Parameter and Testing Advice Needed

[Hmoney720]

Good afternoon everyone!

I have decided to take things seriously and as my LFS says, "Become a huge nerd". I made the decision to buy a Salifert bundle and have test kits for Phos, NO3, ALK, Mag, Cal, and pH.

I have created a gameplan to test my tank's levels every day for two weeks straight. I want to learn my baseline and know what I need to dose. That being said, I need some advice on a few things and I would really love to hear from others who have much more experience than me. I have a 32 Gallon Biocube that I have upgraded a ton. Ai Prime, upgraded flow, ATO, UV Light, Protein skimmer, and a media shelf for bio media and chemipure blue.

My first question is should I be running both my protein skimmer and have chemipure blue in my tank? I have decided to buy some nice corals but I do not want to strip them of nutrients. My chemipure is set to be taken out of my tank in a few weeks, so I thought to run my tests for the next two weeks with it in. Should I take it out and only run Protein skimmer for my testing period?

Also, do you recommend any additional strategies I can add to this process? I am writing down all my levels and yesterday was day one.

Lastly, I left my protein skimmer off for a few days when I added the new hammers and higher end zoas I got in hopes that they would like the increased nutrients. The tank has looked really happy, but I decided to turn on the protein skimmer for this testing duration and run it like normal.

Thank you very much! I just really want this coral to thrive and I am nervous :}

 

[Devisissy]

Throw the chemiblue in the trash. I love salifert but their phosphate test I disliked. I forget why now. So I switched to Nyos for phosphate and it is perfect. For PH I bought a cheap 6 dollar amazon thing that I calibrate once a month. I found that to be a lot less trouble than a test kit. With 32 gallons in an AIO there is no way you will ever have low nutrients that will become a problem unless you go out of your way to create that environment. Which skimmer did you end up with? Also, UV did nothing for me ever. I only use it on my QT when I get new fish. After medications.

 

[Hmoney720]

Throw the chemiblue in the trash. I love salifert but their phosphate test I disliked. I forget why now. So I switched to Nyos for phosphate and it is perfect. For PH I bought a cheap 6 dollar amazon thing that I calibrate once a month. I found that to be a lot less trouble than a test kit. With 32 gallons in an AIO there is no way you will ever have low nutrients that will become a problem unless you go out of your way to create that environment. Which skimmer did you end up with? Also, UV did nothing for me ever. I only use it on my QT when I get new fish. After medications.

Thank you for this input! So I should just take the chemipure out now? I bought another since I usually replace them every 8 weeks, but I may just hold onto it. I thought it may be good to have chemipure in my tank to take out any bad stuff.

I have the Coralife protein skimmer that is made for the biocube and it works really well!

 

[Hmoney720]

Also, my tank has been up for a year and a half. I have had the chemipure blue running for about a year.

 

[Devisissy]

Chemipure is like like tossing money in the trash. Maybe someone will defend it's use here. Ah yes the coralife. I figured probably only thing that will fit. Just keep it running 24/7. Your 32 gallon is probably hitting what it's capable of anyway. Testing the tank is a great idea though. Keep the chemipure and keep testing then pull it out and see if there was any difference. Spoiler alert, nothing except more money in your pocket. The best thing in an AIO is making sure the water flow is going through the media.

 

[Pistondog]

I dont think it makes sense to test everything each day.
Lose the chemipure.
Most important is alk, you need hanna test for that to see trends.
Test alk each day, maybe calcium every other or 3rd.
And nitrate phosphate magnesium weekly.
If you are planning on dosing say 2 part, start dosing 1/2 the recommended start amount and watch your alk and calcium.
Also realize if your calc is dropping, for example, increase your daily dose a little, and dose a 1 time fix to get back to your target. Use daily dose to keep level constant not correct a low reading.

 

[Pod_01]

chemipure blue in my tank?

Chemipure blue is GAC (granular activated carbon):

So any reef GAC will work (There are lot of choices). I like to use GAC but I keep the ratio of 25ml/ 100 L of water and change every 4 weeks. Using more can strip the water and stress the corals. I always run skimmer as well so my filtration is GAC and skimmer only.

For GAC I like to wash it, till water runs clear and then I like to activate it/let it sit in RO water for a day. That way it releases excess Barium.

 

[Hmoney720]

I dont think it makes sense to test everything each day.
Lose the chemipure.
Most important is alk, you need hanna test for that to see trends.
Test alk each day, maybe calcium every other or 3rd.
And nitrate phosphate magnesium weekly.
If you are planning on dosing say 2 part, start dosing 1/2 the recommended start amount and watch your alk and calcium.
Also realize if your calc is dropping, for example, increase your daily dose a little, and dose a 1 time fix to get back to your target. Use daily dose to keep level constant not correct a low reading.

How will I know what to dose for If I do not see what is slowly dropping or changing? I only dose alkalinity currently because that is always low in my tank.

 

[Hmoney720]

Chemipure blue is GAC (granular activated carbon):

So any reef GAC will work (There are lot of choices). I like to use GAC but I keep the ratio of 25ml/ 100 L of water and change every 4 weeks. Using more can strip the water and stress the corals. I always run skimmer as well so my filtration is GAC and skimmer only.

For GAC I like to wash it, till water runs clear and then I like to activate it/let it sit in RO water for a day. That way it releases excess Barium.

I only feed once a day and use some Fritz Coral Max powder about every 3 days. I was told by a few people that the chemipure would take out a lot of nutrients that I should have in my tank for coral growth since it sucks phosphates. Do you think it is overkill to have the protein skimmer and chemipure with that type of feeding? Should I up the feeding?

 

[Pistondog]

How will I know what to dose for If I do not see what is slowly dropping or changing? I only dose alkalinity currently because that is always low in my tank.

Start slow dosing and test as outlined earlier.
I did not say dont test.

 

[Spare time]

Don't throw out the chemipure blue unless its old. Wasting it is just ridiculous advice. However, next time, just use quality carbon and place it in a bag with a pinch of gfo if needed. I replace carbon monthly but give it a nice soak and rinse in scalding tap water to clean it after 2 weeks (you can even do it weekly) to remove bacterial and debris build up. If nitrates bottom out, you can put the skimmer on a timer and leave it off during the day.

The only thing that is useful to test daily, at least until you get the rhythm of the tank is alk and salinity, as these can change the most in the shortest period of time.

 

[Pod_01]

I think GAC and skimmer are great combination just don’t over do it with GAC. Too much or changing it too often can strip the water.

For reference I feed fish 3-4 times a day, they do need food and as bonus they do produce coral food. I also feed corals daily as well.

I prefer fatter fish, well fed. They show less aggression as well.

For testing I check Alk frequently, NO3/PO4 weekly (for trends) and Calcium monthly. Mg not much I check that with ICP that I do every 4-6 weeks.
I do have GHL P4 to track pH, salinity (for tracking if things are off I use floating hydrometer) and temperature.

In general Alk is good indicator if things are ok. If Alk is consumed and consumption is increasing things are good, if Alk consumption slows down something is usually up.

Good luck,

 

[Hmoney720]

Don't throw out the chemipure blue unless its old. Wasting it is just ridiculous advice. However, next time, just use quality carbon and place it in a bag with a pinch of gfo if needed. I replace carbon monthly but give it a nice soak and rinse in scalding tap water to clean it after 2 weeks (you can even do it weekly) to remove bacterial and debris build up. If nitrates bottom out, you can put the skimmer on a timer and leave it off during the day.

The only thing that is useful to test daily, at least until you get the rhythm of the tank is alk and salinity, as these can change the most in the shortest period of time.

I will throw out the chemipure that is old in my tank currently. It is time for me to switch it out anyway. Which GAC do you use? And what do you use to contain it? I am guessing you can buy your GAC in bulk?

 

[Hmoney720]

Start slow dosing and test as outlined earlier.
I did not say dont test.

I apologize if my response seemed like I ignored your advice. I think I will take your advice and test less thoroughly. How often do you do water changes? I buy salt water from the LFS about every other week. Should I up the water changes? And how would this play into my testing weekly?

 

[Spare time]

I will throw out the chemipure that is old in my tank currently. It is time for me to switch it out anyway. Which GAC do you use? And what do you use to contain it? I am guessing you can buy your GAC in bulk?

I like BRS rox, seachem matrix, and red sea carbon. Red sea's is the least dusty so for tangs, that is something to consider.

 

[Pistondog]

I apologize if my response seemed like I ignored your advice. I think I will take your advice and test less thoroughly. How often do you do water changes? I buy salt water from the LFS about every other week. Should I up the water changes? And how would this play into my testing weekly?

I would try to go longer, 3 weeks between changes.
Water changes are good for removing some things, but are disruptive to stability.
I change 1% daily, automatically with pumps.
My thoughts are more stable parameters vs a larger change less often.