Starting reef aquqrium

[stuckster1]

Hi From south western Utah!!!! I have had a saltwater tank now for 1 year. I am interested in adding some real easy to care for corals to my tank such as colony polyps, frogspawn or leathers. I am not sure exactly how what chemicals to use and how much to use. Here is some inforamtion about my tank.
95 gallon tank.
400 watt metal halide with 2 x 65 watt actinic(sp?)
Berline Protein skimmer
Chiller and heater
Under tank sump
Contains:
4 clown fish
2 yellow tangs
1 purple tank
1 red lip blenny
1 watchman golby
4 damsels
150 lbs of live rock
80 lbs of live sand
I use the following chemicals Just once a week.
Kent marine essential elements
kent marine Strontium and Molybdenum
Kent marine Iodine
Tech·CB parts A & B
Marc weiss DNA Reef vital
The tank will stay about 78-80 degrees and the salinity averages 1.0020-23.
Do I need to had more calcium then I am doing? Do I need to add or subtract something?
I appreciate your help!
Thanks,
Sean

 

[nas19320]

You'll need to test for what your adding, every tank is different so strictly going by the manu. recommendations can get you into trouble. I also think your S.G. is low but I can't remember the exact S.G. to aim for as I only use salinity measurment.

 

[6stokes]

Well hopefully there is one to many zeros in the sp reading. At 1.023 it's not too far off with temp. compensation. Might want to bump it up to 1.024, but definitely get rid of the swing you posted. Don't let the salinity drop by more than .001 in a 24 hour period.
I'm with Nas19320 on not adding anything unless you're testing the levels first. Also, it appears that you are fish only right now, so I'm confused as to why you would dose anything. Regular water changes would keep you levels very close to NSW.
I'm not sure what you are currently testing the tank for, but at a very minimum when you add some of the things your talking about, you'll need to be testing for calcium, alkalinity, and Ph. There are many other things to test for though.

 

[stuckster1]

Yes, I'm soory the specific gravity runs 1.023. My LFS told me to add these chemicals to the tank....so what you are saying is that right now I don't need to add all these things until I get the corals?
Thanks Again

 

[stuckster1]

Also, do you check the Ca levels once a week? And about what level should I try to maintain it at?

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by stuckster1
Also, do you check the Ca levels once a week? And about what level should I try to maintain it at?
Yes, Check Calcium and ALK once a week and adjust your dosing schedule slightly to fix any problems. About once a month check the Magnesium level.
Natural Sea Water has a Calcium Level of about 410ppm and an ALK of about 2.5Meq/L. That's a good target for the minumum. Going slightly higher to 430ppm Calcium and an ALK of 3.0Meq/L will help keep everything a little more stable.