Experienced Newbie Needs Help!!!

[vetteguy53081]

Ok sorry for asking dumb questions but so far form my understanding I should
- lower salinity
-raise mag
- do more frequent water changes to lower feeding to lower nitrates and phosphate
- lower nutrition levels will also help softies - May not help as they need nutrients (no3 and po4)
- lower nitrates will raise alk - soda ash and baking soda will raise alk. Alk at times can increase due to declining nitrate levels in your reef tank but rarely. Your alk consumption would have to be extremely low for nitrate uptake to outweigh Alk consumption via calcification. Nitrate dosing however will cause alk to rise.
- get macro to export - or chaeto or algae scrubber
- possibly get probio to break nitrates down

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Ok sorry for asking dumb questions but so far form my understanding I should
- lower salinity
-raise mag
- do more frequent water changes to lower feeding to lower nitrates and phosphate
- lower nutrition levels will also help softies
- lower nitrates will raise alk
- get macro to export
- possibly get probio to break nitrates down
What did I miss, what did I miss understand and any more helpful info
- I do have a question about refugium how long should lights be on

You want a simple answer? Mix up your salinity to 1.025 with a 30% water change. That will not shock the system. It'll help bump up the mag, alk, ect. Cut back on feeding and do water changes... Thats your tanks best defense without having to weed out all the info ppl post, some good, most bad IMPE.

@Lavey29 great stuff eh!! PNS ProBio all the way!

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Should I feed less and do more frequent water changes ?

Also been re-reading your original post. Stop adding reefroids for 2 weeks, the nitrates will drop. If you have really low nutrients as an example and add reef roids that will spike your nitrates huge!

Your feeding frozen food and that won't raise nitrates like that unless you've never changed the water out. Reef roids are good but they're also dangerous if you catch my drift.

 

[ReeferTang44]

Ok sorry for asking dumb questions but so far form my understanding I should
- lower salinity
-raise mag
- do more frequent water changes to lower feeding to lower nitrates and phosphate
- lower nutrition levels will also help softies - May not help as they need nutrients (no3 and po4)
- lower nitrates will raise alk - soda ash and baking soda will raise alk. Alk at times can increase due to declining nitrate levels in your reef tank but rarely. Your alk consumption would have to be extremely low for nitrate uptake to outweigh Alk consumption via calcification. Nitrate dosing however will cause alk to rise.
- get macro to export - or chaeto or algae scrubber
- possibly get probio to break nitrates down

Ok sorry I’m special but the thing about ash and calcification is a little confusing should I be doing ash and would that effect calcium

 

[ReeferTang44]

Also been re-reading your original post. Stop adding reefroids for 2 weeks, the nitrates will drop. If you have really low nutrients as an example and add reef roids that will spike your nitrates huge!

Your feeding frozen food and that won't raise nitrates like that unless you've never changed the water out. Reef roids are good but they're also dangerous if you catch my drift.

Just to let you know I’m not completely inexperienced but right now I’m kinda confused because this past year I have realized that since I got this tank at 13 my lfs has kinda lied to me about a lot and being 16 this year I have dedicated alot to make my tank successful and I’m not trying to be annoying with all the questions

 

[ReeferTang44]

Can you elaborate on what vetty said about ash and stuff

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Just to let you know I’m not completely inexperienced but right now I’m kinda confused because this past year I have realized that since I got this tank at 13 my lfs has kinda lied to me about a lot and being 16 this year I have dedicated alot to make my tank successful and I’m not trying to be annoying with all the questions

I never once called you out on having no experience. I was in the same boat as you this year with my own system. Your young and the tech has been with you since reefing. See over 20 years ago I was considered an experienced reefer, but after getting back into the hobby this year I was overwhelmed with all the different additives and different tech. It was a steep learning curve for me this year with a total crash, but one thing I found was I needed to listen to someone I could trust. So far my system is thriving and I now have an understanding on how these additives work.

I hope you find what your searching for and find the right solution. Sometimes the simplest solution is the right solution

 

[ReeferTang44]

I never once called you out on having no experience. I was in the same boat as you this year with my own system. Your young and the tech has been with you since reefing. See over 20 years ago I was considered an experienced reefer, but after getting back into the hobby this year I was overwhelmed with all the different additives and different tech. It was a steep learning curve for me this year with a total crash, but one thing I found was I needed to listen to someone I could trust. So far my system is thriving and I now have an understanding on how these additives work.

I hope you find what your searching for and find the right solution. Sometimes the simplest solution is the right solution

Thank you I really do appreciated it and I didn’t mean to put is off like you said that, that’s definitely not the case at all I’m just saying comparatively I’m not as experienced as as others but I greatly appreciate the help

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok sorry I’m special but the thing about ash and calcification is a little confusing should I be doing ash and would that effect calcium

alk and calcium are linked. Raising alk can lower calcium and at times raising Calcium can lower alk, why there is a need for balance. Reef roids impact and raise phosphates more than nitrates.
As for soda ash - it raises alk only. . . again, you must monitor your consumption from coral to determine your needs, With the few corals you have, there may be no need for dosing especially if you do regular water changes

 

[ReeferTang44]

alk and calcium are linked. Raising alk can lower calcium and at times raising Calcium can lower alk, why there is a need for balance. Reef roids impact and raise phosphates more than nitrates.
As for soda ash - it raises alk only. . . again, you must monitor your consumption from coral to determine your needs, With the few corals you have, there may be no need for dosing especially if you do regular water changes

Ok ash is pretty cool I like that part that it only raises alk is it pretty user friendly and according to my Hanna alk tester I go down about .1 every other day when it comes to alk for ex 9.8 two days later 9.7/ 9.6

 

[blecki]

- lower nitrates will raise alk

No; nitrate levels and alkalinity are not directly linked. The production of nitrate consumed alk; it is only while nitrate is rising that alkalinity is consumed (At the rate of I think 2.3 mg/l alk per 50 ppm nitrate?) Doing a water change to remove nitrate will not raise alk; that alk will simply be discarded with the nitrate.

It's a little unintuitive that overfeeding can also lower alk. It caught me off guard years ago too. The idea behind using macro to export the nitrate is that as the macro consumes the nitrate, it frees the bound up alkalinity, so the alkalinity remains more stable.

- I do have a question about refugium how long should lights be on

Mine are on 24/7/365. Don't really see a point of ever turning them off.

But to reiterate this long thread... really you just need some water changes; you may find afterward that everything else is fine and doesn't need touched.

 

[ReeferTang44]

So tomorrow I’m doing a 22 gallon water change and that should help with nutrients and levels nothing should be hurt from doing his right ???

 

[ReeferTang44]

And what is on my tangs fin
It’s like a white spot with a little cloud around it isn’t probably ich

 

[blecki]

It's not a reason to panic. Probably just bumped a rock.

 

[ReeferTang44]

Does anyone know a good freshwater fish forum or have any idea on how to cure a possible mouth fungus on a serpe tetra

 

[Salty_Northerner]

And what is on my tangs fin
It’s like a white spot with a little cloud around it isn’t probably ich

If it makes you feel better Friday my orchard dottyback had the same white spot on its fin and I'm like here we go! Turned out it was just somtfrom the rock and was gone 20min later.

And yes a 22 gallon WC will be fine and good for the tank. Remember to try and mix it a tad lower to try and get off the 1.027 and down to 1.026

What salt do you use down there?

 

[ReeferTang44]

If it makes you feel better Friday my orchard dottyback had the same white spot on its fin and I'm like here we go! Turned out it was just somtfrom the rock and was gone 20min later.

And yes a 22 gallon WC will be fine and good for the tank. Remember to try and mix it a tad lower to try and get off the 1.027 and down to 1.026

What salt do you use down there

Well since I’m still a wee little lad living in my parents house already using one of our living rooms for a fish tank I don’t know what they would say about using a room for a mixing and rodi so I’m still using lfs water which I believe is Red Sea

 

[Idech]

Does anyone know a good freshwater fish forum or have any idea on how to cure a possible mouth fungus on a serpe tetra

Fishlore is a good forum.

In freshwater, aquarium salt is an inexpensive remedy. Check with them first though.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Well since I’m still a wee little lad living in my parents house already using one of our living rooms for a fish tank I don’t know what they would say about using a room for a mixing and rodi so I’m still using lfs water which I believe is Red Sea

If you don't mind me asking how much down there do they charge per gallon? Do you buy it by the US gallon or the imperial gallon?

 

[ReeferTang44]

I get charged $2 a gallon for salt $1 for ro