why is additives so confusing?

[bhb1034]

well im starting over. i have a 220 g fish only with 220 lbs of live rock. i realize this is a reef forum, but im thinking people here know there stuff about supplements. anyway i started the tank 7 months ago and started slowly adding fish and after a couple months i had ich and had to start over.
so now, 40 days later im ready to start back. i blame my tank crash on mainly bad water quality. ph was usely 7.9, calc 350, alk 12+, with a too small a skimmer.
now i have a euroreef 12-1, and am ready to keep perfect water params. just not sure how. i know a good bit about chemistry, it just seems there isnt much info about additves for a system like mine. some say just water changes, others that i need to add kalk, 2-part, etc. most importantly i want to keep a stable ph for my fish. the calc and live rock looks are second. the live rock seems to be thriving even though i have no excess coralline growth. basically i just need a good additive regimen. im not that picky or paranoid, or rich. im just looking to back started right, i have the skimmer, now i need the right supplements.
i was thinking just kalkwasser and a liquid buffer. alternating days. but ive been reading alot and i think maybe using my 2.5g kent dripper to dose kalkwaseer constantly. by mixing it for a day and pouring the top of the liquid into my dripper and adding buffer when neccessary. by like i said before im confused?

 

[tazdevil]

Your doing a FOWLR tank right? I wouldn't add anything, just the mixes may give you enough to get what you want. If your having a problem with alkalinity, then maybe buffers.

 

[bhb1034]

yes its a fish only with live rock. do you really think water changes will be enough? the buffer will just add alk but not really raise the ph right? ive always had a high alk with a lower ph 7.9-8.0. and thought that kalkwasser would raise the ph.

 

[tazdevil]

7.9-8.0 should be fine for ph. Yes, I would think water changes/topoff's should be fine. Most of the mixes have some calcium in them, and that alone can supplement your coralline.

 

[bhb1034]

would water changes only still keep my tank healthy? i plan on having some pretty expensive fish. what would be the ideal parameters for a fish only?

 

[taco99]

About the hair algee....

I recently moved my tank. I used a product for hair algee that a local store uses. I got virtually no hair algee at all! It's made by TLC and its called Marine SAT. It claims to use bacteria to out compete the hair algee for nutrients.

Who knows if this product is legit, but I am convinced enough to use it in all my tanks!

 

[bhb1034]

ok?

 

[liquid]

For a fish only tank all you really need to worry about is keeping the salinity between 1.024-1.026, temp around 78°-80° F, no measurable ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate, alkalinity between 8-10 dKH, and pH somewhere between 7.8-8.3.

Your pH will fluctuate daily as your lights turn on and off. Alkalinity will be a thing to watch and if it drops, add enough buffer (I prefer Kent Superbuffer dKH) to counteract the drop. If you're going to have a lot of fish, a killer skimmer is going to be required. I'd suggest a large beckett skimmer or a EuroReef skimmer. Oversize it if the fish load will be high. Make sure you have an adequate amount of liverock (around 1-1.5 lbs/gal or so) and you may want to run with a sandbed of some short.

hth

Shane

 

[bhb1034]

thanks for all the info. so i should be fine with just those supplements? just some dkh and water changes. do you think the ph will stay high enough without kalkwasser?
and by the way i have a euroreef cs12-1, which should be enough. and i dont have a deep sand bed, just like 2 inches. i might add a refugium one day though.

 

[esmithiii]

No additives other than alkalinity.

Ernie