russ nano reef build!

[Russ_gibbo1985]

Speaking to my lfs they say I shouldn't have to worry too much about calcium levels till i add any stony corals, does this sound right?! Also where do you get your kalk from??

 

[carey]

I get my Kalk from my lfs or online. And your lfs is correct, a dosing regimen probably isnt necessary until you are filled up with corals and they start depleting your elements.

 

[xxlbreed]

I got some really good websites on the topic and good advice for you I may post em up soon for u as soon as I get infront of a pc with time on my hands.
All I can say is caution this is the topic I researched the most before getting into it an I can only say it's worth it.
I've seen 3 tanks nuked by this method, so if you have the slightest bit of doubt and don't do well in understanding reactions and equilibria in chemistry I would keep away.

 

[Russ_gibbo1985]

I get my Kalk from my lfs or online. And your lfs is correct, a dosing regimen probably isnt necessary until you are filled up with corals and they start depleting your elements.

Lol thanks carey u all ways manage to dumb it down into understandable terms for me! Although the next post has kinda scared me off the whole subject lol!

 

[carey]

You can actually do damage if you dose too much so yeah, I would test your water and when the time comes decide on how you want to dose. i've been running low on alkalinity so I've been dosing just for that, but you shouldn't have to worry until you get ALOT if corals. Weekly water changes should keep your alkalinity and calcium and magnesium within correct parameters.

 

[Russ_gibbo1985]

So other than ammonia nitrate nitrite ph and salinity is there any thing else i need to be testing for while. M only stocked with fish and a few corals??
Also carey if thats the case will i have to dose for anything at all or would i get away with just plenty of water changes to keep things balanced, the thought of overdosing anything and it being detrimental to my livestock scares me lol.

 

[xxlbreed]

So other than ammonia nitrate nitrite ph and salinity is there any thing else i need to be testing for while. M only stocked with fish and a few corals??
Also carey if thats the case will i have to dose for anything at all or would i get away with just plenty of water changes to keep things balanced, the thought of overdosing anything and it being detrimental to my livestock scares me lol.

That is the reason why we test for stuff. A kalk drip with it's chemistry I find to be the most useful addition to my tank. It keeps ph, alkalinity, and calcium levels in check. You can use b ionic instead I heard it works well but im just all about the cheap DIY stuff
If you're testing amm nitri and trate you should be fine with ur waterchanges!
Let u s know how it all goes.

 

[carey]

I have a bunch of corals and I test for the following: ammonia, trites, trates, hi ph, phosphates, alkalinity, magnesium & calcium. When I was doing my weekly water changes I didn't have any drops any parameters, BUT I have recently switched my 125g to every two or three weeks for water changes. I also have about 30 corals in the tank, some large ones. In my opinion, most likely you will not have to dose anything if you keep up with the water changes.

 

[Russ_gibbo1985]

Thanks for the replies i think im just gonna add slowly and monitor my levels.
Ill be doing a 30% water change every weekend hopefully this will keep my parameters in check if anything becomes unmanageable with the weekly pwc then ill consider dosing. Does this sound ok??

 

[carey]

With water changes that large I think you will be fine for some time.

 

[Russ_gibbo1985]

Lol That's considered large?! Is it considered large in respect of my tank volume or reefkeeping?? I consider 30% on my fw tanks as small if im doing s big change ill do 50%?!

 

[rdnelson99]

Lol That's considered large?! Is it considered large in respect of my tank volume or reefkeeping?? I consider 30% on my fw tanks as small if im doing s big change ill do 50%?!

I do 10% PWC once a week and sometimes once every two weeks and so far my water has been pristine. I don't think you can do too many water changes though. The only drawback to big water changes that I can think of is it could cause your levels of something to change drastically in a short period of time. While high levels can kill a fish, drastic changes can be as bad if not worse.

 

[carey]

I do about 20% on my smaller tanks a week, maybe a tad more. On my 125g i generally take out about 25% or so, but on the big tank I don't do the water change every week anymore.

I tend to do about 30% or even a bit more on my FW tanks too, just easier to do it with the python. lol

 

[Russ_gibbo1985]

Lol carey how many tanks do you own??
So on ur smaller sw tanks you do the weekly changes on do you have to dose these tanks at all??

 

[rdnelson99]

Lol carey how many tanks do you own??
So on ur smaller sw tanks you do the weekly changes on do you have to dose these tanks at all??

I am going to steal her thunder. LOL Right now she has 7. hehehehe Last night I met a lady who has 8 so she is one up on Carey. Carey is going to have get in gear.

 

[xxlbreed]

Thanks for the replies i think im just gonna add slowly and monitor my levels.
Ill be doing a 30% water change every weekend hopefully this will keep my parameters in check if anything becomes unmanageable with the weekly pwc then ill consider dosing. Does this sound ok??

Thera an article on line about a very basic nano reef tank and they do 100 % changes to full success, IMO too much work, I do 10%, that would be fine even if I never dosed a think until about 10 months from now. For what I calculated based on my tank..
Do u have any pictures? I really wanna see what it looks like!

 

[Russ_gibbo1985]

Thera an article on line about a very basic nano reef tank and they do 100 % changes to full success, IMO too much work, I do 10%, that would be fine even if I never dosed a think until about 10 months from now. For what I calculated based on my tank..
Do u have any pictures? I really wanna see what it looks like!

Lol yea i think maybe 100% is a bit over the top!
On water removal my next question was gonna be, when i remove water what to i do about any corals that end up uncovered by water??
Theres a few pics of it at the moment. Hope you like!

 

[Russ_gibbo1985]

I am going to steal her thunder. LOL Right now she has 7. hehehehe Last night I met a lady who has 8 so she is one up on Carey. Carey is going to have get in gear.

Lol i would say carey was greedy but to be honest if i could afford it, id have my house stacked out!

 

[xxlbreed]

thats a sweet looking tank right there! I like how you set up the rockz!
Do not worry about the corals they can stay fine out of the water for a couple of hours i believe so half an hour or so should be no biggi.. They coat themselves in a preservative slime coat that keeps them from drying.. just think low tide - great barrier reef lol

 

[Russ_gibbo1985]

thats a sweet looking tank right there! I like how you set up the rockz!
Do not worry about the corals they can stay fine out of the water for a couple of hours i believe so half an hour or so should be no biggi.. They coat themselves in a preservative slime coat that keeps them from drying.. just think low tide - great barrier
reef lol

It would only be 20 mins or so maximum just making sure it wouldn't harm them.
Lol like your thinking of the Great barrier reef!
Do you have any photos of your reef?