Questions from a beginner IM 25 Lagoon 1 month in

[RHND]

Hello follow hobbiest! Im a new reefer with a IM 25 lagoon. Currently a little over a month in, so the tank is definitely new. I've watched almost all of the BRS beginner series, so I have a few of the basic principles down.

In addition to a clean up crew mix ( hermit crab, snails, emerald crab ), the tank has a few Zoas that I added over time, everything seems to be doing well, opening up and the first zoas that I put in even started putting out new polyps. Also I've added 2 acans and a pulsing Xenia.

Not really into fish as much, so I do plan on getting 2 small clown fish for the tank later this month. My plan for the tank is mostly mixed corals with probably just the 2 clown fish, and maybe a sand sifting goby and a few sexy shrimps.

I do have a few questions that Id like some help with, and hopefully can point me in the right direction.

How do I know when I need to dose the tank? My understanding is that eventually the coals in the tank will use up the minerals / trace at a faster rate than what the weekly 10% change will replenish, so do I need to test daily before determining how much to dose ?

I plan on using all for reef to dose, so lets say for example my alk is typically at 8, and with testing daily I notice it starts to go down to 7.5, 7.2, then 6.9 or something. I'll then dose all for reef, and continue testing to see if the alk rises back to 8 and stays there?

Also with regards to flow, I currently have 2 random flow generator nozzles, and while they provide more randomness to the overall flow of the tank, do I need to add a powerhead eventually ?

Currently looking at getting a torch of some kind, and was told they need a bit more flow than my current zoas and acan.

Thanks for the help !

 

[fishski13]

So with dosing, the only way to know when to start and how much to dose is to test. So right now you only have acans that take up alkalinity and calcium as the others are softies. Once you get more corals that are hard, you will have to test everyday for a week or so, to figure out what the levels are and how fast your tank takes up the alkalinity and calcium. Once you figure out the input, you will only need to test every few days as you will know when to dose and what your expected levels are. I test for alkalinity and calcium about every 4 days now for my 10 gallon as I already know how much of each should be taken in that period and dose every 3-4 days.

I would aim to always have your alkalinity within 0-1 dkh of your wanted dkh.

Yeah I would say a wavemaker is only needed depending on what you want to stock. I am sure you can find a spot on your scape with enough flow for a torch but with a wavemaker it probably would be easier, and will help from algea forming in dead zones

 

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