Dirt-simple chemistry MUST-knows for tank health

[Sk8r]

I'm going to start very slow, very basic, and work toward the lesser known things.

1. your salt mix is not just salt. It's dry seawater. And that means not only salt, it's calcium, magnesium, iodine, selenium, boron---read the label on your salt mix.

2. evaporation never evaporates the minerals. It only evaporates the water.

3. animals and plants suck up part of the minerals. So TWO actions unbalance your tank---evaporation increases the mineral concentration---and animals and plants take the minerals they need and leave what they don't. This means certain minerals run lower and lower and certain ones don't---they just pile up. As you add more fresh ro/di (water that's ONLY hydrogen and oxygen, with NO minerals) your tank gets no more minerals. And your shortage of what the animals and plants are using most gets bigger and bigger. Water changes, 20% a month, replenish the missing minerals, but they're alway playing catchup.

4. Salt mixes are NOT all the same. Reef salt contains a high amount of what corals need AND what fish need. Marine salt for fish-onlies is lower in calcium and other minerals. That's why the price difference.

5. Now---the nitty gritty of chemical balance in your tank. First, the balance is set by your salt brand. The more you mess with that, the worse your water. Translation: don't go dumping supplements into your tank unless you've got the corresponding test. They don't sell these things together because they don't run out at the same rate, but your lfs should stress, with every supplement---you need a test. And you need a logbook. If you turn up a shortage, you dose until you put the RIGHT amount into your tank, with a little leeway; and you test again next week to figure out how fast that's running low. And you dose to stay in the 'good zone', NOT as make-up after your water's gone wonky. Dose to the TREND of the numbers, the way when you're balancing something in your hands, you don't let it swing way to one side before you correct it back to center. There is NO one answer to these things. Every tank is different. And staying in the center of a 'good numbers' zone is best: that gives you a little leeway in either direction.

6. THREE readings go in 'lock' to keep your water good. These three are: the alkalinity of your water, the amount of calcium in your water, and the amount of magnesium in your water. Those of you with freshwater experience are used to tracking PH. Alkalinity is the thing most reefers track. Get it between 8.3 and 9.3 on the KH scale, and don't angst over the ph.
The second reading is your Calcium level. It should be between 420 and 500. Below that---your snails' shells start dissolving. And your fish's bone and muscle suffer. The third reading is Magnesium. All you people who want coralline to grow---just keep this one at 1300. But it does a lot more than supply coralline. It LOCKS the other two readings in a 3-way balance. Keeping everything in that relationship will make everything happy.

7. Remember that business about plants and animals using up minerals? Calcium and magnesium are the ones animals use bigtime. Plants---use phosphate and nitrate. Yes, even those chemicals are useful. Plants grow like mad with phosphate. Grow them in your sump, divide the mass in half periodically and get rid of it, and you've just tossed a lot of phosphate and nitrate. That's what a fuge does. And the reason not to use conditioned tapwater? City water grows plants. Algae. A lot of it. The conditioners don't remove phosphate.

8. Dosing: you must dose to keep your calcium supply up if you have stony coral OR clams. Hand-dosing is just fine if you don't. You should be able to keep up with the mineral consumption problem if you have fish and softies, including anemones. Just stay in the target range, and do your water changes.

If you have, or want to have, stony coral, you need to get onto that calcium situation the minute you put them in the tank. They come in 'asleep'. Given good lighting (a requirement for stony coral) and correct chemistry---they'll put out a finger to feel the water. And they'll start waking up. Hungry---because they've not eaten in a while. And what they want is calcium. A lot of it. They'll suck it right out of your salt mix, until your snail shells start dissolving. So you have to put it in. 3 little coral frags can take heaping teaspoons worth of calcium supplement---daily---and at nearly twenty dollars a jar, this could get ruinously expensive. But there ARE cheap ways to give them what they need. Kalk drips are the cheapest. They can fully supply a 50-60 gallon packed reef. Above that you get into calcium reactors, which can supply much larger reefs. There is also the Balling method. And the 2-Part. Tank size and coral load will determine what you need.

9. aging tank: reading all this should tell you that the older a tank gets, the more little imbalances and shortages it accumulates. Age has benefits, but it also has problems. I recommend, at least every couple of years, an aggressive program of semi-weekly 20% water changes, so you can sort of re-set the balance. It's my own notion, but I think it does a bit to replenish the things far down the list of reef-salt ingredients.

[Robert1969]

Very good information. Thanks for taking the time to write it all down

[catfish]

Well said

[tritonman]

Very nice write up sk8r. Lot's of good info in there.

[jacob.morgan78]

Good read for beginners. Wish I would have read this when I first stred years back. Any way this can be "stickied" on the new to the hobby forum?

[Sk8r]

I could duplicate it over there. THank you.

[joesreeftank]

I am new and you put it in such a way that it makes since. I was testing my water dayly for the first few months and now 8 months later i have not tested in 6 weeks. On my way to test now.
Thanks again. Joe

[goldmaniac]

very nice write-up. I like the emphasis on Ca. well done.

[hans24hrs]

what salt mix do you recommend. I use Salinity and seem to get very good results from it.

[Sk8r]

Personally I use Oceanic, a reef salt. There are many good ones. Just know whether it supports corals and fish or fish-only.

[reefer209]

I use the salinity. It seems to test to the parameters that is on the label almost everytime I mix a batch. I put the salinity at 26 and let it mix for 24 hours minnimum, check the levels, adjust to hit my parameters and it is ready to go.

[pbhere]

I'm just getting back into all this and wanted to start back with the basics. This puts it to where even I can understand. Thanks so much!

[adampottebaum]

Nice post! This is important stuff!

[Musbtr1pin]

Great dosing products from bulk reef supply. I use those to doe the Big 3. If you. Uh the big kit, you get gallon jugs with pump spouts, dosing cups, and enough minerals to last 6 months to a year!

Great write up!

[rorynate]

Wow!!!!!

[fng_71]

I feel smarter from reading that. But then again I get smarter every time I read a stop sign. But someone finally answered a question I've been asking for 2 months. And that was the question about calcium reactors and such. Thank you sk8er. I'm about to embark on a 125 gallon reef build after a 10 year break. A lot has changed in 10 years

[FrankMcD]

wow

[choypogi07]

thanks for the refresher course.. :D

[Kaos]

Wish I would have had something like this years ago. My LFS said all I needed was an under gravel filter and some salt mix (tap water was fine also). If it hadn't been for this place and NR.com I would have given up years ago due to failure.

[Lateralus]

Well put. I wish I read this 12 years ago. I've learned things the hard way during this addiction, I mean hobby. :headwallblue:

[vargomat]

Great write up and a good refresher of why I do the things I do for my tank.

Thanks!

[mjweber]

Thanks for the advice, i'm about to jump in after 3 year absence and this is very helpful. I always wondered why my tank never looked like the beautiful tanks on this site, and its probably because i only tracked Nitrate, Nitrite, Phosphate and pH.

Thanks for the tips.

[yrema]

Very informative and helpful write-up. Thank you, sk8r. :)

[mistacheese]

As others have mentioned, thank you for this. Great to see it all together for a refresher down the road too, going up in fish room!

Cheese

[Maxiusg]

Good article, well explained and easy to follow/understand. Have you written any others? If you have, do you have links to them?

[goldenfiji]

I like it :D

[Flashlin]

Very nice. Thanks!

[Spirofucci]

Very imortant reef chemistry......simplified! (The only way I can understand it) Thanks.

[deansreef]

i change 10 gallons a week on my 70 gallon cube...never had a hint of algea, have sps and clams set up... love it!

[kb20reefcentral]

Very informative for both beginners and mid-level aquarists.

[jelley fish]

I'm going to start very slow, very basic, and work toward the lesser known things.

1. your salt mix is not just salt. It's dry seawater. And that means not only salt, it's calcium, magnesium, iodine, selenium, boron---read the label on your salt mix.

2. evaporation never evaporates the minerals. It only evaporates the water.

3. animals and plants suck up part of the minerals. So TWO actions unbalance your tank---evaporation increases the mineral concentration---and animals and plants take the minerals they need and leave what they don't. This means certain minerals run lower and lower and certain ones don't---they just pile up. As you add more fresh ro/di (water that's ONLY hydrogen and oxygen, with NO minerals) your tank gets no more minerals. And your shortage of what the animals and plants are using most gets bigger and bigger. Water changes, 20% a month, replenish the missing minerals, but they're alway playing catchup.

4. Salt mixes are NOT all the same. Reef salt contains a high amount of what corals need AND what fish need. Marine salt for fish-onlies is lower in calcium and other minerals. That's why the price difference.

5. Now---the nitty gritty of chemical balance in your tank. First, the balance is set by your salt brand. The more you mess with that, the worse your water. Translation: don't go dumping supplements into your tank unless you've got the corresponding test. They don't sell these things together because they don't run out at the same rate, but your lfs should stress, with every supplement---you need a test. And you need a logbook. If you turn up a shortage, you dose until you put the RIGHT amount into your tank, with a little leeway; and you test again next week to figure out how fast that's running low. And you dose to stay in the 'good zone', NOT as make-up after your water's gone wonky. Dose to the TREND of the numbers, the way when you're balancing something in your hands, you don't let it swing way to one side before you correct it back to center. There is NO one answer to these things. Every tank is different. And staying in the center of a 'good numbers' zone is best: that gives you a little leeway in either direction.

6. THREE readings go in 'lock' to keep your water good. These three are: the alkalinity of your water, the amount of calcium in your water, and the amount of magnesium in your water. Those of you with freshwater experience are used to tracking PH. Alkalinity is the thing most reefers track. Get it between 8.3 and 9.3 on the KH scale, and don't angst over the ph.
The second reading is your Calcium level. It should be between 420 and 500. Below that---your snails' shells start dissolving. And your fish's bone and muscle suffer. The third reading is Magnesium. All you people who want coralline to grow---just keep this one at 1300. But it does a lot more than supply coralline. It LOCKS the other two readings in a 3-way balance. Keeping everything in that relationship will make everything happy.

7. Remember that business about plants and animals using up minerals? Calcium and magnesium are the ones animals use bigtime. Plants---use phosphate and nitrate. Yes, even those chemicals are useful. Plants grow like mad with phosphate. Grow them in your sump, divide the mass in half periodically and get rid of it, and you've just tossed a lot of phosphate and nitrate. That's what a fuge does. And the reason not to use conditioned tapwater? City water grows plants. Algae. A lot of it. The conditioners don't remove phosphate.

8. Dosing: you must dose to keep your calcium supply up if you have stony coral OR clams. Hand-dosing is just fine if you don't. You should be able to keep up with the mineral consumption problem if you have fish and softies, including anemones. Just stay in the target range, and do your water changes.

If you have, or want to have, stony coral, you need to get onto that calcium situation the minute you put them in the tank. They come in 'asleep'. Given good lighting (a requirement for stony coral) and correct chemistry---they'll put out a finger to feel the water. And they'll start waking up. Hungry---because they've not eaten in a while. And what they want is calcium. A lot of it. They'll suck it right out of your salt mix, until your snail shells start dissolving. So you have to put it in. 3 little coral frags can take heaping teaspoons worth of calcium supplement---daily---and at nearly twenty dollars a jar, this could get ruinously expensive. But there ARE cheap ways to give them what they need. Kalk drips are the cheapest. They can fully supply a 50-60 gallon packed reef. Above that you get into calcium reactors, which can supply much larger reefs. There is also the Balling method. And the 2-Part. Tank size and coral load will determine what you need.

9. aging tank: reading all this should tell you that the older a tank gets, the more little imbalances and shortages it accumulates. Age has benefits, but it also has problems. I recommend, at least every couple of years, an aggressive program of semi-weekly 20% water changes, so you can sort of re-set the balance. It's my own notion, but I think it does a bit to replenish the things far down the list of reef-salt ingredients.

sounds like a good plan to me

[Garrett11]

Nice write up, would have loved stuff like that a year and a half ago lol

[Maxiusg]

Very good write up. This helps me to understand what is needed to grow lps & sps as I mature my aquarium.
Gary

[ReeferGil]

Easy to follow, thank you.

[kv69]

john deere format... thanks

[gmastr85]

Thanks for the great info here.

[Scubes]

Question: I have a 90 gallon tank, almost 4 years old (another 20 gallons in the sump). It is stocked with about about 5 pieces of various LPS, a couple of clams, around 4-5" long, and I recently added a small monti and an acro colony. I have around 65 pounds of live rock in the display and sump. I religiously do 20% water changes every two weeks using Reef Crystals salt. I have not really worried about testing Ca and KA regularly until I got the SPS.

Should I be adding Kalk?

[Phranque]

Excellent write up. I've been keeping FW & FOWLR for going on 30 years now. Because of the great information available on forums like this, I finally decided to dip my toes into the reef world about 4 months ago. Just recently added my first SPS (couple of digis & green-tipped birdsnest), and am mixing & dosing my own 2-part with great thanks to Mr. Holmes-Farley.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t93/phranquey/photo36.jpg

[hitecron]

yes, i really appreciate how well u explained everything! u r saving lives and i want to read what u have to say about filtration, lighting, circulation and all that would help

[erw37]

Sometimes you get so caught up in everything you forget the basics. This is a great bit of info.

[Dadekster]

ABC's of reefing, very nice.

[godsdoc]

Great write up.
I always have to remind myself to go back to the basics it seems like after a while I start cutting corners and not keeping up on all the maintenance.

[nebelk]

great info. I have been just using kalk in my top-off, but may need to rethink things.

[Fredrick]

I always use carbi-sea purified is this a good brand for fish and also the other wonderful inverts and plants

[markaren]

Thank You.

[mastersonr]

wow, what a great post. I just came across this and it really helps explains things. I've had FO tanks forever but just upgraded to a bigger tank and I'm getting ready to start adding some soft corals. I can't tell you how helpful this is!

[grizbear]

Great write-up. Always good to have the basics to review in print as we too often get complacent or worse lazy.
Thanks!!

[grizbear]

Great write-up. Always good to have the basics to review in print as we too often get complacent or worse lazy.
Thanks!!

[cichlidsrcool]

thanks for the info will keep it handy lots of good stuff in the post

[johnnyatc]

Great information!!! Appreciate you taking the time to write that all down.

[Mark SF]

Good info thanks for taking the time.

I read in Coral magazine that the phosphates eventually with absorb into the substrate and the live rock. They recommend after a few years to actually remove the substrate and replace it section by section. It was also recommended to replace live rock as well because of this issue, based on a similar method of a little at a time.

I believe it was in the January edition, free for me on my iPad. Titled "Old Tank Syndrome"

Mark

[bobdale]

Down and dirty post. I read it about a year ago and enjoyed hitting it again.

[ppark]

excellent write up. thanks for taking the time.

[cnguyenl]

nice!

[tonyf]

The second reading is your Calcium level. It should be between 420 and 500. Below that---your snails' shells start dissolving. And your fish's bone and muscle suffer.

Sk8r, Natural sea water calcium concentration is between 380ppm and 420ppm depending on who you're reading ... I had no idea that my snails and fish were at risk through keeping my calcium levels in the range 400-450ppm. Do you have a source for these claims, please ? Randy "suggest[s] that aquarists maintain a calcium level between about 380 and 450 ppm." [source: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php ]

[RxMike]

Hello
I have a mixed reef. I am primarily SPS, but do have some LPS. I have lots of fish. I use tropic Marin Reef Pro and here are my parameters. I also run a calcium reactor.
Salinity 1.025
Ph 8.1
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite=0.2
Nitrate =0.5
Phosphate 0.5 ( Just switched from BRS GFO to Rowaphos yesterday)
Ca= 470
Alk = 11
Mag 1100

I am working on getting my phos down, I hope that the Rowaphos does a better job than the BRS GFO.

How do I go about getting my Alk down, I realize I need to work on getting my mag up to 1300
Overal my parameters are pretty good.

[kupadupapupa]

Thanks for this

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Tapatalk 2

[Sk8r]

Regarding snails: if you start getting much lower, you'll find holes in your snail shells. Clams and corals, snails, aragonite, all dissolve as the water balance gets wonkier. If you want stony corals to grow, keep the calcium at 420. If you don't have stony coral you can go lower, but keeping it at that level keeps it 'available' on call, and a feeding stony can take down an amazing amount of calcium in a single day, enough that it will stress other creatures in the tank and cause problems. Mg/cal/alk exist in a balance. If you keep the mg up and keep providing calcium at 420, the system will stay bulletproof for months.

[Sk8r]

In my experience, re GFO, it just works, and I use Phosban when I need it. These others are good, too.
It may take several months, and some GFO media changes to get a bad load sopped up. Don't overdo. Many creatures besides algae rely on a little.

[ezhoops]

"And the reason not to use conditioned tapwater? City water grows plants. Algae. A lot of it. The conditioners don't remove phosphate."

Just to be clear. RO water is ok. Your saying don't use tap water and then buy conditioners to fix it?

[hazey62]

Thanks for the great write-up! :thumbsup:

[fbwines]

I'm going to start very slow, very basic, and work toward the lesser known things.

1. your salt mix is not just salt. It's dry seawater. And that means not only salt, it's calcium, magnesium, iodine, selenium, boron---read the label on your salt mix.

2. evaporation never evaporates the minerals. It only evaporates the water.

3. animals and plants suck up part of the minerals. So TWO actions unbalance your tank---evaporation increases the mineral concentration---and animals and plants take the minerals they need and leave what they don't. This means certain minerals run lower and lower and certain ones don't---they just pile up. As you add more fresh ro/di (water that's ONLY hydrogen and oxygen, with NO minerals) your tank gets no more minerals. And your shortage of what the animals and plants are using most gets bigger and bigger. Water changes, 20% a month, replenish the missing minerals, but they're alway playing catchup.

4. Salt mixes are NOT all the same. Reef salt contains a high amount of what corals need AND what fish need. Marine salt for fish-onlies is lower in calcium and other minerals. That's why the price difference.

5. Now---the nitty gritty of chemical balance in your tank. First, the balance is set by your salt brand. The more you mess with that, the worse your water. Translation: don't go dumping supplements into your tank unless you've got the corresponding test. They don't sell these things together because they don't run out at the same rate, but your lfs should stress, with every supplement---you need a test. And you need a logbook. If you turn up a shortage, you dose until you put the RIGHT amount into your tank, with a little leeway; and you test again next week to figure out how fast that's running low. And you dose to stay in the 'good zone', NOT as make-up after your water's gone wonky. Dose to the TREND of the numbers, the way when you're balancing something in your hands, you don't let it swing way to one side before you correct it back to center. There is NO one answer to these things. Every tank is different. And staying in the center of a 'good numbers' zone is best: that gives you a little leeway in either direction.

6. THREE readings go in 'lock' to keep your water good. These three are: the alkalinity of your water, the amount of calcium in your water, and the amount of magnesium in your water. Those of you with freshwater experience are used to tracking PH. Alkalinity is the thing most reefers track. Get it between 8.3 and 9.3 on the KH scale, and don't angst over the ph.
The second reading is your Calcium level. It should be between 420 and 500. Below that---your snails' shells start dissolving. And your fish's bone and muscle suffer. The third reading is Magnesium. All you people who want coralline to grow---just keep this one at 1300. But it does a lot more than supply coralline. It LOCKS the other two readings in a 3-way balance. Keeping everything in that relationship will make everything happy.

7. Remember that business about plants and animals using up minerals? Calcium and magnesium are the ones animals use bigtime. Plants---use phosphate and nitrate. Yes, even those chemicals are useful. Plants grow like mad with phosphate. Grow them in your sump, divide the mass in half periodically and get rid of it, and you've just tossed a lot of phosphate and nitrate. That's what a fuge does. And the reason not to use conditioned tapwater? City water grows plants. Algae. A lot of it. The conditioners don't remove phosphate.

8. Dosing: you must dose to keep your calcium supply up if you have stony coral OR clams. Hand-dosing is just fine if you don't. You should be able to keep up with the mineral consumption problem if you have fish and softies, including anemones. Just stay in the target range, and do your water changes.

If you have, or want to have, stony coral, you need to get onto that calcium situation the minute you put them in the tank. They come in 'asleep'. Given good lighting (a requirement for stony coral) and correct chemistry---they'll put out a finger to feel the water. And they'll start waking up. Hungry---because they've not eaten in a while. And what they want is calcium. A lot of it. They'll suck it right out of your salt mix, until your snail shells start dissolving. So you have to put it in. 3 little coral frags can take heaping teaspoons worth of calcium supplement---daily---and at nearly twenty dollars a jar, this could get ruinously expensive. But there ARE cheap ways to give them what they need. Kalk drips are the cheapest. They can fully supply a 50-60 gallon packed reef. Above that you get into calcium reactors, which can supply much larger reefs. There is also the Balling method. And the 2-Part. Tank size and coral load will determine what you need.

9. aging tank: reading all this should tell you that the older a tank gets, the more little imbalances and shortages it accumulates. Age has benefits, but it also has problems. I recommend, at least every couple of years, an aggressive program of semi-weekly 20% water changes, so you can sort of re-set the balance. It's my own notion, but I think it does a bit to replenish the things far down the list of reef-salt ingredients.

[fbwines]

Very helpful.thx

[Krissies Tank]

Awesome write up! You just explained a reason for a few problems that recently turned up. Thanks, K

[IowaJeeping]

This made things easier. I like when people put things easy just makes it easy to follow and understand. Hint Im a newbie lol

[saltwatershark]

I wish someone had provided me this concise summary years ago. Thank you for sharing, this is very helpful.

[ounvme247]

Thats good pointers.

[jonnyeatworld]

Great read. Thanks!!!

[immokalee98]

Nice write up. So theoretically, if I only have a few soft corals, I shouldn't have to dose if I keep up on my water changes with a good reef salt, right?

[GothBoy]

You know, this article made me look at things in a different way. I've had reefs for 18mo and specialised in water chemistry at university but this is, by far, the best explanation of a reef tank!

[Mudbeaver]

Thanks for the thread i knew the parameters but not all the reasons and the very simple facts you've described , very good read. Will make my reefing easyer now and even more enjoyable. Thanks for all your good threads by the way. :reading:

[FlipToast]

To OP:
What is your view on ORP? I've noticed that keeping it level has been more beneficial than anything. When other parameters are good and something looks off it is usually my ORP reading that is out of whack.
(First post on the first thread I read.)

[xdiep23]

Great info! Before reading this, I would fuss over 7.8-8.0 pH readings and was concerned that using baking soda to slowly raise my low Alk would drop pH out of range but guess I should not worry too much if Alk is good.

[miah2bzy]

Thanks for the reminder!

[SavingOurSeas]

Not that you need one more, but thank you for taking the time to share this information. It will probably be for some time, something simple and stable to refer to.

[s2nhle]

Thank you very much for taking your time sharing your experience.

[andrzadr000]

Thank you great write up and very helpful.

[Mikefromaz]

The one thing I learned after running an 80 gal. reef for over ten years, is that it is FAR better to be proactive and do tank maintenance regularly before things go horribly wrong. Keeping fish and corals is no different than owning a dog, cat or whatever, except the four legged critters can let you know when it's time for dinner. Whether you dose by hand or use more automatic means, a simple log book and a regular schedule are mandatory in my opinion. If you "fall behind", meaning you have lost interest, it should also tell you it's time to consider getting out of the hobby.

[redive]

Thanks for a great write up! I would like to request that you extend to give a down and dirty for testing and correcting chemistry. Please :-)

[fdcatano]

Thanks for all that info, very well put it together

[SantaMonica]

Down and dirty phosphate:

Know that it can get into your rocks and take a year to fill up; at that point your problems start showing up. So, export way more phosphate than you think you need to from the start.

[s2nhle]

Well done. Learn alot from your writing.

[asifiqbal2]

Thank you! great write up

[s2nhle]

Thank you for your sharing.

[spider1218]

That's for sure learned that lesson the hard way

[sellmecorals]

I finally get it

[Aidan123]

Great information here! Never fully appreciated the importance of calcium in the reef until now

[flyingclay]

That clears up a lot about why my stonies would slow their growth when I run low on calcium. Thanks for the concise and informative article.

[Sicotic]

Im an very new to salt water and reefs ... this was good information. Thanks for taking the time. !!

[MSreefdoc]

I have been in the hobby for almost 2 years now. After killing an sps frag a year ago, and then another 6 months ago, I had about decided to just stick with the softies. Reading sk8r's original post made it seem so simple that I think I may try again now. Thanks!

[swordfish2002hk]

Very nice write up. Thanks for sharing!

[Reel North]

Thats a great writeup. Much appreciated. I am embarking on a 150 and it gives me a better insight.

Again, thanks a million!

[JamesOver]

Awesome information for someone new to reefing. Everything explained well!!

[Elvis_B]

Good info!!

[sellmecorals]

I finally get it

Sk8r, thanks for the writeup.

Since you made it so easy to understand, could I please bother u to explain which method works best for diff size reef tanks like 2 part, Kali, balling, etc?
Newbie here grateful

[ReefandClimb]

Solid info

[Ontheway]

Books of information summarized in a page, thank you.

[droog]

Very nice writeup. I'm using Red Sea Coral Pro salt, and their recommendation (for LPS reef) are

Salinity: 33ppt
Ca: 440
Mg: 1310
Alk: 12.1

These are very much inline with your recipe posted here, except for Alk.

Questions

1] Is it better to target 8.3-9.3 Alk range, or follow the RedSea targets for Alk of 12.1?
2] This recipe seems to ignore salinity, but surely the concentration of salt mix also affects the target levels, so this recipe is based on what salinity? 1.0264 (35ppt) or other?

My 120g DT currently runs at a salinity of 1.025sg (33 PPT) and I had planned on adding a little salt to my ATO to reach 35ppt. Any view on which level of salinity would be better? I have a lightly stocked tank with LPS corals and fish.

[james2369]

Very nice write up

[takaiguchi]

Wow. Thank you! I'm newer to the hobby and learned this stuff the hard and expensive way!

[Reefvet]

Any view on which level of salinity would be better?

If it works don't fix it.


Look at the health of your reef and it's inhabitants. Knowing what the numbers should be is important when you're new to the hobby. Learning to not run a tank by the numbers is equally important but takes some time to understand.

The RS recommendation for higher alkalinity is part of their program for good growth in SPS corals. I believe you'll find different numbers are recommended by RS different types of reefs, Softies vs. SPS etc..

[ryanfrantz]

Thanks for the quality information .

[nanner2and15]

What do you need for a kalk drip in a 15 gallon and 2 and a half gallon

[nanner2and15]

Obviously I'm not buying a calcium reactor for a 21/2 or 15 for that matter lol

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

A slow pump is the best way, perhaps connected to an auto top off system (that's what I use), but some folks use drippers of various sorts.

[paul89]

Thanks for the read mate. I know I have slacked off on my calcium and mag and I paid for it. Corals are still all alive, but don't look happy. Now that I've been raising those elements, the corals looks better and better each day. My calcium dropped to 300 and my mag to 1150!!!

[jaysuper]

well said

[inetmug]

I am looking at the Red Sea Reef kit to start. Over time I might get into the electronic versions. Do they make electronic reef versions? Not sure I have seen one for magnesium for example.

[R6REEFER]

So if I started cycling a tank with instant ocean and wound up deciding I want to do a reef tank instead, how do I go about incorporating the reef salt?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Normal IO is a perfectly fine salt for a reef tank. It is what I use. :)

[R6REEFER]

Thanks Randy, my first time speaking with you but from what I've read I can't go wrong with your words. If you don't mind could you peruse my recent post about refugium filtering? I'm in dire need of some knowledge

[bdsage]

randy whats the best cal/mag additive to add to io salt mix to raise to appropriate levels? alk. is about 10...i change 5 gals. at a time so what amount would be best.thanks

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'd use calcium chloride and magnesium chloride (or magnesium chloride plus 10% Epsom salt). BRS and some other vendors sell suitable and inexpensive bulk stuff). If cost is a big issue, you can get by with Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). :)

[bdsage]

thx randy can u tell me how much of each to bring to a proper balance for 5gals.@ alk. of 10...?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not sure how much you want to raise them.

I wouldn't add anything for alkalinity.

I do boost the magnesium in IO without measuring. I add enough to boost it by ~150 ppm, which offsets loses in the tank, where I never add any. I don't add any calcium to it, but if you do, the calculator below will tell you how much (also for magnesium):

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html

[TommyP]

I'm curious to know why my calcium is so high?

75g DT
20g Sump
I've only been dosing BRS 2 part Alk to get my levels above 9.

Alk 9.3
Cal 510
Mg 1330
Temp 81*
Phos - 0.00
Sg - 1.026

Any input is welcome.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What salt mix are you using?
Many start at that level of calcium or higher.

[TommyP]

Io Reef crystals

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Then I'm not sure why it is 500 ppm, but that is not too high. If you want it lower, just use only the alk part of the two part for a while and let the calcium decline over time. :)

[TommyP]

Ok thanks. I've been using just the alk part as it is.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That's a fine plan, assuming you believe the calcium test result. If you did not add a lot of calcium somehow, I'd be suspect of the value since normal IO won't typically have calcium that high. :)

[claireputput]

I am so new and never have I worked with a saltwater tank-much less reef tank but it is what I really want.
Thank you so much for this explanation-you answered questions I had wanted answers for and answered questions, I didn't realize I had!
Again, thank you Sk8r!

[JohnniG]

Good read. Ty

[rEeFnWrX]

Ah, the things we overlook that when looking back wish we had read a post like this!

[710Reefer]

Great information. Thank you for posting this.

[Scsmith2002]

:headwalls:
I see that this is a hobby of ups and downs...
Has anyone ever used a 60 gallon Hexagon to make a sump out of?

[Jimbo530]

you can use anything fish or food safe as a sump. have at it max out water volume and natural filtration.

[Jimbo530]

I have had fresh water aquariums since i was a small child. got fairly good at it. moved to the marine environment and it is much more complex and challenging. i am trying to stay as natural as possible but it is a much larger challenge for marine tanks. i would say it is always a good idea to increase water volume. makes your tanks more forgiving to an accident. as well as get some cool stuff in there if you look close. i also like to just add lighting to see what grows. usually yucky stuff from excess nutrients. but helps remove them and every once in awhile you see sum thing cool.

[scottneeld88]

I always try to keep my tanks at 10.8 alk 430 cal 1350 mag on the display tank 550 gal I find I get the best color and growth with it running a Little higher and it's more safe to me instead of worrying bout the cal reactor crashing or something even though It's set up on apex just had a scare last week with a pump going out at the tank dropped to 9.2 alk 360 cal over a day that's why I don't like to run it low like some ppl do but everyone has there own thoughts on water values lol there are over 70 colony's of coral in the 550 and it eats up the cal and alk in the water

[Eac7466]

I am new and appreciated the info!

[renato120]

Very good! Thank you!

[Yourmedic]

Newbie here, so this question may seem obvious, but here goes anyways. My tank is about 5 months old, 40 gallon breeder. Crushed coral sub straight. I have a lion, a fire angelfish, a striped sail fin tang, 2 black ice clownfish, a chocolate chip star, and 2 hitch hiker crabs, look a lot like emeralds. This is a "get my feet wet tank" and better under stand saltwater tanks and all that live inside before I get a 125 gallon. My question is this, should I start doing the 3 tests, alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium now along with keeping the levels correct to get in the habit of it, or is there really no need for that at this point if I have no corals?

Thanks

[sirpreet]

A great article ..... many thanks for such valuable information...

highly appreciate it....

[Mooseburgers]

Thnx sk8r, good info. I never thought too much about the "good range" much in ca and alk, but aiming for the middle is perfectly sensible. 1st post of many!

[Lmax8rn]

I finally got my Mg level up to 1350! Took me months of careful dosing, but it's there. I have never had a problem with Ca, however it is probably because I do frequent water changes. Still trying to get the nitrates under control, but my tank seems to be doing well despite this. LPS are THRIVING!

[Blek]

Straight forward and too the point, glad to have read!

[Splot]

Great practical information! Served as a nice refresher.

[koko maung]

Thank you!

[jdl242]

Newbie here, so this question may seem obvious, but here goes anyways. My tank is about 5 months old, 40 gallon breeder. Crushed coral sub straight. I have a lion, a fire angelfish, a striped sail fin tang, 2 black ice clownfish, a chocolate chip star, and 2 hitch hiker crabs, look a lot like emeralds. This is a "get my feet wet tank" and better under stand saltwater tanks and all that live inside before I get a 125 gallon. My question is this, should I start doing the 3 tests, alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium now along with keeping the levels correct to get in the habit of it, or is there really no need for that at this point if I have no corals?

Thanks

Yes. Do the tests. What kind of lighting do you have on the 40gl? Maybe you could get some soft coral or even some LPS and practice on that too.

[oldbones]

Ok, here's today's numbers (Red Sea Reef Foundation kit just came in the mail today, yeah, on a Sunday).

78.4*
SG 1.0225
NH3/4 - 0
NO2 - 0.05
NO3 - 25
MG - 1500
KH - 9.8
Ca 470

Nitrates are a little high, but coming down. This is a new to me, but semi mature tank that was FOWLR now converting to softies and LPS.

Surprised at the high MG and CA!

What do you think?

[las]

Great tutorial thread

[peter fumo]

thanks for the info ....very helpful !!!!

[peter fumo]

what product do you use to Dose Magnesium ???

[smittysmith2]

Thanks great information!

[MrRBW]

Well done, and I like the bit on not obsessing over ph. Too many people go nuts of this. The big "5" are the key, alk, ca, mg, po4, no3

[wooglin]

I quit testing anything other than salinity years ago. Tank has been up for 13 years. Like the premis though.

[Thomas_Guzman_]

Good info. Thanks

[jijunjbu]

Very good information. Thanks for taking the time to write it all down http://healthlifeok.com/green/images/39.gifhttp://healthlifeok.com/green/images/63.gif

[bnbjk]

Very good information. Thanks for taking the time to write it all down http://healthlifeok.com/green/images/71.gifhttp://healthlifeok.com/green/images/63.gif

[Cpetroski15]

Thanks for putting the time in to
Do that very informative

[sixpackgarage]

wow, this post is fantastic. Thanks!

[kohanson]

Thanks for all the info, a great writeup.

[theMatrix]

Bookmarked

[peter fumo]

Thanks for the information

[brewtus]

Great post

[syruan]

very helpful for beginners

[fishboys]

Good info in this thread