ready for corals?

[adrian75]

my new tank is almost finished cycling,(nitrite nearly zero), but before i start adding corals and fish, i would like my water to be of exellent quality. i have a hydrometer and ph, ammonia, nitirite and nitrate test kits what more do i need?

cheers,

[Fast Fred]

Tell us more about your system. What size, flow, lighting, etc.

BTW, just a tip, but it helps if you fill in the info about your tank in t=your signature. It will save you from retyping it every time you asn for help.

[adrian75]

thanks, my tank is 5 x 2 x 2.5ft and my sump is 4ft, total water around 850L. i have a 4000L p\h return with two 40mm drainage holes. i have a arcadia slimline pendant, 2x 250w halides with 2x 30w antinic blue fleuroscents. skimmer, chiller, and bioball box(water goes in here from skimmer). i'm cycling with around 20kg of live rock nitrite just started going up.

[Ti]

try some softies

[bertoni]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

That article discusses water parameters. I would suggest about 2000-5500 gph flow for that tank, depending on what corals you want to keep. That's about 8000-20,000 lph, I think.

20kg of rock is a rather small amount for that size tank, so I would expect that you'll need to keep the fish count well down. Depending on the number of bio-balls, they might be a nitrate source for your system.

This book is very handy for corals:

[ericsbook]

[Capt'n T]

My first suggestion would be to get a refractometer (sp?). You might also try a calcium test kit, maybe an alkilinity test, phosphate test, there are a couple others but I can't remember right off the top of my head. The best think for water quaility is to not overstock and add just a few things at a time. Hope this helps a little.

[Fast Fred]

My metric to English calculater is usually a little off, but does that equate to about 200 total gallons in your system?

If so, I think you could stand to add some more live rock. 40 lbs isn't a whole lot for a 200g system. General rule of thumb is 1 pound of rock per gallon of water. I guess that would be about 1Kg per 8L.

You definately don't want to add any livestock until your nitrite and ammonia are both 0.

[adrian75]

yer, i wil be adding more live rock after i have cycled my tank, it was milky and foul smelly so i took some rock out ( its fine now).
i have 2x 2100 l p\h power heads moving water around my tank.

[adrian75]

so what other tests kits should i have?

[kraze3]

If you add more LR after the cycle you have to either buy it fully cured or cure it yourself before you add it. If not, it could cause another mini cycle. I would add all your LR now and let it cycle all together.

[adrian75]

ok thanks everyone!!

[whalloper]

you should get a phosphate test kit... that helps control algae growth and promotes coral growth. If the phosphate is high, try a reactor...it costs nothing compared to what you have already spent.

Also, I would remove the bio balls, replace them with some type of refugium algae, and add about 100 pounds of live rock - slowly over time if cost is an issue.

[adrian75]

also, are alkalinty and magnesium tests essential??

[bertoni]

Yes, definitely. The magnesium is a little arguable, but you're better off getting one now.

[adrian75]

even if my water is from rain water ( i live out of town)

[bertoni]

Personally, I wouldn't use rainwater, since it can pick up a lot of chemicals, etc, but assuming it's pure, you'll still want to monitor the water conditions, IMO.