Starting from scratch (kind of) and need help

[LIreefguy106]

Greetings fellow hobbyists.

So late last year, went to local fish spot here on LI that's reputable and got some livestock for my 90g with 15g sump. Tank setup in May 2016

I had the following

Inverts and corals:
2 nems
2 hammers
1 torch
1 medium sized GSP colony
2 birds nest frags
1 small acan colony

Fish:
1 yellow tang
3 damsels
1 Picasso clown pair
1 black onyx clown pair
Goby/shrimp combo
Several turbos snails and hermits etc

As I get inside, Im informed that they just received a shipment earlier that day from the Philippines. So I'm browsing see a juvenile clown trigger and a little older juvenile regal angel. I take them both in excitement considering they were very well priced. So I go home, acclimate them. No problem. A few days go by, fine. a few more days, then the regal is breathing heavy, next thing I knew it's sitting on one side in the sand barely moving then he passed. Shortly after both pair of clowns, then the SPS, then the trigger, then the damsels. It was catastrophic during the holidays. 10 weeks later, I've revamped my feeding habit to very minimal, STRICT water changes and sand bed maintenance.

I've updated hardware starting with
-my Apex software which is connected to:
Temp
Salinity
Ph
PAR
-reefoctopus skimmer
-TLF reactor for carbon/GFO
-UV which I've always had
-upgraded my ATO pump and switches.

I'm getting apprehensive on whether I should add livestock or coral. I'd like to start having some serious growth back in the tank and start to recoup some money back by means of fragging.

I did a sand siphon today and will do a water change soon. I'll update with parameters prior to my water change, which will be on the weekend.

I have two of the BRS 1.1ml dosers which are not hooked up to anything just mount but unplugged in my sump. Ideally for calcium and alkalinity. Neither of two I've dosed before. Ever. I usually put a few teaspoons of kalk in my ato and call it a day.

My questions to the reef community:
What was the cause of death in the regal that lead to a chain reaction?
Was it the change in the circadian rhythm from the Philippines to NY?
Should I dose both 2 part and kalkwasser?
Should I get livestock first then coral?
What should my PAR be at?
Should salinity be higher for coral growth?
What ph should I target?

Only have a few inhabitants and getting anxious.
I'm envious of other tanks and I know mine has the potential. Thanks for reading and for your help. I'm all ears and need some advice from the pros.


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[reefiness]

Tough to tell what killed your livestock back then. Would need to know a little more about the old system. It could have been that you stocked up fish too quick and the bacteria in your tank never had time to catch up. So ammonia slowly built up until it was at critical levels then began killing things.

I doubt it was the change in circadian rhythm. People travel around the world all the time with a light inconvenience from jet lag. It usually doesnt kill anyone.

I would dose one or the other for simplicity. But if you want to dose both, you will basically want to use kalk as a baseline and dose smaller amounts of the 2 part to fine tune to your tanks useage.

IMO always get fish first. You want the tank bacteria and microfauna to reach higher levels before adding any coral so your tank is a bit more stable and less prone to swings.

I wouldnt worry about PAR right now. But it will vary based on the type of corals you want to keep at what levels in the tank. Anywhere from sub 100 for soft corals to 500-600 for higher light requiring SPS. There will tend to be a gradient from top to bottom of the tank so you will be able to have a mixture of different corals if you want with higher light requiring corals on top and lower light corals on the bottom.

Salinity should be 1.025-1.026.

pH shouldn't really be something you are chasing with buffers or anything. Just be sure to keep your elements in check like cal and alk, and the pH should fall right in the sweet spot. My tank has daily swings between 8.05-8.3 between day and night.

 

[LIreefguy106]

Thanks for your advice, so figure livestock first? I had the fish in there for about 4 months or so prior to adding the regal and triggers.

I'll set up the equipment for it now and then dose later. I rather do what it going to be the best resulting method.

I have 2 of the kessil a350w ocean blue so I'm hoping I can get some good par readings with those when it comes time for that


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[LIreefguy106]

Thanks for your advice, so figure livestock first? I had the fish in there for about 4 months or so prior to adding the regal and triggers.

I'll set up the equipment for it now and then dose later. I rather do what it going to be the best resulting method.

I have 2 of the kessil a350w ocean blue so I'm hoping I can get some good par readings with those when it comes time for that


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[reefiness]

Those lights should be pretty good. I've never used kessils, but i've only heard good things about them.

How far along is this current tank? Is everything cycled yet? Any fish in there at all, or totally empty still?

 

[LIreefguy106]

Tank is little under a year, have a yellow tang, damsel and goby/shrimp pair still hanging out in there. Few smaller corals.

Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
pH 8.13
SG 1.026
Temp 81


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[LIreefguy106]

Will test alk and Calc tomm


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[reefiness]

how about nitrate and phosphate levels. Also magnesium when you test for alk and calcium.

 

[LIreefguy106]

Calc 200
Nitrate 0
Phos 0
Alk ? Reagent expired, waiting on new one


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[reefiness]

Wow calcium is super low. Should be around 400-450