What Is The Must Have For A Newbie Reefer

[midtownman]

I Got A 54 Corner With The Following
Current Pc With Brand New 65w 6700k/10,000k & 65w 460nm Actinic Bulbs.
A 20 Gal Pro Clear Wet/dry.
A Proclear Skimmer Thats Rated For 75 Gal.
A Mag 9 Return
A 9 Watt Uv
A Wave Maker W/2 Maxi Jet Ph
7 A Power Sweep Ph
I Have The Tank Running For 3 Years Now But I Want A Mix Tank So I Need To Know What Do I Have To Upgrade On?also Whats Up With Those Mushrooms?

 

[Tonyscoots84]

I would have to say KNOWLEDGE on Reefs and caring for them ....
other then that a few books....

 

[Tonyscoots84]

i would start working on getting rid of the nitrate balls :lol2: then work on a bigger skimmer ... Do some water changes also

what i would do is swap out that wet dry and get a regular tank to throw down there with baffels and change out the mag 9 to an eheim or something it will reduce your heat in your tank tremendously.

also another thing the lighting i would change to t5. compacts really suck and i wouldnt use 6500k its just to yellow. go with a few 10 k and a few actnic... there are many choices in bulb color to get the color you want...

 

[NYreefNoob]

$$$$$$$$$ :biggrin: thats what you need, and by mixed what do you mean lps and sps ? hmmm indigo pacific sand. swap out the power heads and get a pair of tunze nano 6025's

 

[nanoreefer22]

The ability to read and take advice from those who know what they are talking about is the single most important thing in this hobby. You MUST have that ability.

-Kris

 

[bad coffee]

a refractometer.
Better lights. if you're going to have SPS, get halides now, and you won't have to upgrade later.
some more rock, and some corals.

How about test kits? do you have good ones?

B

 

[midtownman]

yes i got some test kits but i gotta get an alk test kit which ill get tomorrow also have a 400 watt w/20k bulbs is that good?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Patience

 

[marki24]

plenty of good books.

 

[reefman]

test kits for no3 ca alk,etc......

 

[midtownman]

thanks guys I will show before & after pics so yall could advise me what to do next

 

[GQ22]

get a new sump, or get rid of the bio balls. Your skimmer is weak also.

I would rank the order of importance like this

Water qaulity (nitrates, phosphates, clarity) better skimmer, sump, carbon
Lighting - just go and get a halide plenty of people selling lighting on the board
Flow - dont need to go all out, there are plenty of cheap alternatives to good flow

 

[Quang]

if you don't have one already, get a decent refractometer. that hydrometer ish won't fly. good luck.

 

[Sean]

get some books
get some test kits


as far as improvements on your tank IMO
It looks like your dosing everything in there without testing. Stop this practice. Test first then add don't add a supplement you're not testing for. Also stop using Kent I personally would use ESV.
get a larger skimmer. Yes they are expensive but they do help.
remove bio ball slowly. Not all at once.
If you want to keep coral and it looks like you do you may want to look into better lighting. T5 or 150 mh of at least use a 10k instead of the 6500. you could also add more light to your current set up.


hope this helps

 

[midtownman]

everything helps thanks

 

[jaymo]

turbo snails

 

[nsiegel5]

Dont waste your money on all those supplements if you check around you will notice the majority of reefers use nothing but calcium as supplementation. Good housekeeping will eliminate the need for most chemicals the LFS guys tell you that you need