Prepping for CORAL, HELP! 13 Gallon AIO

DrummerWithFish111 · May 28, 2022

Hello! My reef tank has been up for two months, my parameters are stable, and I'd like to start keeping corals! Probably only softies since I'm a newbie to saltwater, but I would REALLY like to get a rock flower anemone at some point.
My only question that has gone unanswered: should I be dosing anything specific, and if so, what? Also, for only soft corals and rock flower, what all should I be testing for?

Tank Parameters:
Salinity: 33 PPT 1.025 Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 10 ish pH: 7.8 temp: 78 degrees F
Lighting: Aquaknight V2; 20: white 60% blue Lots of chemical/bio filtration in the back, outtake points toward the top to break up surface gunk.
Livestock: one frozen frostbite clownfish

billyocean · May 28, 2022

Looks fine to add some stuff. Are nitrates at 10 just from 1 clown? 10 is absolutely fine..just curious. Do you know where the numbers are with magnesium, calcium, alkalinity? Should be pretty stable with nothing it but need to know they are good. Any clean up crew yet?

DrummerWithFish111 · May 28, 2022

billyocean said:
Looks fine to add some stuff. Are nitrates at 10 just from 1 clown? 10 is absolutely fine..just curious. Do you know where the numbers are with magnesium, calcium, alkalinity? Should be pretty stable with nothing it but need to know they are good. Any clean up crew yet?

I did have two clowns, unfortunately the other one the LFS sold me was sick and did not make it but five days (worked it out, tank is fine now and no signs of sickness in the other clown). I just got over a diatom bloom, and I feel like I slightly overfeed the clown, so might be why nitrates are that high. I am planning on getting test kits for magnesium, calcium and alkalinity next time I'm at it. Also, no clean up crew yet, as my closest reef store is about a thirty minute drive.
ALSO, water is made with an RO/DI unit and oxygenated before entering the tank after mixing, forgot to add that above...

billyocean · May 28, 2022

Definitely want to have those big 3 in order for corals to thrive. You can look up the recommended range of mag, calc, alk. Pick a number you want in that range and try to keep it as stable as possible. Stability is the biggest key. As you add more coral they will consume more calc, alk, mag...mag really doesn't fall too much over the course of time. People usually try to use a salt mix close to whatever range they want to stay at..of course you can dose your w/c water if you need to tweak any of the numbers. That's why you want a salt that is close to those numbers. Also, test your salt batches for mag, calc, alk so you have an idea how close it is for that batch and if you need to add anything to it..most batches test what they say on the box but thats still a wide range IMO. If you don't have an auto top off..get one..it's a small tank so you could look up a DIY gravity fed ATO. This will keep your salinity on point, very important.

Hope this helps a bit.

DrummerWithFish111 · May 28, 2022

billyocean said:
Definitely want to have those big 3 in order for corals to thrive. You can look up the recommended range of mag, calc, alk. Pick a number you want in that range and try to keep it as stable as possible. Stability is the biggest key. As you add more coral they will consume more calc, alk, mag...mag really doesn't fall too much over the course of time. People usually try to use a salt mix close to whatever range they want to stay at..of course you can dose your w/c water if you need to tweak any of the numbers. That's why you want a salt that is close to those numbers. Also, test your salt batches for mag, calc, alk so you have an idea how close it is for that batch and if you need to add anything to it..most batches test what they say on the box but thats still a wide range IMO. If you don't have an auto top off..get one..it's a small tank so you could look up a DIY gravity fed ATO. This will keep your salinity on point, very important.

Hope this helps a bit.

That helps tremendously! Looking at grabbing the AquaForest Ca/KH/Mg test kit from BRS. Any good products you recommend for dosing, just so I can have them on hand if the time comes?
Also, I am a college student and am home basically all day through the summer, so I have been manually topping off for the start of this tank.

billyocean · May 28, 2022

Aquaforest makes good test kits. A lot of people use salifert as well as it's inexpensive and reliable. I use aquaforest for mag, red sea for calcium, and hanna checker for alk. I'm not bound to the red sea for calcium..I just have it. As for phosphate and nitrate I also use the hanna checkers. They are a little pricey and you have to buy regent but they are easy and I love them..lol. if you do go that route for phos or nitrate, make sure you get the ULR phosphate checker..and the HR nitrate checker. They other hanna phos and nitrate checkers suck. Also, the alkalinity regent needs to be kept in the fridge after opening it and it will stay accurate. I use red sea liter bottles for cal, mag, alk. A lot of people do 2 part dosing or use other brands. This just works for me and keeps it simple. Reefing is just a car we get into and try to reach the same destination but all have different roads we take i.e. all tanks will require a little something different than another will. Can't stress enough how important stability is. Most corals will adjust to whatever parameters you have "within reason" as long as they don't constantly fluctuate..pick a number in alk 7-12, calc 350-450, mag 1200-1500 and stay there..lol.