Few Questions I Cant Find Answers To So Fort Ide Ask You People In The

[craigybaby37]

wanna get a few more things cleared up before i start my mission into nano reefing

question 1 : what water shall i use to fill the tank with....will tap water be ok and if so what stuff do i have to add to the water appart from the marine salt??

question 2 : once i have sorted the water out how much salt to i want to add to the water and how will i got about measuring the salt in the water once i have added it?? and also do i have to add calcium to the tank and how much wil i have to add to the water and how will i go about measuring the amount in the water??

question 3: the tank i am setting the reef up in is a jewel rekord 60 and only has 1 light unit and i know i will need another light tube in there so how can i go about adding another light unit to the tank?? and what bulbs would u recommend using?

question 4: once the other questions have been sorted out when shall i add the live sand and live corals??

and finally once is all sorted when would u say to add a cleanup shrimp and maybe 2 clown fish??

thanks people look forward to ya replys

 

[SkiFletch]

1 - In a nano Reef, I'd reccomend RO or DI water only, tap will likely lead to problems longterm and why risk it?

2 - Follow the instructions on the salt mix you buy. Use a refractometer to measure the salinity and adjust as necessary

3 - Look into power compact lights spanning as much of the length as possible. Probably 36, 55, or 65watt bulbs, one of those.

4 - When your hardware is settled and salt is properly mixed you can consider adding livestock

 

[AndyS]

Question 1 - Not really, RO or distilled water is best to use, water quality is paramount in saltwater systems and tap water has far too many phosphates, nitrates and other compounds that we dont want in our systems, you can usually buy RO water from most LFS and its not expensive. Or buy your own unit and make RO from tap water. If you use RO you only need to add salt.

Question 2 - Calcium will be added from your salt mix (use a good brand, Tropic Marin Pro Reef works for me), you will need to buy either a hydrometer (cheap buy occasionally unreliable) or a Refractometer (expensive but accurate). These will measure how much salt is in the water and its SG (Specific Gravity), just keep adding salt until you reach between 1.023 and 1.025 SG.

Question 3 - Depends on what you plan to keep, soft corals? Hard Corals? just fish and live rock? If its hard corals you want then invest in a metal halide lamp (70w should do) though if you get a set of T5 lights with a spectrum of 10,000k at the least they should support most soft corals and some harder corals.

Question 4 - Add live rock and sand when your RO water has been mixed to the right salt level and is at the right temp (76-80C). DO NOT ADD CORALS YET. The system is not stable to support them, you need to wait a month or two at least until your parameters are stable then do some research.

You can add your cleanup crew once your levels are good. Buy a test kit and test the water regularly. The water will "cycle" when live rock has been added, this can take a few weeks sometimes, be patient. You should be testing for: Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, PH along with salinity and temperature.

Good Luck, read all the sticky'ed threads at the top of the page before you do anything though, and make sure you have all the equipment you need.

Andy

EDIT - damn you and your quick fingers Ski.

 

[Danno]

I highlighted the more important things in red.

1) I know of some people who use tap water but there tank is constantly over-ridden with algae (not the good kind too). I would suggest distilled or R/O water. Distilled you can get for about 68cents per gallon. A lot of larger fish stores sell R/O water (Reverse Osmosis = R/O) If you ask anyone on this forum they either use distilled or R/O and won't use anything else.

2)Salt is measured out in SG(specific gravity). You will want the SG to be between 1.023 and 1.025. When I first looked at those I was thinking it would be very difficult to get it that precise....it is very easy. You measure SG with a Hydrometer or Refractometer. A hydrometer floats in the water and where it floats you read the increments. A refractometer uses a prism that you look through that instantly tells you the SG. I used to use a hydrometer and my measurements weren't as accurate as I wanted them to be. I ended up buying a refractometer off of ebay for dirt cheap. Refractometers are worth the money!!!! It used to take me hours to mix salt water with a hydrometer...it takes me minutes now with a refractometer. Buy a refractometer

3) The lighting on it is insufficient in the Jewel. I would suggest 3 watts per gallon or 3 watts per 11.5 liters got beginner corals (softies, mushrooms, zoos, polyps) Also ditch the filter in the hood… in general… just get rid of the hood. Look for compact fluorescents for your tank. They are cheap and effective. If you want you can do 50/50 bulbs or one bulb 10/14/20K and one bulb actinic.

4) Make sure that you tank is cycled and wait one month after that to add corals. After that be ready to empty out your pockets and your 401(k) funds Since you are going to have a reef you will need live rock. It is about 1 1/4 pounds to 1 3/4 pounds of live rock per gallon. When you add it make sure that nothing is living in your tank as there will be an ammonia spike and is completely normal for cycling your tank. Live sand is not necessary as your live rock will seed your sand. I would suggest agronite sand though.

5) Completely possible to have that but a bigger space is normally recommended. Note if that is what you want to add then your tank will most likely be maxed out.

 

[craigybaby37]

thanks a lot for all the great info people has been a realy help an i think ime ready to start buyin all the equipment to have a crack at the nano reef just 1 thing i forgot to ask.....when doing a weekyl water change i know i have to do it with salt water but how do you lot go about mixing up the salt in the water is it just a case of filling a bucket with r/o or distilled water an adding the salt an gettin the SG to the right level and simply pouring the water into the tank??

 

[Danno]

To mix salt water get a 10 gallon bucket, a cheap heater, a cheap powerhead, and your salinity measuring device (hydrometer/refractometer)
Add your water
Add your powerhead
Add your heater
Add the salt
Wait for the salt to mix
Wait for the water to become a suitable temperature
Test the salinity

Just a little ditty I remembered to remind you with. Tank water evaporates. When it does you need to replace it with FRESH water, NOT salt. Make sure that you keep the level of the water the same so the SG stays as constant as possible.

 

[craigybaby37]

thanks for clearing that up for me think i have everything sorted out now thanks a lot for everyones help again.

 

[AK77]

Just a side note, If you follow the directions mentioned by Danno, set the heater temperature to 20c, unless your refractometer has an ATC or Automatic Temperature Correction feature. Most refractometers don't have the ATC feature and SG is measured @ 20c on those. This will give you a much more accurate reading.

AK

 

[craigybaby37]

ok thank you for the little extra advise.