Mentor?..maybe you!?!?

VTek · Mar 1, 2016

Hey guys,

I wanted to post something on the forums today and it may seem kind of cliche, but I am looking for a mentor/friend that is willing to work with me on improving my tank. Someone with experience with SPS and LPS that would be willing to chat/pm on my current setup, things I could change or help trouble shoot any problems that i may ever run into. I've been in the hobby for about 13 months now and currently have a 90g LPS dominate system but looking to dive into SPS/mixed reef in the near future. Here was my first post on R2R with my setup (few changes since). http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-to-r2r-brief-introduction.226706/

Is anyone out there looking to take someone under their wing and share advice with every now and again? Please shoot me a PM if you have nothing but time and willing to share all of your knowledge to another reefer in the hobby! Eager to learn. Committed.

disclaimer**
Not looking for a babysitter by any means.
Not looking to pay for 'services' ahaha. volunteer only

TheGrimmReefer · Mar 1, 2016

Honestly, your tank looks like it's in pretty good shape. I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. Keep up what you're doing.

As far as keeping SPS goes, stability is key. Check your params often, use a dosing pump or a calcium reactor to maintain optimal levels of the big 3 (mag, alk, cal). Don't get lazy with your husbandry and don't rush in too quickly.

GrandLotus · Mar 1, 2016

I'll help best I can.

What you need to do is figure out how much Alk and Cal your system is using per day and dose that much accordingly.
Test mag onces a month, but mine personally does not drop much at all.
You do not need fancy equipment or dosing pumps to start. I still manually dose my 65/40/180 everyday by hand.

Once you have your system 'dialed in' with the right dosing, PAR (lighting) and flow (wave maker) then your ready to start with monti's/birdsnest's prior to moving into acro's.

TheGrimmReefer · Mar 1, 2016

The one issue with dosing by hand is the swing that occurs in between dosing times. If you have a ~100g tank and are dosing 25-40ml by hand each day, the swing from dosing time to dosing time is significant. Unless you're dosing several times per day by hand, most people couldn't/wouldn't keep up.

GrandLotus · Mar 1, 2016

Thats why I drip that dose into the overflow box at a rate of 2.5-5ml every 15-30 minutes throughout the day.
I'll watch TV and during a commercial break or in-between other activities I will just drop in a small amount.

My DT's are 180 gal and 65 gal and packed with corals.

Don't get me wrong...the dosing pumps are the way to go and they are on my short list!
...but hand dosing correctly works from my years of experience.

TheGrimmReefer · Mar 1, 2016

Not eveyone is available to dose every 15-30 minutes.. Some people have jobs and leave their tanks for 8-12 hours/day.

TheGrimmReefer · Mar 1, 2016

Unless I'm misunderstanding and you're using some sort of drip line that you fill daily/weekly that drops via gravity.

GrandLotus · Mar 1, 2016

Yeah...I afford this hobby from not working all day long.

I guess you are calling me a liar from being able to drop in some cal and alk in the tank throughout the day while I do other things around the house?
Its so hard to drop in 5ml alk when I wake up and another 5ml alk before I leave the house for work... Get the idea?

It literally takes 2 seconds to do while walking by the tank and enjoying the hobby (looking at the reef).

Not sure what the problem here is...

TheGrimmReefer · Mar 1, 2016

I'm just pointing out that it's not practical in most applications. 80%+ of reefers aren't home all day to manually dose the tanks. If you are, good for you.

GrandLotus · Mar 1, 2016

Perhaps your a poor reader, but I just started that I have a full time job with a brief example of how I do my dosing and what works...

...not going to argue with someone who is unwilling to even read my ideas/statements...

TheGrimmReefer · Mar 1, 2016

I read the post. Before and after you edited it.

To the OP- there is a lot of misinformation in this hobby. Be careful who you take advice from.

GrandLotus · Mar 1, 2016

john.m.cole3 · Mar 3, 2016

This whole forum is here to assist you in improving your reef tank. Just start threads, ask questions and you'll get answers from some of the nicest people and most knowledgeable people out there. I probably started a new thread every day for a month when setting up my new tank. Good luck

pondman · Mar 3, 2016

I think your tank looks awesome.there are a lot of people here that would love your coral including me.I say keep doing what your doing your obviously on the right track.good luck in your tank and happy reefing to you.

VTek · Mar 4, 2016

john.m.cole3 said:
This whole forum is here to assist you in improving your reef tank. Just start threads, ask questions and you'll get answers from some of the nicest people and most knowledgeable people out there. I probably started a new thread every day for a month when setting up my new tank. Good luck

Absolutely, John. I agree 100% and is the reason why i joined the community. However, every time i have a question or situation, you ALWAYS have to post parameters and everyone is always asking question about the system. Not that this is a bad thing by any means as they are just trying to assist with some answers/feedback, but i was trying to find someone that would already have knowledge of the system and the equipment being used. Ya know...kinda avoid all the "whats your dKH""where is it placed""are you running GFO" type of follow up questions.

john.m.cole3 · Mar 4, 2016

yeah, I know what you mean by "all the questions"... hmmm... I've been in it as long as you have been man (13 months) and wouldn't consider myself an expert at all. But, I did start a thread called "Grattitude" yesterday to call out and appreciate some of the key members on this forum that have really helped me along the way and what topic exactly they helped me with. I still don't know how to copy links or I would paste that one here. Trial and error brotha! lol