Do I really need to buy?

[gobytron]

Originally Posted by reefwars

Well.......


Why wouldn't you think coraline wouldn't consume the alk that's already there , the same way had corals or some invertebrates do? Are you saying that coraline does not consume alkalinity and calcium cause I can link you to a hundred sources that prove it does and does so quite a bit . ....and that is fact my friend

Water changes are a poor excuse for nutrient export I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings saying this but it's true and again I can prove it if you like .....just so we can make sure what's fact and what's not

That's the problem with forums you just get plain wrong info that claim to be facts lol

Of course coraline consumes dkh.

What I'm saying is that you need a fair amount of coraline to affect your dkh...you also need alot of other calcium eating corals for it to even matter to the rest of the tank.

It takes time for coraline to grow..especially in a tank that isn't being dosed at all.

So worrying about it in a brand new tank is just overkill.

if you buy LR that is absolutely covered in coraline, you may need to worry about it...maybe.

Please do forward me any information you have that proves that water changes offer poor nutrient export.

I have ran skimmerless tanks for years using only WC as nutrient export.

Heres a blurb from wet web media for ya...
Water Changes

Another one of the most basic aspects of aquarium husbandry (and one of the best means of achieving nutrient control and export!) is the performance of regular, modest water changes in your system. In my opinion, smaller, more frequent water changes are preferred over larger, less frequent ones, and are much less labor-intensive. Try changing as little as 5% of tank volume on a twice-weekly basis, and you’ll be astounded at the difference this will make in your system! Fish will be livelier and more colorful, corals will open up like you’ve never seen them do before, and levels of dissolved organic substances, such as nitrate and phosphate, will decrease significantly. Frequent water changes allow the aquarist to help dilute and reduce the concentration of waste products from the system before they begin to accumulate as nutrients. This, in turn, will result in less potential for nuisance algae growth, and a more stable system.

Remember to use high-quality source water when mixing up your saltwater for water changes. Be consistent, methodical, and siphon out as much detritus as you can from the rockwork and other areas from the aquarium. Frequent water changes also give the hobbyist the added advantage of being “in touch” with the system on a very regular basis, resulting in a better understanding of just what’s going on within his or her aquarium. As the old hobby saying goes, “nothing good happens quickly in a marine system,” so the benefits of frequent water changes will begin to manifest themselves gradually-but they will become obvious after a brief period of time. Give more frequent water changes a try!

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nutrientcontrol.htm

I do totally agree on your opinion on online forum information, however.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by jazzywashbuckler

Lol them LFS guy eh . I mean what maintenance is a must every month, because people are saying u need to does this dose that, add this add that. This is a very confusing hobby lol.

Yes, you may have to dose this and that, depending on lots of things. You can dose manually, or buy a doser, or a Ca reactor, or a kalk reactor.

[gobytron]

Originally Posted by jazzywashbuckler

Lol them LFS guy eh . I mean what maintenance is a must every month, because people are saying u need to does this dose that, add this add that. This is a very confusing hobby lol.

To start, water changes should really be it.

if you start to keep some corals, you may find you need to start dosing this or that.

Lots of beautiful tanks out there with no dosing what so ever.

[The Codfather]

I might add that there are several nice tanks that are skimmerless as well.

[Ginu]

I honestly think it depends on husbandry and time invested...

In Alberta I would strongly suggest using RO/DI water as the water is not the greatest over there... In Vancouver the water is actually quite good although you never know when the city cleans the water and with what.

Ato - is it necessary? Not really but then that adds to the husbandry of the tank (manual topoffs). For example, I hated doing water changes so I added a Apex DoS pump and it automatically changes 10g of water per week..

Apex - is it necessary? not really but then you need to manually monitor turn on/off when needed. BRS has a really good vid on controllers and why you want one; watch it and if any of it is relevant to what you need, then you need a controller of some sort. I killed all the fish in a tank due to a heater failure before, so a controller became mandatory after that...

Do you need media reactors? - depends on how you plan on removing Nitrates/Phosphates

Do you need a dosing pump - not really but then be prepared to dose Alk/CA every day to keep the parameters up all depending on what you stock in the tank and the growth of coraline algae... Also its not recommended dosing Alk buffers all at once as it can cause major swings and precipitation... for example my system is 6 months old now and I dose 82ml of Alk and Ca solution every day... I'd be killing the tank if i dosed 80ml of soda ash all at once...