my new baby... AKA The Café

[James_O]

This is hilarious:

 

[shadow_k]

I definitely do want to see growth.

How do I manage these levels? Is it a chemical I add to the water? Or?



Also, how do I get rid of the nitrates? I hate algae, so I really want to get this figured out and exterminated. :/

And here I am trying to get nitrates and phosphate readings lol I guess they mean what they say by every tanks different.

 

[James_O]

You

shouldn’t need to dose anything unless you have SPS in your tank, and usually a good amount of it. Otherwise, water changes should replenish everything and keep it steady. Your job then, is to determine how often your tank requires these water changes. It’s different for everyone depending on tank size, types/size/amount of coral, how fast water evaporates from your tank etc. for a nano tank I’d recommend 1-2 changes a week at least in the early stages

I am really bad about not doing water changes.

I live in Kentucky, so my water is over the top hard (due to all the limestone). It makes sense how weekly water changes will help replenish what my corals take up!!

 

[shadow_k]

I am really bad about not doing water changes.

I live in Kentucky, so my water is over the top hard (due to all the limestone). It makes sense how weekly water changes will help replenish what my corals take up!!

Like you I had a ton of algae I didn’t like so I started adding things and I made it worse and now I’ve been battling cyano/dynos for 2 months now. I say let the tank stabilize and you should see less bad algae and more coralline

 

[elorablue]

I am really bad about not doing water changes.

I live in Kentucky, so my water is over the top hard (due to all the limestone). It makes sense how weekly water changes will help replenish what my corals take up!!

I really think that weekly 10 - 15 % water change is a huge part of nano success.
if I hadn’t put in 10 sps I never would have needed to start dosing.

 

[James_O]

Reef fusion is a 2 part. Cal and alk.
You would be better off going with powder form all 4 reef. And use red sea base to supplement what your lacking from all for reef. I wouldnt do any of these besides weekly water changes until you can actually test for them.

Just to make sure when the time comes, is this it?

All-For-Reef

Tropic Marin All-For-Reef is a revolutionary approach to dosing, combining calcium, alkalinity, and other trace elements into a single, easy to use solution. It's no longer necessary to maintain two, three, or four solutions, or a complicated reactor. All-For-Reef is a balanced source of calcium...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

—-

I do need to pucker up and get the test kits. I’ve been putting it off for so long, but now it’s time.

—

Would you recommend the Red Sea? Or salifert?

 

[Jaden9933]

I am really bad about not doing water changes.

I live in Kentucky, so my water is over the top hard (due to all the limestone). It makes sense how weekly water changes will help replenish what my corals take up!!

You need to buy an RODI system for your water if you’re making your own. Otherwise, there will be a ton of dissolved solids (known as TDS) such as silicate, that will cause major problems with algae. This may be your problem now if nitrates aren’t elevated

 

[James_O]

Like you I had a ton of algae I didn’t like so I started adding things and I made it worse and now I’ve been battling cyano/dynos for 2 months now. I say let the tank stabilize and you should see less bad algae and more coralline

I am starting to get coralline, and I know I’m getting closer, but I know I’m not near there yet.

 

[James_O]

You need to buy an RODI system for your water if you’re making your own. Otherwise, there will be a ton of dissolved solids (known as TDS) such as silicate, that will cause major problems with algae. This may be your problem now if nitrates aren’t elevated

Already have the RO buddie with the DI tube. I mix in a 5G bucket with Instant Ocean salt, for 24 hours to insure it is dissolved properly.

 

[LRT]

Just to make sure when the time comes, is this it?

All-For-Reef

Tropic Marin All-For-Reef is a revolutionary approach to dosing, combining calcium, alkalinity, and other trace elements into a single, easy to use solution. It's no longer necessary to maintain two, three, or four solutions, or a complicated reactor. All-For-Reef is a balanced source of calcium...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

—-

I do need to pucker up and get the test kits. I’ve been putting it off for so long, but now it’s time.

—

Would you recommend the Red Sea? Or salifert?

Thats the stuff. But get the kits first.
I'll be honest you got the best advice given. Check first. You may not even need to dose that system with the corals you have now you can probably get away with weekly maybe biweekly water changes.
Hanna would be easiest for alk. Simple and take about a minute.
I use salifert for phosphates.
Red sea for Nitrates
I have all the test kits for cal and mag I just need to find one I can use and read with consistency lol.

 

[Jaden9933]

Already have the RO buddie with the DI tube. I mix in a 5G bucket with Instant Ocean salt, for 24 hours to insure it is dissolved properly.

Hard water won’t be an issue then. RODI filters water to 0TDS which means the softest water possible.

 

[James_O]

But get the kits first.

Definitely.

You may not even need to dose that system with the corals you have now you can probably get away with weekly maybe biweekly water changes.

Awesome!

Tomorrow, it’s water change and tank cleaning time!!! ;Woot

I’ll see if the coral appreciates the new water.

 

[James_O]

Hard water won’t be an issue then

I was thinking that the harder the water, the better the coral will fair with just weekly water changes? Could be wrong though.

 

[Jaden9933]

I was thinking that the harder the water, the better the coral will fair with just weekly water changes? Could be wrong though.

Hardness of water depends on how many dissolved solids are in your water. After RODI, it should be at 0. Then, after adding salt, it should become very hard again. Salt is a dissolved solid and you obviously put a large amount of salt into the water. Therefore, water hardness can’t determine when or when not to do a water change. At least not on its own.

 

[LRT]

Horrible Wyze cam shplam

 

[TriggerFinger]

Spam of this coral…purple sea whip I think?

 

[James_O]

Hardness of water depends on how many dissolved solids are in your water. After RODI, it should be at 0. Then, after adding salt, it should become very hard again. Salt is a dissolved solid and you obviously put a large amount of salt into the water. Therefore, water hardness can’t determine when or when not to do a water change. At least not on its own.

Ah, gotcha, that makes sense. Thank you for explaining that to me!

 

[Reefing_addiction]

just for the record ‘they’ is a he. Name’s Nick Probably should have mentioned that 300 pages ago lol

They was good gender neutral terminology
And even if you would have mentioned it I probably wouldn’t remember

I’ll try now Nick

 

[Reefing_addiction]

Would this be something to use to maintain alk and cal levels, once I get the test list for them?

Need to make sure to test before dosing same time every time. Make sure you know what you want your alk to run at too

 

[James_O]

Need to make sure to test before dosing same time every time. Make sure you know what you want your alk to run at too

Ok. I definitely need to do more research before I even think of dosing, if I even need to at all.