Kent marine nano reef

[Ninong]

wait wait, i currently am NOT using that ehiem liberty 200 filter, i am using ehiem ecco 2232 external filter ( Eheim Ecco Canister Filters - Product Reviews at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish) however, i do have a ehiem liberty 200 which i keep as spare. so i can basically remove ALL the cartridges to replace them :eek3:

Oops! Sorry, my mistake. I misread your post.

This is what you have.

Yes, canister filters are not recommended for use on reef tanks that contain live rock. Maybe for a fish-only tank with no live rock but not for any tanks that have live rock. However, they do come in handy for running GAC and/or GFO.

You could certainly remove all of the filter media from the canister filter and then put in a mesh bag with GAC and another mesh bag with GFO.

[yheartsp]

Yes, of course 29.3 C (84.7 F) is okay for anemones. What do you think the water temperature is in the ocean where you live.


I don't know why some people recommend 25-26 C (77-78.8 F) for reef aquariums. I prefer a more natural temperature range of 82-83 F (27.8-28.3 C) for a reef aquarium. Many people won't be able to hold their temperature in that range without the help of fans and/or a chiller.

Most corals are quite capable of dealing with temperature as high as 85 F (29.4 C) without problems. It would be better to keep the maximum temperture below 84 F (28.9 C) but as long as it doesn't get above 85 F (29.4 C) on a regular basis, you should be fine. My ideal range is still 82-83 F (27.8-28.3 C). Some people prefer an ideal range of 80-81 F (26.7-27.2 C), which is fine. I just wouldn't go any lower than that is you want to provide your animals with natural conditions.


Maybe you're listening to the wrong people.

Check out this article by Dr. Ron Shimek on the appropriate temperature for reef animals in captivity.

wow, then woudln't many people in the USA have misguided information.. liveaquaria.com recommends 72 to 78 F for almost all their fishes and inverts haha. dang did i just waste so much money on something i don't need! my tank was so good before it..

[yheartsp]

Oops! Sorry, my mistake. I misread your post.

This is what you have.

Yes, canister filters are not recommended for use on reef tanks that contain live rock. Maybe for a fish-only tank with no live rock but not for any tanks that have live rock. However, they do come in handy for running GAC and/or GFO.

You could certainly remove all of the filter media from the canister filter and then put in a mesh bag with GAC and another mesh bag with GFO.

yes i'll certainly do that first thing tomorrow
but first could you tell me what is GAC and GFO

i appreciate all your help man, or i'll have a sleepless night today worrynig about my tank

[Ninong]

wow, then woudln't many people in the USA have misguided information.. liveaquaria.com recommends 72 to 78 F for almost all their fishes and inverts haha. dang did i just waste so much money on something i don't need! my tank was so good before it..

Well, I certainly hope you don't believe everything you read on a vendor's website. All you have to do is check out their recommended minimum tank sizes for the various fish to know that they're crazy.

A temperature of 72 F (22.2 C) is NOT natural for any reef fishes. There are no tropical reefs where the water temperature gets that low, EVER!



A water temperature of 72 F (22.2 C) is only appropriate for temperate species, not tropical species. Those people are CRAZY!

[Ninong]

yes i'll certainly do that first thing tomorrow
but first could you tell me what is GAC and GFO

Okay, now you're the one who is not reading everything.

I already said what they mean in my previous posts. GAC (granular activated carbon) and GFO (granular ferric oxide).

[Ninong]

The ocean temperature right now (meaning mid-June 2009) in Malaysia is 31-33 C (87.8-91.4 F). Maybe you should show that to LiveAquaria.com?

[yheartsp]

The ocean temperature right now (meaning mid-June 2009) in Malaysia is 31-33 C (87.8-91.4 F). Maybe you should show that to LiveAquaria.com?

hahaha that is kinda high ! curious though, what is their fluctuation between day and night? oh man what a i gonna do with my chiller now ! i think i'll just set it at 26.6 - 28.6, as the temp seldom exceeds 28.6 in my tank, the chiller would kick in much lesser, and hence prevents less fluctuations, also it'll prevent the temp from going beyond 28.6

[Ninong]

hahaha that is kinda high ! curious though, what is their fluctuation between day and night?

There is virtually no fluctuation between night and day in the water temperature where most corals are found. That's because the body of water is so large. You have to get down below 150 feet (45 meters) before you would find the water temperature even one degree F lower than it is at 5 meters depth.

There can be a great fluctuation in the water temperature in tidepools and in shallow reef flat areas but not in deeper water, only in really shallow water (less than a meter or so). Some SPS corals that grow very near the surface on reef flats can even be exposed to the sun (above the water's surface) for a few hours at exceptionally low tides. They exude mucous to protect themselves in such circumstances.

The bottom line is that most corals do not experience wide daily temperature fluctuations, just corals found in very shallow water.



P.S. -- 28.6 C (83.5 F) is a very safe maximum temperature.

[Ninong]

hahaha that is kinda high ! curious though, what is their fluctuation between day and night?

If you're talking about deep waters, the surface temperature (taken at 5 meters depth) does not fluctuate between day and night because of the huge body of water. The only thing that affects the water temperature is depth. As you get deeper the temperature gradually drops but you have to get 100-150 ft (30-45 meters) before you would be able to measure any difference.

[yheartsp]

hey ninong

i've added 50 grams of rowaphos to my hang on filter. will see if there are more slimy algae tomorrow
ohyeah, i realised my refractometer was wrongly calibrated. my tank is actually at 34ppt, 1.026sg . that would be fine for my corals right? temp is also always at 27.8 to 28.3. the chiller kicks in like once a day when it reaches 28.6 :eek3:
i've also added xenia corals to my tank, i've heard they only pulse when water quality is good, and when it's not pulsing for like half a day, you'll have to check your waters. can i rely on that? that would really be helpful!

[Ninong]

hey ninong

i've added 50 grams of rowaphos to my hang on filter. will see if there are more slimy algae tomorrow

I wouldn't expect results that fast. Be patient.

ohyeah, i realised my refractometer was wrongly calibrated. my tank is actually at 34ppt, 1.026sg . that would be fine for my corals right?

Yes, 34 ppt would be fine; however, 1.026 SG is very close to 35 ppt, which is perfect. To be exact, 35 ppt salinity equals 1.0264 SG at 25 C (77 F). Salinity of 34-35 ppt is perfect for a reef aquarium. There is really no good reason for keeping a reef aquarium below 33 ppt.

temp is also always at 27.8 to 28.3. the chiller kicks in like once a day when it reaches 28.6 :eek3:

27.8 to 28.3 C (82 to 83 F) is fine.

i've also added xenia corals to my tank, i've heard they only pulse when water quality is good, and when it's not pulsing for like half a day, you'll have to check your waters. can i rely on that? that would really be helpful!

Virtually every coral I can think of doesn't look good when water quality is bad. When you are just starting out, you should test your water at least once a week. Later, you will probably get into a routine of testing it maybe once a month. You can pretty much tell if everything is alright. If your monthly tests are always within the same appropriate range, then there is no need to test more frequently. If your tests turn out to be unacceptable, then you would retest a week later following whatever corrective action you took.

[yheartsp]

alright will do , gonna test my calcium and magnesium tomorrow, hopefully it has fallen from the previous 560 and 1140 respectively, then i can start dosing my kent marine part A and part B =D

Do you personally recommend feeding liquid coral food? or you think photosynthesis is enough for them i haven't fed coral food yet!

[Ninong]

alright will do , gonna test my calcium and magnesium tomorrow, hopefully it has fallen from the previous 560 and 1140 respectively...

Well, you really don't want the magnesium to fall from 1140 ppm. It should be around 1300 ppm, so it's on the low side if it's only 1140 ppm. I wouldn't want to see it drop below 1000 ppm.

Your calcium is too high at 560 ppm. It's better to keep that below 500 ppm (425-475 ppm would be fine).

..then i can start dosing my kent marine part A and part B

I don't understand why you're not dosing it now??? It's intended as a daily additive to maintain calcium and alkalinity. Because your calcium is too high, you should be adding less of the Part A and more of the Part B. You might want to cut your Part A additions in half and leave the Part B additions alone at their usual size.

The product you have chosen claims that it will maintain magnesium at proper levels. Right now your magnesium is on the low side, so you will want to test for magnesium at least every other week or so to see if the product is doing its job. If your Mg falls down around 1000 ppm, you will need to consider adding a separate Mg additive (something with magnesium chloride) in addition to your Kent Marine Part A and Part B stuff. In the meantime, you should just give it some time to see if this Kent stuff works first. Maybe it actually will maintain Mg? Maybe your salt mix was low in Mg to begin with?

There's no reason to rush. There's also no reason to discontinue using the method you have chosen for maintenance of calcium and alkalinity. It's just one of several different methods but it's quite acceptable for a small size aquarium.

Do you personally recommend feeding liquid coral food?

I'm not a big fan of liquid coral foods. If you want to use one of those products, do so very sparingly. There are a lot of better coral foods on the market that are not liquids.

or you think photosynthesis is enough for them i haven't fed coral food yet!

All corals have polyps. A polyp is a big mouth. Mouths are made for eating! Corals that have zooxanthellae get most of their energy from their photosynthetic zooxanthellae, but they still feed. They also absorb nutrients directly from the water.

In the typical reef aquarium that contains fish, you will be feeding the fish. That's food that is added to the tank. All food that is added to the tank adds nutrients to the tank. Even if the fish eat every speck of feed that you add to the tank, a whole lot of that food comes out very, very fast in the form of feces and urine. The feces and urine are actually "food" for other animals in your aquarium. At the very least, they break down into ammonia and nitrates. The ammonia and nitrates act as food for virtually everything in your tank, starting with bacteria. Corals eat bacteria, too.

Whether you feed your corals or not depends on your tank and what's going on in your tank. Certainly some corals require feeding or they will die (e.g., sun corals). Many LPS require feeding. Your anemones (which are not corals) require feeding. Some people can get by without feeding their anemone if the clownfish allow the anemone to eat some of their food.

The following articles should answer all of your questions about feeding corals:

Reef Food

From the Food of Reefs to the Food of Corals

The Food of Reefs, Part 3: Phytoplankton

The Food of Reefs, Part 4: Zooplankton

The Food of Reefs, Part 5: Bacteria

The Food of Reefs, Part 6: Particulate Organic Matter

The Food of Reefs, Part 7: Dissolved Nutrients

After you have read all of those articles, if you still have questions, then post away.

Happy reading!

[yheartsp]

Well, you really don't want the magnesium to fall from 1140 ppm. It should be around 1300 ppm, so it's on the low side if it's only 1140 ppm. I wouldn't want to see it drop below 1000 ppm.

Your calcium is too high at 560 ppm. It's better to keep that below 500 ppm (425-475 ppm would be fine).


I don't understand why you're not dosing it now??? It's intended as a daily additive to maintain calcium and alkalinity. Because your calcium is too high, you should be adding less of the Part A and more of the Part B. You might want to cut your Part A additions in half and leave the Part B additions alone at their usual size.

The product you have chosen claims that it will maintain magnesium at proper levels. Right now your magnesium is on the low side, so you will want to test for magnesium at least every other week or so to see if the product is doing its job. If your Mg falls down around 1000 ppm, you will need to consider adding a separate Mg additive (something with magnesium chloride) in addition to your Kent Marine Part A and Part B stuff. In the meantime, you should just give it some time to see if this Kent stuff works first. Maybe it actually will maintain Mg? Maybe your salt mix was low in Mg to begin with?

There's no reason to rush. There's also no reason to discontinue using the method you have chosen for maintenance of calcium and alkalinity. It's just one of several different methods but it's quite acceptable for a small size aquarium.


I'm not a big fan of liquid coral foods. If you want to use one of those products, do so very sparingly. There are a lot of better coral foods on the market that are not liquids.


All corals have polyps. A polyp is a big mouth. Mouths are made for eating! Corals that have zooxanthellae get most of their energy from their photosynthetic zooxanthellae, but they still feed. They also absorb nutrients directly from the water.

In the typical reef aquarium that contains fish, you will be feeding the fish. That's food that is added to the tank. All food that is added to the tank adds nutrients to the tank. Even if the fish eat every speck of feed that you add to the tank, a whole lot of that food comes out very, very fast in the form of feces and urine. The feces and urine are actually "food" for other animals in your aquarium. At the very least, they break down into ammonia and nitrates. The ammonia and nitrates act as food for virtually everything in your tank, starting with bacteria. Corals eat bacteria, too.

Whether you feed your corals or not depends on your tank and what's going on in your tank. Certainly some corals require feeding or they will die (e.g., sun corals). Many LPS require feeding. Your anemones (which are not corals) require feeding. Some people can get by without feeding their anemone if the clownfish allow the anemone to eat some of their food.

The following articles should answer all of your questions about feeding corals:

Reef Food

From the Food of Reefs to the Food of Corals

The Food of Reefs, Part 3: Phytoplankton

The Food of Reefs, Part 4: Zooplankton

The Food of Reefs, Part 5: Bacteria

The Food of Reefs, Part 6: Particulate Organic Matter

The Food of Reefs, Part 7: Dissolved Nutrients

After you have read all of those articles, if you still have questions, then post away.

Happy reading!

erm because Part A adds both calcium and magnesium and my calcium is very high now? so i thought maybe i would wait till it falls to 450 before i start dosing alright will go read now haha what use of magnesium to corals anyway ?

i feed my BTA everyday to make it regain it's colour, it's greenish pink now 2 weeks ago was white xD

[Ninong]

erm because Part A adds both calcium and magnesium and my calcium is very high now? so i thought maybe i would wait till it falls to 450 before i start dosing alright will go read now haha

I think it would be better to allow the calcium level to fall gradually. No need to rush things. That's why I think it would be better to simply add half of whatever dosage you calculate is appropriate for your size aquarium based on the manufacturer's instructions. So you would be adding half of the recommended dosage of Part A and all of the recommended dosage of Part B. That means that your Part A addition will be exactly half of your Part B addition. Remember to wait five minutes between additions (per the manufacturer's instructions).

It's possible that your salt mix could be a little low in Mg and maybe that's why your Mg is a little on the low side. In any cast, it's not low enough at this point to cause any problems.

[yheartsp]

I think it would be better to allow the calcium level to fall gradually. No need to rush things. That's why I think it would be better to simply add half of whatever dosage you calculate is appropriate for your size aquarium based on the manufacturer's instructions. So you would be adding half of the recommended dosage of Part A and all of the recommended dosage of Part B. That means that your Part A addition will be exactly half of your Part B addition. Remember to wait five minutes between additions (per the manufacturer's instructions).

It's possible that your salt mix could be a little low in Mg and maybe that's why your Mg is a little on the low side. In any cast, it's not low enough at this point to cause any problems.

alright, i have actually dosed it ONCE before only. The more corals i have, the faster the calcium , magnesium , and kh would decrease right? that means i'll have to trial and error to see how much part A and part B i need to maintain levels.. i previously used red sea salt mix, but have recently changed to some ocean brand( forgot exact name) , it's a good salt brand according to my LFS

[Ninong]

what use of magnesium to corals anyway ?

We're not going to get into that right now. Let's just say that magnesium is one of the major elements in seawater. In fact, there is three times as much Mg as there is Ca in seawater. Since it is our goal to duplicate natural seawater, we want to duplicate the Mg concentration, too. Besides, if you allow your Mg to fall too low, you won't be able to maintain appropriate Ca levels because Mg and Ca are tied together. To answer your question properly would take hours and it has already been answered in excruciating detail by others.

i feed my BTA everyday to make it regain it's colour, it's greenish pink now 2 weeks ago was white xD

Do NOT feed your anemone every day. If you want to feed your anemone heavily, feed it every other day. Make sure the food items are the appropriate size. Fortunately for you, BTAs eat almost anything.

[Ninong]

Read this article on how to take care of your BTA: Be A Host To Your Anemone

[Ninong]

If you want a detailed answer on why we have to maintain Mg at appropriate levels, then read this article:

A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

Or you can just take my word for it and skip the article. Maybe you could read that article next year after you have a little more experience?

[yheartsp]

If you want a detailed answer on why we have to maintain Mg at appropriate levels, then read this article:

A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

Or you can just take my word for it and skip the article. Maybe you could read that article next year after you have a little more experience?

Thanks, there's so much reading to do i can probably become an amateur scientist

how about this questions? alright, i have actually dosed it ONCE before only. The more corals i have, the faster the calcium , magnesium , and kh would decrease right? that means i'll have to trial and error to see how much part A and part B i need to maintain levels.. i previously used red sea salt mix, but have recently changed to some ocean brand( forgot exact name) , it's a good salt brand according to my LFS