Dirt-simple chemistry MUST-knows for tank health

[SantaMonica]

Down and dirty phosphate:

Know that it can get into your rocks and take a year to fill up; at that point your problems start showing up. So, export way more phosphate than you think you need to from the start.

 

[s2nhle]

Well done. Learn alot from your writing.

 

[asifiqbal2]

Thank you! great write up

 

[s2nhle]

Thank you for your sharing.

 

[spider1218]

That's for sure learned that lesson the hard way

 

[sellmecorals]

I finally get it

 

[Aidan123]

Great information here! Never fully appreciated the importance of calcium in the reef until now

 

[flyingclay]

That clears up a lot about why my stonies would slow their growth when I run low on calcium. Thanks for the concise and informative article.

 

[Sicotic]

Im an very new to salt water and reefs ... this was good information. Thanks for taking the time. !!

 

[MSreefdoc]

I have been in the hobby for almost 2 years now. After killing an sps frag a year ago, and then another 6 months ago, I had about decided to just stick with the softies. Reading sk8r's original post made it seem so simple that I think I may try again now. Thanks!

 

[swordfish2002hk]

Very nice write up. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Reel North]

Thats a great writeup. Much appreciated. I am embarking on a 150 and it gives me a better insight.

Again, thanks a million!

 

[JamesOver]

Awesome information for someone new to reefing. Everything explained well!!

 

[Elvis_B]

Good info!!

 

[sellmecorals]

I finally get it

Sk8r, thanks for the writeup.

Since you made it so easy to understand, could I please bother u to explain which method works best for diff size reef tanks like 2 part, Kali, balling, etc?
Newbie here grateful

 

[ReefandClimb]

Solid info

 

[Ontheway]

Books of information summarized in a page, thank you.

 

[droog]

Very nice writeup. I'm using Red Sea Coral Pro salt, and their recommendation (for LPS reef) are

Salinity: 33ppt
Ca: 440
Mg: 1310
Alk: 12.1

These are very much inline with your recipe posted here, except for Alk.

Questions

1] Is it better to target 8.3-9.3 Alk range, or follow the RedSea targets for Alk of 12.1?
2] This recipe seems to ignore salinity, but surely the concentration of salt mix also affects the target levels, so this recipe is based on what salinity? 1.0264 (35ppt) or other?

My 120g DT currently runs at a salinity of 1.025sg (33 PPT) and I had planned on adding a little salt to my ATO to reach 35ppt. Any view on which level of salinity would be better? I have a lightly stocked tank with LPS corals and fish.

 

[james2369]

Very nice write up

 

[takaiguchi]

Wow. Thank you! I'm newer to the hobby and learned this stuff the hard and expensive way!