Green Algea

[mark7616]

Right here is my stats

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 1ppm doesn matter what I do it wont go.
Nitrate 10ppm
PH 8.2
KH 11.5dKH
Alk 4.11
Phos 0.1
magnesium 1140
calcium 460

Now I cant see anything bad here except the nitrite but it is still cycling ill be getting my tds meter tomorrow and ill test that im hoping it is that cause I can easily fix that. What do you all think about my results.

 

[sianeds]

No it looks OK to me. Your Ca is a bit on the high side, do you dose the tank?? It's not a major problem though.

Just be aware that the algea will make your readings look good as it will use any excess nutrients in your water pretty quickly.

Water change to get the nitrate down and carry on as you are for now. Seems like this is a waiting game...

 

[mark7616]

Nope I do not dose at all.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, everything except the nitrite (although still cycling) is spot-on. Lets get that TDS figured out and go from there

 

[mark7616]

Yep that should be here tomorrow and I can test I went to the shop today and asked if they had a tds meter and the guy asked what one was. Im hoping they are high as then I know whats wrong.

 

[mark7616]

Right I have just checked my tds reading i started doing it on pre mixed salt then realised that wasnt right when it was going off the scale so I had a dribble left in the bottom of my container and checked it. it came out as 121 on the meter just how bad is this and what should I do??

 

[AndyS]

Go to another LFS and either ask them for their TDS reading or buy a small amount of water and test that, then you will have something to compare to.

 

[SkiFletch]

Right I have just checked my tds reading i started doing it on pre mixed salt then realised that wasnt right when it was going off the scale so I had a dribble left in the bottom of my container and checked it. it came out as 121 on the meter just how bad is this and what should I do??

Well, its different from locale to locale but common tapwater has a TDS of 100-300ppm... Test your own tapwater to figure out if the "RO" unit that the LFS is supposedly using is actually doing anything. If your LFS actually is using an RO membrane to produce that filtered water, the membrane is shot, not even a flush would bring it back from that level of deterioration. Maybe they just dont know how to operate an RO unit, or even possibly they're lying to you and just giving you dechlorinated tapwater.

 

[mark7616]

My tds meter says my tap water is 497ppm. I get a different reading everytime is this normal?

 

[SkiFletch]

Wow, thats some really hard water . Its possible to get slightly different readings like 5-10% changes. Thats just an astounding TDS though

 

[Miss Wiggle]

get your own RO unit mate, sounds like the lfs doesn't know what they're doing. osmotics.co.uk we got one for about £50, worked it out on our usage and comparde to buying it from teh lfs it had paid for itself in soemthing like 4 months. well worth the money.

think the water in the UK is pretty hard in general, our tds from the tap is knocking on for 300 i think.

 

[mark7616]

Dont RO meters have to be permanantly set up under your sink???

 

[SkiFletch]

They can be setup under your sink, outside at a garden hose, in a washbasin, or pretty much anywhere you have supplied water and a drain. Just requires the proper fittings . I'll agree with Miss Wiggle, its worth it to get your own.

 

[mark7616]

I dont want to spek to soon but the green algea seems to of dissapeared check out my tank diary post for latest pics I now have a very nice covering of coraline algea.