Fairly new reefer looking for any and all advice!

ksc

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I'd also run that cannister filter with carbon and some filter floss and change out when you notice the outflow decreasing. You can stir up the tank a few times a day and that filter will help.
 
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Be102

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Nope, those other tests are a waste for right now.

Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate are the most basic tests. Once you consistently get 0 Ammonia and 0 Nitrite you can stop testing for those.

pH is another very basic test you should do regularly. This test you should do weekly pretty much forever imo.

Nitrate and Phosphate are great to look at if you have an algae or bacteria problem. These are the easiest way to measure nutrients in your water.

Calcium and Alkalinity are for coral health more than anything. Alk will impact pH though which is important to keep in mind.

Worry about the other stuff when you get these basics down. Those other tests are based on maximizing coral growth and colors. You need to get to the point of keeping them alive first.
Makes a lot of sense. From why I am seeing algae to why nothing is growing and all that bad stuff :(. I have tried for a 4th time to test my calcium and still have been unable to get a color change of the solution unfortunately. So I am beginning to think its either too to test if thats even possible. The water change will hopefully do me wonders. I am using Coral Pro salt; the red one I believe? Its packed with a lot of elements.
 
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Your best investment would be a couple of buckets of salt. You can skip the testing etc. and do what we call a tank reset. Change 10-20% of your water every day or two until your first buckets half gone. At this point your parameters will be pretty close to those of the salt you use. Clean those powerheads and frag racks too. Baste your rock to get the detrius out when doing your water changes. You don't need to dose anything but the new clean water.
Can you recommend a salt to use? I know there are a bunch of salts that are a lot cheaper than mine but I started from the best from day one.. Kinda useless when I don't have much stuff utilizing all the elements but it makes sense. Can I use my Ecotech on the 'detritus stirrer mode' and utilize that? I was originally thinking about removing canister all together; purchasing the BRS Carbon & GFO reactor with their stuff and moving on from there. I initially was planning on doing the whole Sump/overflow/return pump/ reactor/ refugium combo but at this point in time I feel like its going to be pretty costly to do all at once. Can I use some sort of bio ball or something in the canister? It makes a lot more sense that it is literally jsust having water run through it as opposed to originally I was under the impression the thing would not work without the exact filter media and whatnot.
 

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Makes a lot of sense. From why I am seeing algae to why nothing is growing and all that bad stuff :(. I have tried for a 4th time to test my calcium and still have been unable to get a color change of the solution unfortunately. So I am beginning to think its either too to test if thats even possible. The water change will hopefully do me wonders. I am using Coral Pro salt; the red one I believe? Its packed with a lot of elements.
Try mixing up a half gallon or so of fresh salt water. Wait a few hours then try testing that to see if you get a result.

The salt you are using should be fine.
 

ksc

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Can you recommend a salt to use? I know there are a bunch of salts that are a lot cheaper than mine but I started from the best from day one.. Kinda useless when I don't have much stuff utilizing all the elements but it makes sense. Can I use my Ecotech on the 'detritus stirrer mode' and utilize that? I was originally thinking about removing canister all together; purchasing the BRS Carbon & GFO reactor with their stuff and moving on from there. I initially was planning on doing the whole Sump/overflow/return pump/ reactor/ refugium combo but at this point in time I feel like its going to be pretty costly to do all at once. Can I use some sort of bio ball or something in the canister? It makes a lot more sense that it is literally jsust having water run through it as opposed to originally I was under the impression the thing would not work without the exact filter media and whatnot.
Many people, most chemists, and myself just use Instant Ocean. It has everything you need to grow a top notch reef tank. There is no best salt, only opinions on which is the best salt. I picked up a couple of 160 gallon buckets for $25 each (they make about 140 gallons each @ 1.027). It goes on sale all the time. Take a turkey baster to those rocks and blast the detrius out, then your water change and canister filter can remove them.

A reactor is nothing more than a canister filter. You could run gfo and carbon inside the canister, add some floss and call it a filter sock. No need for bioballs or anything else.
 
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Be102

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Many people, most chemists, and myself just use Instant Ocean. It has everything you need to grow a top notch reef tank. There is no best salt, only opinions on which is the best salt. I picked up a couple of 160 gallon buckets for $25 each (they make about 140 gallons each @ 1.027). It goes on sale all the time. Take a turkey baster to those rocks and blast the detrius out, then your water change and canister filter can remove them.

A reactor is nothing more than a canister filter. You could run gfo and carbon inside the canister, add some floss and call it a filter sock. No need for bioballs or anything else.

Definitely thought I was getting a little upsold for the salt I was choosing. What is floss people refer to? I have learned about gfo and carbon however am unsure for the floss. I guess it makes a lot more sense to use what I own rather than buying more stuff. The canister doesn't have any sort of screening really to prevent the carbon and gfo from either mixing and or getting through the layers. The stuff in there now is definitely harming me. I guess the only reason I wanted to go reactor Way was because I wasn't sure how to plan to add the carbon or gfo inside the canister itself.
 

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Filter floss. Any place that sells fish supplies should have it. If this is the canister you have you should have filter pads and media containers that fit inside it, so you could use those. I have the single BRS reactor and simply mix the gfo and carbon together. This stops the gfo from turning into a rock. You can also get media bags to put the carbon and gfo in, then put the bag into the canister
http://www.marinedepot.com/Eheim_Pr...ver_100_Gallons-Eheim-EH2080-FIFRCFOH-vi.html
 
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Filter floss. Any place that sells fish supplies should have it. If this is the canister you have you should have filter pads and media containers that fit inside it, so you could use those. I have the single BRS reactor and simply mix the gfo and carbon together. This stops the gfo from turning into a rock. You can also get media bags to put the carbon and gfo in, then put the bag into the canister
http://www.marinedepot.com/Eheim_Pr...ver_100_Gallons-Eheim-EH2080-FIFRCFOH-vi.html

Is the reactor something you'd recommend? I originally just was interested in it because the ease of use and easy accessibility was interesting. Plus it would allow me to not have to attempt to lug my tank away from my wall to try to maintain it. The reactors don't seem too pricy and the carbon and whatnot bulk is nice.
 

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Where is yours found in your tank? The floss that is. Just one layer? What does it do? How often do you switch it?
depends. I use it in my canister when i clean, just lay a piece on each basket. in an aquaclear just under the sponge. in the 55 w sump over or in the pump chamber when i clean.
in my 55 I put carbon in a bag next to the pump.
my phosphates are never high enough to warrant using gfo. never have been.
 
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Be102

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depends. I use it in my canister when i clean, just lay a piece on each basket. in an aquaclear just under the sponge. in the 55 w sump over or in the pump chamber when i clean.
in my 55 I put carbon in a bag next to the pump.
my phosphates are never high enough to warrant using gfo. never have been.

I guess the biggest concern of mine was that it would either overflow due to the inability to flow through. So is my only canister problem the stuff that's in there ? The biological material or who knows what even is in there quite honestly.
 
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Be102

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I intend to go today prior to my water change and pick up a bottle of Prime, Stability and Biraspira as well. Is there any specific instructions whilst adding these? Thinking about shutting the canister off and removing until I either decide to continue using it with carbon and filter floss possibly gfo as well in media bags. If not I will most likely purchase a reactor and have it shipped to me.
 

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I guess the biggest concern of mine was that it would either overflow due to the inability to flow through. So is my only canister problem the stuff that's in there ? The biological material or who knows what even is in there quite honestly.
the first question becomes what is it. I honestly dont know, i dont run the enheim. there may be carbon in it.
in fresh water it the can is used like live rock to build bacteria and filter food and poop.. in ours it turns into too much nitrate. so folks who use it always say keep it clean.

Is there any specific instructions whilst adding these?
follow the directions. Id use prime and stability OR bio spira honestly.

have the lfs test your water, and have them give you the numbers not say it looks good or bad.

keep in mind a canister IS a reactor. a reactor passes water over and through the selected media.
personally Id say just clean the canister, and see what the products are that are in it. Id bet its floss(or a cotton wadding), with an expensive name.
 

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You shouldn't need any those bottles, as your tank is already cycled. You could spit in your tank if you want to add more bacteria. There's probably more bacteria in your canister filter than in all those bottles combined.
 

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You shouldn't need any those bottles, as your tank is already cycled. You could spit in your tank if you want to add more bacteria. There's probably more bacteria in your canister filter than in all those bottles combined.
lol. I do that after i use the bottles.
when I had the bad water probs like this and the numbers kept jumping it seem to help pretty quickly.
Not sure if it was the bottles or spit really.
 

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lol. I do that after i use the bottles.
when I had the bad water probs like this and the numbers kept jumping it seem to help pretty quickly.
Not sure if it was the bottles or spit really.
I used to use bottled whale spit to clean my scuba mask. :eek: Spit really is amazing! :D

While his tank is cycled it is hard to say there isn't some problem going on. Not all nitrifying bacteria are created equal. I probably wouldn't bother using the products at this point but there very well could be value in adding a higher quality strain of nitrifying bacteria to his tank.

IMO the OP has a long learning curve ahead of him. Less focus on reactors, additives and chemical filtration. More focus on basic water quality, testing, feeding, and husbandry.
 
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Be102

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lol. I do that after i use the bottles.
when I had the bad water probs like this and the numbers kept jumping it seem to help pretty quickly.
Not sure if it was the bottles or spit really.

Great; I will skip the Biraspira. Wasn't sure that since it can't hurt, it would only help. Unfortunately I am only going to my local petco to grab the random supplies. Hopefully they will sell media bags too. Would you recommend any specific gfo /carbon? I know it sounds silly but I only intended to purchase the 'r.08x' or whatnot because of the reviews BRS gave it. I assume every companies is good as well. I will most likely probably only use the canister until I either pick up a sump or I fix all my problems. I guess I was afraid to dump all the media; but now knowing its hurtful its not helping. http://www.f3images.com/IMD/UserManuals/EH2080.pdf This lists whats currently in my basket, minus the filter floss which I think I removed. Can I dump all the water in the canister all together? Then just use different layers? for different stuff?
 

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ollow the directions. Id use prime and stability OR bio spira honestly.
+1 I would recommend adding prime and stability and then keeping the Biospira on the shelf to use in an emergency.
 

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Would you recommend any specific gfo /carbon?
What test result or symptom in your tank are you seeing that tells you that you need to run carbon or gfo?
 

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