Is Chemistry my problem?

I was trying to figure that out too. I did put a silverside in for the anemone, which it didn't eat. It was in the tank for about 4 hours. And for the rocks and sandbed...I did scrape the coralline off the glass below the sandline. Could that have done it? It's really hard when you have your first problem I REALLY don't want to loose anything!

Sue

 

Have been looking at the Korilla? 2's and 3's. What do you think I should go with?
Sue

 

Could have. How deep is your sand and how much did you disturb it by scraping the coralline below the sandline?

 

Sand is probably 3-4 inches deep, I just went down about an inch but just around the sides and front of the glass. I did take the BTA out to smell. It smells fine, just alot lighter than it was when I put it in the tank, also looks thinner. When I purchased it, it was located at the bottom of the tank. I got to thinking maybe my lights were more than it was used to, so when I put it back in the tank, I placed it near the sand and it grabbed a rock. Surprisingly, I think it looks a little better already:-/

Sue

 

How is your water testing out today?

 

I would go one K-2 and one K-3. Keep both your MJ 1200s. With your skimmer at about 200 your are looking at

Koralia-2 = 600GPH
Koralia-3 = 850GPH
MJ 1200 = 295x2 = ~600GPH
Skimmer = ~200GPH

Total = 2250GPH divided by 46g = 49x

Good number. No problems with flow.

 

I just tested: Temp. 78 PH 7.8 is down from from my last test it was 8.2 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Ammonia 0 Phosphate 0 Calcium 440 down from 480 and dKH and KH I am still confused about. My test kit API does not have a formula to follow. It has a conversion chart #of drops=dKH=ppmKH So: according to that it took 6 drops=6dKH=107.4 If I divide the # of drops by 50 and multiply by 2.8 to get the dKH it would be 8.4 Right? OHHH! I'm Soo CONFUSED Ssfftt Ssfftt don't tell me old dogs can't learn new tricks 'cuz I'm a Katt!! LOL:LolLolLol

Sue

 

GOSH!!.......I really like you You've just taken me by the hand and helped me with so many things, THANK YOU;D I'm trying to read as many FAQ's as I can but it really makes a difference when your mentors reinforce your thoughts.

Sue

 

The number of drops equals dkh so in your case....
6 drops = 6 dkh

to convert dkh to ppm you multiply dkh by 17.9...so in your case:
6dkh x 17.9 = 107.4ppm

To convert ppm to meq/L (milliequivalents/ liter) you divide ppm by 50 so in your case:
107.4ppm / 50 = 2.15 meq/L

Here is where you are getting confused. In order to go from meq/L to dkh is where you multiply by 2.8
So in your case:
2.15meq/L x 2.8 = 6dkh

Anyway doing a lot more math i am finding your alk being really low due to really low magnesium. Id get a magnesium test kit and fill us in with the results of that test.

 

for anyone good at chemistry please correct me if i am wrong
here are constants used.
Ca - Equivalent Weight = 20.04
Mg - Equivalent Weight = 12.15
CO3 - Equivalent Weight = 30.004
CaCO3 - Equivalent Weight = 50.045

Given Info:
Ca = 480ppm or 480 mg/L
alk = 6 dkh or 107.4 ppm, or 2.15 meq/l

So with the number you gave here is how i found you to have a low magnesium level.
CaCO3 due to Ca is found by
(480 x 50.045) / 20.04 = 1198.683mg/l
so
(1198.683mg/l) / 50.045 = 23.952 meq/L
so
(23.952 meq/l) / 50.045 = .4786 meq/l

Since we found that 480 ppm of calcium will equal 23.952 meq/L we can than find Magnesium

107.4 - 23.952 = 83.448

so we can than find
23.952 / 50.045 = . 4786
and
83.448 / 50,045 = 1.667
so
(.4786 + 1.667) x 50 = 107.3ppm

So to find the estimated concentration of magnesium in the system you would take
83.448 x 12.15 = 1014.31 ppm