[sigee]

Hi All
Im Si from Camelford and im just starting out in marine after years of freshwater hitech planted and discus tanks.
Iv got a guy comming round to take everything out of my freshwater tank tomorrow and then its all systems go to get a reef up and running.
I met pete (Desmo) today and brought his skimmer,live rock,salt,sand and a few other bits from him and he very kindly gave me some ro water and water butts,plus some softies free !.
A big THANKS to pete for his kindness and help and see you next week.
Well Iv got so many questions to ask that im sure you will all be sick of me in no time,sorry but I have alot to learn.

1st question is what are the best foods for a comunity reef ?.
Iv found from my freshwater fishkeeping that some foods are alot messier than others and I want to keep things clean.

Cheers
Si

[chriss]

Welcome to the forum!

Food wise, use a variety of good quality foods, both dry and frozen. The new era and ocean nutrition pellets are very good, use these in addition to mysis and krill which can be supplemented with lipovit and immuvit to keep your fish fat and healthy, just don't be tempted to overfeed.

Good luck

Chris

[dave14]

Welcome to IR

One thing to bear in mind if using your freshwater tank, if you have used any medications that contain copper, this can be adsorbed into the silicone and can leach out. Copper can be deadly to corals and inverts.

[lindsay]

Welcome to IR ,when it comes to questions,ask away .

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Hi m8 ,,welcome to the forum ,if you need out ask away as the guys here are a top bunch


jas

[sigee]

Thanks for the warm welcome guy's
Chriss thanks for the info..doing some googling now.
Dave14,No copper has ever been added to the tank as I have had it from new and kept bamboo shrimp in it (they dont like copper either)
I have another question that I did ask pete and he seemed to think it may work.....
As a freshwater planted tank owner for years I got the idea that I could get put some of that algea you guys put in refugiums and grow it in the main tank behind the live rock.
The reason I ask is because in my heavily planted tank I struggle to keep phosphate and nitrate levels up and have to bung the stuff in in large quantities daily.
So if I grow some algae in the tank it should keep phophates and nitrates low.
Is there any good reason why I couldnt do that.

Thanks again
Si

[Marcus Watts]

hi,
The downside of growing algaes in the display tank are twofold - in no time at all it tends to overrun everything, the 'roots' gripping into the living rock making permanent removal just about impossible, and some species require constant lighting to avoid a term 'going sexual' where the algae goes clear, breaks down and can pollute the tank. In the sump to maintain a more stable ph some species of algae are 'reverse lit', on a light timer opposite to the main tank lights, this also would not be possible in the main tan so ph swings from Co2 increases would be greater.
Finally, when lindsay spotted in a video a bit of calaupera growing in the corner of my main tank he pointed out it will effect or even kill certain species of sps corals, especially the 'birds nest' variety.
Luckily i only had a few strands in the sand and none had got into the rock, although even now, 2 months later, I find tiny new shoots growing out of the powerhead pumps!!.
I have seen pictures of sea-grass type plants in aquariums, often with a cataphillia coral sat in the middle as this is reported as one of their natural habitats.

http://reefkeeping.c...04/sl/index.php

cheers Marcus

[sigee]

Hi Marcus
Thanks for the reply.
I new there would be a reason why I couldnt do it I just didnt know what it was.
I suppose if it were that easy everyone would do it.
Im starting to think my next purchase is going to be an overflow box,some glass and some silicone sealer

On to my next question
I understand I need a ph of around 8.3.How do I obtain this ph and keep it there ?.Do I have to buy ph adjusters .I can make my own gh booster from 50% K2SO4 (potassium sulphate) and 1/4 CaSO4 (calsium sulphate) and 1/4 MgSO4 (magnesium sulphate).
But this is for freshwater so probably wont do a reef any good ?.

Cheers
Si

[Marcus Watts]

Quote

On to my next question
I understand I need a ph of around 8.3.How do I obtain this ph and keep it there ?.Do I have to buy ph adjusters .I can make my own gh booster from 50% K2SO4 (potassium sulphate) and 1/4 CaSO4 (calsium sulphate) and 1/4 MgSO4 (magnesium sulphate).
But this is for freshwater so probably wont do a reef any good ?

The buffers required to initially get to 8.3 are included in the dry salt and when you mix it up with ro it should ! mix to 8.2-8.3 initially, and with good O2 levels and low CO2 remain fairly constant. High surface water movement helps gas exchange, driving the co2 that is produced out of the water, raising the dissolved oxygen and raising the ph back to the buffered level. weekly water changes help replenish depleated levels ( the better quality salts generally mean you need less extras and additives). Additional buffers can be added if your ph keeps falling but these tend to temporarily raise ph but drive up alkalinity.
Your ph reading will probably rise and fall on a daily basis with the light cycle, mine is going 8.01 to 8.31 atm and the tank seems fine

[sigee]

Thank you once again marcuss for an easy to understand and informative answer.
Today has been one hell of a day emptying the tank ready for the live rock tomorrow.
Im pinching pete's sand and tank water so that should give me a head start and save the live rock.
Cheers
Si

[ben]

welcome to the forum.

you say your using sand from someone else. my advice would be to use new sand and only a cupful of the old sand. this will stop a lot of toxins from entering your tank, as old sand thats disturbed can be full of nasty stuff.

[sigee]

Ben your too late,or rather I am as it already in,although I did clean it throughly with clean tank water.
So far I have been a reefer for about 1 hour and already I have made a mistake...
I got a koralia 2 and a koralia 4 new from my lfs and the koralia 4 is WAY too powerful ! its digging holes in the sand and making BIG waves......
Ahh well live and learn..time to put a swap up on the sales section I think.

Cheers
Si

[Marcus Watts]

sigee, on Jul 5 2010, 04:54 PM, said:

Ben your too late,or rather I am as it already in,although I did clean it throughly with clean tank water.
So far I have been a reefer for about 1 hour and already I have made a mistake...
I got a koralia 2 and a koralia 4 new from my lfs and the koralia 4 is WAY too powerful ! its digging holes in the sand and making BIG waves......
Ahh well live and learn..time to put a swap up on the sales section I think.

Cheers
Si

i would really recommend a 50% water change with freshly made water asap, then another a couple of days later. While the tank cycles make sure you have changed all the old water before adding anything living. and syphon out the sand and put it on tha garden or something. Old sand will be a phosphate factory, and will leach out into your tank all the locked in phosphate it absorbed in someone elses tank. Water as well - trust nobody but yourself, otherwise you have no control over initial levels that may be too high, too low, out of balance.
Quite seriously really you should put the rock in a vat with a heater & powerhead, cover it with the old water and empty the tank. Then mix new water in the tank with a heater and pumps (3/4 full) to correct ppt (37.5 on the older refractometers) and wait 24 hours. Then add your rock to the tank - onto the glass base, then add 20kg ish of new sand - this is why you ony filled the tank 3/4 with water as the rock and sand will raise the level. Then top up the tank with more new mixed water.

To ignore this stage will cost you in months of frustration in the future.

cheers marcus

[sigee]

Sorry Marcus I forgot to reply to you.
I didnt strip the tank and start again but I did replace all the sand and I did several large water changes and everything is now as it should be.
I would have replied earlier but the new tank has had me running around like a headless chicken
Cheers
Si

[lindsay]

Hi,just a quick post to ask what thickness is the glass of the tank?,if less than 10mm ide be a little careful when stacking rock directly onto the glass,this i think is better done on egg crate even when the tank is 10mm because of the pressure it can possibly put on the glass in a small area.

[sigee]

lindsay, on Jul 17 2010, 08:31 PM, said:

Hi,just a quick post to ask what thickness is the glass of the tank?,if less than 10mm ide be a little careful when stacking rock directly onto the glass,this i think is better done on egg crate even when the tank is 10mm because of the pressure it can possibly put on the glass in a small area.

Hi Lindsay
The tank is 10mm all round but for some reason its 2X10mm glass on the base.
It hasnt been repaired or anything as I have had it from new.
Also I put the rock on the sand rather than the glass.
Cheers
Si

[TrevC]

Welcome to the forum

[dylan]

doublebased tanks are common and a very good idea welcome to the forum mate