I've used two test kits - one TetraTest and one JBL (which I'm using at the moment) - I purchased them both new, I had problems reading the colours on the TetraTest one so I thought I'd try the JBL when I went in to buy a replacement kit.
Both buckets of salt were also purchased new.
I smoke cigarettes and washed my hands thoroughly (without soap) before making the water. This time I mixed it with a wooden spoon instead of my hand or a pump. Same results. I just checked the new saltwater now: 0.15ppm ammonia. The level in the tank is 0.05ppm.
I don't see how I can ever get a stable environment if I can't produce ammonia-free saltwater
...
Aside from that, here are all the problems I see that are facing the anemone right now (please tell me if this is incorrect):
- The temperature in the water is ridiculously high, approaching 30C. I don't have a clip-on fan so I have taken a table fan now and stuffed it over the sump, turned it on to max and unplugged the heater (which was set to 22C).
- The salinity in the water is too low, around 1.020 (it's because I removed some of the saltwater to clean the sand and for othe tasks and replaced it with RO water, my bad). I want it to be 1.025; to rectify this, should I mix up saltwater at 1.025 and keep doing changes, or should I mix up at a higher salinity to make it balance out?
- The calcium level is 300ppm and the dKH is 10.6. I have a calcium supplement but I've never used it before so am a bit nervous - should I add some to the water according to the directions to try to get it up to 410 over the course of some days?
- The lights are probably insufficient (I was wrong in my earlier post, it was CaptFish who said he had the same lights as me, not D). With 2x40W one blue one white, that is less than 1W per gallon. I looked at the metal halide lights online last night and there is simply no way I can afford that, they are going for $750 for 250W and even that is only 2.5W per gallon. Besides, the eventual purpose of the tank is to house an octopus and that would be far too much light. Suggestions?