Saltwater Help?

Question

I have just started a new tank. I bought two types of test strip. One tests Nitrate, Nitrite, and Hardness. The other tests ammonia. I know how to use the tests, but how do I alter the results? If the results are off, how do I correct it? I'm a beginner and only know how to correct the salinity. So if you could tell me how to correct Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness, and Ammonia it would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

The ammonia and nitrite will self-correct once your tank has finished cycling (http://www.fishyou.com/saltwater/tankcycle.html). The nitrate you can only adjust by doing water changes. Hardness is a function of how much calcium and magnesium are dissolved in the water. You can add more by using powdered or liquid additives. I use both Osmoprep (adds calcium and magnesium to replace what is lost by using reverse osmosis water for changes) and kalkwasser (adds calcium and raises my pH). This is one of the things that aragonite/calcium coral substrate does for your tank. - See why I suggested a book - there's a lot to know about this stuff!

BTW, if you didn't see it, I answered your lighting question as a comment for one of those resolved questions from yesterday.

Answer 2

The easiest way is to just do regular water changes with freshly made sea water. This will lower all the levels of nitrite, nitrate and ammonia instantly, and remove any other harmful wastes that have built up. To balance the hardness and pH of the water try using aragonite or shell sand; as it dissolves it will naturally buffer the water. You can try using chemicals to balance out your levels, but this is very expensive in the long run, and if you don't use them properly you can make the tank a lot worse. If you add some cured live rock to your system it should help balance these levels as well.