Reef nutrition

newbie alert!

sp408

sp408

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Hello everyone,

been snooping around BAR for a couples months, finally decided to make an appearance.


I recently joined the saltwater hobby. 2.5 months ago i had no knowledge of this, 2.5 months later i still don't know much but i do have a 40 gallon IM tank set up lol still got a lot to learn.



Tank: Innovative marine 40g with sock filters
Light: Kessil A360WE with Spectral controller
Skimmer: Innovative marine ghost mid-size
Return pump: stock
Powerhead: Vortech MP10
Media reactor: Innovative marine minimax all-in-one
Heater: Colbat Aquatics

everything from equipment, corals, fishes, inverts, rocks, and water were all purchased from Neptune Aquatics.

I originally started with rubble subtract but just wasn't feeling the look, so i ended up swapping out to Tropic Eden Flakes.

Measurements
High Range pH : 8.2
Ammonia : 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0-10 ppm ( just cant seem to get it down to 0)

so far nothing has died besides an emerald crab

below is how the tank currently looks.


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side shot

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up close

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how the tank looked when it first came home and during cycle ( rock work were rearranged a few times) :confused::eek:o_O

set up.JPG
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learning process continues.... :)
 

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Last edited:
Welcome! Looks like you're off to a good start and I agree tank looks better with sand vs rubble. One suggestion, don't aim for 0 for nitrates, you'll very likely starve out your coral. The zooxanthellae in your coral need a source of nitrogen for photosynthesis that in turns feeds your coral and provides amino acids to them. Generally, as long as your tank inhabitants are happy and you're not having crazy algae or cyanobacteria blooms, an elevated nitrate level is nothing to worry about (as long as it's not off the charts) - 5-10 ppm is nothing to worry about. If you do choose to aim for something, I'd recommend 5ppm nitrates.
 
Looks great! Welcome. Have you been testing phosphate? Any algae problems yet? Agree that your nitrate levels are fine, but as you add fish it will likely go up and you'll have to start thinking more about nutrient export.


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Great work. Welcome to bar. Very good equipment choice as well.
Do you have sump?
Neptune aquatics is awesome, hands down one of the best/honest lfs in the area. You are less likely to have pests, since most of their livestock is captive propagated, not harvested from ocean.
 
RandyC said:
Welcome! Looks like you're off to a good start and I agree tank looks better with sand vs rubble. One suggestion, don't aim for 0 for nitrates, you'll very likely starve out your coral. The zooxanthellae in your coral need a source of nitrogen for photosynthesis that in turns feeds your coral and provides amino acids to them. Generally, as long as your tank inhabitants are happy and you're not having crazy algae or cyanobacteria blooms, an elevated nitrate level is nothing to worry about (as long as it's not off the charts) - 5-10 ppm is nothing to worry about. If you do choose to aim for something, I'd recommend 5ppm nitrates.
Click to expand...

ahh good to know, i always thought 0 ppm was the goal.

Gablami said:
Looks great! Welcome. Have you been testing phosphate? Any algae problems yet? Agree that your nitrate levels are fine, but as you add fish it will likely go up and you'll have to start thinking more about nutrient export.


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Click to expand...

i haven't ran any test for phosphate yet. is there a kit you recommend?

roostertech said:
Very nice work for 2.5 months!

And your clown fish actually move around the tank! (mine stick to the back corners)
Click to expand...

thanks! my 2 clowns are pretty active and they get along very well with the other 2 firefish ( wish i went with the purple firefish )

i've been wanting to get a RBT for the clowns but all those horrors stories about them killing other corals or getting chopped in the powerheads scares me lol



gabloo said:
Your tank look amazing!
Click to expand...
tankguy said:
welcome
Click to expand...

thanks!
 
Ranjib Dey said:
Great work. Welcome to bar. Very good equipment choice as well.
Do you have sump?
Neptune aquatics is awesome, hands down one of the best/honest lfs in the area. You are less likely to have pests, since most of their livestock is captive propagated, not harvested from ocean.
Click to expand...

no sump at the moment

and i agree, i've tried couple different LFS in san jose but always end up walking out empty handed
 
sp408 said:
i haven't ran any test for phosphate yet. is there a kit you recommend?
Click to expand...
I like the Red Sea pro kit for phosphate to start, and once you've figured out your style of reefing can get a Hanna checker for phosphate if you're planning a non-ultra low nutrient system, or the Hanna checker for phosphorus if you're planning for an ULNS.




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Need some opinion guys..

For my tank, would you run..

1 vortech mp10
2 vortech mp10
1 vortech mp10 + gyre
1 vortech mp10 + a koralia

What do you think would be best?

Tank is mainly LPS
 
If I were you I would do 2 mp10, since you already have one and in sync or anti sync they can work together to give you nice random flow. But for LPS only, a single mp10 is probably more than sufficient. If you have sps, I would add more.

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What are you doing for maintaining alk and Ca?

For a 3 month old reefer with a 3 month old tank, that's a lot of corals to be adding that quickly. Quite a few are stony as well.

I encourage you to slow down. Understand the chemistry of your tank 1st.

Also learn about the corals you are adding. That elegance in the back top left will probably need to come down to the sandbed. They don't usually like too much light.

That new clam will suck up alk n Ca if it starts to grow. It needs very stable water parameters as well.


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