sorting through opinions to decide whats right

[aussiejohnny]

ive really enjoyed this forum and my knowledge has increased even though ive kept aquariums all my life fresh and salt ..
what confuses me to a great degree is opinions on everything so i decided to list what bugged me and what i decided was the correct course of action on my tank
feel free to agree disagree or argue..
water change or not every week ...looking at my fresh tanks 3 of them guppys shrimp and mixed i do weekly water changes so ive tried with and without on my mixed reef and it certainly looks much better with a 20 percent water change every week so ive decided water change is a important part of my maintence .
gravel cleaning ..my fresh tanks dont get much gravel cleaning but i have a lot of snails and heavily planted tanks nitrate is low in these tanks though detris levels are high a bit of a stir during water changes is enough ..in my marine tank i tried leaving it alone but it gets covered in detris and algae so ive deciede weekly cleaning is better ..sometimes i will empty all sand around basic bottom with the hose while changing water swish it around in that water and return to tank ..cant empty all sand but just doing probably 30 to 40 percent like this has made a difference in algae growth on glass and rocks ..i have only 3 snails as clean up crew is hard to get hold of in sydney and expensive
cleaning my sump ..just as i clean my large foam filters in aquarium water in my fresh tanks i now clean my sump siphoning it once every 6 to 8 weeks and shaking my bacterial media in aquarium water to remove debris ..this has a amazing effect of improving flow and general sparkle of the tank ..
carbon dosing .i believe in this as ive seen it work in my tank my only caution is dosing must be appropriate as over dosing will create red slime and shows up as a ammonia reading ..2ml in my tank every 2nd day keeps nitrate very low .
gf0 is a must for keeping phosphate low ..only a small amount is needed .
phosphate levels and nitrate levels ive not seen a bad effect of being at 0 but i have seen a bad effect at keeping it too high ...id rather see 0 than over 20 nitrate or over 0.1 phosphate ..
levels of calcium alkalinity magnesium everyone seems to have a general opinion on this but ive seen tanks with high as alk and calcium as well as low...im no expert but wouldnt natural seawater be a better guide ..for me alk at 8 to 9 ..calcium 420 to 440 ...mag at 1350 seems to be the guide ..
my thoughts are based on my personal experience as well as my success from my maintance with my fresh tanks ..agree or not i welcome input ..only way to learn.

 

[Kooma]

Curious what you’ve seen with higher nutrients?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

ive really enjoyed this forum and my knowledge has increased even though ive kept aquariums all my life fresh and salt ..
what confuses me to a great degree is opinions on everything so i decided to list what bugged me and what i decided was the correct course of action on my tank
feel free to agree disagree or argue..
water change or not every week ...looking at my fresh tanks 3 of them guppys shrimp and mixed i do weekly water changes so ive tried with and without on my mixed reef and it certainly looks much better with a 20 percent water change every week so ive decided water change is a important part of my maintence .
gravel cleaning ..my fresh tanks dont get much gravel cleaning but i have a lot of snails and heavily planted tanks nitrate is low in these tanks though detris levels are high a bit of a stir during water changes is enough ..in my marine tank i tried leaving it alone but it gets covered in detris and algae so ive deciede weekly cleaning is better ..sometimes i will empty all sand around basic bottom with the hose while changing water swish it around in that water and return to tank ..cant empty all sand but just doing probably 30 to 40 percent like this has made a difference in algae growth on glass and rocks ..i have only 3 snails as clean up crew is hard to get hold of in sydney and expensive
cleaning my sump ..just as i clean my large foam filters in aquarium water in my fresh tanks i now clean my sump siphoning it once every 6 to 8 weeks and shaking my bacterial media in aquarium water to remove debris ..this has a amazing effect of improving flow and general sparkle of the tank ..
carbon dosing .i believe in this as ive seen it work in my tank my only caution is dosing must be appropriate as over dosing will create red slime and shows up as a ammonia reading ..2ml in my tank every 2nd day keeps nitrate very low .
gf0 is a must for keeping phosphate low ..only a small amount is needed .
phosphate levels and nitrate levels ive not seen a bad effect of being at 0 but i have seen a bad effect at keeping it too high ...id rather see 0 than over 20 nitrate or over 0.1 phosphate ..
levels of calcium alkalinity magnesium everyone seems to have a general opinion on this but ive seen tanks with high as alk and calcium as well as low...im no expert but wouldnt natural seawater be a better guide ..for me alk at 8 to 9 ..calcium 420 to 440 ...mag at 1350 seems to be the guide ..
my thoughts are based on my personal experience as well as my success from my maintance with my fresh tanks ..agree or not i welcome input ..only way to learn.

FWIW, your method of running everything together is very hard to actually read...

0.1 ppm phosphate is perfect, IMO.

Natural seawater has been shown to not be a perfect guide in many respects and for a variety of reasons, such as alkalinity and nutrients. Alk at 8-9 dKH is way above natural seawater, which is close to 6.5 dKH.

Water changes are not needed, but can be useful for a number of reasons, particularly to keep trending things that shift (such as rising organics or deviating major ions) back toward the salt mix you use. I do 1% daily and think it a good balance between cost and benefit long term.

Substrate cleaning depends on the system. I have a couple of sea cucumbers that keep it clean. I never need to tough it.

I never clean my sumps and see no reason to. I cannot imagine how cleaning it could increase flow, and I do not need more flow than i have (no pumps are set to their max flow rate).

Carbon dosing can be useful for 2 reasons: nitrate reduction or growing bacteria to feed filter feeders. I did it on my old tank (vinegar) but not my current tank where I need to dose ammonia to keep nitrate from getting too low.

 

[aussiejohnny]

FWIW, your method of running everything together is very hard to actually read...

0.1 ppm phosphate is perfect, IMO.

Natural seawater has been shown to not be a perfect guide in many respects and for a variety of reasons, such as alkalinity and nutrients. Alk at 8-9 dKH is way above natural seawater, which is close to 6.5 dKH.

Water changes are not needed, but can be useful for a number of reasons, particularly to keep trending things that shift (such as rising organics or deviating major ions) back toward the salt mix you use. I do 1% daily and think it a good balance between cost and benefit long term.

Substrate cleaning depends on the system. I have a couple of sea cucumbers that keep it clean. I never need to tough it.

I never clean my sumps and see no reason to. I cannot imagine how cleaning it could increase flow, and I do not need more flow than i have (no pumps are set to their max flow rate).

Carbon dosing can be useful for 2 reasons: nitrate reduction or growing bacteria to feed filter feeders. I did it on my old tank (vinegar) but not my current tank where I need to dose ammonia to keep nitrate from getting too low.

i value your response ...my tank is all in one back overflow and over the years i have found it does slow down an tank level rises ..by shaking out the 3 compartments with bio stuff in it ..balls rings etc the flow is better level in tank stays lower flow is faster ..also siphoning out the bottom removes mulm n debris my tank gets a sparkle...cleaning the gravel i was in 2 minds about ..but after doing it regulary prob every 2nd water change ive seen sever reduction in algae on rocks n glass ...ive seen advise to not run gfo all the time ive found a small amount changed every 2 to 3 weeks gives low to 0 ..normally ,03 or less ive seen no bad effects from this ..

 

[aussiejohnny]

Curious what you’ve seen with higher nutrients?

seen tanks online where they quote 20+ nitrate .3 phosphate ...although i dont have and probably beyond my experience any acropora in my tank its always said they need ultra low nutrients ..why would they be different from any other coral ..they all come from the reef ...i believe in low as nitrate and phosphate though ill admit i feed a bit more these days ..

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

..why would they be different from any other coral ..they all come from the reef ...i believe in low as nitrate and phosphate though ill admit i feed a bit more these days ..

I explain in detail (link below) why a reef tank does not have the same available N and P at the same measured nitrate and phosphate (its because the ocean has other sources). Assuming the ocean was a good role model for individual measurements was an error that we made for many years.

I show a fabulous tank in my article below that most would be envious of with 1 ppm phosphate and 100 ppm nitrate.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/randy’s-thoughts-on-nutrient-target-ranges.1087/
These are my recommendations for reef tanks with the article above detailing the reasons:

4. What targets seem reasonable? Of course, that depends on all the other factors at play, such as types of corals, availability of ammonia, particulate foods, etc. However, for a mature mixed reef, this would be how I personally would run it:

• Let nitrate float between 5 ppm and 50 ppm. I’d use gentle export in this range, such as growing macroalgae.
• Above 50 ppm, I’d begin to focus more on reducing it, by organic carbon dosing, turf or macroalgae, etc.
• Below 5 ppm, I’d begin to dose ammonia or feed more. The target level might drop lower if dosing ammonia, just like the heavy in/heavy out scenario where nitrate may not be as needed.
• Let phosphate float between about 0.06 ppm and 0.3 ppm. This range is higher than I’ve recommended in the past. I’d use gentle export in this range, such as growing macroalgae.
• Above about 0.3 ppm, I’d begin to focus more on reducing it, by turf or macroalgae, or a binder such as GFO or lanthanum (has its own risks to tangs). If a binder: GO SLOW. Turf and macroalgae will typically be slow enough.
• Below 0.06 ppm, I’d begin to dose sodium phosphate or feed more to get the level up.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i value your response ...my tank is all in one back overflow and over the years i have found it does slow down an tank level rises ..by shaking out the 3 compartments with bio stuff in it ..balls rings etc the flow is better level in tank stays lower flow is faster ..also siphoning out the bottom removes mulm n debris my tank gets a sparkle...cleaning the gravel i was in 2 minds about ..but after doing it regulary prob every 2nd water change ive seen sever reduction in algae on rocks n glass ...ive seen advise to not run gfo all the time ive found a small amount changed every 2 to 3 weeks gives low to 0 ..normally ,03 or less ive seen no bad effects from this ..

Not sure I understand. Why does detritus in the sump make the tank level rise?

In any case, I don't disagree that if you have detritus clogging the water flow path, that will slow down flow.

 

[Kooma]

seen tanks online where they quote 20+ nitrate .3 phosphate ...although i dont have and probably beyond my experience any acropora in my tank its always said they need ultra low nutrients ..why would they be different from any other coral ..they all come from the reef ...i believe in low as nitrate and phosphate though ill admit i feed a bit more these days ..

I run around 100-125 nitrate and between .9 and 1.1 phos, have have some acros, LPs and softies.

The focus on nutrient reduction I find is from algae management, and less of an issue for coral or fish.

 

[Privateye]

I think there will always be some sorting to do unfortunately. It's an experience-based hobby and we all have different experiences.

Heck, I once saved a LPS that had completely jellied-over by scrubbing it with a toothbrush under running tap water. That came from an old RC post where the guy (of course) got flamed. Even the ideas that seem crazy can sometimes work out though.