justrc Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 My tank has been around for a while. Has been impatient and adding stuff that I shouldnt have before I got the parameters right. Causing some browned out acro and bleach some others. Didnt really prepared enough for the tank for the past few months, until I moved to a new place and really could get into setting it up properly. Changed some equipments, added more flow. Now, tank parameters has been monitored very closely. May be considered paranoid for now. Testing too often. But really wanna get it right this time. 2FT with sump / skimmer and chiller 25 degrees 1.023 PH 8.4 KH 8 Cal 480 Mg 1380 No3 between 10ppm and 25ppm (started at 25ppm, dosing NO3PO3 X for a week) Looks like its dropping Phosphate not tested Dosing Red sea Foundation B Lighting period 6 hours, with AI Hydra (High on blues and low on whites) Water change 10% weekly Fish load 6 small fishes Condition now Frags like birdnest, and digita frags that I acquired a week ago are doing well, polyps extended well I have a acropora I bought, polyps only slightly extended One browned out acropora from my bro tank, after a week, it seems the tips are turning green Rest of stuff like zoas, sun coral and acan doing well Now questions Can I do without reactors? Limited space in sump, can still squeeze in one FR though (ran rowaphos before) Seen alot of comments on salt level at 1.025, should I bring mine up? My brown acropora tips turning green is a good sign? Do I really need to lessen the fish load? Should I test my phosphate too? (Buying test kits alone is burning a hole in the pocket) Any with AI Hydra for optimum settings to share? I read that KH shouldnt fluctuate, I seen 7.4, 7.5 8.1 variations, is it ok? Thank you for answering my questions in advance. Will add on when I have more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrc Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Oh yes, aiming at purely SPS only. And no approval or permit for bigger tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Clement Chen Posted June 19, 2014 SRC Member Share Posted June 19, 2014 I bro I also running 2 feet with sump for sps. For small tanks water stability is important and also hard to achieve. Should test for phosphates as well, maybe can wait for Aquamarin for sales on their salifert test kits. Salinity wise can slowly bring up to 1.025 will be better. although i think shuld not be an issue at 1.023 as long as it is stable. For KH should not to fluctuate. Do you dose calcium? And how do you dose. Might want to get a dosing pump to keep it stable. Quote Clem's Clam Corner (Decommed) 60cm x 40cm x 30cm Tank Nano tank reboot v2.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrc Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 I bro I also running 2 feet with sump for sps. For small tanks water stability is important and also hard to achieve. Should test for phosphates as well, maybe can wait for Aquamarin for sales on their salifert test kits. Salinity wise can slowly bring up to 1.025 will be better. although i think shuld not be an issue at 1.023 as long as it is stable. For KH should not to fluctuate. Do you dose calcium? And how do you dose. Might want to get a dosing pump to keep it stable. Hi bro, thanks for the reply. Understand that too, regarding small tank. Calcium has been very stable at 480 at this point of time, so no dosing yet (dosed before) worried that it might just shoot too high. Actually my ATO is filled with slightly higher salinity water. Will try and bring it up gradually to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Clement Chen Posted June 19, 2014 SRC Member Share Posted June 19, 2014 sorry just to check ur ATO water u put salt inside? Quote Clem's Clam Corner (Decommed) 60cm x 40cm x 30cm Tank Nano tank reboot v2.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrc Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 sorry just to check ur ATO water u put salt inside? mixed salt water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Clement Chen Posted June 19, 2014 SRC Member Share Posted June 19, 2014 dangerous lei like that, top up shuld be fresh water. If not later will cause ur salinity to rise Quote Clem's Clam Corner (Decommed) 60cm x 40cm x 30cm Tank Nano tank reboot v2.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrc Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 dangerous lei like that, top up shuld be fresh water. If not later will cause ur salinity to rise Oh, so far ok, i only put in 1.5 litres of top up salt mixed water (maybe ard 1.025) at a time. it takes a few days for the water to finish. highest I notice it went up to was 1.024 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Clement Chen Posted June 19, 2014 SRC Member Share Posted June 19, 2014 think most seniors also would advise against that. When u mix ur water make sure its 1.025 den top up with fresh water can already. Also what do u use to measure salinity Quote Clem's Clam Corner (Decommed) 60cm x 40cm x 30cm Tank Nano tank reboot v2.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiraltian Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Agreed with bro ClementC, top up is with ro/di pure water. Rem this, water will evaporate, salt won't. Too high salinity will kill ur corals. Quote Display Tank : 36" x 20" x 20" Herbie overflow box design, Sump : 36" x 21" x 17", Frag Tank : 16” x 20” x 16”, custom built by Tank Culture. Lightings : Ecotech Radion XR15 Pro x 2 for Main Display Tank, Inled R80 x 1 for Frag Tank. Chiller : Dalkin 1hp compressor with build-in drop coil. Skimmer : Skimz Octa SC205i Protein Skimmer. FR : H2Ocean FMR75 Fluidised Media Reactor with Hailea HX-2500 (Feeder Pump) running Rowaphos. CR : Skimz Monzter E Series CM122 Calcium Reactor. BPR: Marine Source Biopellet Reactor with Continuum Reef Biopellet Fuel. Main Return Pump : SICCE Syncra ADV 9.0 & Jebao ACQ-10000 Water Pump. Wavemaker : Jebao MOW-9 x2 for Main Display Tank & Jebao SLW-20M Sine Wave Pump for Frag Tank. Water Top Up: AutoAqua Smart ATO Lite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofubox Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Hey bro, agree with clementC, need to slowly raise your SG to 1.025 On the other hand, i understand what u mean by using salt mix for the ATO to slowly raise the sg of the tank. I too use a similar method, but has to be monitored on a day to day basis. Once u reach your ideal 1.025, u can just use freshwater as ATO. For me, if i just use freshwater, my sg in the display tends to drop fairly quickly, might be due to tank water removal too quickly during filter pad changes and wet skimming as opposed to just purely water evaporation. Hence my ATO is kept at 1.000. I found this amount for the ato to be just nice for me to maintain that 1.025 in the main display. For KH, yes, you will experience some fluctuations, especially if u test at different times of the day / night. But these fluctuations should be limited to a range. I.e between 7.5 to 8.0. This gives room for the fluctuation and prevent any unnecessary excess dosing. Found this to be the easiest way to maintain KH, on top of that, it gives our test kits a margin of error during reading. As mentioned, a dosing unit is a good consideration in maintaining a stable KH or CA, if u ever get lazy of manual dose. 6 small fishes for a 2ft is reasonable. But i wont go more than that for a sps tank. I too keep 6 fishes, 1 small YT, 2 clowns, 1 6line, 2 anthias. Brown acro turning green definately a good sign And yes, u need to test for phosphate if u plan on keeping sps for the long term. (cheaper to buy test kits than sps) 6hrs Lighting period is too short in my opinion. Quote I Love Stagsss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrc Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Thanks for all the helpful insights guy. Yes. My ato water is monitored. Hmm. Didnt occured to me about timing of test. Will keep that in mind. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Land2013 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 If you intend to buy p04 test kit, i recommed to buy hanna better. The normal test kit wouldn't give you correct result even salifert. For sps, control phosphate is important and you will surprise the result between hanna n salifert as it happen to me. Diy the upflow ATS for nano tank would be a long term solution or you may try reactor with FM ultraphos but need to slowly bring down the phosphate as it will shock your coral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonwater Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 and i think as bro youdontknowme mentioned, using hanna Alkalinity checker - bonus +99999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherman Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Oop so you all keep your SG at 1.0025. I always keep at 1.0023. Is mine too low? Quote 6.5 * 2 * 2 + 3.75 * 1.5 *1.5,(Decomn on 14/9/08) 4*2*2 + 2.5*1.25*1.25 (Decomn on 1/8/09) 5*2*2 (Fully LED light system, 140 3 watt SSC leds with 60 degree lens)(Decomm) 2.5*2*2(Fully LED Light System,96 3 watt SSC leds with 60 degree lens)(Decomm) 5*2.5*2(LED only) Eheim return 1 * pump 1 HP Daikin compressor with cooling coil 2 Jebao OW40, 1 ecotech MP40, 1X6085 Tunze wm, 1 CURVE 7 Skimmer 1 DIY 80 led control by Bluefish mini 1 radion XR30W G2, 2 Radion XR15G3 Sump area lite by 5 ft T5 , 6 * SSC 3 watt red LED for refugium 1 Full spectrum E27 led light 1 CR control by bubble count Start No Water Change since 1st Dec 2016 Add new 2.5x2x 1.5 ft [/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiraltian Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Oop so you all keep your SG at 1.0025. I always keep at 1.0023. Is mine too low? Its acceptable IMO but considered by many sps keepers to be low. No issues for lps & softies. Quote Display Tank : 36" x 20" x 20" Herbie overflow box design, Sump : 36" x 21" x 17", Frag Tank : 16” x 20” x 16”, custom built by Tank Culture. Lightings : Ecotech Radion XR15 Pro x 2 for Main Display Tank, Inled R80 x 1 for Frag Tank. Chiller : Dalkin 1hp compressor with build-in drop coil. Skimmer : Skimz Octa SC205i Protein Skimmer. FR : H2Ocean FMR75 Fluidised Media Reactor with Hailea HX-2500 (Feeder Pump) running Rowaphos. CR : Skimz Monzter E Series CM122 Calcium Reactor. BPR: Marine Source Biopellet Reactor with Continuum Reef Biopellet Fuel. Main Return Pump : SICCE Syncra ADV 9.0 & Jebao ACQ-10000 Water Pump. Wavemaker : Jebao MOW-9 x2 for Main Display Tank & Jebao SLW-20M Sine Wave Pump for Frag Tank. Water Top Up: AutoAqua Smart ATO Lite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member woyeng** Posted June 20, 2014 SRC Member Share Posted June 20, 2014 I use AI hydra. Used to do 20-25% white, 70%, 30% blue, red, green and Violet, 2% UV. After some advice from a few fellow AI users my setting slowly increase over 2 months to : 100% all colors , 70% UV Using factory day-to-nite settings My light is 1 ft from tank top. SPS mid to top. So far no bleaching... Just to share Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcuss Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 For small tank, weekly 30% to 50% of water change will do and already reset your tank back to the basic requirement water parameter. Your observation are much more important than those test kit outside there.if u feel additional supplement are needed, just use the recommended minimum or basic dose from the product you intended to use.phosphate remover is a must even thought your po4 reading is zero because it will buffer your po4 rise in case over feeding your fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrc Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Hi all, Thank you very much for the constructive advices. Tank parameters update Brought salt level to 1.025 ATO is now top up with DI water. KH .7.7 Ca 455 PH8.35 Mg 1440 NO3 - finally below 10ppm (after 1 week+ of NO3.PO4 X) PO4 - undetectable (Bought the test kit) Currently not dosing my calcium and KH buffer. Both seems stable for now. Dosing some Red sea color supplements (Started today) Ordered dosing pump. (by end of the month) Corals Birdnest / capitata polyps well extended. Only acro slightly extended. Now just keeping my fingers cross and monitoring the tank for improvement. Thank you all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrc Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Hi all, Thank you very much for the constructive advices. Tank parameters update Brought salt level to 1.025 ATO is now top up with DI water. KH .7.7 Ca 455 PH8.35 Mg 1440 NO3 - finally below 10ppm (after 1 week+ of NO3.PO4 X) PO4 - undetectable (Bought the test kit) Currently not dosing my calcium and KH buffer. Both seems stable for now. Dosing some Red sea color supplements (Started today) Ordered dosing pump. (by end of the month) Corals Birdnest / capitata polyps well extended. Only acro slightly extended. Now just keeping my fingers cross and monitoring the tank for improvement. Thank you all. Comparing my test results, just dosed my KH buffer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Firestarter Posted June 23, 2014 SRC Member Share Posted June 23, 2014 You can raise temp to 26'c to increase growth rate. Quote Sometimes the good guys gotta do bad things to make the bad guys pay. - Harvey Specter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrc Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Tank Update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuEl Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Salinity if it's too low just observe your coralline, if no coralline growth or coralline starts dying means your salinity is not high enough. SG of 1.023 is about 20% lower in salinity compared to full strength seawater. For SPS I prefer a specific gravity of 1.026 to 1.028 (measured using an accurate digital refractometer or at the very least a calibrated manual refractometer). Quote Always something more important than fish. http://reefbuilders.com/2012/03/08/sps-pico-reef/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherman Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Good info. Thank You for sharing. Bro Fuel Quote 6.5 * 2 * 2 + 3.75 * 1.5 *1.5,(Decomn on 14/9/08) 4*2*2 + 2.5*1.25*1.25 (Decomn on 1/8/09) 5*2*2 (Fully LED light system, 140 3 watt SSC leds with 60 degree lens)(Decomm) 2.5*2*2(Fully LED Light System,96 3 watt SSC leds with 60 degree lens)(Decomm) 5*2.5*2(LED only) Eheim return 1 * pump 1 HP Daikin compressor with cooling coil 2 Jebao OW40, 1 ecotech MP40, 1X6085 Tunze wm, 1 CURVE 7 Skimmer 1 DIY 80 led control by Bluefish mini 1 radion XR30W G2, 2 Radion XR15G3 Sump area lite by 5 ft T5 , 6 * SSC 3 watt red LED for refugium 1 Full spectrum E27 led light 1 CR control by bubble count Start No Water Change since 1st Dec 2016 Add new 2.5x2x 1.5 ft [/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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