starting a reef tank.

kurtkont · Dec 21, 2015

hey everyone,
I have a a fish only tank for awhile now. I am thinking about starting a reef tank looking for some pointers. I going to get an RO/DI filter. Does anyone use any additives when using RODI water to make the water more stable? What kind of chemicals should I add for the corals. What kind of lighting should i use led/ t5? I am extremely anal retentive when it comes to my tanks so i am trying to get as much information as possible from people. any input from anyone please.

twilliard · Dec 21, 2015

RODI water and a good salt makes stability in numbers.
Adding 2 part as a simple step in the beginning is easy.
Find your desired parameters and dose as needed

mrsaltwaterguy · Dec 21, 2015

A lot of the research I've done has said to start without dosing and first get the tank stable. I have had my reef tank up and running about 6 months and haven't dosed anything. My corals are doing fine though I may start dosing soon. I have mostly LPS corals but recently bought a few SPS frags.

tigerdragon · Dec 21, 2015

If water changes are keeping params correct then stick with that dont dose until water changes are not being effective enough. As far as lighting that depends on what you plan on keeping. Leds are good, t5 and halides are good but some of the best results seem to be led/t5 hybrids. I have run all 3 at diff times there is a whole nother world and discussion on lighting but you can have success and disaster with all types of lighting the biggest key to success in this hobby is take your time and stability of the tank. Keeping your params stable and good husbandry can make any lighting type successful

Davileet · Dec 22, 2015

I would recommend going with all T5s or a mix of T5/LED or even a mix of metal halides/LEDs/T5s. I would not recommend going full LED as I have, as I do not have a color spectrum in the 10k range with Cree LEDs. Not that the corals won't grow, just have a more windex blue look and the "whites" grow algae.

RO/DI water is basically pure H2O you have nothing to worry about except adding salt and making sure your filters are not letting too many TDS through.

As a beginner I would not recommend worrying about getting up with any type of dosing. You will be able to stay on top of any parameter issues with water changes for the most part. Keep up with siphoning the debris from your sand and water changes and you will be fine. You will need to purchase a good testing kit, and I am currently using RedSea and I like them well enough. Also recommend a Milwaukee hydrometer.