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#1
09-03-2012, 03:28 PM
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Brad 
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#2
09-03-2012, 03:39 PM
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#3
09-03-2012, 04:40 PM
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im going to do a water tets today not because i need to but because im going to show you guys that less is more. all ive done in forever is a water change , i only did that because i transfered tanks , i bet my parameters are bang on. because i dont mess with it, i dont add to change it. i have over 300 pieces of coral , safe to say if anyones using up stuff it would be me , i honestly dont understand what the big deal is? ill tell you this though ,trying to compare one persons tanks alkalinity to anothers tank alkalinity is pointless....different salts, water sources, different temps , plus the ability to buffer differently........it will never happen. what you do to keep your alk up is probably different then what someone else will have to do. unless your running a sps dominant tank and going for growth of the year award....id forget it...crack a beer and go away for month that last part is important and the steps may need to be repeated untill the tank is how you like it lol 
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#4
09-03-2012, 05:07 PM
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To some extent I will agree with Denny.
I was using sachem salinity salt for over a year and could never get my alk above 6. This affected my ability to keep sps, they never did well for me. Ive switched to reef crystals and have only done 1 test for mag, still at 1250, haven't tested for anything else as my corals look like they are doing better regardless. When I first set up my 55, I tested all the parameters all the time. After 6 months I stopped as things were fine, corals growing, fish happy, tank is now 1 1/2 years old. The 180, tons of coral loss, lps, sps, but then others were doing great. Tank is only 6 months old, so I stopped messing with it and stopped adding corals. I can't keep up Witt the experienced reefers and have a full tank in months, that is my biggest challenge. Tank envy  I've switched to reef crystals and halfway through the bucket, things look better but not testing. The argument over water changes, to do or not, there's points to both sides. I've increased the 180 weekly, the 55 has always been every 2 weeks. Not a strict schedule as summer kinda says there's funner stuff to do. Shelley I'd say leave the tank alone, do what you can for water changes, but if the corals are happy, growing and good color, then whatever is in the tank is working.
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#5
09-03-2012, 05:29 PM
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#7
09-03-2012, 05:57 PM
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i think the overall goal is to just not have a tank riddled with algae and be able to fill it and sustain life , the rest is envy like sheena said.
most people buy a calcium test first...why , because its the easiest one for them to remember when at the store, all 3 need to be gotten right from the start or none are anygood to you except to see where you are, you couldnt add anything because you dont know what the others are. but most people dont do that, they will buy a calcium test kit and add calcium or some other suppliment at the same time. it goes like that for a bit then the person realizes they need the alk test too . so they test alk.....this is where most people freak out now, so they start changing salts as its the easiest way for a new person to chaange alk(alk is tricky to understand) . once this keeps up they start reading that there relationships between the 3 and start back tracking over things theyve already added..... you can see this is getting a bit crowded and confusing on whats going in and out right?? my opionion is if your goal is for a nice reef , stick to the basic instructions, but if your really want to do the chemistry part you need to log and journal everything, you have to eliminate yourself from alot of the variables, so get good testers, good dosers and good equipment all around, its hard to learn something when the equipment you use is not accurrate.
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#8
09-05-2012, 04:54 PM
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I don't know that if it's been stated, IMO I have seen in the pass that when you have CAL, ALk, MAG
the biggest thing is ALK when you mess with that you are opening up a huge can of worms like when Moses parted the RED sea. **** hit the fan. lol ok back on track.  having high CAl isnt so bad other then its going to reek havoc on your pumps for deposits of Calcuim. Magnesium It seems it taks for ever to raise if you are doing it slowly. look at Dez he went through 5 gals of MAG flakes to get his tank up to normal par levels. that was for 1 month.So slowly bring your ALk up and the rest will take care of its self with some help from you. I hope this makes sense. I use a KAlk reactor for keeping my levels in check however, it wont bring up MAgnesium only CAL and ALK, and then you only have to so MAG top up and if you are doing water changes consistently then your mag should be ok.
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180 starfire front, LPS, millipora Doesn't matter how much you have been reading until you take the plunge. You don't know as much as you think.
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#9
09-06-2012, 12:39 AM
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My calcium really is that low
Just did the tests on the display. ELOS: 310 Seachem: 300 Hanna Checker: 365 (I may have messed that one up . . . Don't see how it could be that out) At least nothing is dying, and I know that I really do have a problem. Will test the new salt water when I get back from buying a better calcium additive to bring it up a bit.
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#10
09-04-2012, 01:58 AM
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 I wish my tests were off Hopefully the next bucket will be better and, if not, I'll be buying some other test kits for reference
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