Keeping water quality good?

[fishguy4]

Ive been trying my best but its been hard to fit in water changes to my life plus buying the water from my lfs is expensive. i bought a sweet protein skimmer to help out and its doin well but not perfect u know. i just need to keep my water quality up because ive started to get bad luck with corals. any help/advice would be awesome! Thx in advance!

 

[dmatt88]

Feed less dude. Harvest a macro algae.

..........hail to the victors valiant.

 

[whippetguy]

have you thought about adding a phosphate reactor or biopellet reactor? Not sure how much room you have but you can get a hang on the tank one. Two Little Fishies makes a good reactor.

 

[fishguy4]

Feed less dude. Harvest a macro algae.

..........hail to the victors valiant.

lol i forget to feed so often already
o and wat would the macro algae do i know it takes somethin out of the water i forget wat tho

have you thought about adding a phosphate reactor or biopellet reactor? Not sure how much room you have but you can get a hang on the tank one. Two Little Fishies makes a good reactor.

Wat are those and what do they do? Sry lol im not as knowledgeable in the world of equipment

 

[dmatt88]

lol i forget to feed so often already
o and wat would the macro algae do i know it takes somethin out of the water i forget wat tho



Wat are those and what do they do? Sry lol im not as knowledgeable in the world of equipment

Nitrate is food for chaeto.

..........hail to the victors valiant.

 

[Doogle]

Buy salt and start doing water changes. It's cheaper than buying water...

 

[whippetguy]

Wat are those and what do they do? Sry lol im not as knowledgeable in the world of equipment

A phosban reactor will take out phosphate from your water which algae uses to grow. No phosphate = less algae. Here's a link to the one I use.

Two Little Fishies GFO Phosban Reactor

A biopellet reactor works in the same way as a phosphate reactor, only that you use biopellets are made to grow bacteria which take nitrates and some phosphate out of the tank. Works like carbon dosing except it's a little more forgiving than dosing vodka. I've never done biopellets so someone else can chime in if I'm giving incorrect info.

 

[ddinox64]

Make your own water. Figure out a schedule/time pattern when your corals seem to close up or aren't looking so hot. After doing a water change check the time frame to when this happens. For example, if it's five days when you notice the change(coral) then do you water changes every four days. If it's seven days, do it on the sixth day.
If it's only a certain coral that's struggling or it turns sour quicker than others. Yank that coral. Don't base your system on one coral. Don't add equipment if it's not needed. Keep your system simple and learn it.

 

[Doogle]

Buying the lfs water could be part of your problem. What are your parameters? Salinity,temp,ph,cal,alk,phosphates, ammonia, nitrates. I would not trust an lfs for water. Alot of the times they use poor quality tap water and the salinity may be off from where your corals may need it to be.

 

[Tru2nr]

I agree LFSs are usually not as retentive as we are to their TDS reading for sake of profit. I would spend the money on an RODI system and a TDS meter. IMO i would get the phosban reactor as listed above and also buy the screens recommended for biopellets. Run the phosban media while manually removing algae once you notice the die off i would than switch to running biopellets

...Food, beer, salt needed can only afford two...i'll buy food next week i'm a reefaholic

 

[ddelozier]

Go buy a good saltmix. There are many. I use Instant Ocean. 24bucks for a bag that makes 50 Gallons. Are you using Reverse Osmosis & DeIonized water aka RO/DI? Its not recommended to use Tap water for makeing Saltwater. Even with the off the shelf water treatments, they still can have Phosphate and Nitrate in it. If you want good advice on your system, we need more details, Picks help too.

I have a 65g tank with built in Overflow. It drops to a 20g tank under the aquarium, commonly known as a Sump or Refugium. In my refugium, i have my heater, protein skimmer, and a compartment all the water flows through before it goes back up, The "refugium" Section has 2 inches of sand, and Chaeto(micro Algae). The Chaeto eats Nitrates and some Phosphates, the skimmer removes the rest. a Return pump pumps the water back up to my tank through 1/2" PVC pipe. My SG is 1.025, That specific Gravity. A measurement that deals with how much salt is in the water. If you do not have a Refractometer(tells ya the SG) Refractometer for reading salinity w/ Free Calibration fluid - Bulk Reef Supply

If you dont have a refugium, or your tank doesnt have a built in Overflow, Overflow boxes are available, and DIY Overflows are easy to make.

BRS 4 Stage RO ONLY System - 75GPD - Reverse Osmosis Systems - Bulk Reverse Osmosis Filters & Systems - Bulk Reef Supply is a decent RO/DI system, making roughly 75 gallons per day if you need it. There are bigger systems, depending on how much you need.

Instant Ocean Sea Salt Mix - 160 Gallon - Bulk Reef Supply
Red Sea Aquarium Salt Mix - 175 Gallon - Bulk Reef Supply
those are 2 popular choices in Salt mix.

But, we need details about your system to give good advice...and as Dmatt88 and other will say...PICS are helpful too. Make sure whatever hardware you buy(skimmer, reactor, RO/DI) is name brand, even if its "Bulk Reef Supply" Brand. I like BRS. Whatever you get from them, they always have parts for.

and Hello/welcome to RS, Glad to have you.

 

[TylerHaworth]

If you don't have the time or money for water changes then I'm not sure this is the hobby for you, especially with coral aspirations...

 

[BLADEYAMAHA]

Get an RO/DI filter and good salt mix like Reef Crystals and mix your own salt water. No solution for the replacement of weekly water changes(10%).

 

[fishguy4]

If you don't have the time or money for water changes then I'm not sure this is the hobby for you, especially with coral aspirations...

look sir im a 14 yr old in high school just trying to make good grades. i dont have a job like yall and i dont have the money to keep buying all this each week. i mow 3 lawns a week and i do my best to get enough money to keep it up but i donate to charity and sva e some too so i dont always have enough money to do everything i want like yall can. i cant help it that i dont have a job im 14. im sick of ppl tellin me that i cant do this ive done it got 8 years. i know what im talking about. but if yall dont think i can do it thats fine ill just quit sell it and move on.

 

[dmatt88]

Don't let these guys get u down dude.

..........hail to the victors valiant.

 

[Built347]

+1.. dont get down.. everyone is just trying to help.. all of this equipment will make things easier on you but its all been done for many many years without it.. my lfs has a 30 gallon tank filled with corals top to bottom 70+ frags and mini colonies.. all with one ai sol, a marineland hob filter, and a heater.. nothing is impossible.. we are all spoiled with equipment but almost all of it is for improvement rather than necessity... u CAN do it. We have alot of respect for you kids taking this on.. saltwater is primarily an adults hobby.. good luck buddy.. I would suggest moving towards making your own water though.. It will ensure your success in this hobby long term.. n it very well might be your problem now..

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[fishguy4]

ok i will try but idk where i can get a place to run water in it. any ideas?

 

[steved13]

+1 don't let it get you down.

That said there is no substitute for proper care for your tank including water changes. You need to find the time to get them done.

 

[whippetguy]

Hope I didn't contribute to your frustration. Hang in there. I remember not having the cash to keep up my freshwater tanks when I was young. I was always making a list and buying 1 item at a time as I saved up. It was tedious but I enjoyed every minute of my tanks.