GrrrMomma January 6, 2012 Share January 6, 2012 After 20 years keeping freshwater tanks we took the plunge Sept 2011 and got a marine reef aquarium. We purchased it via craigslist from another hobbyist who had had it for over 1 year. I was so glad we did it that way, as we avoided so much of the cycling issues! Plus we had an emergency resource if things went south! We are primarily interested in a set up that features animals with interesting behavior, so our 3 kids can observe and learn. Any suggestions/observations are welcome, I am deathly afraid my ignorance will result in some kind of fishy apocalypse! Physical setup: 55 gal All-Glass ( 36x 12x 24) aquarium Eheim ECCO 2234 canister filter Remora HOB skimmer 150w heater 2 Koralia powerheads RO/DI water supply for changes Lighting : 1 fixture 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvreef January 6, 2012 Share January 6, 2012 everything sound sreal good....the fish u have listed are all non aggressive fish I would stay with that, blue hippo, coupe cromies....what every you do stay away from any damsles or dominios in your system, go with blue hippo, yellow tang and such that are not aggressive Now what are your water parameters say keeping balanced but you really need to keep an eye on the ph balance, phosphates, nitrate, nitrite...also some of the corals might not be growning due to low alkalinity and calcium levels, so give us thoes as well as your salinity and temp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw January 6, 2012 Share January 6, 2012 Congrats on taking the plunge. I would post a pick of the flatworms to see what kind they are. If they are the reddish/brown type the wrasse should be muching on them. If not there are some chemical treatments you could use......just make sure that they are safe for everything else in your tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 6, 2012 Share January 6, 2012 Welcome to the club and to reef tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf January 6, 2012 Share January 6, 2012 Welcome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrrrMomma January 6, 2012 Author Share January 6, 2012 Okay! so I will post some pics and test results. Any help is always appriciated:) Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad January 6, 2012 Share January 6, 2012 Welcome to your newest addiction! Can't wait to see pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 6, 2012 Share January 6, 2012 Welcome! (I see that you've already joined the club as a full-member. Wise move!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrrrMomma January 7, 2012 Author Share January 7, 2012 Here is the tank ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 7, 2012 Share January 7, 2012 Looks like you're off to a fantastic start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrrrMomma January 8, 2012 Author Share January 8, 2012 Ok! Here are the stats Sal 1.025 Ph 8.3 Temp 80 Ca 400 KH 6 Phosphate and nitrate 0 I can't seem to keep the KH higher. Any hints? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvreef January 9, 2012 Share January 9, 2012 tank is looking great...keep the pictures coming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef January 9, 2012 Share January 9, 2012 are you checking your calcium, potassium and magnesium levels? dosing for those (in unison) I think raises kH.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrrrMomma January 11, 2012 Author Share January 11, 2012 are you checking your calcium, potassium and magnesium levels? dosing for those (in unison) I think raises kH.... No, I will have to upgrade our test kits to add pottassium and magnisium:) I have a surprise coral growing on a rock ,that I just saw today! if I post a pic, could someoen help me ID it? I have to say, finding new fun stuff growing in my tank out the the blue totally made my day!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 11, 2012 Share January 11, 2012 Forget measuring potassium at this point. I think that the last post intended to focus your attention on calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. Alkalinity raises KH - or, more properly, dKH. (More properly, dKH is a measurement unit that we use for alkalinity. 2.8 dKH = 50 ppm CaCO3 equivalents = 1 meq/liter alk) Our tanks are supersaturated with calcium and alkalinity, which provide the basic building blocks for coral skeletons. Magnesium helps interfere with the spontaneous precipitation of calcium carbonate at these supersaturated levels. Anyways, the big three are calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. Other parameters that are very important are temperature and pH, but we often have continuous, probe-based measurements of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 11, 2012 Share January 11, 2012 Ok! Here are the stats Sal 1.025 Ph 8.3 Temp 80 Ca 400 KH 6 Phosphate and nitrate 0 I can't seem to keep the KH higher. Any hints? What salt mix are you using? What test kit are you measuring with? Is it for marine systems? (Most marine alkalinity kits measure in meq/l or dKH, while some measure in ppm CaCO3 equivalents.) What are you trying to use to elevate your alkalinity (dKH)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrrrMomma January 11, 2012 Author Share January 11, 2012 What salt mix are you using? What test kit are you measuring with? Is it for marine systems? (Most marine alkalinity kits measure in meq/l or dKH, while some measure in ppm CaCO3 equivalents.) What are you trying to use to elevate your alkalinity (dKH)? Right now I am only adding the 2 part (Ca and trace minerals )supplement everyother day. I will have to check on salt mix, my test kit is the API kit for reefs (CA, dKH, etc.). I have a high PH kit for Marine systems. Thanks for all the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 11, 2012 Share January 11, 2012 Right now I am only adding the 2 part (Ca and trace minerals )supplement everyother day. I will have to check on salt mix, my test kit is the API kit for reefs (CA, dKH, etc.). I have a high PH kit for Marine systems. Thanks for all the help! Two-part is normally composed of a calcium and alkalinity, not trace minerals additive. This may explain your low alkalinity (6). A low-cost alkalinity additive is plain old baking soda. Let me refer you to a very good article on home-made (DIY - do it yourself) two-part (which often becomes three-part when you include the magnesium supplement). http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php Please feel free to ask any questions about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef January 12, 2012 Share January 12, 2012 OH yep Origami your right, cant remember why I was thinking potassium? anyways ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 12, 2012 Share January 12, 2012 OH yep Origami your right, cant remember why I was thinking potassium? anyways ... Potassium, magnesium... whatsit matter anyway? Some people try dosing potassium in an effort to bring out more blues in their corals. Unfortunately, there are no really good potassium tests available for the hobbyist. They all rely on a very subjective evaluation of turbidity rather than a sharply defined color change. This makes consistent measurement somewhat difficult. All this, since it's not been shown to that dosing makes much difference in most systems, why do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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