First corals...

[MarkW19]

My new baserock, 17KG:-

The guy in the LFS said it was Calcium based, and was "Ocean Rock".

Seems to smell ok. Few patches of red/grey etc. on it but I guess that's how it came?

It's hard to tell between "dirty" rock and the actual markings!

It was just sitting in a metal basket in one of the aisles. They put it in a polystyrene box for me to bring it home in.

Look ok?

 

[steve-s]

No softies (or any corals at all) ATM no.

Then what's this about
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=264164#264164

I'll smell the new baserock thoroughly, and if it's ok I'll give it a couple of very good rinses in SW. Does it have to be SW it's rinsed in, or can I rinse it in FW (out of the tap) and allow it to dry naturally (left out for a day or two)?

Either is fine as long as the rock is allowed to air dry a few days and the tap water does not contain trace amounts of copper. A safer route would be to fill a few pails with tap and use a dechlorinator that specifically binds metals and then rinse them in that.

What about the 1kg piece of LR you suggested - should I be worried about ammonia on this, even with it being so small?

If it stinks you should still cure it seperately due to the size of your tank. If it doesn't smell just drop it in.

Quick smell and inspection and straight in do you think?

Sounds Fine.

Is there any type of LR thats better - ie. Fiji, Florida, etc. ?

I wouldn't say that one is head and shoulders above the others as each adds something different to the biodiversity and filtration aspects of the tank. Fiji is good for coralline but personally I find it quite dense and not particularly good for dentrification. The same can be said of any rock though as many will have similarities. One person could get a batch that is quite porous while someone else may get something solid. You never know.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

My new baserock, 17KG:-Look ok?

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

I'm shortly going to be adding some more LR and some soft corals/polyps/'shrooms.

.

As you can see, there aren't any corals in my tank yet

I guess if I rinse the baserock with SW that's just come out of my tank, I can put the rock straight in without needing it to dry?

 

[MarkW19]

Just measured my Ca, and it's 360mg/l. And my dKH is 8.

 

[steve-s]

I'm shortly going to be adding some more LR and some soft corals/polyps/'shrooms.

.

As you can see, there aren't any corals in my tank yet

The picture I saw although without any detail indicates with a diagram where corals are, or is that for future placement?

I guess if I rinse the baserock with SW that's just come out of my tank, I can put the rock straight in without needing it to dry?

Yes

Just measured my Ca, and it's 360mg/l. And my dKH is 8.

The alk is fine but the Ca should be raised up to between 410-420 ppm.

See >>Here<<

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

It's for future placement

Can I not get away with the Ca, considering the corals I've chosen (as you said) won't bring it down any further.

Want to get away from dosing anything if at all possible!

 

[MarkW19]

Will I have to add Ca every day? Or just perhaps after each waterchange every 2 weeks?

 

[steve-s]

It may eventually affect the alk levels if you do not keep up with water changes and could affect the health of snails and/or crustaceans. 360 ppm Ca is below NSW levels which are 380-420 ppm. If you keep up with the weekly water changes you might be okay but be sure it goes no lower. One of the reasons I dislike IO salts.

Will I have to add Ca every day? Or just perhaps after each waterchange every 2 weeks?

It would be safer to boost the Ca in smaller amounts daily rather than one large dose. Twice monthly water changes won't amount to much when your needing to correct a chem problem. You also need to consider the chem of newly prepared SW. If that's not balanced, the water chnages will not affect anything but the DOC/NO3/trace element levels. Major chem proponenst will remain unaffected.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

If you need help with the chem I would suggest starting a new thread. This ones gotten quite long and rather difficult to follow.

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

lol, good idea

Cheers for all your help Steve, and everyone

I'll keep measuring the Ca and if it gets any lower AT ALL, I'll take action. Probably by changing to the Tropic Marin pro reef salt (which I may do anyway, I guess it can't have any bad effects whatsoever).

As far as "keep up with water changes" goes, I change 20% every 2 weeks. My dKH started off at 10 7 months ago when I first checked my tank, and now is at 8dkH. Does this likely mean that it will be at 6dKH by another 7 months, or simply that my tank has found a stable balance that it will most likely keep?

 

[MarkW19]

I've been looking at Heteroxenia (pom-pom pulsing Xenia), captive-bred.

How will this do in my tank do you think? Does it still not expell nematocysts when stressed and doesn't bring the alk/ca down, like the others we've talked about dont?

What about feeding requirements - same as the others?

 

[steve-s]

How will this do in my tank do you think? Does it still not expell nematocysts when stressed and doesn't bring the alk/ca down, like the others we've talked about dont?

Any Xenia or like soft coral has littel or no affect on aalkalinity. The chemicals emitted by Pom-Poms are no different thatn any other Xenia coral and typically not a concern.

Xeniids do have chemical defenses but are typically quite week and shouldn't be any concern to water quality or other corals. It is quite rare it will damage anything near it (although possible), usually it's the one that loses the battle.

What about feeding requirements - same as the others?

They don't need it. Xeniids are pretty much self sufficient providing they have enough light.
To Pulse or Not to Pulse? Identification and Behavior of Xeniid corals in the Aquarium Hobby by Anthony Calfo

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

Cheers Steve, think I'll add one to my list!

How's this for my aquascaping (basic idea, photoshopped), bearing in mind the position of the powerheads (they're actually behind where the rock would be)?

I intend to put my capnella on the large rock at the right, one sarcophyton at the right and one at the left, and polyps/shrooms that will come on quite a bit of LR, in the middle on top of the rock in the picture. Then the Xenia at the left too.

Is it ok?

 

[steve-s]

All looks fine except the shrooms.

shrooms that will come on quite a bit of LR, in the middle on top of the rock in the picture.

I would place the shrooms on/near the bottom in a lower flow area and then move up later if needs be. They typically do not do that great closer to the light source. You can adjust the aquascaping easily enough to accomodate them.

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

Cool - all is ok with the rock placement though, considering the height of the ph's, and the fact they're actually behind the rockwork?

 

[steve-s]

Cool - all is ok with the rock placement though, considering the height of the ph's, and the fact they're actually behind the rockwork?

As long as the water flows over the top of rock to the front of the glass and not directly into the back of the rock your fine. Just adjust the height of the powerheads accordingly you seem to have plenty of room.

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

I guess I should be pointing the 2 phs diagonally to the front then, rather than facing each other across the back like they are now?

 

[MarkW19]

I'm just concerned that there's not much swimming room left - the rock is now basically filling up the whole tank!

How far apart should I be putting all my corals btw? There's not that much room to play with...

 

[steve-s]

I guess I should be pointing the 2 phs diagonally to the front then, rather than facing each other across the back like they are now?

Either way, it doesn't really matter as long as the flow is somewhat caotic.

I'm just concerned that there's not much swimming room left - the rock is now basically filling up the whole tank!

You still have plenty of space. Reef fish are not typically open water swimmers especially the ones suited for smaller tanks.

How far apart should I be putting all my corals btw? There's not that much room to play with...

Start different species off about 3-4" apart whether that be vertically or horizontally. Like species can be closer to each other though.

Cheers
Steve