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Hey guys.
I may have to go away for a few months for work and I am trying to write an instruction manual for my partner to care for our tank whilst I am away.
I have not got anywhere near finished but I'd love some feedback on advice on what I have said so far and also what people think I need to add.
I am not long in this hobby only about 6 months so I am sure I have made some factual errors that you guys could pick up on for me.
I intend to add a detailed section like the corals one for each species of fish we have and its husbandry as well as an explanation of my weekly and monthly maintenance routines.
Any help I can get from you guys would be great. It could also easily be updated and broadened in detail and we could make an open-source guide of some form.
Guide to Reef Tank Care
By Rou
1500mmx360mmx480mm(LxWxH)(5 foot tank)
260L in display tank
10ish L in cannister filter
Total system volume 270L(71gallons)
Components
Light = MarsAqua 165 watt Reef LED(also called Chinese blackbox lights)
Protein skimmer = Aqua One G220(for system volumes up to 800L)
Cannister filter = Aqua One Aquis Series 2 (max system volume 300L)
Live Stock
Live Rock = 25kg
Live Sand = 7.2kg
Fish
2x Yellow Tailed Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)
1x Niger Trigger Fish (Odonus Niger)
1x Ocellaris Clown Fish (Amphiprion Ocellaris)
1x Keyhole Angelfish (Centropyge tibicen)
1x Reef Lobster (Enoplometopus Spp.)
2x Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni)
3x Strombus Snails
Assorted snails and hermit crabs(around 30 total)
Corals
2x Torch Corals (Euphyllia glabrescens)
1x Frogspawn (Euphyllia Cristata)
1x Hellio (Helliofungia)
1x Goni (Goniopora spp.)
Several zoas
3 x Morphs
1x Toadstool (Sarcophyton sp.)
Tank parameters
Ideal Values
Salinity = specific gravity of 1.024-1.027(tank is 1.026 atm and shouldn’t be changed)
Ammonnia = 0ppm
Nitrites = 0ppm
Nitrate = <20ppm(0 is best)
PH = 8.1-8.4
Temperature= 24-28degrees
Ideal values for things we don’t have tests for
Calcium(pickling lime) = 400-450ppm
Alkalinity(baking soda) = 7-11dKH
Magnesium = 1300ppm
Phosphates = <0.03ppm
What do these nutrients do?
PH:
PH measures the acidity of a solution ranging from 0(Extreme acid) to 14(extreme base). Natural seawater has a PH of 8.0-8.3. Tank PH should stay in a range between 8.1-8.3(this will vary over the course of the day)
Test with kit
5ml into test vial
5 drops of High Range PH Test
Shake and compare colour to chart.
Ammonia:
TOXIC TO ALL TANK INHABITANTS
Ammonia is the toxic waste biproduct of the decomposition of excess waste in the system. i.e. rotting food, fish waste, rotting dead things.
Test with kit
Test 2 days after adding a new fish as well as before every water change. If ever reads >0 start testing daily till =0
5ml tank water into test bottle
8 drops Ammonia 1(shake for 1 second)
8 drops Ammonia 2(shake for 5 seconds)
Wait five minutes
If colour is yellow all good. If there is any green tinge immediately cut back feeding and start testing daily till 0ppm achieved.
Nitrite:
TOXIC
Ammonia is decomposed into nitrite as part of the cycle that leads to it becoming nitrogen. Whilst it is toxic I don’t bother testing for it as I have never seen levels above 0 on the test so it seems a waste of time.
Nitrate:
Essentially this is fertiliser. It will feed algae and other photosynthetic organisms and promote their growth. Ideally this is <10ppm.
Testing
Test before water changes(ie monthly)
5ml tank water into vial
Add 10 drops from Nitrate 1 to vial mix
Shake Nitrate 2 for 45 seconds
Add 10 drops to vial
Cap vial and shake for 1 minute
Wait 5 minutes
Compare colour to table
Removing nitrate
We remove nitrate through a mixture of bacteria(making nitrogen gas) and using plants to break it done into nitrogen gas as they grow.
As far as bacteria goes we can feed the tank simple carbon compounds (sugar, vodka, white vinegar) that provide the bacteria naturally in the tank to be able to grow faster. As they bloom the protein skimmer is able to remove them from the tank taking the nitrates along with them.
Algae in our case chaetomorphia(chaeto) as it grows absorbs nitrates, phosphates, and silicates from the water. So simply growing it in the tank helps reduce dissolved nitrates and whenever it grows to big trimming it will remove those chemicals to your bin. Remember when chucking out chaeto to give it a quick dip in fresh purified water then strain out all the little animals and add the back to the tank.
Salinity:
Salinity is the amount of dissolved salt in the water. Natural seawater has a specific gravity(sg) of 1.025-1.027. The aquarium is set up with a specific gravity of 1.026 and shouldn’t be changed except very slowly(over several days).
How to ensure SG stays stable.
Adding a little bit of purified water every day to make up for evaporation which concentrates the salt by removing water. (this has tended to be around 3L a day)
When doing water changes ensure that the mixed up salt has the same SG as the tank water.
Testing salinity
We test the salinity using the refractometer. This device tests how much the water bends light as a way to test the salt content of the water.
Its use is extremely simple. Just place a drop of water on the glass under the flap then look through it at a light. Read the number in line with blue line. The number to the left is SG and to the right is %solution(which doesn’t matter to us here)
Check weekly.
Alkalinity
Alkalinity is a way to approximate the amount of an ion(chemical) called bicarbonate which is used by corals to build their skeletons and other functions. Corals use bicarbonate and calcium in tandem to generate calcium-carbonate skeletons. Measured in dKH(carbonate hardness)
There is some evidence that having a higher dKH increases the rate at which corals grow their skeletons.
If you test for alkalinity and it is low then you can use bicarb soda dissolved in purified water as a dosing mix. It is possible to calculate the daily usage and just add that amount to your top of water every time you fill the bucket. Use this calculator https://www.ultimatereef.net/pages/alk_supplement/
Dosing instructions can be found at
https://www.ultimatereef.net/thread...-to-dosing-your-reef-tank-as-promised.824538/
We do not possess a test for this at this stage (comes with reefmaster test kit)
Calcium
Calcium along with alkalinity are the building blocks of the reef. Calcium is absorbed from the water by corals and other tank inhabitants to build shells and skeletons along with other biological functions. Natural levels of calcium in seawater is 420ppm we wish to maintain this level in our aquarium.
Once we have a test for this a solution of purified water and Calcium Chloride Flakes.
Found this place that sells 1kg(more than a years worth) for $4.50
https://pacificwater.com.au/product/calcium-chloride-flakes/
Phosphates
Phosphates are much like nitrates and act as a fertiliser in our system. Higher levels of phosphate lead to blooms of different types of microorganisms as well as nuisance algae growth.
We don’t have a test kit for this yet. Best to aim for as close to zero as we can.
Magnesium
Epsom salts and magnesium chloride. Used by corals and other tank inhabitants for various biological processes. Dosing is not as important as calcium and alkalinity and some people say that the amount regained through water changes is enough. If you do decide to dose just buy a bag of Epsom salts from coles and dissolve in purified water along with magnesium chloride hexahydrate flakes(from ebay). Using instructions found here:
https://www.ultimatereef.net/thread...-to-dosing-your-reef-tank-as-promised.824538/
Live Stock
Corals
Heliofungia Actiniformis(Helio)
This is a solitary large stony polyp(LPS). It has a large central mouth and can eat much larger food items than our other corals. It likes to have a position on the sand bed with moderate flow and light. Be very careful if you ever have to handle this to slide your fingers underneath and pick it up buy sitting it gently on your fingers. It has a razor shard skeleton and extremely soft tissue so any squishing can cause serious damage and infection.
To feed this coral you make a paste with the coralific delight food usually 1 part food to 3 parts water, then let this set. Use a syringe to feed directly into the polyps mouth.
Euphylia Glabrescens(Torch Coral)
Another large polyped stony(LPS) coral the torch corals that we have are of the branching variety and each polyp grows on its own stem. Torch corals tend to prefer medium current with med/high lighting. You’ll come to see as you feed it where each polyp is as the tentacles pull in toward the mouth at the centre of each polyp when they grab food. There is current 3 polyps on the green and 4 on the pink.
Feeding. I feed the same paste I feed to helio for feeding the torch corals. I try and squirt a little strip of the food paste to the centre of each polyp. It will also eat the foot when it is much more dilute by sliming up to catch the particles.
Euphylia. Cristata (frogspawn)
A large polyped stony(LPS) this coral can be feed and likes similar conditions to its closely related torch coral. It has a distinctively different skeleton form with a couple of mouth in each section. As you feed it you’ll come to learn where the mouths are.
Goniopora Sp.
Goniopora is an encrusting(skeleton growing) large polyped stony(LPS) coral. It thrives in moderate/gentle flow with good bright lighting and weekly feeding. Each of its tentacles is an individual animal but they are all clones of the original polyp that start the colony and are able to distribute nutrients between each other as needed. This is generally true of all colonial corals. Goni’s also possess some of the smallest mouths in the aquarium as they generally feed off of plankton in the ocean. Because of this it is recommended to get special food for them. The most popular of there is called ReefRoids by PolypLab
Feeding. Currently I am feeding it coralfic delight after I have fed the helio I dilute the remaining food paste with about three times its volume of tank water. I then gently spray it around the goni making sure it drifts into the tenticles I then use the remaining food to spray over all the zoas and the toadstool.
I may have to go away for a few months for work and I am trying to write an instruction manual for my partner to care for our tank whilst I am away.
I have not got anywhere near finished but I'd love some feedback on advice on what I have said so far and also what people think I need to add.
I am not long in this hobby only about 6 months so I am sure I have made some factual errors that you guys could pick up on for me.
I intend to add a detailed section like the corals one for each species of fish we have and its husbandry as well as an explanation of my weekly and monthly maintenance routines.
Any help I can get from you guys would be great. It could also easily be updated and broadened in detail and we could make an open-source guide of some form.
Guide to Reef Tank Care
By Rou
Tank details
Measurements:1500mmx360mmx480mm(LxWxH)(5 foot tank)
260L in display tank
10ish L in cannister filter
Total system volume 270L(71gallons)
Components
Light = MarsAqua 165 watt Reef LED(also called Chinese blackbox lights)
Protein skimmer = Aqua One G220(for system volumes up to 800L)
Cannister filter = Aqua One Aquis Series 2 (max system volume 300L)
Live Stock
Live Rock = 25kg
Live Sand = 7.2kg
Fish
2x Yellow Tailed Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)
1x Niger Trigger Fish (Odonus Niger)
1x Ocellaris Clown Fish (Amphiprion Ocellaris)
1x Keyhole Angelfish (Centropyge tibicen)
1x Reef Lobster (Enoplometopus Spp.)
2x Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni)
3x Strombus Snails
Assorted snails and hermit crabs(around 30 total)
Corals
2x Torch Corals (Euphyllia glabrescens)
1x Frogspawn (Euphyllia Cristata)
1x Hellio (Helliofungia)
1x Goni (Goniopora spp.)
Several zoas
3 x Morphs
1x Toadstool (Sarcophyton sp.)
Tank parameters
Ideal Values
Salinity = specific gravity of 1.024-1.027(tank is 1.026 atm and shouldn’t be changed)
Ammonnia = 0ppm
Nitrites = 0ppm
Nitrate = <20ppm(0 is best)
PH = 8.1-8.4
Temperature= 24-28degrees
Ideal values for things we don’t have tests for
Calcium(pickling lime) = 400-450ppm
Alkalinity(baking soda) = 7-11dKH
Magnesium = 1300ppm
Phosphates = <0.03ppm
What do these nutrients do?
PH:
PH measures the acidity of a solution ranging from 0(Extreme acid) to 14(extreme base). Natural seawater has a PH of 8.0-8.3. Tank PH should stay in a range between 8.1-8.3(this will vary over the course of the day)
Test with kit
5ml into test vial
5 drops of High Range PH Test
Shake and compare colour to chart.
Ammonia:
TOXIC TO ALL TANK INHABITANTS
Ammonia is the toxic waste biproduct of the decomposition of excess waste in the system. i.e. rotting food, fish waste, rotting dead things.
Test with kit
Test 2 days after adding a new fish as well as before every water change. If ever reads >0 start testing daily till =0
5ml tank water into test bottle
8 drops Ammonia 1(shake for 1 second)
8 drops Ammonia 2(shake for 5 seconds)
Wait five minutes
If colour is yellow all good. If there is any green tinge immediately cut back feeding and start testing daily till 0ppm achieved.
Nitrite:
TOXIC
Ammonia is decomposed into nitrite as part of the cycle that leads to it becoming nitrogen. Whilst it is toxic I don’t bother testing for it as I have never seen levels above 0 on the test so it seems a waste of time.
Nitrate:
Essentially this is fertiliser. It will feed algae and other photosynthetic organisms and promote their growth. Ideally this is <10ppm.
Testing
Test before water changes(ie monthly)
5ml tank water into vial
Add 10 drops from Nitrate 1 to vial mix
Shake Nitrate 2 for 45 seconds
Add 10 drops to vial
Cap vial and shake for 1 minute
Wait 5 minutes
Compare colour to table
Removing nitrate
We remove nitrate through a mixture of bacteria(making nitrogen gas) and using plants to break it done into nitrogen gas as they grow.
As far as bacteria goes we can feed the tank simple carbon compounds (sugar, vodka, white vinegar) that provide the bacteria naturally in the tank to be able to grow faster. As they bloom the protein skimmer is able to remove them from the tank taking the nitrates along with them.
Algae in our case chaetomorphia(chaeto) as it grows absorbs nitrates, phosphates, and silicates from the water. So simply growing it in the tank helps reduce dissolved nitrates and whenever it grows to big trimming it will remove those chemicals to your bin. Remember when chucking out chaeto to give it a quick dip in fresh purified water then strain out all the little animals and add the back to the tank.
Salinity:
Salinity is the amount of dissolved salt in the water. Natural seawater has a specific gravity(sg) of 1.025-1.027. The aquarium is set up with a specific gravity of 1.026 and shouldn’t be changed except very slowly(over several days).
How to ensure SG stays stable.
Adding a little bit of purified water every day to make up for evaporation which concentrates the salt by removing water. (this has tended to be around 3L a day)
When doing water changes ensure that the mixed up salt has the same SG as the tank water.
Testing salinity
We test the salinity using the refractometer. This device tests how much the water bends light as a way to test the salt content of the water.
Its use is extremely simple. Just place a drop of water on the glass under the flap then look through it at a light. Read the number in line with blue line. The number to the left is SG and to the right is %solution(which doesn’t matter to us here)
Check weekly.
Alkalinity
Alkalinity is a way to approximate the amount of an ion(chemical) called bicarbonate which is used by corals to build their skeletons and other functions. Corals use bicarbonate and calcium in tandem to generate calcium-carbonate skeletons. Measured in dKH(carbonate hardness)
There is some evidence that having a higher dKH increases the rate at which corals grow their skeletons.
If you test for alkalinity and it is low then you can use bicarb soda dissolved in purified water as a dosing mix. It is possible to calculate the daily usage and just add that amount to your top of water every time you fill the bucket. Use this calculator https://www.ultimatereef.net/pages/alk_supplement/
Dosing instructions can be found at
https://www.ultimatereef.net/thread...-to-dosing-your-reef-tank-as-promised.824538/
We do not possess a test for this at this stage (comes with reefmaster test kit)
Calcium
Calcium along with alkalinity are the building blocks of the reef. Calcium is absorbed from the water by corals and other tank inhabitants to build shells and skeletons along with other biological functions. Natural levels of calcium in seawater is 420ppm we wish to maintain this level in our aquarium.
Once we have a test for this a solution of purified water and Calcium Chloride Flakes.
Found this place that sells 1kg(more than a years worth) for $4.50
https://pacificwater.com.au/product/calcium-chloride-flakes/
Phosphates
Phosphates are much like nitrates and act as a fertiliser in our system. Higher levels of phosphate lead to blooms of different types of microorganisms as well as nuisance algae growth.
We don’t have a test kit for this yet. Best to aim for as close to zero as we can.
Magnesium
Epsom salts and magnesium chloride. Used by corals and other tank inhabitants for various biological processes. Dosing is not as important as calcium and alkalinity and some people say that the amount regained through water changes is enough. If you do decide to dose just buy a bag of Epsom salts from coles and dissolve in purified water along with magnesium chloride hexahydrate flakes(from ebay). Using instructions found here:
https://www.ultimatereef.net/thread...-to-dosing-your-reef-tank-as-promised.824538/
Live Stock
Corals
Heliofungia Actiniformis(Helio)
This is a solitary large stony polyp(LPS). It has a large central mouth and can eat much larger food items than our other corals. It likes to have a position on the sand bed with moderate flow and light. Be very careful if you ever have to handle this to slide your fingers underneath and pick it up buy sitting it gently on your fingers. It has a razor shard skeleton and extremely soft tissue so any squishing can cause serious damage and infection.
To feed this coral you make a paste with the coralific delight food usually 1 part food to 3 parts water, then let this set. Use a syringe to feed directly into the polyps mouth.
Euphylia Glabrescens(Torch Coral)
Another large polyped stony(LPS) coral the torch corals that we have are of the branching variety and each polyp grows on its own stem. Torch corals tend to prefer medium current with med/high lighting. You’ll come to see as you feed it where each polyp is as the tentacles pull in toward the mouth at the centre of each polyp when they grab food. There is current 3 polyps on the green and 4 on the pink.
Feeding. I feed the same paste I feed to helio for feeding the torch corals. I try and squirt a little strip of the food paste to the centre of each polyp. It will also eat the foot when it is much more dilute by sliming up to catch the particles.
Euphylia. Cristata (frogspawn)
A large polyped stony(LPS) this coral can be feed and likes similar conditions to its closely related torch coral. It has a distinctively different skeleton form with a couple of mouth in each section. As you feed it you’ll come to learn where the mouths are.
Goniopora Sp.
Goniopora is an encrusting(skeleton growing) large polyped stony(LPS) coral. It thrives in moderate/gentle flow with good bright lighting and weekly feeding. Each of its tentacles is an individual animal but they are all clones of the original polyp that start the colony and are able to distribute nutrients between each other as needed. This is generally true of all colonial corals. Goni’s also possess some of the smallest mouths in the aquarium as they generally feed off of plankton in the ocean. Because of this it is recommended to get special food for them. The most popular of there is called ReefRoids by PolypLab
Feeding. Currently I am feeding it coralfic delight after I have fed the helio I dilute the remaining food paste with about three times its volume of tank water. I then gently spray it around the goni making sure it drifts into the tenticles I then use the remaining food to spray over all the zoas and the toadstool.