New jbj and new to saltwatet

[P-Dub]

WELCOME!

 

[Explorer12]

Hello I'm new to salt water I've watched the brs series and just picked up a jbj aio with all equipment. Ato mp10 radion 15pro hydor skimmer media baskets and reactor oh and rodi. Anyone have suggestions on what else I would need to start like test kits or equipment. Thanks

Welcome to the team. Save up for an APEX if you can. This controls alot of the testing. What size is the tank?

 

[G Santana]

Welcome aboard

 

[Macbalacano]

Welcome!

 

[KWT]

Welcome to R2R, come in sit down and relax, enjoy

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello and welcome to the channel.

 

[SPR1968]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[fishguy242]

hi welcome to the reef going to love it here!!
lots of fun/info/fun/help/fun..

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Welcome— first thing about reefing is buying the best equipment first. Yes it costs a lot!! But it will likely end up saving you money vs buying lesser products multiple times! Here’s some test equipment I use - Milwaukee aquarium tester (salinity, make sure you get the aquarium one), Hana alkalinity, ultra low phosphate, calcium testers. I also do ICP testing about every 3 months. I’m semi-colorblind and have a really hard time distinguishIng test kit colors so a digital read out is godsend for me.

For sure agreed 100% 5 ways just dont cut it sometimes if your gonna run sps lps its gonna be hard to maintain parameter without proper testing the individual doesn't know what going on on a biogeochemical level, and the smaller the tank the less volume for expulsion and gas exchange, here are some tricks and tips to have a full proof system...
1. Always use RODi(reverse osmosis deionized) there are many systems on the market know yours, there is ro and rodi 2 to 3 chambers dont always catch pollutants like heavy metals without a knd only filtering out allum,chloride and Flourides leaving lead copper and other metals in the water column aswell, 4 to 5 stage will work because they have the knd but water will still have residuals left behind leaving water 1-4 rpms this is where di post filter or 6chamber rodi units with built in di comes into play, it deionizes the water giving it optimum ec to deionize any unwanted element left over in the osmosification process giving the individual optimum anion and cation exchange which is essential in calcium carbonate and silicon based water

2. If your poor and dont have a sump or aio create a balanced system(a term borrowed from father fish the freshwater og) so you have 3 types of filtration biological,chemical and mechanical, meaning you have bacteria and micro fauna to break down organic inputs,as well as surface area for biogeochemical cycling(if you dont know what this is look it up)rocks for bacteria and bacillus to colonize on to do coarse filtration and then sand to chleate trace elements(essentially internal filter floss(this is why you top off to as sand or crushed aggranite becomes a nutrient sink trapping trace elements over time and have to water change weekly or biweekly to replenish micro nutrients for optimum ion exchange.then you have your macro algae which also chleates on a biological level fine tuning your water and up taking po4 a creating usable noh3 as well as aeration,creating a balanced system essential by creating a internal sump by having more surface area substrate and macrosome type of buffering and chelating agent on the chemical aspect such as bottles and filtration media that buffer the water,then you have your mechanical filtration this is your biomedi in your filter as well as the motion created by the filter known as movement or flow,mechanical filtration includes any internal or external filtration powerhead and wave makers,also know the importance of wet vs dry filtration

3.saltwater is not an expensive hobby this is a misconception you dont need to spend 300$on a poorly made AI0 or 1000$on a system over 100gallons it's all in budget and what's available locally check cl local aquarium clubs on fb and fb marketplace if your looking for a monster tank.here is a fact of life regardless of what you choose to do in your spare time people are jerks and that means youre gonna get upsold no matter what it is.for example Linda at Petco is looking for that promotion sure you could get away with a aqueon 29g a power filter heater,canister filter 200w heater and some substrate(about 100$what I recommend for 1st saltwater tank)but no linda is gonna proceed to tell you how hard saltwater is and that you need 5000$minimum just to start out.and it cost 100$ a week to run...smfhid... points you to a name Brand fluval or red sea glorified namebrand point of sale 15g aio cube for 300$ and will probably try to sell you a tang to put in it because its petco and they dont give a ****....(keeps 4 blue hippo tangs in 20g with broken filter and 80%dino in tank)its a joke more is less sometimes and your gonna get upsold alot,dont buy into the hype just do you

4."nothing good happens fast"(as than from tidal gardens preaches), wait 2 months for fish when you cycle go for pioneer species like hermit crabs or astrea snail(these are only a dollar to 50 cents so it wont be as sad if they die to a spike as it would be if you lost a 14$ clown doing a cycle with a fish,I've always opted to go with a fish less cycle but your tank will need an ammonia source other than the bottle to ensure that it maintains propper levels then after 2 to 3 months get a hardy beginner fish to see what your water is like and see if your ready for soft corals then 8 months more inverts and hardcorals only after you've had fish in the system and can keep parameters in check

5"start with mushrooms! If your collecting corals dont wate your money here is a trick to build up your collection fast to get what you want without spending top $$$ you'll need about 80 to 100$ go around to lfs or shop online inquire about a mushroom rock any mushroom rock with 4 to 10 polyps would be a good way to start off a collection you then take this rock put it in your system for some time and just let it set... then you get on here and see who has a good sized kenya tree on r2r a good 4" will cost you about 40$ let that sit and get used to your tank in about 3 months time you'll be able to triple your mushrooms by cutting frags build your collection to 25 or so then trade them off for something better same goes for kenya tree you'll be able to triple or quadruple you're investment in 3 months time,but it's all personal preference really mushrooms grow fast and have a high profit margin you can get 10 for (80-250)
Sell for 10-30 a piece or trade up
Wish I would have done this when I started instead of buying a bunch of common that grew slower, stuff like pavona,gsp,birdsnest, also dont buy into the hype alot of these guys are just ocean poachin meeting that quotient WWC is like the berner415 or jungleboys of the reefing community they just go diving in Bali or Indonesia and pay them like 4 american dollars for a 1ft maricultured colony(probably 10year ), put it in there system give it some crazy name and charge 300$ for a one inch frag 24 times (1ft frag)boom the hype train has left the station if your gonna get something like that skip the middleman and opt for paying the og(you will get better quality corals)


Also on another note stickfanboys say whaaaa!!!

 

[UnderseaOddities]

@Seasonalzebra48 if u feel like it, I'd give this a watch too, it'll give you a refresher on reef chemistry or maybe you'll learn something new that you didnt know before

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Even though hes taking about freshwater we can take his applicable knowledge and apply it to saltwater...respect to the Fish Sage
Keep live microfauna for food,drop the pellets drop the bottles

 

[reefviper101]

Hello I'm new to salt water I've watched the brs series and just picked up a jbj aio with all equipment. Ato mp10 radion 15pro hydor skimmer media baskets and reactor oh and rodi. Anyone have suggestions on what else I would need to start like test kits or equipment. Thanks

Welcome to the family.i use api reef master test but u have to buy ammonia and nitrite separate a lot of people say salfite is better.

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

 

[FishNerd4Ever]

Hello I'm new to salt water I've watched the brs series and just picked up a jbj aio with all equipment. Ato mp10 radion 15pro hydor skimmer media baskets and reactor oh and rodi. Anyone have suggestions on what else I would need to start like test kits or equipment. Thanks

Heater and heater controller
Hannah test kits for ph, alk, phos; red sea for ca, mg

 

[LiveWire]

Welcome to the REEF!!