Emergency Help...!

R

rick4him

I did a water change on my 34 gallon tank today...I have NO IDEA what happened but I just checked my stats and they are

Here are my stats -

SG - 1.034

ph - 7.4

dh 6.72

kh - 120

I don't know if there was an issue with my refractometer, or if I made some HUGE error in my saltwater mix..but what should I do? Should I start replacing saltwater with rodi water? I know you shouldn't drop things fast, but I'm super worried that everything is going to die. I have lots of very expensive corals, and some nice fish....this is the first time I've ever made a mistake like this...I have no idea how my SG went up like that..

what should I do...??? I'M WAITING BY MY COMPUTER FOR YOU GUYS TO CHIME IN...!

THANKS.
 
If the salinity was OK prior to the water change, then by lowering it quickly you should equal out to no real change. I don't know how long since you did the change though. I would say drain off 1 or 2 gallons right quick if it has not been long and replace with RODI.

I would also be very sure from now on that you check the water you are going to use to do the change before you add it. I always make sure my add water for the changes matches on Ph, Salinity and as close as possible on temp.

Witt

(edited volume as I just saw yours is only a 34 gallon total)
 
Wow man..

here is what I would do....

VERIFY the results... Make CERTAIN you have a high Salinity.

If you can verify FOR CERTAIN...

remove a 1/2 gallon of water and replace it with 1/2 g RODI by putting it into the overflow.
Wait 10 min, check salinity
If still high repeat.

Do this until it comes back to normal. You could maybe even do a cup at a time. going slow is your best bet IMHO.

Goodluck!
 
If you are positive the salinity is up, drain out a few gallons and add a few RO/DI gallons. Test over and over to see where the salinity lands. The pH is way too low, which is very odd. I don't know the values for dh and kh as I've not used a Master Test kit in over a decade. I test alkalinity with a dKH reading. It's not the same equivalents.

Normally lowered pH would be the result of too much freshwater, not too salty. How are you measuring pH? A meter or a test kit?
 
@Marc wrote:
If you are positive the salinity is up said:
Thanks..

What I was doing was taking the KH (120) and doing the math...did I make an error? (for the dh)

for the ph, I was just using a test kit..
Click to expand...
 
I really don't know. There are two measurements I use for the kits I've referred to. Salifert for example will give you two numbers. dKH or meq/l - The target range is 8 to 11 dKH or 2.86 to 3.89 meg/l - Your numbers are much different so I can't compare to what I know. Tropic Marin and Elos are easier. You count the drops until the color changes, which means 8 drops is 8dKH.

I never trust a pH test kit, nor the dipping strips. I use a Pinpoint pH meter or a controller (like my Aqua Controller III) to give me that very important number. I don't live by it, but I check to make sure it is in target range. Here's what my controller shows for the past few days. I had to unplug it recently and lost the prior data.

What is your salinity reading now?
 
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