it's doesn't seem to be out there, but a lot of people "feel" like it helps with chalices and I have heard encrusting montis.

 

You will order the test, they send you bottles (2 days), then you fill the bottles at your leisure and send back in with the prepaid shipping label (2 days shipping), results are immediately emailed to you!

I buy a few packages at a time to save a few bucks on the cost. I usually send a sample in every 4-6 months. Price for a spread is aroud $35. IMO a great investment for the accuracy and the peace of mind to double check personal results!
They use auto-titration and a spectrometer to determine concentrations.

I do not dose silica but it has always been on the high side in my tank, giving me annoying diatom blooms once in a while. I suspect my rodi but it still doesn't register high on a salifert silica test :-/

 

Potassium is pretty low there. Any plans to boost it? My blue corals do much better when it is above 300.

 

Thanks Greg. I am not a fan of adding chemicals to chase numbers. However, my "robins egg acro" has lost some of its light blue and gotten just a bit purple.
I do plan on straightening it out though. Hopefully a nice water change will help the level out.

 

I have been tempted to do this.... Just ordered my kits. I'm in. I didn't realize the price was so reasonable.