First Post - Novice seeking good advice.

R

ragabird

New Member
Hello reef family,

I am not new to saltwater tanks, but still VERY new to doing it right. A few years ago I inherited a 150 gal tank and I have been trying to get it looking as nice as I see some of the tanks on the forums looking and so far I have failed miserably. Mainly because of my ignorance and also due to the ignorance of others. It cost me a lot of dollars, and unfortunately a lot of great looking fish, coral and other livestock. I have been seeking some solid "real" straight forward advice so that I can get it right. I did pick up bits and pieces of advice here and there, but still I see conflicting methods that makes it hard to put it all together. Now I want to find a group of "true lovers" of the trade who will help me reach my goal. I am hoping that I have found the right forum, the right people. I am tired of spending time looking at other aquariums, when I have one that is not efficient enough to make me realize my dream. I will be taking an inventory and some pictures of my current system and post it soon, hoping to get help in taking it to the next level.

Thanks in advance.
 
G

Gasturbineguy

Member
That's a great intro! Don't be too down on your efforts, if you've learned anything it's not all a loss. Just be aware that anyone telling you "facts" may warrant further research. There are only a handful of "laws" you need to follow, water chemistry comes to mind as the first biggie. The remaining majority is all opinion that may never work for you or your tank. Something I learned well many years ago. Good luck, or better luck as it were! And I'm sure we want more details on your tank lol. :wave:
 
Camille

Camille

Member
You're in the right place :)

The best thing to keep your corals and fish happy are stability of temperature, salinity, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. And water changes to dilute the bad stuff and replenish the trace elements. Not too much phosphate or nitrate. Absolutely zero ammonia and nitrite.

Also for your corals: check your lighting and water flow. Some are super happy in anything and some are fussy and want certain light and flow.

Oh yes - lot's of live rock is necessary too. I've seen some people that have struggled with losses for years and it was because of not enough rock to harbour the good bacteria.

Test these and post your results:

temp
salinity
alk
ca
mg
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
phosphate

Also list:

lighting type (if T5's age of bulbs)
livestock (fish, corals, inverts etc...anything living in there)
flow type
sump?
skimmer

And a photo or two would be great!

Don't feel bad for past losses. Clearly you haven't done anything intentionally wrong. And you are certainly doing the right thing now :)
 
Wrangy

Wrangy

Acropora Nut
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
Welcome to RS!! You're certainly in the right place for what you want, we all love everything reef and saltwater related!! :D It's truly a wonderful (albeit expensive :p) hobby :yup:

Pretty much everything is summed up by Camile on what to do so we can give you the best help you need :)
Also to help get your tank to what you want it to be, what sort of things do you want to keep or are looking at?? Like fish species, corals and what type of corals like SPS (small polyp stony corals), LPS (large polyp stony corals) or soft corals? :)
 
goma

goma

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
Welcome to RS! Start a tank thread so we can follow your journey!! :swmfish:
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
welcomefish.gif

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
745.gif
 

Start a new tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along - we love pics :)
 
R

ragabird

New Member
Thank you all for your responses, I already feel quite at home. Thank you Camile for all the details.

My intention is to make the 150 gal a mixed tank (coral/reef). With regards to the type of corals, I currently travel out of town weekly and get back in town for the weekends; therefore I would like things that are not completely dependent on my being home everyday for now.

I also have a 65 gal that I got about a six weeks ago, due to the fact that I have a zebra eel that ate my two sea urchins and probably other crustaceans that were surviving in the tank. Here is where my ignorance and incomplete information, led to me taking this eel home and introducing it to my main tank some months now. The guy told me it would not eat my fish, so my assumption was that everything was safe. Anyhow it now lives alone in the 65 gal, grown to about 14 inches now.

My main interest is to get the 150 in good shape and then I will figure out what to do with the 65 and the eel.

My Equipment:
150 gal custom 72 L x 18 W x 27 H (Maybe 24 H, don't remember)

temp - Average = 78.5 (it sometimes go up to 80)
salinity - 1.023 - 1.025
alk - unknown
ca - unknown
mg - unknown
ammonia - 0 This was just tested yesterday after a water change (I think the test kit is old had it for a few years not being used)
nitrite - Unknown
nitrate - 5 mg This was also tested yesterday
phosphate - Unknown

temp - Average = 78.5 (it sometimes go up to 80)
salinity - 1.023 - 1.025
alk - unknown
ca - unknown
mg - unknown
ammonia - 0 This was just tested yesterday (I think the test kit is old had it for a few years not being used)
nitrite - Unknown
nitrate - 5 mg This was just tested yesterday (I think the test kit is old had it for a few years not being used)
phosphate - Unknown

lighting type - T5's Two 48 inches and two 24 inches (Not sure about wattage)
livestock - 2 Moorish Idols, 1 mimic tang, 1 Maroon white striped clown, 1 fox face 1 angel, 1 blue chromis, 1 brittle star
- snails, 3 trees (not sure if they are Kenya, but they are the only things that seem to be really striving)
- A few pieces of live rock that used to have some brain corals, now they are dead.
flow type - IWAKI MD-30RXT external return pump (very old more than six years)
- 1 Hydor Koralia 750 pump
- 2 mag drive pumps (one 300+ gph and one smaller)
- 1 Tunze wave maker
sump? - 30 gal Sump with a make-shift refugium section with some chaeto (I have a 40 gal that I plan to install, which is what I think I should have)
- I used 1/2 inch tubing to do the plumbing myself and I think I went too small.
skimmer - Bubble Magus Curve 7 - less than 2 months old
Auto Top-up - using a 10 gal tank for this

What is the best testing system to buy? As for the unknowns above what do I need to get to get all that answered?

There you have it reef family. My wanna-be a good aquarium keeper setup. Questions and suggestions needed and welcomed.

Thanks much in advance.
 
goma

goma

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
The API test kits are a good starting point. You can get the Reef Master test kit and the Saltwater master test kit and they pretty much cover everything you will need for a while.
 
G

Gasturbineguy

Member
Good details! I'm sure you know you need to tweak some things. Better to learn by reading some of the build threads or stickies so you can adapt what will work for you. Your eel friend is gonna get big lol... bet he looks cool though. Always wanted an eel myself, though probably a dwarf golden to guard my frag tank.

One of the best books I've ever read on marine aquarium design and setup is: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1883693144/?tag=reefsanc-20

Worth every penny in my opinion. The author gives details as to "why" things should be certain way and not just recommending this or that etc...

Anyway... good luck and looking forward to some pics! :wave:
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
ragabird said:
...
temp - Average = 78.5 (it sometimes go up to 80)
salinity - 1.023 - 1.025
alk - unknown
ca - unknown
mg - unknown
ammonia - 0 This was just tested yesterday after a water change (I think the test kit is old had it for a few years not being used)
nitrite - Unknown
nitrate - 5 mg This was also tested yesterday
phosphate - Unknown

...
Click to expand...

As you can see, you don't know the values many of the major water parameters in your system. You need not be a fanatic about it, but without knowing them it is impossible to know if you tank environment is ever close to what you need for fish and corals. Here is something I have posted previously about test kits -

Standard Lecture #4 – Test Kits

There are a host of items that you may wish to test for in a reef system.

First before you worry about the other tests, make sure your SG is correct. I highly recommend using a refractometer for this measurement. Aquarium grade hydrometers tend to be very inaccurate, especially when used over time.

Once you have the SG correct you'll need the following test kits for the initial cycle -
pH (This can also be done via a pH meter, which is more accurate, and expensive)
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate (low range)

To properly monitor the water, especially for corals, these these kits are often used -
KH or Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphate

There are a host of other test kits you can get. I have some of them but do not typically use them.
Iodine - only needed if you are dousing iodine, which is not something I recommend.
Copper - only needed if you are treating a disease in a QT tank with copper.
Silicate - only needed if you suspect a problem with silicate in the water.
Strontium - only needed if dousing strontium

I think I've covered most of the major ones.

Each test kit works differently, so you need to consult the manufacturers instructions for each test.

As for brands, in aquarium grade test kits I like Elos and Salifret. LaMotte test kits are excellent, but extremely expensive. Most of the others are ok. Like anything else you get what you pay for.

If you do get a reading that seems way off, repeat the test, and if it still seems way off, use another brand test kit and repeat the test. In other words, consider that the test kit may be wrong.

You'll notice that you most likely will need to get a lot of test kits. It's often a lot less expensive to order them via the net, and you'll also know the test kit hasn't been sitting on the LFS shelf for years.

ragabird said:
...
lighting type - T5's Two 48 inches and two 24 inches (Not sure about wattage)
livestock - 2 Moorish Idols, 1 mimic tang, 1 Maroon white striped clown, 1 fox face 1 angel, 1 blue chromis, 1 brittle star
- snails, 3 trees (not sure if they are Kenya, but they are the only things that seem to be really striving)
- A few pieces of live rock that used to have some brain corals, now they are dead.
...
Click to expand...

If your interested in keeping corals, you will need much better light. Lighting can be a long involved subject, and I suggest you do a lot of research on it before your replace anything, but just to give you some idea, this would be a typical T5 fixture you would use on a 125 gal tank (offsite) - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+23751&pcatid=23751
Note that this example uses 12 39w bulbs. In other words 6 bulbs over each half of the tank. That's at least 3 times the amount of light you currently have. You might get away with less, and there are plenty of other lighting options to consider.

You mention that you have two Moorish Idols in the tank. Are you sure the identification is correct? See this link (offsite) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorish_idol and check, note the extended mouth and the yellow markings on the mouth. Compare it to the bannerfish. See this link (offsite) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schooling_bannerfish Note the yellow tail and real dorsal fin.

The reason I'm getting all involved in the identification is the true Moorish Idols are an extremely difficult fish to keep, even for experts. I'd estimate the about 99% of them die. On the other hand, the bannerfish, also know as Heniochus, is very easy to care for, and will do well, and will eat almost anything.
 
kyle4201

kyle4201

Active Member
Welcome. You r def in the right place!!! as for a test kit,, try this one , it has everything you will need for now. :) its an API master kit,, was like $80 on amazon or ebay or something. You might be able to get a better deal from 1 of our sponsors.
20130715_194156_zps196e4aea.jpg
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
kyle4201 said:
Welcome. You r def in the right place!!! as for a test kit,, try this one , it has everything you will need for now. :) its an API master kit,, was like $80 on amazon or ebay or something. You might be able to get a better deal from 1 of our sponsors. ...
Click to expand...

The picture seems to show a Nutrafin Master test kit, rather than API. An api test kit looks like this (offsite) - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EUE808/?tag=reefsanc-20

Personally, I have found the API test kits to be ok, but not the greatest. They don't seen to give good test results at times. I would recommend other brands such as SeaChem or Sailfret. Note that the API test kit only includes the most basic of tests, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

As for the Nutrafin test kit, I have not personally used it. What sets off a flag with me is that they say it is for both SW and FW. This is sort of true, in that you do get many tests, but tests like GH and iron are almost useless in SW, and the kit lacks a magnesium test.

As for "master" test kits in general, they are a good way to get a lot of the initial test kits you will need, but just about all of them lack some tests that you will later want. Be prepared to get the individual test kits to "fill in the blanks".

Test kits are also something I recommend buying online from a well known aquarium supplier. This is because test kits do have a shelf life, and in your LFS they can easly be sitting around for long periods of time.
 
kyle4201

kyle4201

Active Member
HA!! sorry, I got my tests mixed up,, I use API to test my copper in my QT and my MAG test is also API. Anywhoo, The nutrafin is for both salt and fresh but I just dont use the 2 tests for fresh water and I put the mag test and copper test in the spots that were left. I have no problem with it. Sorry again 4 the mix up
 
R

ragabird

New Member
Oh great info, thanks much. Ah-ah!! your are correct the fish I incorrectly identified as Moorish Idols are in fact banner fish (Heniochus). Again incorrect information and lack of research on my part.

I am going to order my testing kit(s) today and hopefully by this weekend I can give an update as to my tank's chemical composition.

Thanks again.
 
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