I don't actually know what I'm doing....

[Mark Bradley]

I don’t think there’s any better advice than have patience and do research.

 

[mrlavalamp]

I don’t think there’s any better advice than have patience and do research.

Being patient is probably the hardest part for me.

I find that focusing on my daily routines and checks has prevented me from adding too quickly.

 

[Mark Bradley]

I agree but if you start out right you have the right foundation. I went into marines the first time, years ago, and didn’t do it right. It soon became a chore overcoming issues and I went back to Malawi’s.
This time round I took my time, bought good equipment, researched what fish and corals I wanted to get and it’s been a breeze so far.

 

[Dom]

We have about six little baby $10 frags in there that were actually seemingly growing with the halogen bulbs. LED just went in yesterday evening. The guy who said sold us the new LED said that it is plenty for now but we are going to need to add a second one in the future. Was this also ill advised?

The green coral looks like a hammer, which is a relatively easy coral to keep. They do well in low flow and lower light. I can't ID the others, so I don't know how they will do with your current configuration.

Corals need calcium and carbonate to form and build their skeletal structure. Corals should be in a tank where the Calcium levels are in the 410-430 range and Alkalinity needs to be in the 8-9.5 range.

Beginners are told that water changes are a way to export nutrients from their tanks. But water changes also serve to replenish elements consumed in the tank (Calcium and ALK).

Provided that you have ample lighting to meet the coral demands in your tank, faithful, weekly water changes should be enough to maintain adequate levels of calcium and alkalinity. But as I understand it, the larger the corals grow, the greater their consumption of these elements, so, supplementing (dosing) may be necessary in the future.

Where lighting is concerned, two things need to be met; spread and intensity.

Spread is the area light covers at the bottom of the tank. Think of it this way...

Take a flash light, turn it on and point it at a table top. As you lift the light from the table, the area on the table that the light covers will increase. As you get closer to the table, the area the light covers decreases. This is spread.

But it isn't enough to fill the tank with light. There needs to be ample intensity too.

I like to have between 8000k - 10,000k lumens of light intensity at the bottom of the tank. Many people measure their intensity in LUX, but that's because they have a lux meter. My meter measures in lumens, so I use lumens.

If you belong to a local reef club, you may be able to borrow one to check intensity.

You may have mentioned this already, but I'd like to ask how long has your tank been set up?

Dom

 

[Dom]

I will do the very best I can for all of them. He seems to be acting normal today. Appears healthy and ate twice today. I do pride myself on being an animal lover and an excellent pet owner and feel incredibly guilty that I'm on a learning curve and these guys are my guinea pigs. I also did not realize that many common saltwater fish are not ethically sourced. I should have got another puppy. They are way easier

Puppies are waaaaay easier... LOL

 

[Birddog61]

I am embarrassed to say that I took bad advice from someone who told me they were experienced. Said I only need live rock/sand and a protein skimmer. Live rock/sand for good bacteria and protein skimmer to get rid of bad. I gave the rock a few days and started adding fish a few at a time ( per advice from the same guy). It wasn't until the first damsel died that I started to actually deep dive into the proper art and science that goes into this and since my little ecosystem was otherwise thriving I thought I was past the cycle so I do not even know where I might be at in the cycle now. All that being said... I am not one to sit by and allow animals to suffer so I'm trying my best to remedy my mistake.

It is true live rock. dry sand , skimmer. Throw light fish load in as soon as water is up to temp.
Done All the time in the maintaince bizz.

 

[Birddog61]

It is true live rock. dry sand , skimmer. Throw light fish load in as soon as water is up to temp.
Done All the time in the maintaince bizz.

What no one told you is the rock must be prepaired properly , the sand must be prepaired properly and the water must be allowed to gas exchange after mixing. even after all that is done correctly. You still need to bring the bioload up at a pace that allows your bacteria to keep up with the growing bioload
That said according to your tests prime or the like is in order. Feed lightly make up lotts of water so your prepaired for a large water change

 

[dvp95]

Lots of good advice here. No need for me to add anymore as there is already a lot to research and do to fix the current situation.

Good job for seeking out help

 

[Mark Bradley]

It is true live rock. dry sand , skimmer. Throw light fish load in as soon as water is up to temp.
Done All the time in the maintaince bizz.

I know this approach can work but it always feels like ‘hit or miss’ to me and cutting corners. There’s enough information out there showing how to do it from solid foundations. I too have cut corners in the past but it always led to further issues.

 

[mrlavalamp]

I know this approach can work but it always feels like ‘hit or miss’ to me and cutting corners. There’s enough information out there showing how to do it from solid foundations. I too have cut corners in the past but it always led to further issues.

Any "recipe for success" only works if you actually follow the recipe accurately. If you cut corners or skip steps then you are no longer following the recipe and you cannot expect it to end in success (you can hope and try though).