New to the hobby, I have and 24gal nanocube and a 125gal reef tank. Need help!! Thanks!

[mlaneusmc]

Hey everyone, I hope this forum is a little more active. I have already joined 3 and like no one is on the site or something. Anyways, so i guess my main questions are about water chemistry. Idk what all to really test for besides the basics, or how to adjust levels correctly. I am looking to create and beautiful reef tank with corals of all kinds and fish. Ive spent hours on the computer reading all sorts of things and idk where to start. As of right now the tank is setup, I kept 80 gallons of the original water, the tank we very mature of 10 years and has 150lb of figi live rock covered in coroline algae. I have been buying my RO water from my local store but the 150g setup came with a RODI unit so i decided to make 10 gallons (which took like forever) and i did a 5gal water change in my smaller 24g cube and just topped off the 125gal. So its clear now that i should have replaced the rodi filters (which I did do now just waiting on the new membrane to come in) bc the next day my cube was looking weird, the coral in there was looking weird and there is brown crap forming all around the place and for the 125gal tank, i have brown stuff forming all over the place, even on my beautiful rock which really sucks. What should i do to address this and fix this problems ASAP. Also i am on well water with high iron levels. I look forward to all the help possible. Thanks!

Michael

 

[twilliard]

Welcome to R2R!
Alkalinity and calcium are a good start. Find the method that works best for you (dosing) and work at keeping the numbers stable.

 

[jsker]

Welcome To R2R
As @twilliard suggested testing Ca, Alk, Mg, NO3, and PO4's it pretty much what you need to test. I would look into the balling method link for ease of dosing your system

 

[mlaneusmc]

Thanks for the quick feedback bros! Should i test these everyday or weekly or what? And the balling method? Im looking for a quicker, easier yet accurate way to test and "dose" my tank. I really want something that is over the top. Thanks!

 

[jenreefer]

Look into the Apex system with probes. It will be a good start. Getting a TDS meter to check your RO water is important also.

But first, read, read, read on this site. There is a ton of great information here to help you understand how to get a stable flourishing tank.

Have you decided what type of tank you want? coral? fish? It is important to begin with the end in mind so as you purchase stuff you are moving towards your goals.

 

[mlaneusmc]

I will look in to the Apex now. And yes i read about the TDS and ordered one with a new membrane for my BFS RODI unit. As far as goals, i really want unique bright color corals and some fish in the 125g tank with 40gal sump. Ill take any advise!

 

[jenreefer]

Well, you need to decide if you want soft corals, hard corals (SPS +/- LPS) or a mixed tank. They are are beautiful, but do not all play nice with each other. There are many successful mixed tanks, but seems more and more are moving to one or the other. As for fish, you need to choose your coral design first so that if you intend to keep SPS, you get reef safe fish. There are many fish that will eat your corals for lunch, so you will need to go in order of type of corals then fish second. Also, there are predator fish that will not play nice with community fish, so this needs to all be decided ahead of time.

 

[mlaneusmc]

Who sells a complete Apex setup?

 

[jenreefer]

Many of the online vendors sell them, check in the sponsor section of this forum for some names. Also many local fish shops sell them.

You will also have to decide on lighting and match it to the type of tank you want to keep.

Next is water movement, which will be different depending on the type of tank you keep.

https://www.reef2reef.com/widget-pages/sponsors/

 

[mlaneusmc]

SPS and LPS im not sure what that stands for lol. Im a newby. Im deffinently taking note of what your saying though. i dont want to waste money or have fish die from lack of knowledge. But hey thats why i decided to hit the forums first!

 

[jenreefer]

SPS and LPS im not sure what that stands for lol. Im a newby. Im deffinently taking note of what your saying though. i dont want to waste money or have fish die from lack of knowledge. But hey thats why i decided to hit the forums first!

well, you came to the right place. Start reading in the forums here, everything you ever wanted to know and more is here
SPS - small polyped stony coral LPS - long polyped stoney coral Softies include the leathers, mushrooms, zoas and many more, and are the easiest beginner corals.

 

[mlaneusmc]

Ok, Ill look at the sponsor sections for some names.

As for lighting my setup came with a nice 8- 80watt T-5 light fixture. And i just installed two new 1350gph power heads at the end of each side of the tank.

 

[jenreefer]

Ok, Ill look at the sponsor sections for some names.

As for lighting my setup came with a nice 8- 80watt T-5 light fixture. And i just installed two new 1350gph power heads at the end of each side of the tank.

Just know that T5s change spectrum as they age and need to be replaced frequently if you are trying to keep the stony corals. Softies do not need as much lighting though.

 

[mlaneusmc]

Oh and on the 24gal nanocube i have, i took the top light fixture/lid apart and custom fit a Raidion XR15w G4 in there! I love it

 

[jenreefer]

Here is where you should start:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/new-to-saltwater-reef-aquariums-post-here.130/

 

[jenreefer]

Oh and on the 24gal nanocube i have, i took the top light fixture/lid apart and custom fit a Raidion XR15w G4 in there! I love it

That radion may be too much light for the nano tank. you risk burning your corals with it. But it would be great over the larger tank.

 

[mlaneusmc]

yeah i read that about the T5's so i went ahead and replaced all the bulbs with new ones. 4- blue, 2- aqua blue special and 2 purple

 

[mlaneusmc]

I figured the 15w wouldnt be too much. YIKES

 

[DLHDesign]

Hi there Michael and welcome to R2R. I'm sure that you'll be pleased with the response rate on these forums - lots of active users for sure!

Idk what all to really test for besides the basics

Temperature, Salinity, PH, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Ammonia, Nitrate, and Phosphate are the things I test for; some more often than others. How often I test each depends upon how stable they have been and what I'm seeing in my tank.

What should i do to address this and fix this problems ASAP.

Pictures will help, but at a guess I'd say that you likely have a diatom bloom. This is a common problem in new tanks; which I'm not totally sure if you have or not as you make reference to "original water"...
It's also something that comes about due to the water being too hard. I'd guess that this is likely in your case because of the RODI unit needing new filters (and perhaps DI resin?). A TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter will be a key tool to own if you are using your own RO/DI unit as anything above 0 can result in problems such as you are seeing.

As to what to do about the "brown crap";
Option 1 is to buy more water from your LFS (Local Fish Store) and make new salt water with it. You'll want to do at least two, perhaps more, significant water changes - 50% change-out or more. This will help to pull out any of the problem stuff that's in the tank and replace it with new water. That - and some time - may be enough to knock down the diatom bloom.
Option 2 is to get a TDS meter and test your RO/DI output water. If it doesn't read 0, you'll want to replace filters, membranes, and DI resin until you can get it down to 0. Once you've got that working, you'll want to make up enough water to perform the same water change as above.

Hope that helps! I've not (yet) had to deal with a diatom bloom, so my advice is based on what I've read to help others. YMMV.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I figured the 15w wouldnt be too much. YIKES

dont sweat it, that is what a dimmer is for.
Welcome aboard!
Mine are very simple systems. They work as easily as a complicated and controlled one. There are many different techniques, and styles and most all actually work(within reason).

Not sure if you've read Randy Farley, but he has a wealth of knowledge. Some of the articles are very technical, but check out the How to's and beginners introductions first.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/randys-reef-chemistry-articles.174821/

This is many reefers go to on getting to know and sometimes finding out care requirements and types of corals. (and they sell stuff)
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=597