How urgent is it that i

[woodyarmadillo]

Whoops, I accidentally submitted and don’t know how to fix the thread title… I wasntrying to make a dramatic post. Lol

Hello! New reefer looking for advice on a specific question but more importantly, advise on a general way of thinking in the hobby.

As I’ve been researching and learning, I get the impression that moderation and patience and not over reacting are keys to success. I’ve read countless stories about beginners over reacting to small problems and then causing their tank to crash. As a beginner I’ve spent dozens of hours researching and learning and now that I’m up and running, I’m finding myself testing a lot of parameters daily and feeling the urge to correct things. I know the general recommended parameters but I’m not quite clear on how urgent I need to be in correcting parameters such as magnesium, calcium, phosphates when they are a little out of the norm.

I have a couple of clowns, mostly softies and a couple LPS and all of my parameters are looking good but my magnesium is running a little low at (1180). I attribute this to the use of premixed Petco (Imaginatarium sea water) as my startup water. I am going to start mixing my own with reef crystals this weekend at W/C and believe that will bring my Mg up. My SG is 1.025.

So that’s my specific question I suppose, but what I’m really asking is, if my fish and corals look healthy, should I be okay with my parameters (Mag, Cal) being a little out of the norm and just slowly start trying to correct them or should I be more proactive in general? I can go ahead and do a W/C today but I just did one 3 days ago, and I don’t want to stress out my new habitants more if I can wait.

 

[MoshJosh]

Excluding something that is just insanely high or low I think the answer is, unless it's high ammonia, nitrite, or very high nitrate, phosphate it's probably not urgent. Think it's slow and steady wins the reef

 

[woodyarmadillo]

Excluding something that is just insanely high I think the answer is, unless it's high ammonia, nitrite, or very high nitrate, or phosphate it's probably not urgent. Think it's slow and steady wins the reef

Thanks I think you read that before I finished post and accidentally submitted early but that answers my question. Thanks

 

[Soren]

Excluding something that is just insanely high or low I think the answer is, unless it's high ammonia, nitrite, or very high nitrate, phosphate it's probably not urgent. Think it's slow and steady wins the reef

@woodyarmadillo
Also, in my experiences with fish and soft corals, high phosphates and nitrates are not likely to cause disasters, as they typically just feed algae growth that can be controlled over time through nutrient management.
Studies have been done to indicate that nitrite is not a significant hazard to life in marine aquariums, though the measurable presence of nitrite may indicate a more serious issue, since a stable aquarium should process the nitrites fast enough to be undetectable.

Ammonia can directly harm the livestock, so it is a justifiable emergency concern if ever measured at significant levels.

The most common causes of immediate concerns (such as tank crashes where most/all fish, corals, and/or inverts die) seem to be more related to diseases (both for fish and for corals) and major insufficiency of nutrients or oxygen.

In general, if you keep educating yourself about your system and don't push extremes in rushing, overstocking, etc., you are less likely to need to know exact parameters at the start. Harm is often caused by beginners over-reacting to a specific parameter measure and taking drastic corrective measures without understanding what is actually causing the issue or deficient/raised parameter. Over time, as your experiences and understanding grow, you can delve deeper into trying to understand the effects of each parameter and the how and why of controlling that parameter.

Edit:
Magnesium specifically is something that is probably of low concern to you with your stocking and experience level. Doing water changes with typical reef salts should keep your levels at an acceptable range.
If you sourced and started dosing a direct Magnesium additive, there is probably greater risk that you harm rather than help your tank.

 

[woodyarmadillo]

@woodyarmadillo
Also, in my experiences with fish and soft corals, high phosphates and nitrates are not likely to cause disasters, as they typically just feed algae growth that can be controlled over time through nutrient management.
Studies have been done to indicate that nitrite is not a significant hazard to life in marine aquariums, though the measurable presence of nitrite may indicate a more serious issue, since a stable aquarium should process the nitrites fast enough to be undetectable.

Ammonia can directly harm the livestock, so it is a justifiable emergency concern if ever measured at significant levels.

The most common causes of immediate concerns (such as tank crashes where most/all fish, corals, and/or inverts die) seem to be more related to diseases (both for fish and for corals) and major insufficiency of nutrients or oxygen.

In general, if you keep educating yourself about your system and don't push extremes in rushing, overstocking, etc., you are less likely to need to know exact parameters at the start. Harm is often caused by beginners over-reacting to a specific parameter measure and taking drastic corrective measures without understanding what is actually causing the issue or deficient/raised parameter. Over time, as your experiences and understanding grow, you can delve deeper into trying to understand the effects of each parameter and the how and why of controlling that parameter.

Edit:
Magnesium specifically is something that is probably of low concern to you with your stocking and experience level. Doing water changes with typical reef salts should keep your levels at an acceptable range.
If you sourced and started dosing a direct Magnesium additive, there is probably greater risk that you harm rather than help your tank.

Fantastic. Thank you for your excellent response! I think I have a pretty decent grasp on the risks associated with ammonia, Nitrite levels and Nitrates but I have a lot to learn still and especially in regards ALK, Cal, Mag. I can see that everything except for the Mag falls within recommended guidelines but learning what to do and when to do it when they are lower or higher will require alot more time and research. I definitely got the impression when reading around that I don’t want to start dosing a bunch of stuff as a beginner without knowing what I’m doing and am pretty confident that my Mg levels will return with some salt through W/Cs.

I’m currently just running a filter sock and my plan is to take it slow as a beginner and only start dosing or adding GFO or Carbon etc after I determine that I can’t control my parameters through W/C and need extra help and then go slow with that.

Again thank you for the great response.