Many ways to skin a reef, this is mine. (54 Litre/14 Gallon)

[hotashes]

I'll await your PM mate, sounds exciting.
Cheers

A.

 

[hotashes]

Wow, 10 days since last update.. I guess no news is good news people heh.

I'm in possession of some salts to keep me busy in keeping my reef healthy, I've currently got sodium bicarbonate (I plan to bake in oven) effectively giving me sodium carbonate/soda ash.

From this my tank will need supplementing to bring alk up as currently very low at 4.8 dKh!!! Using an online dosing calculator I believe for 45L of total water volume to get my alk up to desired level; 9dKh I will need 3.5grams of the now baked sodium carbonate mixed with RODI! It's advised I don't mix into tank all at once as the Ph will be too big a jump up, so as this is 'just to get the alk up to desired level' and not a dosing regime how much RODI do I mix with? I know it's best when pouring/dripping in I should do so into the powerhead for high flow, making sure no corals get direct hit.

I ask as I need to get alk up promptly as well as not drastically changing the salinity.

@Randy Holmes-Farley maybe this is an easy question for the likes of yourself. Anybody else able to chime in, it's appreciated.

Almost 4 months of being a reefer and I'm enjoying the help from everyone as it keeps me going. Thanks

A.

 

[hotashes]

Well having items I'd never seen in my life stashed away I've now found one of them useful. I know it's a little overkill for my nano, but..... Ya'know.

Having a little play around with the settings (now that I've got reason to) it's surprisingly simple, cannot believe how much they still charge for this GroTech iii + iv! Blimey glad I never paid full price when I got it 2 years ago heh. NOTE, instructions suggest to clean the internals of the dosing head with lint cloth. They appear to be acrylic/plastic and no metal parts other than the spindle which is completly separate from the head, would it be suitable to soak these in RODI water for cleaning?

This will be connected to my CoralBox 3x 1.5L dosing containers, which I guess will supplement the nano nicely.

In other news, since set up when I purchased my branching torch coral from a fellow reefer he advised me to make sure I didn't damage the fleshy perimeter.. I took note of it, however just couldn't manage to keep to the advice and when doing tank maintenance I've accidentally knocked the coral off the rock work numerous occasions. Resulting in exposed skeleton around the whole perimeter of the coral!!! For now, my mission is to get it back to full health and keep it alive.

Only 8 days until my Platinum Clownfish has completed 30 days Chloroquine Phosphate treatment, yipee

As the temp gets warmer again, my fans have kicked on this evening momentarily.


A.

 

[hotashes]

Well, where do we begin..... For those keen to help, I'm still caught up in how to work out a dosing regime. Any help appreciated. I know it's a broad topic, however any help is better than none!

In other news, although my nano skimmer is doing its job well. My Alveopora coral croaked, which having taken into consideration they can be difficult to keep. I have a strong feeling it was because my skimmer polished to water too clean, and Alveopora like dirty water. Poor little white skeleton now [emoji22]

My platinum clownfish is now a habitant of the nano, having done 30 days prophylactically in chloroquine phosphate. Breezed through treatment settled well and eating as usual.

As we're on topic I'd like to confess, I made a impulse purchase from lfs of a male blue striped pipefish. The fish clearly came for music shrimp when offered in the lfs so I thought why not. I know they've no stomach and need regular feeding, which is a case of wait and see how it goes. This was added directly to my display as I came to realise I couldn't run through QT using CP. Again, this is not a action I plan on making often.

I only went to get myself some CUC, and walked away with 4 X trochus snail. I like these as they self right themselves if the happen to topple
Last of the cuc was a tuxedo urchin, which so far has not moved from initial placement. I'll be keeping a close eye on it.

Today's levels

Clearly I need to begin dosing. HELPPPPPPPPP

A.

 

[TheSchwenkster]

What do you done by hand right now? Brand and items will help with giving recommendation.

I have a DOS and use two little fishies for my 7g. 6mL of c-balance A and 5.1mL B per day. Calculated by getting to where I wanted to be, waiting two days to see my utilization, and then used http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html and it was dang near perfect. Certainly worth a try. I let the Apex Jr and DOS do the schedule for how often but have it staggered so it does not dose at the same time. I do verify bi weekly at this point. Trust but verify!

 

[hotashes]

What do you done by hand right now? Brand and items will help with giving recommendation.

Tank been running 4 months, set up using live rock no sand. Cycled, added LPS corals X 7 and a 1" maxima clam.

Been doing weekly waterchanges 20% only to date.

Readings done today-

Alk-hanna
Cal-hanna
Mg-salifert

Salts purchased from bio aquatek,
Epsom salts on eBay.

I'm getting confused how I go about bringing my alk & mg levels up to target levels. (Based upon fresh salt levels). Do I make stock solutions and bring alk up or.............
Do I bring Mg up first?

Please consider my tank volume after displacement is 40L (nano)

I will be using a doser and have the 'coral box' dosing containers 1.5L x3 (alk, cal, mg)

Ideally having a nano could I just mix the stock in the 1.5L containers or make initial mix up in 5L water bottles as a mixing/holding container? (Then just pour into dosing containers as they deplete)?

I will not be adding trace elements right now (as I'm taking it slow) is that ok?

I've been confused by reading randy Holmes Farley papers (lots of science and calculations from us gallon to litres is not what I need right now lol)

From reading I've stumbled across the balling method (I know there are classic/lite etc) that confuses me too ha ha.

Ideally I don't like the idea of having to remove tankwater whilst dosing to counterbalance the salinity so if possible avoiding that!

I would just like to dose to requirements of alk, cal, mag (I'm happy to dose mg manually as I know it may not need topping up often), however if I can work out the correct ratios of how much alk to cal that would be good.
Also as I've got both part mg is it best I use both when mixing mg solution?

Wow, excuse the extensive questions but...... I got begin somewhere.

Thank in advance

A.

 

[TheSchwenkster]

Edited my post with more info.

I went simple with the c balance. It has cal, alk, mag, and a few other trace elements. I do add some red Sea trace colors once in a while but don't as diligent as I should be for those. I focus on the cal, alk, and mag now and may expand as I get more comfortable or think the need is there. While there are other options and some different ways to go about it, c balance is simple. Nothing to remove. Nothing to mix. Lasts forever if you buy the gallon size.

 

[hotashes]

Elements-

Calcium chloride flake dihydrate 77% food grade (CaCl2.2H2O)
Sodium bicarbonate EP/USP pharmaceutical grade (NaHCO3)
Magnesium Chloride hexahydrate flake (MgCl26H2O)
Magnesium Sulphate Epsom salts (MgSO4.7H2O)

A.

 

[TheSchwenkster]

I'll have to bow out on advising for those. Out of my league currently.

 

[hotashes]

Call in @Randy Holmes-Farley

A.

 

[SPR1968]

Well, where do we begin..... For those keen to help, I'm still caught up in how to work out a dosing regime. Any help appreciated. I know it's a broad topic, however any help is better than none!

In other news, although my nano skimmer is doing its job well. My Alveopora coral croaked, which having taken into consideration they can be difficult to keep. I have a strong feeling it was because my skimmer polished to water too clean, and Alveopora like dirty water. Poor little white skeleton now [emoji22]

My platinum clownfish is now a habitant of the nano, having done 30 days prophylactically in chloroquine phosphate. Breezed through treatment settled well and eating as usual.

As we're on topic I'd like to confess, I made a impulse purchase from lfs of a male blue striped pipefish. The fish clearly came for music shrimp when offered in the lfs so I thought why not. I know they've no stomach and need regular feeding, which is a case of wait and see how it goes. This was added directly to my display as I came to realise I couldn't run through QT using CP. Again, this is not a action I plan on making often.

I only went to get myself some CUC, and walked away with 4 X trochus snail. I like these as they self right themselves if the happen to topple
Last of the cuc was a tuxedo urchin, which so far has not moved from initial placement. I'll be keeping a close eye on it.

Today's levels

Clearly I need to begin dosing. HELPPPPPPPPP

A.

Hi Ash

Dosing is very simple but you need to get to the correct starting point and some of those readings are out, especially the alkalinity which at 4.4dKH is extremely low if it’s correct and I would have thought the inhabitants would be suffering at that level.

This is just my opinion and there is an infinite number of target levels.

Temperature need raising to at least 25c

Nitrate- you don’t want 0 nitrate or your risking cyno bacteria etc so I would raise that up by maybe feeding more. I run at 12-16ppm but that’s my system but I would go for at least around 5ppm

Alkalinity needs raising to around 8 as a good target ‘slowly’ but 4.4 is very low so get on with that.

Salinity maybe ok but I go for around 35ppm

Phosphate is fine but target around 0.03ppm

Magnesium is low and maybe go for 1300-1400 but the test are very sensitive so I would recheck this and the others before acting.

So to start foundation (Ca,Mg,Alk) element dosing, bring all your levels up to we’re you want them manually by adding whatever elements you need to. Sort the Mg first due to interactions. Once there test. Then test again in say 5 days time and work out the difference and then divide by 5 and that’s the daily usage.

So then bring all the levels back up manually to were they should be and then immediately start dosing each element with the correct daily dose. Then you just test each week and adjust the amounts.

 

[hotashes]

Hi Ash

Dosing is very simple but you need to get to the correct starting point and some of those readings are out, especially the alkalinity which at 4.4dKH is extremely low if it’s correct and I would have thought the inhabitants would be suffering at that level.

This is just my opinion and there is an infinite number of target levels.

Temperature need raising to at least 25c

Nitrate- you don’t want 0 nitrate or your risking cyno bacteria etc so I would raise that up by maybe feeding more. I run at 12-16ppm but that’s my system but I would go for at least around 5ppm

Alkalinity needs raising to around 8 as a good target ‘slowly’ but 4.4 is very low so get on with that.

Salinity maybe ok but I go for around 35ppm

Phosphate is fine but target around 0.03ppm

Magnesium is low and maybe go for 1300-1400 but the test are very sensitive so I would recheck this and the others before acting.

So to start foundation (Ca,Mg,Alk) element dosing, bring all your levels up to we’re you want them manually by adding whatever elements you need to. Sort the Mg first due to interactions. Once there test. Then test again in say 5 days time and work out the difference and then divide by 5 and that’s the daily usage.

So then bring all the levels back up manually to were they should be and then immediately start dosing each element with the correct daily dose. Then you just test each week and adjust the amounts.

Hey Shaun, great for you to hang out and help. I'm slowly learning the ropes on the dosing lark, I initially thought I'd need to make a potent high solution in little ro water to just get the levels up. Since then I've learned I can bring my levels up from stock solutions ha ha.

I think I will be aiming to mix alk at 96g/l with calc at 84g/l, are these in line with rate at what corals/coralline and other life generally uptake both?

Something that initially confused me also, was working out how much I should dose in ml daily to just get my levels up, considering my tank volume after displacement is just 40L.

Once I'm at the required levels with my core 3, yes I plan to do nothing but measure separation of each over a week so I can work out my daily requirements. I've got a feeling the uptake will not be crazy, and as I will be using a doser I have a feeling it will only be every other day I need to dose as the smallest a doser lets dose is 1ml. Unless I dilute my stock solutions to enable me then to dose daily at the minimum levels 1ml+ as the solution is watered down.

What would be best for me to mix the stock solution up at 'considering my tank volume'?

Is @Randy Holmes-Farley 'new' 2 part best for me to proceed with? Considering I've not got off the shelf salts as pictured above in previous post.

Thanks in advance to those who contribute and help me become a master reefer [emoji111]️

A.

 

[SPR1968]

You just need to follow the mixing instructions depending on what your using. That will give you a solution at a certain concentration and then you just add it as required according to uptake. Or add a certain amount to get to the desired starting point.

It might be worth looking at something like Red Seas ABC+ which is an all in one for your size system or you may even get away with just water changes with a decent salt like Coral Pro which has raised foundation element levels.

 

[hotashes]

Well overdue an update here;

Since looking into dosing I've not taken the plunge and set up the doser yet. Don't be put off as I've nearly got my head around it and should be there pretty soon. My main concern is I really don't want to over do the concentrations and nuke my tank.. Understandable I guess.
I've been watching my 3 main elements Alk, Calc & Mg on a weekly basis to see the uptake. Just jotting the results down got a little messy so I created a spreadsheet to make things clearer to me, it helps much more....

Whilst having my little brains over worked by the dosing calculations I hadn't focused so much on tank husbandry.. Since the brownish slimy type algae hadn't returned from my last h2O2 bout I decided to let nature take its toll. The brown slime algae didn't return, however a short coarse green algae formed and only on the rockwork. No film algae on my glass for upto a week at a time. As I'm currently doing daily water changes 25% (to bring elements up to fresh salt mix level) I decided to not remove the rocks and pick the green algae with my hands . From doing this, the algae broke so easily as it was coarse feeling. *Better than the usual slimy kind. (To be continued with keeping on top of tank husbandry).

During this period I'd had my clownfish come through 30 days prophylactic chloroquine phosphate treatment and added to the display tank. Whilst I have been strict around adding livestock to my display and dipping all corals etc I faced a problem.......
Having been preparing myself for some cuc, I visited the lfs for a browse.... Leaving with a small amount of cuc AND a blue stripe pipefish!!!!!!
Having read about how pipefish have no stomach it slipped my mind as I handed over the wonga!!! I think it was excitement to be honest..
Now at home with new purchases I soon realise I cannot QT the pipefish with cp treatment as they do not tolerate it. The lfs convinced me they do treat all fish in stock on arrival with copper, I have never used it myself and didn't have time on my side to learn.... So by now the decision had to be made to just gamble and put it in the display or risk losing the fish as it wouldn't have survived overnight in the bag it came home in. In it went, along with the cuc *Gulp.

The pipefish showed signs in the shop it took frozen mysis shrimp so it was a bonus, yet as I never had any at home I had to use an alternative like gamma brine shrimp. Surprise, surprise, the pipefish hasn't taken it once... Luckily my rock having came from a previous hobbyist tank had plenty of life when I transferred it (remember I skip cycled my tank using live rock)! So there is plenty of pod life, or shall I say was......
The pipefish is still alive till date and has been with me 10 or so days, hurry up postman with my gamma mysis shrimp order lol. Touch wood the pipefish will go back to eating frozen!!!

Some bad news to report, my Avleopora coral passed on and all that remains is a white skeleton in the tank. I believe it is down to not having enough nutrients in the tank at the time of death, (prior to any fish being present) as the skimmer would have stripped the water clean. Live and learn

Now back to business, the 1" maxima clam is still going strong

A few corals at feeding time

Candy cane formed a few new heads [emoji4]

Acan has split heads [emoji4]

Duncan coral doubled in size since purchase [emoji4]

Front tank shot.

Casper the clown (purchased as a platinum clown, but dark eyes lead me to believe it's a Wyoming)

Blue stripe pipefish and Alevopora skeleton

It's worth the wait *grin*

Thank you.


A.

 

[SPR1968]

Well overdue an update here;

Since looking into dosing I've not yet taken the plunge and set up the doser yet. Don't be put off as I've nearly got my head around it and should be there pretty soon. My main concern is I really don't want to over do the concentrations and nuke my tank.. Understandable I guess.
I've been watching my 3 main elements Alk, Calc & Mg on a weekly basis to see the uptake. Just jotting the results down got a little messy so I created a spreadsheet to make things clearer to me, it helps much more....

Whilst having my little brains over worked by the dosing calculations I hadn't focused so much on tank husbandry.. Since the brownish slimy type algae hadn't returned from my last h2O2 bout I decided to let nature take its toll. The brown slime algae didn't return, however a short coarse green algae formed and only on the rockwork. No film algae on my glass for upto a week at a time. As I'm currently doing daily water changes 25% (to bring elements up to fresh salt mix level) I decided to not remove the rocks and pick the green algae with my hands . From doing this, the algae broke so easily as it was coarse feeling. *Better than the usual slimy kind. (To be continued with keeping on top of tank husbandry).

During this period I'd had my clownfish come through 30 days prophylactic chloroquine phosphate treatment and added to the display tank. Whilst I have been strict around adding livestock to my display and dipping all corals etc I faced a problem.......
Having been preparing myself for some cuc, I visited the lfs for a browse.... Leaving with a small amount of cuc AND a blue stripe pipefish!!!!!!
Having read about how pipefish have no stomach it slipped my mind as I handed over the wonga!!! I think it was excitement to be honest..
Now at home with new purchases I soon realise I cannot QT the pipefish with cp treatment as they do not tolerate it. The lfs convinced me they do treat all fish in stock on arrival with copper, I have never used it myself and didn't have time on my side to learn.... So by now the decision had to be made to just gamble and put it in the display or risk losing the fish as it wouldn't have survived overnight in the bag it came home in. In it went, along with the cuc *Gulp.

The pipefish showed signs in the shop it took frozen mysis shrimp so it was a bonus, yet as I never had any at home I had to use an alternative like gamma brine shrimp. Surprise, surprise, the pipefish hasn't taken it once... Luckily my rock having came from a previous hobbyist tank had plenty of life when I transferred it (remember I skip cycled my tank using live rock)! So there is plenty of pod life, or shall I say was......
The pipefish is still alive till date and has been with me 10 or so days, hurry up postman with my gamma mysis shrimp order lol. Touch wood the pipefish will go back to eating frozen!!!

Some bad news to report, my Avleopora coral passed on and all that remains is a white skeleton in the tank. I believe it is down to not having enough nutrients on the tank at the time of death, (prior to any fish being present) as the skimmer would have stripped the water clean. Live and learn

Now back to business, the 1" maxima clam is still going strong

A few corals at feeding time

Candy cane formed a few new heads [emoji4]

Acan has split heads [emoji4]

Duncan coral doubled in size since purchase [emoji4]

Front tank shot.

Casper the clown (purchased as a platinum clown, but dark eyes lead me to believe it's a Wyoming)

Blue stripe pipefish and Alevopora skeleton

It's worth the wait *grin*

Thank you.


A.

Hi Ash and great update

If you want an idea of a simple chart to record everything I’ve just posted a picture in the link below of what I use under an excel spreadsheet (I didn’t want to post a picture on your build thread).

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/looking-to-log-my-reef.443013/#post-5043759

‘All’ you need to do to keep a reef tank successfully, is to keep the water parameters in check and stability really is the key.

You have to keep on top of basic husbandry and if you do this everything becomes much easier.

 

[hotashes]

Hi Ash and great update

If you want an idea of a simple chart to record everything I’ve just posted a picture in the link below of what I use under an excel spreadsheet (I didn’t want to post a picture on your build thread).

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/looking-to-log-my-reef.443013/#post-5043759

‘All’ you need to do to keep a reef tank successfully, is to keep the water parameters in check and stability really is the key.

You have to keep on top of basic husbandry and if you do this everything becomes much easier.

Thanks again once more for passing by, appreciated. It looks although that's the numbers app on iOS, if so it's the one I use on my Mac. Can you kindly do me a favour post a clear shot or two of the whole layout that you use so I can take some notes etc please. Scroll across and grab a picture and down too, thanks [emoji4]

I plan to keep numbers stable, although I certainly do not want to chase numbers so providing they are within range I will be happy. Alk is the one I will watch most, with Mg to keep Alk & Cal in solution/balance.

A.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Well overdue an update here;

Since looking into dosing I've not taken the plunge and set up the doser yet. Don't be put off as I've nearly got my head around it and should be there pretty soon. My main concern is I really don't want to over do the concentrations and nuke my tank.. Understandable I guess.
I've been watching my 3 main elements Alk, Calc & Mg on a weekly basis to see the uptake. Just jotting the results down got a little messy so I created a spreadsheet to make things clearer to me, it helps much more....

Whilst having my little brains over worked by the dosing calculations I hadn't focused so much on tank husbandry.. Since the brownish slimy type algae hadn't returned from my last h2O2 bout I decided to let nature take its toll. The brown slime algae didn't return, however a short coarse green algae formed and only on the rockwork. No film algae on my glass for upto a week at a time. As I'm currently doing daily water changes 25% (to bring elements up to fresh salt mix level) I decided to not remove the rocks and pick the green algae with my hands . From doing this, the algae broke so easily as it was coarse feeling. *Better than the usual slimy kind. (To be continued with keeping on top of tank husbandry).

During this period I'd had my clownfish come through 30 days prophylactic chloroquine phosphate treatment and added to the display tank. Whilst I have been strict around adding livestock to my display and dipping all corals etc I faced a problem.......
Having been preparing myself for some cuc, I visited the lfs for a browse.... Leaving with a small amount of cuc AND a blue stripe pipefish!!!!!!
Having read about how pipefish have no stomach it slipped my mind as I handed over the wonga!!! I think it was excitement to be honest..
Now at home with new purchases I soon realise I cannot QT the pipefish with cp treatment as they do not tolerate it. The lfs convinced me they do treat all fish in stock on arrival with copper, I have never used it myself and didn't have time on my side to learn.... So by now the decision had to be made to just gamble and put it in the display or risk losing the fish as it wouldn't have survived overnight in the bag it came home in. In it went, along with the cuc *Gulp.

The pipefish showed signs in the shop it took frozen mysis shrimp so it was a bonus, yet as I never had any at home I had to use an alternative like gamma brine shrimp. Surprise, surprise, the pipefish hasn't taken it once... Luckily my rock having came from a previous hobbyist tank had plenty of life when I transferred it (remember I skip cycled my tank using live rock)! So there is plenty of pod life, or shall I say was......
The pipefish is still alive till date and has been with me 10 or so days, hurry up postman with my gamma mysis shrimp order lol. Touch wood the pipefish will go back to eating frozen!!!

Some bad news to report, my Avleopora coral passed on and all that remains is a white skeleton in the tank. I believe it is down to not having enough nutrients in the tank at the time of death, (prior to any fish being present) as the skimmer would have stripped the water clean. Live and learn

Now back to business, the 1" maxima clam is still going strong

A few corals at feeding time

Candy cane formed a few new heads [emoji4]

Acan has split heads [emoji4]

Duncan coral doubled in size since purchase [emoji4]

Front tank shot.

Casper the clown (purchased as a platinum clown, but dark eyes lead me to believe it's a Wyoming)

Blue stripe pipefish and Alevopora skeleton

It's worth the wait *grin*

Thank you.


A.

Looking good (for the most part ). That Pipefish is beautiful!

 

[hotashes]

Looking good (for the most part ). That Pipefish is beautiful!

[emoji111]️

A.

 

[SPR1968]

Thanks again once more for passing by, appreciated. It looks although that's the numbers app on iOS, if so it's the one I use on my Mac. Can you kindly do me a favour post a clear shot or two of the whole layout that you use so I can take some notes etc please. Scroll across and grab a picture and down too, thanks [emoji4]

I plan to keep numbers stable, although I certainly do not want to chase numbers so providing they are within range I will be happy. Alk is the one I will watch most, with Mg to keep Alk & Cal in solution/balance.

A.

This is the full screen shot Ash, in excel. When I reach a certain point on the right hand side, I just go back over to the left and start again with the dates etc.

I keep a record of all sorts of things as the weeks just fly buy and even something simple like changing the blade on my flipper max scrapper.

You will see I’m not currently dosing Mg as it’s always been high, probably from the standard Red Sea salt use.

I don’t test for things were there is no reading and Apex monitors pH for example.

As I use rhowaphos I test for phosphate less these days as I just regularly change the rhowaphos every 3 weeks or so and that locks it down to very low levels.

 

[hotashes]

White coat off......

Today's mixing numbers:

160g/L Sodium bicarbonate (baked),
132g/L calcium chloride dihydrate,
Both above each mixed fully into rodi water and topped off to the 1L mark.

Then.....

179g/L Magnesium sulphate
298g/L Magnesium chloride hexahydrate
Both mixed separately into 500ml rodi water and then added together (to prevent precipitation).
Ended up with 1.2L hmmmm

(The Mg mix I should have mixed slightly different to make sure I ended with 1L, cannot work out why I ended up with more when I mixed them into one)?

Squeaky bum time lol.

Thoughts?

A.