Looking for a Reef Jedi.......

[czoolander]

Looking for helping finding a local Reef Jedi that can help take my reefing ability and reef to that next level.

I have had my tank now just over two years..... To make a long story short in that time I have had a marine velvet outbreak ( lost all my fish ) , Dinoflagglettes , Cyano x2 , Diatoms. I have had fish randomly vanish in my tank . Fish randomly die . Corals Die .

My tank is what I would say stable now with my last permaiters

Temp 77.8 f
Salinity 1.025
Calcium 517
Nitrates 10
Phosphate 0.00
Alkalinity 8.3

Calcium I know is not in ideal range I was dosing without a way to measure it. I have been doing water changes to get it back around 450
Phosphate I know 0.00 is not ideal but I was told that it could be used up by corals before it registers and 0.00 might not be a true reading

 

[ISFNick]

I would suggest being more airtight as far as what you let into your tank and what you do with it. Testing, cleaning, 0tds rodi water, dipping fish, dipping corals, etc. Use some Vibrant and take things slow. pics?

 

[Nigel35]

Lets start with the fundamentals. A lot of reefers want to jump to buying more advanced equipment, etc. but the important thing to remember is that without these basic fundamentals your going nowhere fast. It can be discouraging but lets get your tank back on track and thriving. Lets get some more details on your tank and we can go from there. Lets hear about your parameters first.

Ideal Parameters:
Temp 77-78 f
Salinity:
Calcium: 440-460
Alkalinity: 9.1-9.4
Ph: 8.1-8.3
Phosphates: 0.03
Nitrates: 2-5 ppm preferably

The most important thing with parameters is accurate testing. What test kits are you using to determine your levels?

 

[czoolander]

I would suggest being more airtight as far as what you let into your tank and what you do with it. Testing, cleaning, 0tds rodi water, dipping fish, dipping corals, etc. Use some Vibrant and take things slow. pics?

I have been using 0 tds water out of my RODI unit since the first day . I test with Hanna units. Been dosing vibrant for the last 3 months and before that I was dosing . Vodka. Microbacter 7 and microbacter clean

Ill see if I can post some pics

 

[czoolander]

Lets start with the fundamentals. A lot of reefers want to jump to buying more advanced equipment, etc. but the important thing to remember is that without these basic fundamentals your going nowhere fast. It can be discouraging but lets get your tank back on track and thriving. Lets get some more details on your tank and we can go from there. Lets hear about your parameters first.

Ideal Parameters:
Temp 77-78 f
Salinity:
Calcium: 440-460
Alkalinity: 9.1-9.4
Ph: 8.1-8.3
Phosphates: 0.03
Nitrates: 2-5 ppm preferably

The most important thing with parameters is accurate testing. What test kits are you using to determine your levels?

Temp 77.8 f
Salinity 1.025
Calcium 517
Nitrates 10
Phosphate 0.00
Alkalinity 8.3

Calcium I know is not in ideal range I was dosing without a way to measure it. I have been doing water changes to get it back around 450
Phosphate I know 0.00 is not ideal but I was told that it could be used up by corals before it registers and 0.00 might not be a true reading

My peramiters were in my original post . but I am going to be testing again tomorrow so I can add some more updated peramiters this weekend.

I use Hanna digital test kits and before that I was using red sea test kit

 

[ISFNick]

I have been using 0 tds water out of my RODI unit since the first day . I test with Hanna units. Been dosing vibrant for the last 3 months and before that I was dosing . Vodka. Microbacter 7 and microbacter clean

Ill see if I can post some pics

I'm sure these problems will go away as time goes on. Consistency and stability will be the biggest factors to get you out of any problems. Especially stable nutrients within reasonable numbers.

 

[ZoWhat]

Looking for helping finding a local Reef Jedi that can help take my reefing ability and reef to that next level.

I have had my tank now just over two years..... To make a long story short in that time I have had a marine velvet outbreak ( lost all my fish ) , Dinoflagglettes , Cyano x2 , Diatoms. I have had fish randomly vanish in my tank . Fish randomly die . Corals Die .

My tank is what I would say stable now with my last permaiters

Temp 77.8 f
Salinity 1.025
Calcium 517
Nitrates 10
Phosphate 0.00
Alkalinity 8.3

Calcium I know is not in ideal range I was dosing without a way to measure it. I have been doing water changes to get it back around 450
Phosphate I know 0.00 is not ideal but I was told that it could be used up by corals before it registers and 0.00 might not be a true reading

Ppl don't the the time nor interest to be a free mentor to someone else's hobby. To be quite straightforward honest with you.

You can post questions here and get pedestrian answers.... but for someone to teach you in-depth? Ppl dont have time

Good luck though....

 

[X-37B]

The real problem is people dont take the time to get a full understanding of the hobby before they start.
Thats why their are so many basic question asked here.

Research, follow a few builds that know what their doing, form a plan, and stick with it.

This hobby should not be this hard. People make it that way.

Just my 2 cents after 30 years.

 

[Nigel35]

Temp 77.8 f
Salinity 1.025
Calcium 517
Nitrates 10
Phosphate 0.00
Alkalinity 8.3

Calcium I know is not in ideal range I was dosing without a way to measure it. I have been doing water changes to get it back around 450
Phosphate I know 0.00 is not ideal but I was told that it could be used up by corals before it registers and 0.00 might not be a true reading

My peramiters were in my original post . but I am going to be testing again tomorrow so I can add some more updated peramiters this weekend.

I use Hanna digital test kits and before that I was using red sea test kit

Let us know how the test results go!

The test kits your using are very reliable which is an excellent starting point. Lets go into details of your tank setup which would include water flow, lighting type and schedule. Skimmer, any media reactors you might be running, refugium, auto top off etc. Tell me about your dosing schedule of Calcium and Alkalinity, trace elements and anything else. Give us all the details and we will be able to help you establish an incredible reef tank more easily.

As mentioned by others find a good reefers build and look at what makes there setup incredible. Take notes and try to see what is good about there setup that could make your setup improve. I would recommend reading through @Brandon McHenry's build. It is an incredible setup which will give you an idea of what makes a reef tank incredible. Jot some notes down and compare your setup with his, it may be a helpful exercise. Hope this helps.

Nigel

 

[czoolander]

The real problem is people dont take the time to get a full understanding of the hobby before they start.
Thats why their are so many basic question asked here.

Research, follow a few builds that know what their doing, form a plan, and stick with it.

This hobby should not be this hard. People make it that way.

Just my 2 cents after 30 years.

If that were only true . I read 5-6 books on reefing before purchasing my tank. The problem with the hobby is not a lack of research it is when you do research you get conflicting answers on something and you go down a rabbit hole that really you end up getting nowhere .

Example . How do you reduce nitrates ? Seems like a simple answer on the surface however you could research . Water changes . Less Feeding . Protein Skimmer . Add more Corals etc . etc etc. By the end of your research you are looking at which wrasses are compatible with a clownfish LOL . This hobby is just a big rabbit hole when you start researching anything . With conflicting opinions and answers on anything nothing is really black and white cut and dry this is how you reduce nitrates . for example haha

 

[czoolander]

Let us know how the test results go!

The test kits your using are very reliable which is an excellent starting point. Lets go into details of your tank setup which would include water flow, lighting type and schedule. Skimmer, any media reactors you might be running, refugium, auto top off etc. Tell me about your dosing schedule of Calcium and Alkalinity, trace elements and anything else. Give us all the details and we will be able to help you establish an incredible reef tank more easily.

As mentioned by others find a good reefers build and look at what makes there setup incredible. Take notes and try to see what is good about there setup that could make your setup improve. I would recommend reading through @Brandon McHenry's build. It is an incredible setup which will give you an idea of what makes a reef tank incredible. Jot some notes down and compare your setup with his, it may be a helpful exercise. Hope this helps.

Nigel

Thanks for the reply Nigel

So my flow I am running 2 - MP40s on Lagoon mode during the day at 50% on one and 35% on the other . During the night they ramp down to 10% power.

Lights I have 3 - Red Sea LED 90s . they run at 40% blues and 20% whites . From 9 am to 7pm with 1 hour of ramp up time and 1 hour of ramp down time and 1 hour of moonlight which I believe is 10% lights

My skimmer runs 24/7 I empty the wet skim out about once a week that accumulates about 1-2 inches of water and then I clean the entire skimmer out about once a month. Its a REd Sea 300 skimmer

I have a bio brick from brightwell in my sump and 2 bags of carbon I switch out monthly as well . Filter socks x 4 and I have been QT ing chaeto for 2 months I am debating wheter to add that now at this time with my phospahtes being at 0.00 for weeks and my nitrates at 10-15

Auto top off is 4.5 gallons and I use 0 TDS water keep it topped up every few days

I dosed calcium a few times with no way to measure and its been over 500+ ever since trying to lower it back to 450 now that I have my hanna checker to measure . once in range ill start dosing again.

The only other things im dosing is vibrant every 2 weeks and Red Sea AB+ every 1-3 days depending if I get to it or not

Hope this can help with something I am doing right? wrong? or something I need to be doing ?

Thanks

 

[czoolander]

Ppl don't the the time nor interest to be a free mentor to someone else's hobby. To be quite straightforward honest with you.

You can post questions here and get pedestrian answers.... but for someone to teach you in-depth? Ppl dont have time

Good luck though....

Why wouldn't someone locally want to help someone else with a tank? If I had someone new ask me in 5 years I would for sure help them out go look at their tank and help them because I wish I had that .

I have been the only set of eyes in the reefing world to look at my tank and setup and its been more difficult certiain times then if I just had a reef jedi down the road I could call up and be like hey come look at this what do you think?

Honest opinion is appreciated but I gotta disagree with you because I think people that share a hobby tend to want to hang out and help each other

 

[X-37B]

If that were only true . I read 5-6 books on reefing before purchasing my tank. The problem with the hobby is not a lack of research it is when you do research you get conflicting answers on something and you go down a rabbit hole that really you end up getting nowhere .

Example . How do you reduce nitrates ? Seems like a simple answer on the surface however you could research . Water changes . Less Feeding . Protein Skimmer . Add more Corals etc . etc etc. By the end of your research you are looking at which wrasses are compatible with a clownfish LOL . This hobby is just a big rabbit hole when you start researching anything . With conflicting opinions and answers on anything nothing is really black and white cut and dry this is how you reduce nitrates . for example haha

Well ok! You are entitled to your opinion.
This hobby is not that hard like I said before. People make it hard.
Dosing calcium without having a way to test for it, your own words, is not a way to succes in this hobby.
Pick one way to run your system and dont piece together a bunch of different ways and you wont end up down a rabbit hole.
Good luck!

 

[polyppal]

Id suggest looking into the local reefing clubs/groups (might be a subforum for your area here or there's lots on Facebook), get involved and make some real in-person friends there. Like any hobby, local aquarists are often eager to make friends and help. Ive helped dozens of people over the years and have had quite a few help me with issues too!

 

[ZoWhat]

Id suggest looking into the local reefing clubs/groups (might be a subforum for your area here or there's lots on Facebook), get involved and make some real in-person friends there. Like any hobby, local aquarists are often eager to make friends and help. Ive helped dozens of people over the years and have had quite a few help me with issues too!

Yes... go to a local reef club and give out an open invitation for anyone there to come over 1hr a week to teach you all they know and help you with YOUR tank in your house

Let me know how many ppl show up to your place....


.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Yes... go to a local reef club and give out an open invitation for anyone there to come over 1hr a week to teach you all they know and help you with YOUR tank in your house

Let me know how many ppl show up to your place....


.

Meh....I'm not sure that's what is being discussed here. You're making assertions... if I were local I'd probably discuss for a bit and if felt comfortable drop over to have a look. Why not? ....of course I could end up at the hands of an axe murderer on a reefing site, so maybe you have a point.

 

[ZoWhat]

Meh....I'm not sure that's what is being discussed here. You're making assertions... if I were local I'd probably discuss for a bit and if felt comfortable drop over to have a look. Why not? ....of course I could end up at the hands of an axe murderer on a reefing site, so maybe you have a point.

My point....?

If ppl don't have a direct benefit, they aren't going to help you. 99.999% of ppl don't have time for someone else UNLESS there's smthg in it for them.

It's reality...and a fallout of a post-Covid world, bruh.

Everyone will say,"oh man, I'll help you" but then never show up bc there's nothing it in for them to give an effort.

 

[CanuckReefer]

My point....?

If ppl don't have a direct benefit, they aren't going to help you. 99.999% don't have time for someone else UNLESS there's smthg in it for them.

It's reality...bruh

Ya I think that is true to an extent. You're not wrong. If there were beer involved I'd probably go though. Or better yet, show up, suggest the vodka dosing is useless, and better suited for my own consumption.

 

[polyppal]

Yes... go to a local reef club and give out an open invitation for anyone there to come over 1hr a week to teach you all they know and help you with YOUR tank in your house

Let me know how many ppl show up to your place....


.

Well with your condescending attitude I’m fairly certain nobody would show up at your place

 

[Nigel35]

Ahem...lets help this guy out not bicker about who and how somebody should be helped. Thats what this forum is about...