Achieving Stability in the hobby

[vincentwangz]

Today I want to share about achieving stability in the hobby. There are many methods out there so I don't claim to be an expert. But I thought it would be good to share some priniciples I have learned in the last two years.

1. Starting well

It was important to start with the right conditions; using 0 TDS water with a salt mix that I could trust helped make sure there is no bad chemistry in the water. Using rocks that are cured or pretreated also ensures nothing like phosphates or worse copper leaks out into the water. Cycling properly is also important. Biological filtration is the most important process in saltwater tanks and it can only happen when the beneficial bacteria is established properly.

2. Testing water

In order to achieve stability I found that I had to test the water to figure out whether it was an issue of excess nutrients or a chemistry imbalance issue. Having reliable test kits helped me to tackle the issues correctly. Once stability is achieved I find the need to test less necessary. From time to time I only test Po4 and KH to make sure I'm on track.

3. Decide which system to follow

There are many methods out there and I have read about success with doing this and doing that. However, I realise I cannot pick and choose whatever I read about just because it is working for someone else. I had to find something that worked for me in terms of time taken and success rate. After two tank crashes, I can safely say that the best method for me is regular water changes performed weekly, for a system that is supported by strong skimming, and an ATS.

I also run a dosing pump that doses a two part solution to maintain my KH and Calcium uptake. I manually add 4 litres of DI water twice a week. That is all I do, and so far it has worked.

4. Stick to the plan

Once you have found the stability in your tank, stick to it and don't unnecessarily make changes. For eg, if the plan was to do weekly water changes, don't skip it. Don't take shortcuts by adding things that promise to make your life easier. I once added a bag of Chemipure elite and for a while it made my water crystal clear. I believe it was so effective in stripping the water of nutrients that my water became unviable for corals and the tissue started coming off the skeleton.

5. Introduce changes with caution

Sometimes you come across things that tell you it can help you reduce your nutrients, or deal with hair algae, or Cyanobacteria. When you want to try out a new product, introduce it slowly. Start off with a half dose and see if it upsets the balance in the tank. I came across the zeovit system and found that people have used it with much success. Before I delved into it, I did a lot of reading and browsed threads on forums to see what users share about the system. I'm still not fully confident yet and I have not started on SPS yet so I'm only using Cyanoclean at the moment to deal with Cyanobacteria at the moment.

So there you have it, here's some things I've shared about my journey, I hope it helps.

Happy Reefing

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[Reef2Max]

Thanks for sharing.. I want to add one point as well that treating or curing the rock is an important process as well, else we will start up with a planted tank

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[Vololo]

This is a good reminder for all of us, I'm always changing things around even though my reef is colouring up nicely and happy. Stick to the plan!

[Suman]

Nice advise....thanks for sharing

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[Soleh Joe]

Have anyone uses ats and skimmer to control no3 and po4 at desirable level?

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[AltisD]

Hi a newbie question, what is a ATS? Thanks in advance.

[vincentwangz]

It's short form for Algae Turf Scrubber. A device that will use oxygen to promote the growth of algae on a screen with light so that it will absorb excess nitrates and phosphates.


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[kapemasarap]

I once added a newly recharged purigen and it worked too well. My water was pristine crystal clear but it was probably too clean that the corals went into shock. I had to do 100% water change. Fortunately it was an 8 gallon nano tank that I had aside for quarantine purposes. I may have killed most of the bacteria in the process and start back from all over again. I started seeing diatoms and what a relief, at least all is not lost.


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[alons]

Nice!

I would add 2 key words (written in blood :))

"Patience" - translate to take things slow, slow as in put 1-2 fish in a 4-5 weeks intervals, let the biology mature (i know it's extremely hard and most people will not follow, but we are talking about live creatures here, it's heart breaking to see them die because of our mistakes)

"Quarantine" - start from day 1 and setup a quarantine tank, store systems infested with parasites and other crap, if you follow advise above, you can easily aclimate and treat new fish in a small (50l) quarantine tank for 3 weeks before moving to the main tank, this will save you A LOT of frustration and money, it's the best investment you would do (iMO doing this for couple of years)