60.2 Waterbox for first time reefer

[AntimatterBlue]

Hello all! First time reefer her. Snagged a waterbox 60.2 from FB marketplace and decided to get into the Hobby. So far it’s been about two months since I’ve set the tank up. Still kind of aimlessly pursing the trial and error method but have lost two tangs along the way.
Question for the seasoned vets, what all should I be testing my water for currently if I only have clowns, a dottyback, and a crab?
Note: I haven’t added any lights to the tank yet since I’ve heard that it’s best not to introduce light in the first three months since it can promote future algae crisis. Thoughts on this too would be beneficial.

 

[Quietman]

I'm not sure 'aimlessly pursing trial and error' is optimal with expensive livestock. There are so many 'how-to's', 'build threads' and such on here (and the internet) to help you start out. It's always best to learn from other's mistakes.

I won't go into all the details on how to run a reef tank - you can get more professional advice from the BRS website - recommend starting with 5 min reefing series for quick intro, 52 weeks of reefing for indepth, and perusing the 'beginner's guide' section for intro into topics.

No need to go dark for weeks/months. But you do want to make sure you have good nutrient management plan (water changes on up to algae scrubbers/refugiums to high tech skimmers). You'll never stop algae altogether, it's about managing water quality to prevent algae from dominating systems.

You should be testing/monitoring temp daily. Nitrates, Phosphates, Alkalinity and Salinity weekly until you understand how your tank functions. Calcium and Magnesium every other week. pH is useful to monitor but weekly testing is fine until you get higher end corals.

Good luck and welcome to the hobby.

 

[AntimatterBlue]

I'm not sure 'aimlessly pursing trial and error' is optimal with expensive livestock. There are so many 'how-to's', 'build threads' and such on here (and the internet) to help you start out. It's always best to learn from other's mistakes.

I won't go into all the details on how to run a reef tank - you can get more professional advice from the BRS website - recommend starting with 5 min reefing series for quick intro, 52 weeks of reefing for indepth, and perusing the 'beginner's guide' section for intro into topics.

No need to go dark for weeks/months. But you do want to make sure you have good nutrient management plan (water changes on up to algae scrubbers/refugiums to high tech skimmers). You'll never stop algae altogether, it's about managing water quality to prevent algae from dominating systems.

You should be testing/monitoring temp daily. Nitrates, Phosphates, Alkalinity and Salinity weekly until you understand how your tank functions. Calcium and Magnesium every other week. pH is useful to monitor but weekly testing is fine until you get higher end corals.

Good luck and welcome to the hobby.

Thanks for the advice. I did check out the 5 minute guide and that’s where I heard about the whole no light idea.
I’ve been checking nitrates, alkalinity and salinity weekly but haven’t been checking the others listed. I’ll have to pick up some more testing kits.

 

[Kolbyk]

Welcome to the hobby! And like stated above YouTube will be ticket for quick run through of what you will all want and need! Good luck!