Help! I have no idea what im doing.

[jayden kolonne]

I bought a new 125 gallon with a 36 bashsea. I don't know what I need to do for filtration and dosing. I have a uv filter, ceramic, filter sock and that's it. I watch some BRSTV and they say you need alot of stuff. However, I read the comments and they said this is very consumeristic, and is not what you need. I don't know what my numbers should be in terms of gh, kh, and other stuff. Do I need to have dosers and more filtration? I want to keep a good amount of coral and fish. I also don't mind spending money if I need to but I don't want to waste it cause I think we would all rather spend that on fish or coral. I'm about to order more fish, since it's been cycling for 3 months now.

 

[Formulator]

You are asking some very basic questions and I think you need to do more research before you put anything in your tank, including water. Maybe someone will be nice enough to take the time to walk you through, but there is just too much information to cover IMO. I would start here and then come back with more specific questions if there is anything you don’t understand.

Thread 'The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium'
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Just to add to what @Formulator said,, please don't start dosing anything. You are not there yet.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If there is nothing in your tank yet, then you are several months away from needing to dose. Plenty of time to do some homework on choosing the best method for you, as mentioned above, dosing is a huge subject, many products to choose from.

As for filtration, I would consider a protein skimmer, since you mention you want lots of fish and corals.

 

[jayden kolonne]

You are asking some very basic questions and I think you need to do more research before you put anything in your tank, including water. Maybe someone will be nice enough to take the time to walk you through, but there is just too much information to cover IMO. I would start here and then come back with more specific questions if there is anything you don’t understand.

Thread 'The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium'
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

I already have water and 3 damsals that have been in here for 3 months. I want to know about putting carbon in there and gfo, I probably should have been more specific, I heard that gfo takes out phosphates but then you need to add it back. I watched yt videos but it would be easier of there was a list of basic things I need. I also know corals need calcium to grow and I'm not sure what the number is or how to reach it. Sorry if the questions I asked was obvious I just was trying to learn from people with experience .

 

[Formulator]

Yes the bare minimum for your filtration will be a protein skimmer. I would also use socks, but they are optional IMO. Don’t worry about chasing numbers for your alk, calcium, magnesium, but do start testing them regularly. Also test nitrate and phosphate. Try to keep those at 10-20 ppm nitrate and 0.1 ppm phosphate. If they get higher, that means its time for a water change. Just mix the salt per instructions and do biweekly 20% water changes. This will manage your chemistry just fine for the first year or so. Once you have a lot of coral you can start looking into dosing, but let your testing tell you when that time has come.

 

[jayden kolonne]

If there is nothing in your tank yet, then you are several months away from needing to dose. Plenty of time to do some homework on choosing the best method for you, as mentioned above, dosing is a huge subject, many products to choose from.

As for filtration, I would consider a protein skimmer, since you mention you want lots of fish and corals.

I have 3 damsals that have been living in here for 3 months, I also have the protien skimmer running right now. It doesn't do much since the bioload is so low. I am ramping up the feeding now as I want to add some anthias or something soon.

 

[Formulator]

I already have water and 3 damsals that have been in here for 3 months. I want to know about putting carbon in there and gfo, I probably should have been more specific, I heard that gfo takes out phosphates but then you need to add it back. I watched yt videos but it would be easier of there was a list of basic things I need. I also know corals need calcium to grow and I'm not sure what the number is or how to reach it. Sorry if the questions I asked was obvious I just was trying to learn from people with experience .

Alkalinity target is somewhat a matter of preference and can be in the range from 7-11 dKH. The important part is that you keep it stable once you pick your target. I would recommend 8-8.5 for a new tank. Calcium target is 400-450 ppm. But again, your salt mix has all the alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and other trace elements you need. You don’t need to supplement with dosing until you have a lot of coral growing in there. You can run carbon. Don’t run GFO unless your phosphate is very high (>0.2). Phosphate lower than that can be managed with water changes. You will need to test phosphate. If it is not high and you run GFO it will bottom out and can kill some soft corals, and lead to dinoflagellates which you do not want to deal with. GFO is very powerful and I would urge caution for any new reefer.

Also, get rid of the damsels. They will not allow you to add any other fish. They are from satan himself and are aggressive little beasts.

P.S. sorry if my previous reply was harsh. I was being pulled in 4 directions by my daughter at the time and I was a little short…

 

[jayden kolonne]

Tha

Yes the bare minimum for your filtration will be a protein skimmer. I would also use socks, but they are optional IMO. Don’t worry about chasing numbers for your alk, calcium, magnesium, but do start testing them regularly. Also test nitrate and phosphate. Try to keep those at 10-20 ppm nitrate and 0.1 ppm phosphate. If they get higher, that means its time for a water change. Just mix the salt per instructions and do biweekly 20% water changes. This will manage your chemistry just fine for the first year or so. Once you have a lot of coral you looking into dosing, but let your testing tell you when that time has come.

Nk

Yes the bare minimum for your filtration will be a protein skimmer. I would also use socks, but they are optional IMO. Don’t worry about chasing numbers for your alk, calcium, magnesium, but do start testing them regularly. Also test nitrate and phosphate. Try to keep those at 10-20 ppm nitrate and 0.1 ppm phosphate. If they get higher, that means its time for a water change. Just mix the salt per instructions and do biweekly 20% water changes. This will manage your chemistry just fine for the first year or so. Once you have a lot of coral you can start looking into dosing, but let your testing tell you when that time has come.

Thank you, this is really helpful, I also read the forum you sent. It is helpful for the initial setup, but it didn't go into filtration. It was still really helpful. Thank you, I will test those now.

 

[jayden kolonne]

Thank you, I was going to run gfo but now I'm rethinking. Btw this is my second reef tank I just want to do this right, I had alot of problems with that tank so I want some advice. As of now that tank(35g) only has a watchman goby and cleanup crew. Could I put the damsals in there. Is there alot of problems with damsals? I want to add anthias, maybe a yellow tang or blue tang, and some sort of sand sifting fish. Would they be harmful to large fish like that?
I appreciate all your help.

 

[Formulator]

Thank you, I was going to run gfo but now I'm rethinking. Btw this is my second reef tank I just want to do this right, I had alot of problems with that tank so I want some advice. As of now that tank(35g) only has a watchman goby and cleanup crew. Could I put the damsals in there. Is there alot of problems with damsals? I want to add anthias, maybe a yellow tang or blue tang, and some sort of sand sifting fish. Would they be harmful to large fish like that?
I appreciate all your help.

You could put the damsels in the other tank. They may or may not go after the goby.

If you want to “do this right” start testing everything and get a good understanding of what your tank’s chemistry is doing over time. Don’t jump into any media like GFO, or dose any additives unless you are doing it to specifically address a particular issue that was informed by your testing routine. Blindly throwing this or that into the tank because a youtube video suggested it is a great way to have problems.

 

[jayden kolonne]

You could put the damsels in the other tank. They may or may not go after the goby.

If you want to “do this right” start testing everything and get a good understanding of what your tank’s chemistry is doing over time. Don’t jump into any media like GFO, or dose any additives unless you are doing it to specifically address a particular issue that was informed by your testing routine. Blindly throwing this or that into the tank because a youtube video suggested it is a great way to have problems.

I really like this point, I think that, as someone coming from years of freshwater to saltwater, the amount of stuff I'm told to buy is crazy. My lfs told me to buy calcium, some type of phosphate and some alkalinity. I thought that was crazy so I just asked on here before I bought that. I think you saved me over 600 dollars with those chemicals and dosing systems they wanted me to buy. I like the way smaller fish look next to the bigger fish so I am kinda bummed that I can't keep the damsels, but I trust you know more than me on this one. If you know any small colorful fish like the damsel I would love to know.

 

[Formulator]

I like the way smaller fish look next to the bigger fish so I am kinda bummed that I can't keep the damsels, but I trust you know more than me on this one. If you know any small colorful fish like the damsel I would love to know

I know from experience as I did the same thing 9 years ago when I first started. Cycled the tank with 2 damsels. They killed the next 2 fish I tried to add and that was the end of their time in my tank lol.

There are LOTS of colorful small fish options. Here are some of my favorites that call my tank home now along with my larger blue hippo tang and foxface.

Firefish

Blue-green chromis:

Royal gramma:

Clownfish!

Bartlet Anthias (any anthias are great):

Leopard wrasse (wait a year for this one):

 

[kevgib67]

You have an extremely low bioload , as @Formulator said your salt will keep calcium, magnesium, etc in check until way down the road you have enough livestock that consumption is greater than what you add with the salt with water changes.

 

[jayden kolonne]

I know from experience as I did the same thing 9 years ago when I first started. Cycled the tank with 2 damsels. They killed the next 2 fish I tried to add and that was the end of their time in my tank lol.

There are LOTS of colorful small fish options. Here are some of my favorites that call my tank home now along with my larger blue hippo tang and foxface.

Firefish

Blue-green chromis:

Royal gramma:

Clownfish!

Bartlet Anthias (any anthias are great):

Leopard wrasse (wait a year for this one):
That's amazing, I never thought about blue-green chromis, my local shop told me that they are aggressive. Maybe it depends on where it's from. Do you know where it's from and how many did you get for your tank? I just want to learn. I appreciate all the advice and experience you can give.

 

[jayden kolonne]

You have an extremely low bioload , as @Formulator said your salt will keep calcium, magnesium, etc in check until way down the road you have enough livestock that consumption is greater than what you add with the salt with water changes.

How many fish should I add for a 180 system. Thank you

 

[Formulator]

Chromis are sometimes aggressive toward each other but I’ve never heard of them being tank bullies. I only have one chromis now. At one point I had six in my 120g, but they slowly picked each other off. My story is common, but a few people get lucky and can keep a harem going.

 

[kevgib67]

How many fish should I add for a 180 system. Thank you

It depends on your filtration system and fish size. If it helps I have 7 smallish fish in a 32g , you can do the math because I went to public school. Probably better to get advice from people with large tanks like yours.

 

[Pod_01]

As mentioned I would recommend skimmer for now and add other filtration only to address issues.
I only use skimmer and GAC (2 tablespoons per 60 gal changed every 4 weeks), I use corals as main filtration and others methods as supplement when required.

I use GAC because I have mixed reef and it helps with coral warfare.
I also carbon dose, but mainly to promote bacteria that hopefully provides another food source for corals,

For parameters pick your salt and use that as your target. See how things progress and maybe change at some point.
I like TM Pro reef salt and use it as a baseline.

BRSTV is there to sell, so take what they say with grain of salt. Likely you will not need most of the items but there is nothing wrong with experimenting.

At the start water change will be enough, once it is not (months from now) I would recommend looking into TM AFR.
You can hand dose AFR daily or you can use a doser. It is easy to use and you can pay attention to the fish, corals etc…

Good luck,

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I already have water and 3 damsals that have been in here for 3 months. I want to know about putting carbon in there and gfo, I probably should have been more specific, I heard that gfo takes out phosphates but then you need to add it back. I watched yt videos but it would be easier of there was a list of basic things I need. I also know corals need calcium to grow and I'm not sure what the number is or how to reach it. Sorry if the questions I asked was obvious I just was trying to learn from people with experience .

Hello, it looks like you are studying and trying to learn. There's no way for anyone to take you through everything you are asking all at once. We all learned piece by piece by piece. Each stage we had to master then move up. Keep it simple! Start easy. Learn to keep fish, then keep parameters and nutritions in check. Not with chemistry but water changes and feeding. Learn the basics. When you can keep your tank algae under control then get coral you don't need to dose. Zoa, leather, mushrooms ect. .

Nitrates 10- 25
Phos.03-.1
Cal 380-425
Alk 8-10
Mag 1350-1425.

10- 20% water charges every two weeks

No adding chemicals.
Learn this then you can learn hard coral