Bad test

[ninjamini]

OK I went to rogers publix (about 5 minutes from me) and got 3 jars of mrs waggs. I just did some water testing to see where I am:

Ph 7.8
Alk 5 DKH
Calcium 345

Phosphates are somewhere between .1-.2

This is the first time that Calcium has ever been low in all my testing. In fact before I started dosing alk/ph a few weeks ago it was always over 500. Over the last 2 weeks I have added a bottle and a half of alk/ph buffer. It raises and then drops again.

Of course I question my testing ability. For example the calcium test says add drops till it turns blue. Well it never does. It goes to purple and its not a sudden change. It slowly gets more purple with each drop. Damm test.

So should I take a sample to larry and let him redo my tests? Or should I just add the mrs waggs to my RO water that I top off with? Or should I use a 2 part solution? Or should I just dose the mrs waggs either directly or through a mrs waggs ro drip? Or should I sell my tank and just give up...

[gasman059]

Are u using the sera kits?

if u are i recently got some to try and yes u fill the vial up to 5 ml and slowly add drops until it turns color.(not necesarily blue) it does look somewhat purple.lol
1-1 meaning 10 drops = 10 dkh

[gasman059]

Or just sell the tank and get some lizards or turltes.
Even some guppies and fresh water.
j/k

[ninjamini]

I have the Sera dkh test, Aquarium Pharm Ph and CA.

I used to keep lizards:
2 Iguana
3 bearded dragons
3 (breeding trio) vailed chameleon

[A.T.T.R]

just use the kalk no matter what ( if used in top off with out overdoes) it will always keep the ca and alk in balance.. any extra will precipitate out

still re test your water but use the kalk no matter what

[jeffbrig]

kalk won't correct an unbalanced low Ca problem though. Any precipitation will affect Ca and Alk at the same ratio they're being added. To fix the imbalance, you would need to use a straight Ca supplement like a calcium chloride (ingredient in 2-part calcium solution). Use the reef chemistry calculator to determine the right amounts for your tank.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

ninjamini: I just took a second look at the numbers, and 5dKH is rather low for alkalinity too. I typically run mine around 10dKH to combat low pH. I think you'll want to raise them both.

[cubano2480]

Originally posted by gasman059
Or just sell the tank and get some lizards or turltes.
Even some guppies and fresh water.
j/k

you mean