Freshy thinking of taking the plunge...

[needmorecowbell]

Just doesn't work on mobile, just copy and pasted. The address into safari and It worked, thanks! Didn't know they were so cheap!

 

[skywhitney]

Picked up the RO unit earlier. It has all brand new cartridges and filters

 

[Joe5688]

Nice how much?

 

[skywhitney]

Nice how much?

$50. Its in really good shape. It looks like it hasnt been used more than a couple of times

 

[needmorecowbell]

Wow, great grab! Just make sure you check the tds of it to make sure it's clean!

 

[skywhitney]

Oh I will. I'm going to order one of the tds readers tonight.

I won't get this tank started until mid to late August so I have plenty of time to get everything I need thankfully.

 

[skywhitney]

So I've read about a lot of people glueing their rocks together or glueing frags onto rock.

I get the concept of glue but explain to me what kind of glue to use and how it can be safe to use underwater in a running tank...or am I missing something here?

 

[Steve silbernagel]

Loctite super glue worked for me

 

[needmorecowbell]

Marine Epoxy with a bit of superglue works very well. I didn't do it with mine, just so its easier to remove rocks in case of emergency, but I know people who swear by it.

 

[Steve silbernagel]

I only use it on my frags. I agree with the last statement you never know when your rock scape might need to change. But if it works for you to glue your rocks thats still ok

 

[skywhitney]

Nah, im way too much of a perfectionist in my tanks and i'll be moving my rocks around a fair amount so i won't be glueing them.

When you glue your frags do you just put the glue on the bottom of the frag then put it in the tank with the glue still wet?

 

[needmorecowbell]

It really depends on what and why. Softies and Lps cant always be fragged the same way as sps. An example would be Xenia, which needs a toothpick through it and then a rubber band to hold it to a plug. Some sps can be broke off, then superglued to a plug. Epoxy makes the encrusting period much longer, plus it's harder to stick it to. You put it in the water while it's still wet, superglue reacts fastly to saltwater.

 

[skywhitney]

Interesting.

There is so much to learn....my brain hurts lol

 

[skywhitney]

So what are the main things i need to test for in my water quality?

Ph
Salinity
Nitrite
Nitrate
Calcium
Phosphates?

What else?

 

[Steve silbernagel]

Ammonia

 

[needmorecowbell]

Magnesium and alkalinity if your testing calcium. Go API with the ammo trate and trite, and ph they are decently accurate with those, as long as you shake em well. I wouldn't do phosphate unless your really interested in what the levels are, if you are having an algae outbreak and you want to see why, you won't get much of a reading because the algae will be consuming it all.

Your right, it is super confusing, but that's why you got us! Just read a LOT, and you'll be fine.

 

[Joe5688]

So for a basic reef or fowlr check your basics plus alk and calc? phos testing isn't necessary?

Only reason I ask is cause I currently only using three fw master kit and i'm looking to purchase the other test for reef checking

 

[Steve silbernagel]

I went with the reef master kit from AFI and then bought the rest individually from marine depot.com. Best prices best service

 

[needmorecowbell]

So for a basic reef or fowlr check your basics plus alk and calc? phos testing isn't necessary?

Only reason I ask is cause I currently only using three fw master kit and i'm looking to purchase the other test for reef checking

Reef and fowlr are a lot different. With a fowlr, just do trate, trite, and ammo. For reef, you'll need it all. Phos isnt really necessary because you can't really test it. The reagent tests we have aren't accurate enough, so unless you want a Hannah checker for it, I'd recommend against it and saving your money for something more important.

 

[Joe5688]

OK Thanks, ill look into adding calc, mag, and alk to my fw master kit.