Tank up for 1 month today, are my numbers right?

Okay, so today is the 1 month mark for my tank. Here are the current parameters, please let me know if I am in good range and what you would change.

SG - 1.023
Temp - 77-78
PH- 8.4
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
Calcium - 520ppm
Carbonate Hardness - 161.1ppm
Phosphate .25ppm


Does everything look okay and what should I change?


Thanks

 

temp is high in my opinion should be 82 at the highest every thing else looks goo though

 

Good call out!! I just fixed it.

77-78

 

Calcium is pretty high. What are you planning on keeping? That will determine whether you should bump that SG up a bit.

 

I have no idea why the Calcium is so high, I did start the tank with a 3in DSB but I need up taking it down to 1.5in. So im guessing thats where the high Calcium came from.

Current livestock:
12 small feather dusters in fugue (When I say small I mean SMALL)
2 Clown
3 Turbo Snails
Yellow Polopy
Zoanthids
7 Blue leg crabs
Frog Spawn
Royal Gramma
Peppermint Shrimp
Cleaner Shrimp

I have no idea what I plan on adding to the tank, I want some more soft coral but no idea what. Any ideas?

My light system is Nano Tuners 144watt Compact..

 

Your s.g. is low for a reef, PO4, ca and alk are high. I don't know if I trust your numbers though. What kind of salt are you using? I don't think there is any salt that could produce those number as .023. Are you using a calibrated refractometer to measure s.g.?

 

What do you mean by "salt that could produce those numbers" my hydrometer is posting @ 1.023 SG.

What are idea numbers for PO4, CA & ALK? How should I lower them?

Seachem ReefSalt is that I am currently using

 

I meant I was guessing you were using a hydrometer, as they are not accurate Or you are supplementing calcium and alkalinity. All salt mixes contain certain ratios of trace elements. Natural sea water has a specific gravity of 1.0264. Your invertebrates especially are sensitive to this and you should really keep your salinity fairly close to this.

However, I think if you measure with a more specific tool, like a refractometer, (which you really should have, salinity is about as critical as it gets) You may find that your s.g. is higher than 1.023. For example, if your salt mixes to 440ppm calcium at an s.g. of 1.0264 and you are at 520, then your s.g. would have to be about 1.031. Hydrometers are not accurate, this is possible....

I wouldn't worry too much about lowering your ca and alk, just figure out what your s.g. actually is for now.

You really should get something like this at some point, with the calibration fluid. Saltwater Aquarium Salinity & Specific Gravity Testing: Portable Refractometer

There are probably cheaper ones, I don't know how good they are. Probably better than a hydrometer though, as long as you calibrate it.

As for the phosphate, running GFO, and protein skimming are probably the most effective methods to reduce this.
Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

Thanks for the help, I was a little lost. My numbers expect CA & Phosphate according to the books "Test Kit" look to be okay. I do have a skimmer, its working pretty well at pulling Alage out of the water right now. It was down for two days because the plug got unplugged.

I will invest in a better tool to measure the SG.

Any tips on future livestock?