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1 hour ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

I wish I had the motivation to test all the time lol. All I test is alk now. I go by how the corals look. If all of them look unhappy I'll get the test kits out and see how everything is. Right now the corals are looking the best I've ever seen them. I'm not too concerned on nutrient levels anymore since I've gone bare bottom. The flow in the tank has all the shit collecting in one spot so water change day I just suck it all out. I only have one fish so I don't really get to over feed and if I do it's easy to stir up dead spots and have the overflow take care of the rest. 

I only test alk twice a week and everything else maybe every 3 months if I'm bored. Chasing gets ya screwed....sometimes I want to tell noobies go only buy alk kit so they don't chase stuff.

 

The exception is my SPS tank because it hits 0 Nitrate without help from me so I have to keep trying to dose that up. So annoying. I am determined to find a way to dirty it up without dosing.

 

I may not purchase new test kits when they expire except for alk.

 

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
1 minute ago, Tamberav said:

I only test alk twice a week and everything else maybe every 3 months if I'm bored. Chasing gets ya screwed....sometimes I want to tell noobies go only buy alk kit so they don't chase stuff.

 

The exception is my SPS tank because it hits 0 Nitrate without help from me so I have to keep trying to dose that up. So annoying. I am determined to find a way to dirty it up without dosing.

 

 

Since i'm starting to get my feet wet with sps, Is higher nitrate really that bad for them? So far the monti's I have are doing well, haven't checked nitrates in the new tank yet so no idea where it's, but they seem happy so far 😀

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER

I have been testing alk everyday. Trying to get a feel for how much consumption i'm getting. So far i'm loosing .1 dkh a day as all my corals are growing really well. 

@Tamberav

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8 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

I have been testing alk everyday. Trying to get a feel for how much consumption i'm getting. So far i'm loosing .1 dkh a day as all my corals are growing really well. 

@Tamberav

I don’t understand dosing alk. I don’t have SPS but my alk stays right at 9-11 without me doing anything. What do you even dose for that? Bicarb?

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16 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Since i'm starting to get my feet wet with sps, Is higher nitrate really that bad for them? So far the monti's I have are doing well, haven't checked nitrates in the new tank yet so no idea where it's, but they seem happy so far 😀

Higher nitrates generally turns them shit brown. I have 2 Montiporas that I use as my indicators in the last 2 coral runs I have. If they're the right colour, everything's good, if they're brown, time to up the vinegar.

 

Nothing wrong with black box lights, I use them on my runs. Cheap and they do what they're supposed to do.

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10 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said:

Higher nitrates generally turns them shit brown. I have 2 Montiporas that I use as my indicators in the last 2 coral runs I have. If they're the right colour, everything's good, if they're brown, time to up the vinegar.

 

Nothing wrong with black box lights, I use them on my runs. Cheap and they do what they're supposed to do.

Those black boxes are what my LFS uses I think, but it’s even bigger than all the crap I currently have on there. 

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27 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Since i'm starting to get my feet wet with sps, Is higher nitrate really that bad for them? So far the monti's I have are doing well, haven't checked nitrates in the new tank yet so no idea where it's, but they seem happy so far 😀

Too low and they look pale....too high and they might brown too low PO4 will outright kill them and too high makes them turn greenish.

 

But plenty of tanks don:t follow this rule at all....so we start questioning the rules...

 

Sanjays tank has 50+ Nitrate and 0.4 PO4...

 

Soo hmm?

 

sanjay-jpg.376801

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
15 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said:

Higher nitrates generally turns them shit brown. I have 2 Montiporas that I use as my indicators in the last 2 coral runs I have. If they're the right colour, everything's good, if they're brown, time to up the vinegar.

 

Nothing wrong with black box lights, I use them on my runs. Cheap and they do what they're supposed to do.

Oh wow, I didn't know that was a way to tell. My montis are beautiful so I guess I'm doing something right lol. 

 

24 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

I don’t understand dosing alk. I don’t have SPS but my alk stays right at 9-11 without me doing anything. What do you even dose for that? Bicarb?

My alk was the same all the time. As my lps and the sps i have now grow, they are using up the alk pretty quickly. It's just at the point that the water change doesn't keep it where it should be.

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
2 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Too low and they look pale....too high and they might brown too low PO4 will outright kill them and too high makes them turn greenish.

 

But plenty of tanks don:t follow this rule at all....so we start questioning the rules...

 

Sanjays tank has 50+ Nitrate and 0.4 PO4...

 

Soo hmm?

 

sanjay-jpg.376801

Very true, it comes down to keeping whatever you have stable I think. Corals seem pretty hardy as long as you don't tinker with them much. Sanjay's tank is so pretty.. it's like the tank we all want lol.  

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2 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Too low and they look pale....too high and they might brown too low PO4 will outright kill them and too high makes them turn greenish.

 

But plenty of tanks don:t follow this rule at all....so we start questioning the rules...

 

Sanjays tank has 50+ Nitrate and 0.4 PO4...

 

Soo hmm?

 

sanjay-jpg.376801

See this is why I get so confused because like you said--everybody's tank is different. I want to get where I know these things by sight. 

 

I will stop dosing NoPox for a few days and see what that gets me. If it makes everybody look happier in there, I'll just stick to not using it anymore. The decrease on the fussing factor is still a work in progress. And I'm pretty sure I am gonna spring for a new light system after I get all my textbooks and school supplies seen to. Last thing will be new powerheads--maybe my Christmas or anniversary present. Then I hope this puzzle will be complete!!!

 

This has been awesome today- I'm SOOO thankful for everybody chiming in on my thread today and teaching me so much. Someday maybe my tank will be chock full of gorgeousness thanks to all of y'all!!!

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7 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Oh wow, I didn't know that was a way to tell. My montis are beautiful so I guess I'm doing something right lol. 

 

My alk was the same all the time. As my lps and the sps i have now grow, they are using up the alk pretty quickly. It's just at the point that the water change doesn't keep it where it should be.

But if I ever get to that point (likely not for a long time) what DO you use for that? I've seen using bicarb for emergencies, but what do most people dose to preserve alk? I definitely need to get myself to a place where I don't have to do big weekly water changes because my water bill is deeply unhappy right now from all the RODI making.

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
1 minute ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

See this is why I get so confused because like you said--everybody's tank is different. I want to get where I know these things by sight. 

 

I will stop dosing NoPox for a few days and see what that gets me. If it makes everybody look happier in there, I'll just stick to not using it anymore. The decrease on the fussing factor is still a work in progress. And I'm pretty sure I am gonna spring for a new light system after I get all my textbooks and school supplies seen to. Last thing will be new powerheads--maybe my Christmas or anniversary present. Then I hope this puzzle will be complete!!!

 

This has been awesome today- I'm SOOO thankful for everybody chiming in on my thread today and teaching me so much. Someday maybe my tank will be chock full of gorgeousness thanks to all of y'all!!!

I really enjoyed reading all the comments in here when I got home. It's nice to hear everyone's experiences and the advice. 

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
Just now, Dirté Sanchez said:

But if I ever get to that point (likely not for a long time) what DO you use for that? I've seen using bicarb for emergencies, but what do most people dose to preserve alk? I definitely need to get myself to a place where I don't have to do big weekly water changes because my water bill is deeply unhappy right now from all the RODI making.

Oh yeah sorry 😂. I use the seachem fusion 2 two part. I have some syringes i bought off amazon for measuring out. It works good so far and I'm able to keep the alk stable between water changes. It's a little lower than i'd like right now, but I'm getting ready to do a water change. 

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3 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

But if I ever get to that point (likely not for a long time) what DO you use for that? I've seen using bicarb for emergencies, but what do most people dose to preserve alk? I definitely need to get myself to a place where I don't have to do big weekly water changes because my water bill is deeply unhappy right now from all the RODI making.

I use BRS 2 part...ESV is popular too. 

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Sanjay has been doing this a little longer than me. I never got into the sticks. If everything's looking good with no algae over growth, keep up with the water changes and watch what happens. I only run 1/2c of Phosguard on my systems and change it monthly. All of my home tanks are different. The 57 and 50 cube are water changes and replace the Phosguard monthly, same with the 700g coral runs at the shop. They get HUGE water changes when the corals ship out. I do keep my algae grazers on the high side, meaning there's a metric shittonne of them in all of the systems. LOTS of blennies and tangs, yes, even in a 2' cube and 3' tank F*CK THE TANG POLICE!!!!

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4 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Oh yeah sorry 😂. I use the seachem fusion 2 two part. I have some syringes i bought off amazon for measuring out. It works good so far and I'm able to keep the alk stable between water changes. It's a little lower than i'd like right now, but I'm getting ready to do a water change. 

Oh I have that stuff. I haven't been able to use it though because the calcium and alk levels have been high normals. Good to know that I'm already covered though!

 

7 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

I really enjoyed reading all the comments in here when I got home. It's nice to hear everyone's experiences and the advice. 

YES the comments have been awesome. I feel like I just earned a college credit for reef keeping today. I needed all this information!!!

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5 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said:

Sanjay has been doing this a little longer than me. I never got into the sticks. If everything's looking good with no algae over growth, keep up with the water changes and watch what happens. I only run 1/2c of Phosguard on my systems and change it monthly. All of my home tanks are different. The 57 and 50 cube are water changes and replace the Phosguard monthly, same with the 700g coral runs at the shop. They get HUGE water changes when the corals ship out. I do keep my algae grazers on the high side, meaning there's a metric shittonne of them in all of the systems. LOTS of blennies and tangs, yes, even in a 2' cube and 3' tank F*CK THE TANG POLICE!!!!

I have a TON of clean up crew too. The CBA and the yellow tang work hard for me in there too. I like watching them graze, but then I'm a horse owner so grazing things make me happy.

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1 minute ago, Tamberav said:

For nanos.......I just toss a tuxedo urchin and a Mexican turbo in and bye bye algae.

My Evo has a hair algae problem on one single rock and a SUPER lazy emerald crab. Tons of margaritas in there too-they all pass the grass patch by. A little frustrating but I can always just pull the stuff out with forceps.

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4 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

My Evo has a hair algae problem on one single rock and a SUPER lazy emerald crab. Tons of margaritas in there too-they all pass the grass patch by. A little frustrating but I can always just pull the stuff out with forceps.

See if you can find an urchin, they're great in tiny tanks. Emerald crabs are some kinda lazy bastards. I get urchins in all the time on wild caught stuff, Fiji was great for getting them for free when we were getting corals from there. Cowries and limpets are also a good choice.

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
2 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said:

See if you can find an urchin, they're great in tiny tanks. Emerald crabs are some kinda lazy bastards. I get urchins in all the time on wild caught stuff, Fiji was great for getting them for free when we were getting corals from there. Cowries and limpets are also a good choice.

Don't urchins run all over the corals? I'd have to think that would be bad for them..

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1 minute ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Don't urchins run all over the corals? I'd have to think that would be bad for them..

My urchins have always been gentle with their feet and spines. Although tuxedos will pick up anything for a hat if it's not glued down but the coral opens up even on their head.

 

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4 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said:

See if you can find an urchin, they're great in tiny tanks. Emerald crabs are some kinda lazy bastards. I get urchins in all the time on wild caught stuff, Fiji was great for getting them for free when we were getting corals from there. Cowries and limpets are also a good choice.

Which kind of urchin? The LFS has them and likes to sell them a lot but they usually have different pencil urchins and they're HUGE. Oh, and to make sure it wouldn't get munched on by the crabs in there. There's a Halloween, an electric blue, the emerald, a strawberry and a porcelain. And assorted dwarf blue legs. Never know what  they will or won't go eating these days. They got both my little gobies 😢

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7 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

Which kind of urchin? The LFS has them and likes to sell them a lot but they usually have different pencil urchins and they're HUGE. Oh, and to make sure it wouldn't get munched on by the crabs in there. There's a Halloween, an electric blue, the emerald, a strawberry and a porcelain. And assorted dwarf blue legs. Never know what  they will or won't go eating these days. They got both my little gobies 😢

Crabs? More like hostages!

 

DSC_0128.jpg.a6d355bda33eb6a9554409f006c

 

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1 minute ago, Tamberav said:

Crabs? More like hostages!

 

DSC_0128.jpg.a6d355bda33eb6a9554409f006c

 

That's a great picture!! 😂😂😂 The little scarlet looks so surprised and befuddled.

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