Looking for a mentor. Sorry for long post

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

I am putting this out as a request for someone able to mentor me. 2 years ago, I was trying to decide what to get my husband for his 50th birthday. Knowing he always wanted a tank but knowing absolutely nothing about the hobby, I went to Petsmart and bought a 20 g tank,( heater, filter and lights came with tank) decorations, etc, not knowing there was a difference in setup depending on freshwater or saltwater (told you I knew nothing). He loved his gift. He said he wanted saltwater fish because he loved all the different colors, shapes and sizes. I got on the computer to find out where to go from there. Within 15 minutes, I realized a 20 g tank is not really recommended for saltwater. Off to Petsmart to exchange for 55 g and stand. Learned a little bit online and from LFS. Very confusing not knowing what was true and what wasn't. LFS said one thing, read complete opposite online, other LFS said something entirely different.
Initially, we weren't going to put any corals. It was going to be a fowlr. 55 g, hob filter, live sand and live rock. Kept the hob but added a fluval 406 as well. Started stocking tank after cycling. Went way too fast and too many. Lots of mistakes made. Lessons learned. Always have a quarantine tank.
Fast forward one year later. We want a bigger tank because the 55 g limits us too much as far as livestock. Rush out and buy a 125 g instead of discussing what we want out of tank (corals, sump?, overflows etc). LFS said we had to be careful if we went with a sump if the power went out because it might flood. Hubby vetoed that idea. Got a fluval fx6 for new tank. Once cycled, 406 was also added to it after transfer of livestock (clean and with all new media). Now the problems really begin. Lost the majority of our livestock, not once but twice (after restocking thinking we were safe), due to what our LFS said was probably ich, which I now fully believe was actually velvet. Absolutely broke my heart. Fast forward 6 months. Tank has been stable for a few months now. Convinced hubby not to add any more livestock for a while. Friend gives us a few coral pieces that are supposed to be easy care. LFS says just to add phytoplankton or zooplankton into the water every 2 or 3 days. Easy enough right? Wrong. After asking on the forum what kind of corals I actually have, I learn that just adding zoo and phyto plankton are not enough.

This is where I am at now.

125 g tank
Fluval 406 and Fluval FX6
2 -36 inch Fluval double T5 HO (white and blue actinic)
2 power heads for extra flow
Tank livestock: Sailfin Tang, Yellow Tang, Hippo Tang, Cleaner Wrasse, 3 Chromis, Pygmy Angel, 2 Orange Diamond Gobies, 2 Clown Fish, 3 Cleaner Shrimp and numerous crabs and snails.
Corals: Hammer, 2 Torch, Frogspawn, Ricordea Yuma, Protopalythoas, Xenia, Zoanthids, mushroom, 2 leather corals.
At this time, I don't want to add anymore corals or livestock until I can keep all my livestock healthy and my corals start to grow. LFS says I need a skimmer and I think I am going to get the HOB reef octopus 2000. That is what I can afford right now and the reviews seem pretty good. No sump and will not be adding one any time soon. Neither myself or my husband fair very well when it comes to DIY and usually end up paying more to fix mistakes or having to hire someone to fix them for us.
I'm looking for someone who is willing to be patient and help me take baby steps to get this right.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post
Lori

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

Here are a couple pics of my tank taken a few minutes ago.

 

[jsker]

Lori
We are here for you, and you can be confident that the members and the reefsquad will step up and give you truthful and valuable opinions. There are different areas that we all specialize in, my suggestion is if you want to reach out to a member or a reefsquad member use the @ before the name and we will be notified and will answer your questions. If you are look for someone to be your point person AKA mentor I am more than willing to be that person. I am also going to bring the #reefsquad and see who else is willing to come onboard, so that you can have good experience.

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

@jsker Thank you so much. I love the forums on reef2reef. I have learned so much from this site already and it is probably the reason I didn't throw in the towel when we lost our tank the second time. It gave me hope that just maybe I really could do this if I slowed down. I am in the forums lurking, reading, laughing etc pretty much every chance I get. My daughter thinks I am obsessed. I probably am. There is just soooo much to learn and I feel like I am bouncing around all over the place. I want to take one step at a time in the right order. After working hard all day, I look forward to coming home and staring at my tank, watching my livestock, looking at my rock work, watching the corals sway. I want everything in my tank, happy and healthy.

 

[BoneXriffic]

Sorry dbl post

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

Here's pics of the corals I have. As much as I want to add more because I love all the shapes, colors and different sizes, I have put on the breaks until I know more.

 

[clownfish chris]

A good thing to do is to test and record your water parameters if you aren't already doing so. For the first little while, test daily. This will get you used to how to use the tests and you will get to know your tank. I relied on API for ammonia and nitrate in the beginning. This was fine untill I started keeping SPS. Red sea is what I used and still use for Cal., alk., and Mag.

What are you doing for nutrient export? Skimmers and Macro algae are the norm. Without a sump, this gets a bit more difficult.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Hi Lori
We're all learning here, and one thing almost everyone here is about is learning and sharing what we've learned.....
Poke around, chime in on threads, and start your own too.

 

[BoneXriffic]

I would consider this whole entire site a mentor. Always ask any questions you have.

Be cautious with the xenia and palys, they take over tanks quickly in the right conditions. Tank looks great though thus far

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

I would consider this whole entire site a mentor. Always ask any questions you have.

Be cautious with the xenia and palys, they take over tanks quickly in the right conditions. Tank looks great though thus far

I'm keeping an eye on both as that is what I was told about them. I had a kenya tree at one point but I gave it to my LFS as I kept finding new shoots all over the tank. It has been a couple months and I am still finding it growing in my tank.

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

Hi Lori
We're all learning here, and one thing almost everyone here is about is learning and sharing what we've learned.....
Poke around, chime in on threads, and start your own too.

It's probably a good thing I did it without researching it first because I might not have done it at all. It's almost scary how much you need to know. With me it's not so much the monetary value (although that is a big thing), it's losing a living creature. That just breaks my heart.

 

[steve&mari]

Follow advice given on testing and you doing right by going slowly and regrouping finding more information. Ask away as stated post questions in the section of your question. Use the search engine for questions and high chance there's fast information available.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

It's almost scary how much you need to know.

Nope. not at all different from kids or dogs.

And you'll learn something new everyday too.

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

A good thing to do is to test and record your water parameters if you aren't already doing so. For the first little while, test daily. This will get you used to how to use the tests and you will get to know your tank. I relied on API for ammonia and nitrate in the beginning. This was fine untill I started keeping SPS. Red sea is what I used and still use for Cal., alk., and Mag.

What are you doing for nutrient export? Skimmers and Macro algae are the norm. Without a sump, this gets a bit more difficult.

I really don't want to sound like a nitwit but nutrient export?
I use the api test kit and test for ammonia, nitrate, nitrites and ph. Everything is where it should be. PH gets low once in a while and I use buffer which LFS recommended. I have never tested for anything else. Guess I'll be getting tests for Cal, alk and Mag this weekend. Going to research what each is for first. I've been looking at skimmers but because I don't have a sump I need a HOB skimmer. I think I've decide on the reef octopus 2000. LFS can sell it to me for same price I can get it online here in Canada.

 

[clownfish chris]

Nutrient export is the removal of waste. As you feed your tank, the food is reduced to waste by fish eating it or it breaks down into Ammonia, then Nitrite, then Nitrate. Stoney corals use Calcium and Alkalinity to build skeletons. Magnesium keeps these chemicals in high enough soluble concentrations.

 

[Maacc]

Lori,
The tank looks good. You might want to consider the aquamaxx cone hob skimmer. It's on sale right now almost $100 off.
What he means by nutrient export are water changes, protein skimmer, refugiums, biopellets with skimmer. Basically anything to get the nutrients (nitrates, phosphate etc) that are added by fish and food back out of the tank.
Fortunately, most of your corals are hardy, forgiving, and good choices to start with. As mentioned above just be careful with the xenia and palys so they don't take over.

 

[Surfandturf]

Your tank looks great!

 

[melypr1985]

nutrient export?

Hi Lori! Nutrient export is just a fancy way to say "how are you getting rid of your nitrates and phosphates". Nutrients are introduced to the tank via poo, food, ect. These things can cause algae issues (which your tank doesn't seem to have at this point) and health issues with corals and fish. A skimmer is a great tool for nutrient export.. I've never used the HOB skimmers, but I'm sure there are some good ones out there. I can say that I like reef octopus very much for a good price and a good product.

Your tank looks excellent! Be sure to start checking Ca, Alk, Mg if your going to be keeping those LPS corals. They will need these things in check. Don't think you have to start dosing right away either! If your levels are low try switching salts first and see if you can keep your levels straight with just water changes. After a while of testing your water, and observing your corals and fish you'll be able to just look at your tank and know there's something off with it and probably have an idea of what it is without testing at all! That takes time of course and you'll get there too.

You can always tag the #reefsquad if you need extra help, or more eyes on a problem. We have an amazing membership full of people that are so smart and willing to help with just about any problem you could come up with so don't ever be afraid to start a thread and ask.

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

Nutrient export is the removal of waste. As you feed your tank, the food is reduced to waste by fish eating it or it breaks down into Ammonia, then Nitrite, then Nitrate. Stoney corals use Calcium and Alkalinity to build skeletons. Magnesium keeps these chemicals in high enough soluble concentrations.

I do weekly water changes of 20 gallons one week to 30 gallons the next week. The tank has been very stable for the last few months. Fish are all growing and getting fat. No bullies. Corals aren't dying but aren't growing either. Hubby tends to feed too often so I've put him on a schedule of when he can feed them depending on what shift he is on. We feed 2 times a day. Between 8 and 10 am (depending on when hubby gets his butt out of bed) and then again around 4 pm. I'll put seaweed in a clip twice a week as an extra treat for my tangs.

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

Hi Lori! Nutrient export is just a fancy way to say "how are you getting rid of your nitrates and phosphates". Nutrients are introduced to the tank via poo, food, ect. These things can cause algae issues (which your tank doesn't seem to have at this point) and health issues with corals and fish. A skimmer is a great tool for nutrient export.. I've never used the HOB skimmers, but I'm sure there are some good ones out there. I can say that I like reef octopus very much for a good price and a good product.

Your tank looks excellent! Be sure to start checking Ca, Alk, Mg if your going to be keeping those LPS corals. They will need these things in check. Don't think you have to start dosing right away either! If your levels are low try switching salts first and see if you can keep your levels straight with just water changes. After a while of testing your water, and observing your corals and fish you'll be able to just look at your tank and know there's something off with it and probably have an idea of what it is without testing at all! That takes time of course and you'll get there too.

You can always tag the #reefsquad if you need extra help, or more eyes on a problem. We have an amazing membership full of people that are so smart and willing to help with just about any problem you could come up with so don't ever be afraid to start a thread and ask.

When you say I'll be able to tell just looking at the tank, do you mean when i notice my cabbage leathers ( I think that's what they are) looking droopy and starting to shrivel, I do a water change and they perk back up? I stare at my tank so much I can tell when my gobies move a grain of sand. Hahaha. I don't know how I can ever thank everyone that has helped so far and those who will help in the future. I guess I'll have to show my appreciation by making sure I do what I can to make my tank happy and healthy using the advice given. Thanks #reefsquad