successful reef!!!!
Getting bored at work so figured write something and discuss a success in reef??
Successful reef aquarium begins with patience and money and yes I said money because setting up a reef tank and keep it running isn’t cheap…
I like what Mike said in his thread “do it slow” which completely makes sense…
Lets discuss some facts on reef keeping ..Why are we keeping a reef tank do I just want a center piece for my house or I am creating a real mini reef in my house where I am providing its basic needs so that my reef not only stays alive but also thrives and grows..
How many of us jumps up in joy when we see our newly added frag start to encrust the plug or a rock or when we see any growth…right it tells gud job…
Reefkeeping could be as easy as quick feeding tank once a day or could be as complicated as nursing a newly born child. We all hve different daily routines and some spare time so it depend upon us how we choose to do it..
I have been through a simple reefkeeping to a complicating reefkeeping with tons of reactors and dosing but really are all these reactors gives u peace of mind?? I mean we hve more machines that we are are relying on. They can always fail or malfunction .Dose more or less and disturb ur reef. To me its more consuming time because you are always on to make sure that they r working right leaks and etc..Reactors can definitely reduce the work load but not the full stress. Regular husbandry is must may be more with these reactors such as check plumbing leaks cleaning feeding testing and etc etc. Sometimes staring at your tank for atleast a minute a day tells you a lot of stuff going on with in your tank. It atleast helps me for sure..
We see random threads regarding achieving certain water levels or reefers asking what are your water levels. Natural sea water usually measures
Cal 420ppm
Alk 6.5 to 7 dkh
Salinity 34 to 36ppt
Mag 1280ppm
Po4 .005ppm
Lot of us tries to achieve these levels and like making our corals to feel as home but yet struggle growth..
Question is why corals grows fast in ocean???
and answer is because its their home and more importantly they are under a ultra low nutrient very stable water parameters and with random flow providing them a constant food source.
Dosing is important on a very slowly pace only if ur tank requires it but again stability and maintaing the levels is must. Raising levels up and down is like creating an acclimation process within you reef tank aquarium and making them go through a some level of stress.
A stressed reef will always release some sort of toxins which will create further problems. Larger aquariums with loads of water volume can sometimes easily over come but smaller tanks with much less water volume as often become the victim..
On this I completely agree with some of the long time reefers [I dnt wana say “ OLD REEFERS” lol ..] that patience pays off and do it slowly discuss study and than pull the trigger. Test test and test…A happy reef is not easily achived. Believe this or not a simple water change ( dpending upon ur reef tank)with a good salt can easily raise ur trace elements which your reef has consumed over the time. Dose it if it requires knowing the effects and solution to over come from the problems..Again stable water parameters with a constant source of food and yet maintain low nutrients will make your reef happy for ever..
And yes light plays important roll but will discuss some other time….
Happy reefing fellows
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