I’ve been reefing for 25+ years. It’s all been based on my knowledge of biology and chemistry. Testing natural conditions that occur in healthy natural reefs and trying to emulate that in a closed system.
Water gardening: How have you learned to understand the water in your tank?
- QUESTION OF THE DAY
- Thread starter Peace River
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Wayne Karlen
New Member
I am fortunate to live on the coral sea in rural Queensland (Wide Bay). I collect seawater on incoming high tide away from other activity and transfer into food-grade storage drums near my sump. Seawater is aged for over 1 month before use in water changes and introduced through my ReefMat.
imfshn4fun
New Member
I don't know anything about water, other than just doing a water test and looking at the PH, Nitrate, Nitrite, Amanda, and that about it. If someone would be kind enough to help me along here, it would be greatly appreciated.Water gardening: How have you learned to understand the water in your tank?
To be an effective reef keeper you need to understand water. If we focus on being water gardeners first, then success in reefing will often follow. How have you learned to understand the water in your tank? Was it from someone at a local fish store (LFS) and a local reefer? Was it from reading, watching videos, or on a forum such as R2R? Maybe you have an educational background in the sciences, or you learned through trial and error – whatever it was, please tell us how you have learned about water!
Photo by @LxHowler
trevorhiller
Reefing Nurse
I selected everything except local reefers/fish store. I don't know any other locals reefers and my nearest LFS isn't that "L".
Having a bachelor of science degree and having taken chemistry, biology, biochemistry & microbiology is definitely helpful. I'm also a nurse so having a strong understanding of acid/base buffering has been a huge help. For the reefing particulars though YouTube and reading the forums has been the most helpful though.
Having a bachelor of science degree and having taken chemistry, biology, biochemistry & microbiology is definitely helpful. I'm also a nurse so having a strong understanding of acid/base buffering has been a huge help. For the reefing particulars though YouTube and reading the forums has been the most helpful though.
Sump Crab
Valuable Member
Been keeping reefs for almost 20 years and I don’t test my water ever, maybe once per year just out of curiosity. I just do periodic water changes and observe my coral/fish to tell me if something is off. I don’t dose anything either. Chasing numbers and dosing works great for a lot of ppl but it also screws up a lot of other peoples tanks too. I think a lot of ppl would be better served running a simple water change/no test tank like mine. Don’t need to make reef keeping harder than it already is.
Early on it was obvious there is a lot more going on in the water than we can test for and I was lucky to have a mentor who looked at how reefs worked and wasn't moonstruck by fancy equipment. A brief conversation with the director of an infectious disease department of a local hospital was an eye opener. To paraphrtase, she pointed out "good" bacteria thriving in the wrong areas wasn't good. Her conversation helped prompt me to dig into available research to understand better what's happening. The realization we're not dealing with phosphates and nitrates, we're dealing with Nitrogen and Phosphorus helped expand my comprehension. Learning water has a ton of microbial stuff (~1,000,000 per ml) and most can't be cultured certainly stretched my brain. Learning Carbon is a nurtient just like Nitrogen and Phosphorus was another major step in my understanding. Learning there can be profound differences between specimens at the genotype level certainly added another layer of complexety as well.
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HawkeyeDJ
Active Member
I have gained knowledge from many sources. The one thing that has helped me I think the most is the question, "Why?"
If someone expresses an opinion on some aspect of this hobby, I want to know WHY. Some people say carbon should be used always, others say never. I need to know "WHY?" If they don't articulate a good reason, I take their thoughts under advisement but don't give it a lot of weight. That goes for videos, texts, in person or any other venue.
If the LFS says feed your corals this rather than that, I want to know why. "This other will cause your phosphates to rise too much." Good answer. When I hear that same issue from others, it lends weight to the advice.
Use this method vs that other method. Again, why?
The most important question for me in this hobby is "Why?"
If someone expresses an opinion on some aspect of this hobby, I want to know WHY. Some people say carbon should be used always, others say never. I need to know "WHY?" If they don't articulate a good reason, I take their thoughts under advisement but don't give it a lot of weight. That goes for videos, texts, in person or any other venue.
If the LFS says feed your corals this rather than that, I want to know why. "This other will cause your phosphates to rise too much." Good answer. When I hear that same issue from others, it lends weight to the advice.
Use this method vs that other method. Again, why?
The most important question for me in this hobby is "Why?"
Reef Republica
Community Member
Just a tiny itsy bit jealous!! Ughh. I’d never be dry! I would always be in some sort of water if I lived there. Lol!
Reef Republica
Community Member
Exactly!! All of them! And still learning!!
A mix of everything really, the largest being trial and error. Foundational knowledge from online media or others experience only gets you so far. Finding what works you you is probably the hardest piece as it has to come with time.
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