What's your maintenance routine?

[cvonseggern]

Trying to learn from the pros here - there are so many skilled aquarists in this club and I'd like to keep learning from y'all. I'd like to invite everyone and anyone who's willing to post a quick description of your maintenance routine. What do you do, how often, and how do you do it? I'm curious about water changes, how often you clean the skimmer cup, nutrient/algae export, detritus siphoning, buffering, any other additives, and anything else you do on a regular basis.

I'll start...

Daily -
Feed fish
Feed flower anemone (nursing this one back from a near-death experience & daily feedings seem to help)
Top off with R/O
Remove cyano (letting it go 2-3 days in between lately as the thicker stuff is easier to remove)

Weekly -
Empty skimmer cup (or when full)
5% water change (larger ones lately due to some stupid mistakes affecting water quality)
Direct feed serpent stars (when I can see them)

Maybe there are other things I should be doing? If anybody has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,

Chris

[carlinsa]

your supposed to maintaine it???????????????? :)

[jaded]

Daily -
Feed fish
Top off with R/O
Dose 180cc's of Alk buffer (gary's recipe)
clean glass (new tiger shark magnet rocks!!!)
hand feed sun corals
stare at my corals

Weekly -
clean skimmer inside and out
scrape the coraline off my center brace (water level is high in the tank)

Bi weekly -
test water perams

Monthly -
30 gallon water change (about 20%)
prune GSP and Xenia
Find room for the new corals I'm likely to by

[::pete::]

I am all about manual and stay away from the gadgets!! Its kind of like sanding something ... your hand will let you know when it right.

Daily
I wear the magnet out!!
I feed
I skim semi wet

Bi Daily
Add
Essential Elements
Magnisum
Strontium
Test
Cyclop eze and maybe some Dt's because I have some left.

Weekly

Water change 15 gallons on a 180
Clean the glass
Vacumn Detritus ect

Constantly dripping kalk as make up

I dont get as far as monthly ... :D

[hobogato]

daily
feed fish, DT
clean glass
RO topoff
1/2 sheet of nori morning and evening

Weekly
10% water change
clean skimmer collectioncup and riser tube
add essential elements, molybdenum & strontium, coralvite, iodine, and zoecon

biweekly
change active charcoal in sock filter.

(edit)
i forgot, i also test alk, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, calcium biweekly

[gjuarez]

Daily
Feed Fish
Top off RO/DI
Clean glass

Nightly
Dose Kalkwasser

Weekly
Clean Skimmer and collection cup
Syphon detritus out of the sump
Test Parameters, I dont test as often as I should like Pete, my livestock tells me when something is not right.
Add B-Ionic, usually part B because I use Oceanic salt


Bi Weekly
20% water change

[Reef69]

Daily: Feed fish
Clean algea off glass
Top off evap.
Refill nori clip twice a day.


Weekly:Clean the whole skimmer.
Change big white filter for clean one.
Trim macro and mangroves.

Bi-weekly: 45 gallon water change on 125 (because i can, LOL)

[brewercm]

Daily: Feed fish
Clean glass
Top off done auto from my RO/DI and float valve at sump.
Will be dripping kalk once load is higher and needed

Weakly: Clean skimmer cup
Change filter pad

Monthly: 25 to 35 gal water change

[JeffCo]

Daily
Feed Fish
Constantly dose kalkwasser with topoff
Change 100 micron filter sock
Dose alk & calcium through calcium reactor
skim wet

Weekly
Empty 5 gallon bucket used for skimmate collection
Add magnesium
Clean glass with magnet cleaner

Bi Weekly
50 gallon water change by syphoning detritus off barebottom or skimming very wet
Spray detritus off of rocks with maxijet 1200
clean skimmer cup and neck

Monthly
Test Parameters: Calcium, Alk, and Magnesium.
Add Kalkwasser to Kalkreactor

[NaCl_H2O]

Daily:
Feed, either flakes of Brine/Mysis
2-3 x per week - Phytoplankton or similar for clams & fileter feeders
I don't feed anything by hand

As needed:
clean glass panels - probably 3-4 x per week
clean salt creep, scrub overflows - maybe once every two weeks
Empty/clean skimmer cup - 2-3 x per week

Water maint:
Top off Kalk water constantly, add Kalk when PH of effluent drops below 12.0
Ca reactor runs 24x7 - adjust to effluent PH = 6.5
Ozone generator on ORP controller
I don't dose ANYTHING ELSE
15%-20% water change every two weeks (IO salt)
Run carbon 24x7 - Replace about every 2 weeks
Filter floss above Wet/Dry - Replace at least weekly

Less frequently - as needed:
Take appart and clean pumps - about every 60-90 days
drain and clean skimmer & pump - 3+ months

Water testing:
PH several times/week
Ca/Dkh - probably weekly
Amm/NO2/NO3 - Rarely, only if I suspect something and need to rule it out
RO/DI TDS - Before making RO/DI for a water change
Replace RO/DI Filters if TDS can't get below 5 with flushing

Actually, there is no "Schedule" to any of this except maybe the water changes. I examine everything daily and do maintenance when I "sense" the need ... like Pete said, "your hand will let you know when it is right"

[C.Mydas]

DAILY:
stare at tank, harass the pepermint shrimp if I can...lol
feed (about 10 pieces of brine, and 1 drop cyclops EVERY OTHER 2 DAYS)
top off with RO/DI (about every other day)

Bi Weekly:
50-100% water change (depending on how mangled the starfish is from the harlequins eating on it)

scrub glass (with a toothbrush...no magnets for me...lol)

vacuum sand bed (takes 20mins if the starfish is in one piece...takes 2 hours if they've demolished it...and the fact that Im a perfectionist so its gotta be sparkling) lol. I turkey baster the sand to stir it all up, let it settle, vacuum, repeat. over and over...very relaxing actually...lol. I also baster the rocks to make sure nothing is collecting on them either.

Vacuum back chambers of the tank out too.

When I first put the starfish in I get away with weekly water changes, but after the first week and 1/2 I have to up the changes.

No real weekly or monthly schedule, except replacing carbon as needed.

[Reef69]

..And you should see the way that nano looks.. :shades :pics

[C.Mydas]

:blush
Thanks.

[AlexKilpatrick]

DAILY:
Bi Weekly:
50-100% water change (depending on how mangled the starfish is from the harlequins eating on it)


Wow! You do that much of a water change? That's a lot of work. Is this a hunch, or do you see an actual effect from not doing it? Have you tried smaller water changes?

[AlexKilpatrick]

I have a question for those of you that test a lot (pete). How often do your tests show a problem? And when they do, what you do about it?

[Reef69]

In a tank that small and as stocked as it is, any parameter swing can be lethal, so you gotta keep the water immaculate. Keep in mind the harlequin shrimp are tearing the starfish appart, so all the residue rotts in the water, so you gotta keep the water quality high.

[C.Mydas]

Well said Diego. Nanos are a lot of work, especially if you put messy eaters in there. I dont have the luxury of not doing big water changes, Ive got to get the pieces of starfish the harlequins dont eat out, and then replace the water so my nutrient levels dont climb. Like I said it depends on how messy the harlequins are being. If they arent being too bad then I can get away with 1 50% change a week, if they decide to be picky eaters and throw a lot of it away then Im doing more and larger water changes. LOL..I wouldnt change it for the world!!

[AlexKilpatrick]

Oh, it is a nano. Nevermind. :roll A 50% water change in a nano is no big deal.

[C.Mydas]

lol...yeah maybe we should include size in this post.

[z28pwr]

DAILY:

Feed Fish

Top Off Tank Every 3 Days


Every Quarter:
Get off my butt and clean the skimmer and the viewing pane.


I know once I get more fish I won't be able to be so lazy, but for the meantime I like it :D .