Oceanicsublimat said:
I bought a calcium tester the other day and my calcium is at 300ppm.. I know it needs to be at least 400ppm.. I was goin to buy the seachem calcium supplement and the carbonate alkalinity buffer
Learning to maintain your chemistry now will go a long way to prepeare you for when scleractinians are finally added. As far as you current chemistry levels, they do need some corrections. More often than not, after a tank has cycled the chemistry will look like a dogs breakfast. Best first step is doing a large water change with well aged/aerated
SW. Depending on the saltmix, this will often correct most of the issues. I would also suggest testing your new
SW after it's been mixing for about a day to see how well it's balanced. For the first few months at least, water changes are your best means of chemistry control. Not only for
alk &
Ca but the bacteria needed for denitrification will not be properly established for awhile and wastes/nutrients will need "diluting" to keep them in check.
You might want to hold off on buying suppliments at this point until you find out where your saltmix tests at. You will also need to get an accurate
alk test. It is impossible to guage proper chemistry (balance) without knowing both
alk and
Ca. Steer clear of test kits that report "range" values. Buy ones that give you actual numbers. Seachem or Salifert are good choices.
... I also was reading about Iodide.. should I buy these and start a regimen? and if so.. what else should I get to put in the tank? I have 80lbs of
LR in my 55gal I"m going to have a fish invert tank.. for at least a year before I even attempt corals..
Don't fall into the trap of
"I need" to add. Most additives sold in the trade are not needed at all. They merely seperate you from your money. A good salt mix, properly nutritious foods and possible an
alk/
Ca supplimentation regime is about all you need to keep the tank healthy in regards to chemistry.
Cheers
Steve
