1st corals this time round

[trillyen]

today i got some kind of polypy coral, and not the bumpy kind

not sure exactly what it is but it has like greenish polyps on it, and its skeleton is kinda red

put it right under my 12 k, although as much light as i have on my 75 i could probably put it on the sand and it would grow fine

im gonna have 500 watss of 12k halide, plus a dusk to dawn of 220 watts of vho, and also, the bottom of the halide bright as heck moonlights.

is there anything else i can do to make these little guys happy besides trying to keep my tank full of calcium, and good water flow??

thanks peeps!!!

 

[dailydriven911]

Have you tested your water yet? Alk, calcium, po4, mag, ph are all very imporant in keeping sps happy. How much flow are you providing and is it random flow?

 

[trillyen]

dang i for got about the mag, and all that other stuff

do they sell a test kit that tests for all that like cal, mag and all that??

no my flow isnt random, but its enough i think, i put the sps in and the polyps popped right out, and i just checked on it right before the lights went out and they look even greener now

you are right though i do need to test for all that other stuff

you have a 1200 gph pump in a 20 gallon???

that tank looks amazing man great job!!!!

is it coral only???

 

[dailydriven911]

I would only recommend salifert and elos test kits. They are fairly expensive but when you spend lots of $$$$ on corals, inverts, and fish why not spend a few more bucks. Are you looking to do sps only or a mixed reef? Sps like alot of flow and random at that. Try to shoot for at least 35-40x turnover or 2500-3000 gph. Try to create currents by aiming the powerheads at one another. What are you using for flow? It sounds like your frag is happy but wait at least a week or two before you determine exactly how happy it is. (Just my experience). Make sure and test your water before you add more corals just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for the compliments. I think I'm done stuffing corals in my tank for now. I actually have about 1400-1500 gph using the hydor koralias (great pump for the money!) I have just one fish a flame hawk. He has enough personality I don't need any other fish:lol:

 

[drummereef]

Here's a good article for you on alkalinity and calcium, trillyen. Now that you are keeping more demanding corals it would be wise to get on a supplimentation regimen.

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

 

[dailydriven911]

Yes good read!

 

[trillyen]

hey drummer reef i love the pic on the bottom of all your posts!!!!!

thanks for the help and im gonna read that link you sent me this momment

i will probably go get a rotating power head tomorrow from pet smart

i have a aqua clear 402 i think its about 295 gph 2 maxi jet 1200s and a 500gph return which is probably only about 200 or 300 gph

i may have to invest in some bigger rotating power heads

i think and hope it will make it though!!!

 

[trillyen]

upon reading SOME of the link you sent me, from what i can understand i take it that they are sying that the aquarist should add lime water or kalk as 1 of the options to not shock your tank with a over dose of cal, mag, or alk
is this correct???

so if i do a drip method of kalk to my tank does this mean before i change my water i should just add kalk to it and get it up to the right levels and then add it????

 

[Damsel13]

Pretty piece of coral! Congrats!

 

[mmkeeper]

Don't forget to test Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrates

 

[drummereef]

upon reading SOME of the link you sent me, from what i can understand i take it that they are sying that the aquarist should add lime water or kalk as 1 of the options to not shock your tank with a over dose of cal, mag, or alk
is this correct???

so if i do a drip method of kalk to my tank does this mean before i change my water i should just add kalk to it and get it up to the right levels and then add it????

Kalk is one method, yes. Currently I use Randy's DIY 2-part additive. Kalk is only for maintaining your alkalinity and calcium, not to raise it. Never try to do this because of the negative effects it will have on pH. Kalk inherently has a high pH, I believe 12. So, if added too fast you'll have a real problem on your hands. You can either drip it, or do a kalk top off as long as the top off device has a slow dosing rate.

You should always manually adjust your alkalinity and calcium before starting your dosing regimen. The products you can use safely are...

Calcium = Kent Turbo Calcium or equivalent calcium chloride product
Alkalinity = Arm & Hammer baking soda

Use the calculator below to help with dosing these. If you decide to start dosing kalk, test frequently until you are comfortable with the consumption rate.

Reef Chemistry Calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

If you want to try your hand with a 2-part additive, here's the link to Randy's 2-part.

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

 

[trillyen]

thanks, now that clears up alot of ?s i have as far as inside the tank. Im not sure as of what i want to do yet.

That baking soda and calcium method sounds like the road i may take but of course im gonna have to see what the consumption of my sps is gonna be(didnt think of that, thanks for the heads up)

Is it FOREAL baking soda that i would add or mix with something???

thanks for the help, and sorry for the stupid questions im learning

so far you guys have taught me alot!!!!

 

[Krish]

When I had my corals I use the 2 part B-Ionic which supplements calcium and alk and worked well for me. Some people use calcium reactors which can get quite costly, some drip Kalc and then some like myself, just supplement daily with a 2 part additive. You can adjust the doseages to suit your setup. For example, my tank used up more calcium than alk, so I dosed a bit more calcium a day then the alk. Then weekly, I'd just do a water test using Salifet test kits (magnesium, alk and calcium) to make sure everything was still in balance which I never had an issue. As the tank got more corals, I had to compensate for the extra calcium and alk consumption, but no biggie. Here's a link to the stuff I used. Pretty easy to use and doesn't cost much. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ESV151&Category_Code= Definately go with what works best for you though. I just found this method easiest for me.

Also, I saw flow mentioned and everyone here knows I'm a flow freak Here's a thread you might find helpful that members post their sized tanks and the amount of flow they had. It will give you an idea on what flow is required for some tanks which depends on a few factors like types of corals etc. One of my tanks (38gal), I ran a bare bottom setup with corals that loved a lot of flow and so I turned over my tank's volume over 100x per hour. A bit extreme for some, but did the job well

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18140

 

[drummereef]

thanks, now that clears up alot of ?s i have as far as inside the tank. Im not sure as of what i want to do yet.

That baking soda and calcium method sounds like the road i may take but of course im gonna have to see what the consumption of my sps is gonna be(didnt think of that, thanks for the heads up)

Is it FOREAL baking soda that i would add or mix with something???

thanks for the help, and sorry for the stupid questions im learning

so far you guys have taught me alot!!!!

Good, sounds like you are getting there. And yes, it's plain old Arm & Hammer baking soda for the alkalinity part (bicarbonate). And you'll really love this.... I use Prestone Driveway Heat for my Calcium part. Yes, the same stuff we put on our driveways to melt snow! It's a form of calcium chloride, just like Kent Turbo Calcium.

 

[trillyen]

ok im really learning now, and i think im either gonna go with the kalk, or the 2 part additives

i havent herd much about you guys saying that you ever dose with iodine , or mag, but i do remember something about the mag not dropping very fast

itd be nice if i dont have to worry about dosing with the mag or the iodine

the part and the kalk dosent mess with any other params correct???

thanks for the advice

for now i think the kalk is what im gonna go with, but depending on what i read when i go through all my notes im just gonna pic what i think is best for my set up

and i think i have like 1000 gph total adding all the power head movement in my tank together

and for some reason i dont have any alternating flow but my xenias, and my sps seem to catch diffeerent wave patterns in my tank

its pretty cool looking!!

here is a pic i took to day of my sps

thanks guys!!!

 

[drummereef]

Nice pic! At this point, I wouldn't worry about the iodine. Just keep up on your weekly water changes and you'll be fine. As for the mag, I test monthly. It does fall relatively slow, but if it's low it can drive your calcium level down. Or, not allow it to come up. So yes, it does have an effect. Best to get a test kit for that.

2-Part and Kalk can affect other params. pH is one that I would closely monitor, especially if you are dosing Kalk. If overdosed, pH can rise very quickly which would obviously be a very bad thing. I've had very good luck with Randy's DIY 2-Part. It's extremely cheap to make/use. And, if you dose according to the calculator, overdose is not likely. Just my opinion though.


Read, read, and read some more. All you ever wanted to know about reef chemistry is here...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605

 

[trillyen]

Read, read, and read some more. All you ever wanted to know about reef chemistry is here...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605[/QUOTE]


lol, ok i will do give me about a week and ill have it all down.

boy thats alot of reading

maybe itll make me as knowledgable as you then i can help out other people and they will owe me like i OWE you, lol

thanks a ton dude, i dont know what im gonna do as far as dosing, but i do know im gonna read!!!

 

[drummereef]

:lol: I know it seems daunting at first, but once you understand the basics it's not that hard. There's A LOT to read there, but for your needs I'd focus on the following... All of these are related to your situation.

What Chemicals Must be Supplemented
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm


Happy Reading!!!

 

[thumperss]

how new is your tank and how much water do you change out and imo i don't do weekly water changes unless something is off i only change my water every 12 days and all my sps lps and softies are growing grate if you want to know more on water changes post a poll and see what everyone says and don't believe every thang you reed i do tangs alot difrent then what is says to do and i know im not the only person that dose not go by the books and that is why every tank is difrent.
Brandon

 

[trillyen]

thanks guys

yeah brandon ill probably end up going with my own thing to

my tank is 3 months old, and i change about 20 % of the water when i do changes every 2 weeks!!!

well 10 to 20 %

something like that!!!