Creeks 90 with some ?'s to go with.

[Tyreef2016]

Hey guys,
Fairly new to this site, i have been hiding in the shadows for a little. figured i'd make a post about my tank and introduce myself to the R2R family. I gained interest in this hobby about 2 years ago and started with a bio-cube. now i've finally made the jump t0 a 90 gal reef. like everyone i've had my ups and downs but can say I'm fairly happy with where my tank is going. my setup is pretty basic right now. 2 mp10ws for flow, 2 radions 30w for light and a sump with skimmer and fuge with cheato. also just running chemi-pure elite for now. as you can tell i still have a few things to figure out and some equipment that needs to be purchased. my tank is just over 6 months old and beginning to finally come together for me. except for my sand bed being dirty. grrr.

now having said that. I'm trying to fish for some knowledge.

I run my radions on a daily light schedule. its blue morning and night and more white in the middle of the day. does growth change in the corals with more blue or white light? also could the white be why my sand is so dirty? should i cut back the whites? also prolly doesn't help i added the second light around 4 months in so parts that had no light are now being lit.

also i recently received my friends 90gpd ro/di system. seeing as how it isn't brand new I'm worried about just hooking it up and believing the water is good to go. is there anything i should do before hand or to test the final product? i am changing the 3rd cartridge. also the ro membrane seems clean and still usable.

also what is the most reliable test kit now a days? i have api right now. I've found the most important thing for me is test test test. but if my results are wrong I'm just gunna end up making a big mistake.

thanks for stopping by and reading about my tank!! feel free to drop some knowledge on me! always looking to better myself and my tank .

 

[kschweer]

Welcome to R2R!! Details on lighting such as number of hours, percentages would be helpful to determine if the lighting may be your issue with the dirty sand. As far as testing the water from the to a hand held TDS meter is what you want to test the water @AZDesertRat is the rodi guru and probably can help more than me. For test kits I really like the salifert kits.

 

[Tyreef2016]

Welcome to R2R!! Details on lighting such as number of hours, percentages would be helpful to determine if the lighting may be your issue with the dirty sand. As far as testing the water from the to a hand held TDS meter is what you want to test the water @AZDesertRat is the rodi guru and probably can help more than me. For test kits I really like the salifert kits.

running typical 12 on 12 off, lighting the huge opposite from main tank. my percentage never goes over 70% at the peak brightness.

 

[Blackhawk Fan]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[jsker]

Welcome to posting on R2R and coming out of the shadows. I have a different brand of lights but run them 12 hours with 4 hour ramp up, 4 hours peak, and 4 hours ramp down. As far as test kit, it all down to personal preference. I have used Sailfret kits and they do a great job, I am now using Red sea. Some mix Sailfret, Red sea, and Hanna checker to check there parameters.

Look forward to the build thread in the future.

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Diesel]

 

[sNaFu]

Welcome to R2R !!!

 

[Tyreef2016]

Welcome to posting on R2R and coming out of the shadows. I have a different brand of lights but run them 12 hours with 4 hour ramp up, 4 hours peak, and 4 hours ramp down. As far as test kit, it all down to personal preference. I have used Sailfret kits and they do a great job, I am now using Red sea. Some mix Sailfret, Red sea, and Hanna checker to check there parameters.

Look forward to the build thread in the future.

thanks for the advice!! might pick up a second test kit. pics didn't post before here's a few.

 

[jsker]

Nice tank, ahhhh you have a sailfin. Mine is a diva and thinks she is the stuff of the tank

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and thanks for sharing. Great looking tank.

 

[Tyreef2016]

Nice tank, ahhhh you have a sailfin. Mine is a diva and thinks she is the stuff of the tank

awesome! mine to she's very graceful. my first picture you can see the yellow tang which i gave to a friend after him and my purple tang didn't agree very well. i saved him from petco by me, he had a nasty gash on his face or could have been 'headrot' wasn't sure but its all cleared up now! pretty sure its a Desjardin from the red sea. he's gunna be a fatty soon tho and make me get a bigger tank.

 

[Tyreef2016]

my fish list btw:
1 purple tang
1 Desjardin sailfin
2 ora snowflake clowns
1 mystery wrasse
1 coral beauty
4 blue/green chromis.

would everyone agree I'm pretty much maxed out?
was thinking about some Anthias, possibly 3 of them

 

[jsker]

awesome! mine to she's very graceful. my first picture you can see the yellow tang which i gave to a friend after him and my purple tang didn't agree very well. i saved him from petco by me, he had a nasty gash on his face or could have been 'headrot' wasn't sure but its all cleared up now! pretty sure its a Desjardin from the red sea. he's gunna be a fatty soon tho and make me get a bigger tank.

Nice save mine is getting darker as she get older and bigger, I really like her, and it is going to be a sad day when I have to re home her. I will be picky were she goes.

 

[Tyreef2016]

Nice save mine is getting darker as she get older and bigger, I really like her, and it is going to be a sad day when I have to re home her. I will be picky were she goes.

I look at it this way. If he/she gets big enough one day. you should treat yourself to a new tank for being such a good parent. and its funny i just noticed today mine was darker then usual.

 

[melypr1985]

also what is the most reliable test kit now a days? i have api right now. I've found the most important thing for me is test test test. but if my results are wrong I'm just gunna end up making a big mistake.

Welcome to R2R! I like Red Sea for Cal, Mag and Alk. I find that the basics like Nitrate, trite and ammonia can be left to API. It's about what kind of accuracy you want in your test kits. I've never used Hanna checkers but have heard there are some that work great and others that are lacking.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Beautiful tank!

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R! The lighting shouldn't make any huge difference to fish. Your schedule appears to be ok. You just need to be careful about adding any sensitive fish with such a young tank. The best way to tell if a RODI is doing it's job is with a TDS meter. You want your water to be 0 TDS. I personally like the Hana testers, very reliable and there are many sales going on right now on them. Good Luck and keep us posted!