New to the Game - could use some answers

[NoobSalt]

yes, sadly, your post was just a bit late! haha, I ended up changing 2 gallons and im down to 1.023 so I think I'm good! Thanks for all the help guys, next step, make sure other chemicals are good!

also - how often do i add this Ion buffer? Daily? every water change? The directions are awful. All it says is "Add 8 drops per 4 gallons of part A, wait 5 mins, add part B" seriously, thats it. Its called Kent Marine Nano Reef Ion Buffer System.

[NoobSalt]

also, one other question, due to some new furniture arrival, ill have to move my tank on thursday, and eventually when i move out of my apt. ANY tips on moving this thing would be HUGE!

The move isnt big, just from one room to another onto its stand that lucky for me was delayed in shipping, can I empty it say about half way and then reuse the water I took out? probably would take me all of 3 mins to move, my only worry is if like it gets delayed again and again and I have my CUC in there at that point, can I leave them in a tank of half water for just a few mins and then refill with the water i just took out?

[Original Fin]

Don't add any of that stuff, you don't need it yet. But the only right way to dose it is to first test for Alkalinity and calcium, then adjust the dosage based on your findings. You need to know which ranges are acceptable, and how to keep them in balance with eachother. Magnesium is the other element that you'll need to dose occasionally, it s tied to Alk and cal. They are like the holy trinity of reef water supplements...all tied to eachother, and the main items consumed by corals, inverts and algae that need to be rePlenished by the aquarist.
Despite the users directions on a lot of products, it is never a good idea to pick an arbitrary quantity to dose. You need to know how much has been lost in order to know how much to put back, so testing is absolutely required.

It's all in the sticky threads...suggested reading for now is What is Water Quality

[NoobSalt]

welp, too late for that, i def added some, you can thank the lfs for just throwing that in the bag and not saying anything! ill stop adding it and pick up another test kit tmrw, for now i have pH, Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites testing kit and all those levels are good.

[chrisfont23]

I would resist the urge to do anything chemically for a while. I have had my tank for about 6 months and these are the only things I have added that are not "natural":

Kent Marine » Coral-Vite | Products

Seachem. Reef Complete

The Kent Marine I add once a week as directions state. The Reef complete may not even be once a month, depending on Ca levels.

[NoobSalt]

Yea, so basically I got had at the lfs, i had a feeling they snuck that in there, rookie mistake on my part adding it. any damage done by adding it?

[chrisfont23]

Probably not...but again, that crystal ball is even hazier at night here in the Northeast. Resist the urge to add any of these so called "super-tonics" during a cycle...really all you need is a piece of shrimp and some patience.

[NoobSalt]

Nice, my final question, and I should be done asking questions! haaha, as I asked earlier, I need to move my tank here in a couple days, can I just remove enough water where I can slide it easily and then just replace it with the same water? It would litterally probably take me all of 15 mins, its just moving 10 feet across the room, id rather not take the CUC out and disturb anything more than just a 10 foot slide.

[Original Fin]

No harm seeing as how there's nothing living in there yet and you probably added a pretty small amount anyway. Remember this...f you're going to dose something, have a test kit for it.

What the LFS sold you is at least a decent product, it's just not time for it yet, and they should have taken a little bit of time to explain how it works, what it's for, and what you need to do to use it responsibly.

Most everyone jumps into this hobby feet first, and the learning curve is steep. I hope these first couple ahah moments encourage you to spend some time researching what to do before you get too much further along. Trust me, there are about a hundred more pitfalls ahead of you.
A lot of people crash and burn on their first try, and for many, they just get frustrated and give up. This can almost always be attributed to lack of research, and basically leaping before you look.

Most LFS kind of give you half of their attention, and end up not giving the best advice because they don't probe deep enough to find out who's a noob and who's a pro. There's a lot of assumptions that the customer knows what they are doing...either that, or they just don't give a rats ass as long as they sell something. I never act on the advice of the LFS without running it by the folks on message boards like this. Even then, you still have to be careful and use good judgement on whom to listen to.
Most often though, if someone here is giving bad advice, there are a hundred people waiting to pounce and chime in accordingly.

[NoobSalt]

You def. make some great points. I did some research before I jumped in but what i realize is every tank is so different that it is hard to go based on forums and 'rules of thumbs' to things, so its hard to know for instance, why the water in my tank is not crystal clear. Ive tried reading a million things, but nothing says "Well in your 12 gallon nano tank with stock filters and power head has a little haze in the water because ..." i fear asking the LFS cuz they will just sell me more stuff I dont need, I am happy b/c going back I have much more knowledge than i did the first time. Even though I read and read and read before buying, nothing made sense till it was right in front of me and in action. make sense?

THanks for all the help, i hope helping a newcomer like myself has not been as annoying as it seems! haha, anyways, speaking of annoying, the example above....

Why is MY water a little hazy? anything you need to know that could help me solve this problem would be awesome.

Thanks again!

[chrisfont23]

Tough to say. Could be anything....ie: Sand particles / sediment? Algae breakout? Surface scum? Chemical reaction based on whatever you tossed in there and your saltwater. I wouldn't worry about it. It'll go away - trust me. If you are that concerned, turn off the skimmer / filtration and power heads for an hour and see what happens.

Also, are you removing a gallon of SW and adding FW (distilled) to lower SG? If so, this could be the cause of haze.

[Original Fin]

Nice, my final question, and I should be done asking questions! haaha, as I asked earlier, I need to move my tank here in a couple days, can I just remove enough water where I can slide it easily and then just replace it with the same water? It would litterally probably take me all of 15 mins, its just moving 10 feet across the room, id rather not take the CUC out and disturb anything more than just a 10 foot slide.

That would be fine. Nice to have a small tank for that!

[NoobSalt]

Im an idiot, its actually really clear. the water change I think helped a ton actually, after just a few hours, its lookin crystal clean

Any advice on mving the tank a whopping 10 feet with a CUC?

[chrisfont23]

Any advice on mving the tank a whopping 10 feet?

Yeah, be careful.

[NoobSalt]

Yeah, be careful.

hahahaha obvi, i meant like, if i take out less than half the water, maybe like 1/3, move the tank onto the stand and slide it to its new home, replace with the water i took out 10 mins ago..Ill be good to go?

[Original Fin]

No prob. Just be sure to unplug everything first. Broken aquarium plus electrical devices in the vicinity...well, you get the picture.

[NoobSalt]

haha nice, thanks again guys. You've really helped me out a lot here, with your help I have gone from this:


To this:



May not look like much, but can def tell the clarity of the water, and its all thanks to you all! Keep the good advice coming!

[Original Fin]

Very nice!

In the words of Neil Peart..."One little victory!"

[NoobSalt]

haha sweet a Neil Peart quote! this forum gets better and better!

[chrisfont23]

joey jordison makes neal peart look like an amateur