Not sure what I need to start buying coral..

Joshua Agostoni · Dec 10, 2017

So I have a 55 gallon tank with live rock and 4 fish and some snails crabs and a lobster.

I have a sump with protien skimmer I have a diy bio pellet reactor and a single bulb t5 light. Right now I only have to check the oh, nitrite, nitrates,and ammonia levels. I would like to GRT beginner corals but im not sure what else I need equipment wise or what else I need to monitor. I also want to point out I don't use rodi water and my water has a bit of phosphates in it. I'll be setting up a refugium soon to help deal with that.

So if anyone could tell me what I need what and what new levels I need to watch out for that would be awesome.

I'll be setting up a qt take for any new corals and inverts ill be getting bit I don't know about food or coral qt.

Any links would be helpful as well. Thanks guys

tdileo · Dec 10, 2017

I’d strongly suggest switching to RODI. Other than that, you will need to upgrade your lighting. For a 55G, a 4 bulb T5 with some quality bulbs like ATI will suffice for softies, LPS and lower light SPS. Soft corals you don’t need to monitor levels too much, however when you move to stony corals you will need to pay attention to calcium and alkalinity. For that I would suggest investing in a quality test kit.

Joshua Agostoni · Dec 10, 2017

So other then a new light and calcium test.

Joshua Agostoni · Dec 10, 2017

I have a problem with keep my oh above about 7.2 to 7.6 what should my ph be and what should my calcium be for soft corals.

tdileo · Dec 10, 2017

Don’t worry about calcium for soft corals, they don’t use it. PH should be between 8-8.3 optimally, but a bit below or above isn’t a big deal. It will differ depending on when you test though. If you test after lights out it will be lower than during midday as photosynthesis stops and higher CO2 levels will lower it. As long as you have a good amount of rock and use a good salt mix for your water, PH should be just fine.

Joshua Agostoni · Dec 10, 2017

See my oh never changes. I can take the oh reading at all times of day and it never goes up or down bin the same for the last 6 months since I started the tank.. even after I use buffers.