rs2023
New Member
Hey! This is my first time posting on here and my second time trying to start a reef tank after bombing it the first time back in 2021 it was a total disaster. I started a 13.5g AIO back in july then transferred everything to a 32.5g AIO gradually, which seems to be doing well but after testing for phosphate, calcium and dkh I started to get worried. Though my corals seem to be doing fine, and no nuisance algae despite some aiptasia on my zoas. My hammer that i bought with two heads are both now splitting up.
The tank is mainly filled up with lps and softies with a banggai cardinal, two clowns, a yellow headed goby, a yellow tail blue damsel, and a couple snails and hermits.
The tank is running a fluval sea light, a sicce 1.5 return pump, tunze comline 9001 (added dec 28 not tuned in) , a jebao and fluval sea wave maker. I am not completely sure if my “refugium” is doing its job properly since I am running an AIO I just have a HOB filter filled with chaeto. My chemical filtration consists of chemipure-blue and rowaphos. I am also using red sea coral pro salt. I do 25% water changes every 2 weeks though I am still using tap water I am looking to upgrade to a 4 stage unit
Forgive me for the inconsistency of testing days, I am hoping to get some guidance from experienced reefers wether you’re months in the hobby or years into it, but I am looking specifically for advice from reefers with ULNS, and how you got to that point? Or if this is even the proper route to go if id wanna keep an sps dominated reef?
I will post my test results below, I have been using the hanna nitrate HR, Calcium, Phosporus ULR, and alkalinity colorimeter to test my parameters. My calcium has maxed out twice and I have used up all the Phosporus ULR reagent all testing at its maximum reading.
Dec 22.2022
Nitrate : 5.1
Phosphate: Max
Calcium : 517
Dkh : 11.1
Dec 24.2022
Nitrate : 16.8
Phosphate : Max
Calcium : Max
Dkh : 11.3
Dec 27.2022
Nitrate : 15.5
Phosphate : Max
Calcium : 566
Dkh : 11.9
Dec 29.2022
Nitrate : 3.8
Phosphate : Max
Calcium : Max
Dkh : 12.2
Dec 31 2022
Nitrate : 16.5
Phosphate : Max
Calcium : 592
Dkh : 10.4
My end goal for this is to upgrade my 32.5g AIO to a reef ready tank specifically a frag 105.4 but there is no way i am taking that chance for the animals and myself unless I am able to get some guidance on how to properly maintain the stability in the tank.
Just to sum up the long post my main question are
How can i lower the nutrients in my tank, specifically phosphate, alkalinity and calcium?
Is a ULNS the way to go for an sps dominated mixed reef?
For an sps dominated mix reef that measures 32.5 L, 15.75 W, 15.35 H would i be able to get away with 2 AI prime 16hds or should I go with the hydra 32s?
Any recommendations/guidance on using amino acids?
Is my HOB filter with chaeto worth keeping?
The tank is mainly filled up with lps and softies with a banggai cardinal, two clowns, a yellow headed goby, a yellow tail blue damsel, and a couple snails and hermits.
The tank is running a fluval sea light, a sicce 1.5 return pump, tunze comline 9001 (added dec 28 not tuned in) , a jebao and fluval sea wave maker. I am not completely sure if my “refugium” is doing its job properly since I am running an AIO I just have a HOB filter filled with chaeto. My chemical filtration consists of chemipure-blue and rowaphos. I am also using red sea coral pro salt. I do 25% water changes every 2 weeks though I am still using tap water I am looking to upgrade to a 4 stage unit
Forgive me for the inconsistency of testing days, I am hoping to get some guidance from experienced reefers wether you’re months in the hobby or years into it, but I am looking specifically for advice from reefers with ULNS, and how you got to that point? Or if this is even the proper route to go if id wanna keep an sps dominated reef?
I will post my test results below, I have been using the hanna nitrate HR, Calcium, Phosporus ULR, and alkalinity colorimeter to test my parameters. My calcium has maxed out twice and I have used up all the Phosporus ULR reagent all testing at its maximum reading.
Dec 22.2022
Nitrate : 5.1
Phosphate: Max
Calcium : 517
Dkh : 11.1
Dec 24.2022
Nitrate : 16.8
Phosphate : Max
Calcium : Max
Dkh : 11.3
Dec 27.2022
Nitrate : 15.5
Phosphate : Max
Calcium : 566
Dkh : 11.9
Dec 29.2022
Nitrate : 3.8
Phosphate : Max
Calcium : Max
Dkh : 12.2
Dec 31 2022
Nitrate : 16.5
Phosphate : Max
Calcium : 592
Dkh : 10.4
My end goal for this is to upgrade my 32.5g AIO to a reef ready tank specifically a frag 105.4 but there is no way i am taking that chance for the animals and myself unless I am able to get some guidance on how to properly maintain the stability in the tank.
Just to sum up the long post my main question are
How can i lower the nutrients in my tank, specifically phosphate, alkalinity and calcium?
Is a ULNS the way to go for an sps dominated mixed reef?
For an sps dominated mix reef that measures 32.5 L, 15.75 W, 15.35 H would i be able to get away with 2 AI prime 16hds or should I go with the hydra 32s?
Any recommendations/guidance on using amino acids?
Is my HOB filter with chaeto worth keeping?
