Newbie 24 gallon all-in-one reefer.

3xplorer19

3xplorer19

Member
As much as I would love too, I’m only renting an apartment and I don’t think our landlord will allow us to tinker with the plumbing system. I do only 2.5 gallon changes of water a week. However I’ll look into the RO system more. Maybe I can get a big bucket and do some work in the bathroom bathtub or something. On the other hand, I am learning on how to take measurements instead of bringing to the local fish store for $2 to test 5 elements. In addition to the API saltwater test kit I got on the very beginning which I think I’m going to finish before getting maybe a Hanna test kit I also have the salifert calcium and salifert hardness/alkaline test kit that I want to cosume before I get something else.
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Salifert kits ar good ones. You don’t really need to worry much about anything but calcium, alkalinity and magnesium, other than salinity. Hanna checkers are nice. I use their alkalinity test, other than that I use salifert. You might look into the RO buddy. Not a great system but makes small volumes.
 
3xplorer19

3xplorer19

Member
To be honest I have been watching videos and I think I'm going to. What you recomend again for my all in one 24 gallon aquatop recife eco? And what type of salt?
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
I use instant ocean reef crystals. It is one of the lower priced reef salts but does a great job. It would be worth investing in a refractometer as well.
 
3xplorer19

3xplorer19

Member
ok cool. so i'm getting that plus the instant ocean reef crystals plus the refractometer. so basically just make the ro water mix it with reef crystal and measure it. anything else i need to know?
 
C

Candymancangt

Member
Can you guys please stop spreading bs information that RODI is absolute in reefkeeping. 60+ corals.. 13 fish including 5 tangs in my 135g.. no issues and i have 30 sps with 12 acroporas. No sump no skimmer.

I realize all tap watee is different but city water has to meet epa regulations.. which will be fine for most reef tanks. Use activated carbon for organics and certain metals if youre that worried

So tired of seeing scare tactics and getting ppl to blow tons of money on rodi.

Your tank looks perfectly fine.. corals are open are so forth why do you need RODI water ? Not worth it not at all in my opinion.

Hanna checkers are also a big waste of money.. i use API and besides magnesium which i use salifert for API is fine for alk.calcium nitrate ect.. i dont even bother checking phosphates and i rarely check nitrates.. Ive tested API alk against a 50$ hanna kit and they read nearly identical.. a .5 different reading between the two wont do anything. As long as you maintain what you are reading from what ever kit.

I wouldnt be spewing this information if i didnt keep 60+ corals and 30 + being sps and acroporas.. telling you it isnt needed... but spend your money how you wish

Screenshot_20191029-001149_Gallery.jpg
 
Last edited:
3xplorer19

3xplorer19

Member
Hi Candy. Thank you so much for being super duper honest. I really appreciate your time and effort in this matter. Honestly I have been looking into the RO/DI system for a while now. I just don't know which one to get. For a few reasons I would actually need it in addition to the 24 gallon all-in-one tank that I have, I currently have a fresh water for a little over a year now with some Oscars, Red Parrot Cichlid, Pleco, Cory and Blue Crawfish and I want them to be healthy. I would also highly consider using it as drinking water. The building I live in is super old, therefore the piping system is bad. Superbad. There are times when they intendant cleans the piping we see, in our end, a lot of yellow or rust coming out and we have to let it run before using it. Even with the use of Britta Filter we still have to boil our drinking water prior to use. I frequently invest in Britta Filter monthly so supplementing it with the RO/DI system would be better for me and more economical. Now in regards to the test kits, a lot of people are saying API are the worst test kits ever, but it is still being sold like ice cream pop world wide. When I compared my api results to 3 fish stores I went through using hanna or better, my results ain't that far off. however I would like to get more accuracy in the future so I am researching more about it and save money in the long run while enjoying what I have. Thank you again for your input Candy I really appreciate you. And for Imforbis, thank you as well for all the recommendations you have given me since I started. My reef tank is 12 weeks old now and as you guys mentioned my tank is doing well. I would like to apologize as well for whining too much and speaking out loud without using my resources. Thank you again for everything. One thing I learned and still learning in this hobby is patience. I need to sit down and just appreciate what I have in my tank. Thank you all so much. Again sorry for being such an inconvenience.
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
If you use tap water toxins will build up. They may be traces in the water but when the water evaporates only the water evaporates. This results in the concentration of everything in the tank increasing. When you top off the tank with tap water, that adds more impurities. gradually the levels of impurities increases to a point where things no longer thrive they just survive.

Our job as RESPONSIBLE marine aquarists is to keep the fish in the healthiest environment possible. Just because they survive doesn’t mean they will thrive. We have a responsibility to the life we keep in our tanks to help them be healthy as possible. Clean, pure water and high quality food are essential. So is picking appropriatly sized fish for the tank and keeping the stocking such that there isn’t aggression between fish.
 
3xplorer19

3xplorer19

Member
Ok great. Thank you. And finally I got my coral lens filter.
 

Attachments

Last edited:
3xplorer19

3xplorer19

Member
Hey Imforbis, my anemones are now surfacing! My tank is now 3 months old today. By the way, the ro/di system didn’t work for me. Had to return. I’ll stick to buying Nutri Seawater and RO/DI water at my local store. Besides since I only change 2.4 gallons a week I save more mulah a year. Thanks again for your support.
 

Attachments

lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
You can’t. The fish will likely die. Your tank is now infected with all the other fish infected. Basically you need a QT big enough to house all your fish, treat them, then keep them in it for 72 days (20 Gal). The display needs to be fishless for 72 days for the parasites to die off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top