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Boulder Creek - New Fish

DreadPirateRoberts

Supporting Member
Hello BAR! I am so excited that I stumbled across this group last weekend. My neighbor talked me into starting a saltwater tank in April of last year and I love it, but I honestly don't have a clue. I've spent so much time searching online for info and feel like I've only gone in circles. I'm stoked to have this opportunity and I honestly have so many questions I don't really know where to start. Any advise for the beginner is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Welcome to the club! I only started a couple years ago, so you can definitely learn a lot in a short time.

What system do you have? What are you trying to keep? What do you want to know? Happy to help in any way I can.
 
Such an amazing group, thanks for the warm welcome. I have a 15 gallon tank (fluval flex) and realize now I wish I started bigger. Water changes are a pain because I'm stocking up on water from Neptune and that is a pretty good haul for me. Is there any way to create suitable water at home to make water changes easier? My main goal is to set up an amazing reef tank. I've purchased a total of 5 frags to date and 3 remain. 2 don't appear to be opening as much as they initially did and the zoa I put in the tank has never opened. I have 2 clowns, a few turbo snails and a handful of blue leg hermit crabs. I'm questioning if I have the correct flow, light and coral placement in my tank. I'm running the stock pump plus and a small power head. I have a the stock light going and a fluvalsmart aquasky and I'm guessing I need a better light setup altogether. Placement of the corals, I'm just moving them around from time to time to see if they become happier in one spot over another. No such luck....
I'll post some pics shortly.

I test water regularly and all parameters are pretty consistent as follows:
water temp=79 deg
SG=1.027
Phosphate=0.03ppm
pH=7.8
Ammonia=0
Nitrite=0
Nitrate=5ppm

I'm using an API master test kit, probably not the most accurate but should be pretty close right?
Also, should I consider adding a small protein skimmer?

svreef, thanks for the DM. I will reach out for sure.
ArvinR, I hope the info I provided is enough to point me in the right direction.
IOnce, any advise you are willing to share I would greatly appreciate it.
KensingtonReefer, no doubt about that, runner up to the best $30 I've ever spent!
 
Mixing your water is an easy task; there are different salt mixes available but you’ll need an RODI unit. Depending if you own or rent, possibilities could be endless or limited.
Here you’ll find the best info and the best-est people to help you walk to a beautiful piece of ocean.
 
Such an amazing group, thanks for the warm welcome. I have a 15 gallon tank (fluval flex) and realize now I wish I started bigger. Water changes are a pain because I'm stocking up on water from Neptune and that is a pretty good haul for me. Is there any way to create suitable water at home to make water changes easier? My main goal is to set up an amazing reef tank. I've purchased a total of 5 frags to date and 3 remain. 2 don't appear to be opening as much as they initially did and the zoa I put in the tank has never opened. I have 2 clowns, a few turbo snails and a handful of blue leg hermit crabs. I'm questioning if I have the correct flow, light and coral placement in my tank. I'm running the stock pump plus and a small power head. I have a the stock light going and a fluvalsmart aquasky and I'm guessing I need a better light setup altogether. Placement of the corals, I'm just moving them around from time to time to see if they become happier in one spot over another. No such luck....
I'll post some pics shortly.

I test water regularly and all parameters are pretty consistent as follows:
water temp=79 deg
SG=1.027
Phosphate=0.03ppm
pH=7.8
Ammonia=0
Nitrite=0
Nitrate=5ppm

I'm using an API master test kit, probably not the most accurate but should be pretty close right?
Also, should I consider adding a small protein skimmer?

svreef, thanks for the DM. I will reach out for sure.
ArvinR, I hope the info I provided is enough to point me in the right direction.
IOnce, any advise you are willing to share I would greatly appreciate it.
KensingtonReefer, no doubt about that, runner up to the best $30 I've ever spent!
For water at home, buy an RODI system. The ones sold on BRS are good or you can get one on amazon. Then just buy reef salt of your choice and mix your own salt water. I've got a liquagen 75gpd and am pretty happy with it but will be getting the 150gpd upgrade ro membrane kit to reduce waste water.

Once we see a picture if the tank we can help with coral placement. SG is a little high at 1.027 but not high enough to piss anything off imo. 1.024/1.025 is usually the target but SG stability matters more as long as it's not super far off from 1.025.

Lighting and flow can definitely cause a coral to not open too.
 
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Great start. If you are not running an ATO I would highly recommend adding one. With smaller tanks, swings in parameters are much more detrimental. With running a higher salinity also runs the risk of pushing stability over the gray line we already tread with nano tanks.

What is your husbandry routine?
 
Such an amazing group, thanks for the warm welcome. I have a 15 gallon tank (fluval flex) and realize now I wish I started bigger. Water changes are a pain because I'm stocking up on water from Neptune and that is a pretty good haul for me. Is there any way to create suitable water at home to make water changes easier? My main goal is to set up an amazing reef tank. I've purchased a total of 5 frags to date and 3 remain. 2 don't appear to be opening as much as they initially did and the zoa I put in the tank has never opened. I have 2 clowns, a few turbo snails and a handful of blue leg hermit crabs. I'm questioning if I have the correct flow, light and coral placement in my tank. I'm running the stock pump plus and a small power head. I have a the stock light going and a fluvalsmart aquasky and I'm guessing I need a better light setup altogether. Placement of the corals, I'm just moving them around from time to time to see if they become happier in one spot over another. No such luck....
I'll post some pics shortly.

I test water regularly and all parameters are pretty consistent as follows:
water temp=79 deg
SG=1.027
Phosphate=0.03ppm
pH=7.8
Ammonia=0
Nitrite=0
Nitrate=5ppm

I'm using an API master test kit, probably not the most accurate but should be pretty close right?
Also, should I consider adding a small protein skimmer?

svreef, thanks for the DM. I will reach out for sure.
ArvinR, I hope the info I provided is enough to point me in the right direction.
IOnce, any advise you are willing to share I would greatly appreciate it.
KensingtonReefer, no doubt about that, runner up to the best $30 I've ever spent!
I'll second the comment that getting an RODI system is a great investment. It not only saves you time but also money, and you get a lot more control over the water you put in your tank.

I will also second DaddyHook's suggestion of getting an ATO. Salinity is, bar none, your most important parameter because it influences every single other parameter in your tank. I'm also a big proponent of automation in reefkeeping because my philosophy is that, the less you *have* to do, the more you'll enjoy it.

On that note, I'd also highly recommend not relying on the internal thermostat of your heater. Not only can they be inaccurate, but - if it fails in the 'on' position - you can cook your tank. Something like this is a good investment, and also lets you hook up a fan to the cooling element: https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Waterproof/dp/B08VNRJRKY (NOTE: if you do buy one like this, make sure you get the one with the waterproof probe like in the link; the metal probe will corrode).

Flow is more art than science. You can play around with it a bit but I'm of the opinion it's something that you just have to kind of 'feel out' and see what your corals like. Caveats apply (don't put LPS like frogspawn right in front of a powerhead on full blast, for instance), but there's no 'right' answer here.

Salinity is your most important parameter, and typically you'll want to aim for 1.024-1.026. pH is also pretty important, and is usually 8.0 - 8.4 (though my frag tank downstairs hovers around 7.9 - 8.0, and is fine as well), but that's something you typically don't mess with. Alkalinity is your next most important parameter, particularly if you're going to be keeping stony corals (anything that's not a zoa, mushroom, kenya tree, etc). Alkalinity helps keep your pH stable, influences calcium and magnesium levels, and the target range is 7 to 12 (though the most common range, anecdotally, is 8 to 9).

As for a protein skimmer - generally, a protein skimmer is a good idea (increases oxygenation/helps keep pH in range, helps with NO3/PO4 control), but I don't think it's an immediate necessity.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is: stability is key. That's not to say you need to keep your numbers EXACT (there will always be fluctuations throughout the day, and you'll come to realize the 'range' of things being okay), but keeping your water chemistry mostly the same from day-to-day gives your tank the best opportunity to grow and thrive.
 
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Thanks for all of the input. I sincerely appreciate it! I'll look into an ATO. Any preferred manufacturer or ones to stay away from?

Great call on the heater, I didn't consider that it could get stuck on. I'll look into the thermostat tonight as well.

Salinity comment noted, I'll see what I can do to bring it down and maintain consistency.

Is lighting not so important or do I need to consider a better reef light as well? If so, any recommendations?

I've been consistently doing 30-50% water changes every 2 weeks. As soon as I get my RODI I'll bump that up to once a week. I rinse the filter at every water change. Feeding fish a small amount every other day and target feed corals once a week.
 
Welcome to the club!!
How is your filtration set up in back take the cover off and post a few pics. I would ditch the large thick sponge they come since they clog easy and slow the water movement. They can end up being a nitrate factory if left to long. improvise a trey where the water comes in on top and cut some filter floss to fit so the water pours on it first. This helps keeps all the crap outa the back chamber which is hard to clean out.Then just toss it out when it gets dirty.Filter floss comes in large rolls and will last you a long time.
Also you don't need any bio media like those ceramic balls in the back since your live rock is your biofiltter. That space can better be used for chemical media of your choice (like activated carbon, PhosGuard, Purigen, etc) or bags of Boyd chemi- pure which has both in the bags. A combination of two different chemical medias is commonly used but not mandatory each to their own preferences. They also have media baskets available that slide in and hold whatever you decide to put in back...There are alota filter mods people have done with your same setup and have posted online. BEST OF LUCK!! And yes small tanks are fun but inevitably most all go bigger over time just more room to work with and some corals get pretty large with long sweeper tentacles that will kill other corals so just becarful on that note.
Paul
 
Thanks for all of the input. I sincerely appreciate it! I'll look into an ATO. Any preferred manufacturer or ones to stay away from?

Great call on the heater, I didn't consider that it could get stuck on. I'll look into the thermostat tonight as well.

Salinity comment noted, I'll see what I can do to bring it down and maintain consistency.

Is lighting not so important or do I need to consider a better reef light as well? If so, any recommendations?

I've been consistently doing 30-50% water changes every 2 weeks. As soon as I get my RODI I'll bump that up to once a week. I rinse the filter at every water change. Feeding fish a small amount every other day and target feed corals once a week.
For the ATO, my go-to recommendation is a Tunze 3155 ATO. It has both an optical and float switch for redundancy, can be found for ~$100-120 used, and is an excellent piece of hardware. I also like the AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro, and have that on my frag tank (my 20 gallon and 54 gallon tanks both use the 3155). If you want to go a cheaper/lower-tech route, you can make a gravity-fed ATO (@thesassyindian , I believe, went this route).

Lighting is important, though I admit I'm not familiar with the stock light on that tank in question. A quick Google search indicates that it's a freshwater tank (and presumably, light), so - if so - I'd strongly recommend switching to a light meant for growing coral. Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong (I know virtually nothing about freshwater tanks) but I believe the light intensity/balance is vastly different for freshwater tanks versus saltwater tanks.

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but - if you can wait several weeks - I'd be happy to give you an AI Prime 16HD with a mounting arm (it's over my 10 gallon right now, but I'll be breaking it down soon). You can download presets so you don't have to futz with lighting balance, it should provide more than enough coverage for your tank, is targeted towards keeping corals, and has a lot of nifty features you can play with. My only request is that, if you upgrade, you pay it forward to another member since this was also given to me as a gift.

EDIT: We should also be having a frag swap next month. If so, I highly encourage you to attend: members are always happy to provide frags for newcomers to attend, it's a great opportunity to meet people and learn, and I *promise* you will leave with more coral than you know what to do with.
 
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