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View Full Version : Calcium, Alk, Mg & pH Trying to understand ?


Lesley
02-08-2014, 05:16 PM
HI all,I am fairly new to all this and am a wondering (thought I read it some where) what affect salinity has on your test kit readings.
Is it true that if your salinity is at 1.023 you will get different readings than if is at 1.025 ?
If so are the results of mag, cal and alk going to be higher or lower than the test kit suggests.
The reason I ask it my parameters are all testing well but my salinity is 1.023 (a bit low ) If i slowly raise this with ATO water to 1.025 will this affect my readings.
At the moment
ph. 8.3
alk 8.9
cal 420
mag 1250
temp 26
Thanks
jimsflies
02-08-2014, 08:17 PM
I think this chart might help you:
Salinity Conversion Table (http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/salinity-conversion-table.html)
MizTanks
02-08-2014, 10:57 PM
Link doesn't work for me on Tapatalk :( I'd like to see it too!
jimsflies
02-09-2014, 07:48 AM
Apparently I've found a bug in my code here... so while I'm trying to get the link working, here is a screen shot of the page

8983
CalmSeasQuest
02-09-2014, 10:57 AM
yes, your test results will vary (generally lower) at lower salinity levels. You should set your salinity, then test.

I'm not sure if you question was pertaining to temperature, but keep in mind that most refractometers automatically adjust for temperature - Refractometers and Salinity Measurement by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/)
MizTanks
02-09-2014, 11:30 AM
It would figure that if your using less salt to make 1.023 your Alk & Ca & Mag would be slightly lower also. That's the way I think anyways :)

Did you take those readings right after a water change?
What are you using to test your SG? Hydrometer or Refractometer? What test kit are you using?
Lesley
02-10-2014, 06:06 AM
Hi. I am using a refractometer have Elos and sailfert tst kit for all parameters except phosphate is a Hanna checker & sailfert. I did the tests 24 hours after 200 ltr water change. !use Red Sea coral pro salt !
MizTanks
02-10-2014, 11:37 AM
Well you will have higher readings that soon after a water change, as they've yet to be depleted. Also Red Sea Coral Pro is known to have higher levels of the big 3 then say my Reef Crystals.
Your readings are actually pretty good. Just a tad low on the mag. Nothing to be concerned about :)