How to make my tank the best it can be

[mari.harutunian]

I need help with scheduling, equipment, water changes, testing, and how to set up my new media tumbler for GFO and/or carbon

 

1. What's the best schedule for feeding the tank? I have various foods(mysis, reef roids, flakes, pellet, Krill, brine shrimp, & phyto Plankton) for the various fish, inverts, and corals. I usually just mix it up for the fish every other day and then the corals once a week. Phyto twice a week for feather dusters and a porcelain crab.

 

2. Should I invest in a ATO system? I have an open top. Every three days I need to put in at least a gallon.

 

3. How often and how much water should be changed for a 36 gallon tank? And what is the best way to handle the water?? I've considered the trash bins but they're huge and my tank is in my bedroom. It's not impossible to though. Water changes have just been such a hassle. Maybe the trash bins are right... I can make excess water.

 

4. How often should I test all the different things? I have all the test kits I just need a concrete schedule to do them... so far I've been guessing.

 

5. I just got the CPR nano tumbler from BRS intending to run GFO but the package says I need the fine media kit... do I need it? Can I just put it in a filter sock and then in the tumbler?

 

I'd love to hear what you guys think. I have all the means just not the experience to run my tank the best I can. And u can just put the # of the question you answer if that's easier.

Thanks

Mari

Edited January 14, 2017 by mari.harutunian

[Dr.eclipse]

imo getting a tank to look great takes two things, time and stability.

 

1: I always kept my feeding simple, pellets every night with the pumps off and mysis every so often. but I never kept fish that required special feeding.

 

2: YES YES YES! if you can afford a reef tank, you can afford an ato! remember stability is key!

 

3: I do 5 gallons a week in my 34 gallon w/ 20L sump. that being said my bio-load is very low atm. if you feed heavily then you will need bigger water changes.

remember to match salinity and temp to your current tank conditions before doing the water change.

 

4:once a week should be fine. if things seem funky [cloudy water, poor polyp extension, odd fish behavior] then test immediately to find a solution.

 

5: im not familiar with this system so I cant say for sure, but I think running the media in a filter bag should be fine.

[epleeds]

1.  I use pellets and frozen food.  They get pellets a few times per day and frozen every few days.  I also use seaweed for the tangs.

 

2. Yes for the ATO.  on a smaller tank, the salinity swings can hurt the coral growth.  

 

3.  Do you have an RODI?  When I had my smaller tank, i would purchase 5 gallons of saltwater from my LFS and 5 gallons of RODI for top off.  It just didnt make sense to have that much water on hand since I was going to the LFS every week to get a frag or just see what they got in.  But I would do 5 gallons weekly, or 2x per month.

 

4. I only test ALK/CAL to make sure i keep my levels correct.  I shoot for 8.0-8.5 for ALK and 420 for CAL.

 

5.  What is the reason your going to set up GFO?  are you phosphates high?

Edited January 14, 2017 by epleeds

[WheresTheReef]

1. I rotate LRS fish frenzy, hikari and PE mysis all frozen 1-2x daily. Seaweed 2-3x/week for tangs and angel fish. You could setup an autofeeder for dry foods if your fish take it (some of mine don't). Especially if you leave on vacation.

 

2. Yes. Post a WTB in the for sale section and there are usually good deals on used equipment. Consistency is key.

 

3. I do 10% weekly. You could get a couple home depot orange buckets to mix and remove 4g water/week. Mix with spare powerhead and cheap 10g heater.

 

4. CAL/ALK/MAG weekly around the same time for consistent results. Salinity on occasion.

 

5. Not familiar with this. +1 do you test for phosphates? Good rule of thumb is don't add anything that affects something you don't test for.

 

Tank seems to be coming along nicely. Do you have a skimmer?

[dpassar12]

1: I do pellets every morning and night. I have a copperband and a dragonet so I feed live blackworms or frozen bloodworms every 1x every other day for the CB and my tank is well stocked with pods for the dragonet. 

2: ATO and RODI is a must IMO

3: 5 gallons a week sounds right for a tank your size. 

4 :I test ALK and MAG once a week, P's and N's rarely unless something looks off. Stable ALK is most important thing IMO. I keep my AKL at 10 but 7-11 is fine but keep it stable. 
 
5: I mix my GFO with carbon in a regular media reactor not a tumbler and change out every 30 days. Start small on GFO if you even need it?. I use 2 cups for 1000 gals system. Skimmer is a must. I also dose vodka and MAG my mag is 1350. On a tank your size I think a 15% water change should cover everything, dosing anything is probably not necessary.

 

6: Check the par on your lights make a graph of the levels in your tank so you know where to place corals.  

7: Write a schedule for water changes/ testing etc and stick to it.   

[mari.harutunian]

1: I do pellets every morning and night. I have a copperband and a dragonet so I feed live blackworms or frozen bloodworms every 1x every other day for the CB and my tank is well stocked with pods for the dragonet.

 

2: ATO and RODI is a must IMO

 

3: 5 gallons a week sounds right for a tank your size.

 

4 :I test ALK and MAG once a week, P's and N's rarely unless something looks off. Stable ALK is most important thing IMO. I keep my AKL at 10 but 7-11 is fine but keep it stable.

 

5: I mix my GFO with carbon in a regular media reactor not a tumbler and change out every 30 days. Start small on GFO if you even need it?. I use 2 cups for 1000 gals system. Skimmer is a must. I also dose vodka and MAG my mag is 1350. On a tank your size I think a 15% water change should cover everything, dosing anything is probably not necessary.

 

6: Check the par on your lights make a graph of the levels in your tank so you know where to place corals.

 

7: Write a schedule for water changes/ testing etc and stick to it.

I'll look into getting an ATO for sure. I'll start giving myself a good schedule and stick to it this time. Any advice on if I should keep my sandbed? It's gotten better since I reduced the photo period. Still has lots of detritus. Might replace it with a GSP mat. Isn't a par meter super expensive?

 

 

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[mari.harutunian]

imo getting a tank to look great takes two things, time and stability.

 

1: I always kept my feeding simple, pellets every night with the pumps off and mysis every so often. but I never kept fish that required special feeding.

 

2: YES YES YES! if you can afford a reef tank, you can afford an ato! remember stability is key!

 

3: I do 5 gallons a week in my 34 gallon w/ 20L sump. that being said my bio-load is very low atm. if you feed heavily then you will need bigger water changes.

remember to match salinity and temp to your current tank conditions before doing the water change.

 

4:once a week should be fine. if things seem funky [cloudy water, poor polyp extension, odd fish behavior] then test immediately to find a solution.

 

5: im not familiar with this system so I cant say for sure, but I think running the media in a filter bag should be fine.

ATO is now at the top of my list. Maybe I can win one at the frag swap lol...

 

 

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[mari.harutunian]

1. I rotate LRS fish frenzy, hikari and PE mysis all frozen 1-2x daily. Seaweed 2-3x/week for tangs and angel fish. You could setup an autofeeder for dry foods if your fish take it (some of mine don't). Especially if you leave on vacation.

 

2. Yes. Post a WTB in the for sale section and there are usually good deals on used equipment. Consistency is key.

 

3. I do 10% weekly. You could get a couple home depot orange buckets to mix and remove 4g water/week. Mix with spare powerhead and cheap 10g heater.

 

4. CAL/ALK/MAG weekly around the same time for consistent results. Salinity on occasion.

 

5. Not familiar with this. +1 do you test for phosphates? Good rule of thumb is don't add anything that affects something you don't test for.

 

Tank seems to be coming along nicely. Do you have a skimmer?

I don't really know what to look for in an ATO so I'm cautious about posting in the WTB section. And if it doesn't function correctly idk what I'd do. I do test phosphates and they register around .1ppm. I have the tunze 9004 skimmer. Works amazingly. Honestly the only thing keeping the tank as good as it is.

 

 

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[WheresTheReef]

I'll look into getting an ATO for sure. I'll start giving myself a good schedule and stick to it this time. Any advice on if I should keep my sandbed? It's gotten better since I reduced the photo period. Still has lots of detritus. Might replace it with a GSP mat. Isn't a par meter super expensive?

 

 

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The club has a PAR meter that it lends out. Look for the "Par Meters" forum under the Members section. The list moves a little slow, but you could at least get your name on the list in the mean time.

 

 

I don't really know what to look for in an ATO so I'm cautious about posting in the WTB section. And if it doesn't function correctly idk what I'd do. I do test phosphates and they register around .1ppm. I have the tunze 9004 skimmer. Works amazingly. Honestly the only thing keeping the tank as good as it is.

 

 

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Looks like ATO is a top recommendation and I agree. I personally have experience only with JBJ ATO units. They use float switches which some people dislike, but I haven't had any issues with them (I have 3 units on different tanks) over the last 5 years. You would put the float switch in the return/pump section as that is where the water line drops due to evaporation. You will also need a water reservoir/container with RODI water for topoff and a pump. I use the Aqua Lifter pump, but despite its name can't lift water more than 12-15" IME. If you need to lift the water higher than that, I would look into a submersible pump that can handle the head height or a peristaltic pump such as the BulkReefSupply ATO pump.

 

Your phosphates are high probably due to the dry rock you started with. I added a medium sized rock to my tank recently and it raised my phosphate by 0.03ppm.

[WheresTheReef]

BTW, looks like the fine media kit is just a way to keep small media from flowing back into the pump. You should be good using a filter sock. I would recommend a mesh sock as you can easily rinse it off when you replace the media. Make sure and rinse off the gfo well before putting it into your tank. Also, start with about 25% the recommended GFO for your tank and work up to the recommended level. You don't want to drop any water parameter very fast or your corals may not be very happy.

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator/

[sethsolomon]

1. What's the best schedule for feeding the tank?  I feed pellets once in the morning and then in the evening I randomly either feed Frozen or pellets.  New Life Spectrum a+ Pellets are awesome!

2. Should I invest in a ATO system? 1000x YES! I recommend either the tunze ATO or the Hydor smart level.

3. How often and how much water should be changed for a 36 gallon tank? I personally would do 5 gallons a week.  If you have room to store water, a 35g brute trash can would work well to store RO/DI water and you would only have to fill it once every month or so.

4. How often should I test all the different things? If the tank is new Nitrate, Ammonia, and phosphate 2 times a week.  If it is more established, Calc, phos, and mag weekly and alk 2 times a week.   Your tank looks like the alk useage may start ramping up, so I would start looking into ways to keep your tank more stable in-between water changes.  Dosing pumps, Kawlk dosing, Calcium reactor.

5. I just got the CPR nano tumbler from BRS intending to run GFO but the package says I need the fine media kit... do I need it? Can I just put it in a filter sock and then in the tumbler?  I think a filter sock would be fine, just make sure you swap filter socks weekly to keep them from becoming detritus pools.

 

 

 

 

But overall your tank looks good.  Just get the GFO running and that should take care of the algae.  Other than the gfo, just keep doing what you're doing.  Its working and your corals look happy.