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Advice? New Setup Questions

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by mruck79, Feb 27, 2018.

Page 2 of 2
  1. Feb 28, 2018 #21
    sjones Marshalltown, IA

    sjones

    54
    Marshalltown, IA
    Ratings:
    +22 / 0 / -0
    Reefkeepers RODI - Aquarium Pure Water & De-ionization they have some reasonably priced units a 50 gal per day for $115. The replacement filters may be a little more expensive they look like complete cartridges where mine are just the filter media. I have the same size tank and get about a year from the filters. Mine has a tds meter and I go by that to decide when to replace filters and di resin. I also have turned my red channel almost off on my lights and seemed to help with algae problems. I only have 3 hermits, 4 snails and an emerald crab. I still have to clean the glass 2 times a week but they take care on the rest.
     
  2. Mar 1, 2018 #22
    Derek34 Manchester, IA

    Derek34

    253
    Manchester, IA
    Ratings:
    +44 / 0 / -0
    I bet that if you also did some decent sized water changes with RODI water you would see a nice drop in them too. They love those silicates in tap water.
     
  3. Mar 7, 2018 #23
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    8,871
    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,818 / 14 / -0
    Not sure if you came across this article in your research but it's well worth the read - #15 in the link below

    Mything the Point, Part Three: Conclusion - Reefkeeping.com

    Essentially, you want to take your time and allow things to just happen in the tank. Don't chase issues all over the place, that is a recipe for frustration and leads to quitting. There are so many things that we can't test for with hobby-grade test kits, some are out of the reach of labs with lots of test equipment even.

    Diversity is one of the keys to success IMO, and you can't achieve that overnight.

    Anymore, I'm wary of any approach to filtration that bottoms out nutrients. More people have moved away from trying to run ultra-low nutrients by using tons of GFO or carbon dosing, etc, to try and control nitrates and phosphates vigorously. These (N & P) almost seem like they've been scapegoats for a while, the explanation to every "problem" - and there are a lot of "experts" out there (most of them slept at a Holiday Inn Express recently)

    After 10 years in, I'm only now really starting to get into contact with some of the REALLY old school reefkeepers, and those discussions have opened my eyes on a few things. Like how all skimmers are basically built wrong, but to build it right would mean slapping the face of every skimmer manufacturer and fly in the face of every "expert" out there - never mind that it would mean you could run your skimmer 1 hour/day, it would be more efficient in that 1 hour than 24 hours/day for any other skimmer, and you would get skimmate the consistency of paste.

    ...there's a lot of that kind of thing...
     
  4. Mar 7, 2018 #24
    mruck79 Urbana

    mruck79

    24
    Urbana
    Ratings:
    +5 / 0 / -0
    Thanks! I have not seen that article, but it is very interesting. I'm going to read through it all when I get done with work. I have definitely read a ton of articles and watched my share of videos before going ahead and setting up a tank. I still think one of my biggest issues is that I am too easily influenced by people who are "experts" (ie. the tree striped damsels). I haven't made a ton of changes, but the waiting is difficult, especially when there is always someone who has a "fix". I've kind of settled into a wait and see approach right now. I don't like seeing the diatoms that I have, but the level doesn't seem to be increasing much and my water parameters that I can test, are not skyrocketing. I know I can make some lighting and filtration improvements, but that takes time and money and I think I am OK for what I currently have in the tank. With this tank, I don't have any plans for a ton of fish, or anything exotic. I mainly wanted to see if I could make it work, with a few fish and some crabs, snails, etc. I had bought and sold about 10 aquariums before landing on this 65 with a 20 gallon sump. If figured the water volume was satisfactory to prevent major changes if I am careful. I'm still pretty nervous about doing too much. I'm guessing that the system should balance itself out eventually. Thanks again for the advice and the link to that article!
     
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