A Step by Step bare bone guide for Beginners - getting it right and sa

[Terryz_]

Saltmix vs NSW

There are numerous problems as indicated in several threads on this site with regards to NSW. Therefore IMO its best to use Salt Mix. Convenient, stable & safe.

Yes, I know but you are like stating that NSW is bad... There are both pro and cons if you know how to handle them...

[CFOh]

Thickness of the Glass

Its the height not the thickness. Please see below:-

http://www.austinglass.com.au/aquariums.html

Thanks for sharing.. come across this write up before.. I think some typo above..

"THE GLASS THICKNESS DEPENDS ON THE HEIGHT, NOT THE LENGTH "..

[Terryz_]

KH or DKH

Carbonate hardness (KH)-Measured in mg/l, ppm, or the German dKH. Measured with test kits. Carbonate hardness (also known as alkalinity) is the measure of carbonate (CO3-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ion concentrations dissolved in water. These minerals are present in municipal, well, and bottled spring water. The level of carbonate hardness in tap and bottled water depends on the source of the water and the treatment processes it has undergone. Carbonate hardness helps stabilize pH in the aquarium. An aquarium with a low KH level (50 ppm or less) will tend to be acidic. Aquariums with very low KH are also subject to rapid pH shifts, if not monitored carefully. Water with a high KH level (>200 ppm) usually has a high pH. In many saltwater aquariums, especially reef aquariums, the demands for carbonate hardness are high. Carbonate hardness in marine aquaria constantly decreases as biological processes, primarily biological filtration, produce acids that neutralize bicarbonate ions and remove them from the water. (Moe, The Marine Aquarium Reference 1989)

If you have a very unstable KH level (drops rapidly), look into causes such as a large amount of decomposing organic material. The more organic break down (de-nitrification), the more acids produced. Some filters if not cleaned regularly can cause this; including canister, UGF, and Wet/Dry.

Denitrification is an alkalinity producing process and nitrification process produces acid.... Denitrification will happen after nitrification, therefore it would partially mitigating the lowering of pH caused by nitrification... The should be not much effect on the kH...

[Oprime]

Debate is great - brings out the best and the new chaps get a great perspective!! Yup typo there......

[jamomatt]

Thanks for sharing.. come across this write up before.. I think some typo above..

"THE GLASS THICKNESS DEPENDS ON THE HEIGHT, NOT THE LENGTH "..

The article specifically states that the bracing takes care of the length, and must be there to prevent the tank from bowing out.

So length do play a part if you have no bracing.

[Firestarter]

Hi Oprime,

No offense intended but after reading your article, I think some of the points in your writeup are incorrect or inaccurate which may confuse any newly started reefers here.

Peace.

[wilsontantw]

Good effort for sharing. I agree with some points.. E.g. Using a refractometer. But I cannot agree with everything, such as the great debate of NSW vs SALTMIX.

You know, the saying "A picture speaks a thousand words". How about sharing some setup pictures with macro coral shots? Maybe some coral growth/progress shots over the weeks/months/years.

I'm sure the pictorial sharing, besides the heavy reading, will be helpful to all beginners.

Cheers!

[Jameshong]

Thickness of the Glass

Its the height not the thickness. Please see below:-

http://www.austingla.../aquariums.html

I am not sure on this but it seems contradicting, it does not depends on the length becos you will be fitting bracing to the length, den in a rimless tank without any bracing? I believe what I have seen with my eye, my fren's 2ft tank was running for year den the bracing broken off by accident and the front glass started to bow as the time goes by... It is only a 2ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft...

iirc, not just the height but length is also an important factor when come to glass thickness decision .

[CFOh]

The article specifically states that the bracing takes care of the length, and must be there to prevent the tank from bowing out.

So length do play a part if you have no bracing.

iirc, not just the height but length is also an important factor when come to glass thickness decision .

the motivation of author statement above were height playing more significant or dominant role versus length in deciding glass thickness. Let consider when both object having same volume but one taller and the other one longer, which one easier to tilt? Will derive more when free... Just share my tot... Cheers

[desideria]

for me personally, I feel that whatever works for your setup, stick to it. If one is persistent enough, one will learn along the way After some time and experience, sometimes eye-balling is good enough to tell whether your system is doing well or going down the hill. But of course test kits do help to confirm one's suspicions.

NSW vs DIY salt water mix. I personally prefer doing my own salt water mix as I can control what I put in ( besides putting my trust in the brand of salt I buy!) like the amount of MG, CA, KH etc and all the other additives. So at least I know. It's troublesome and takes up my time but it's for my own peace of mind. However I would like to state that I am aware of what i'm doing so I don't overdose. Some reefers have been using NSW with no issues whereas some have so there is no hard and fast rule here. It truely depends on every individual reefer.

Bracing is something I will always have as well as having as thick a glass as I can afford it! LOL. I'd rather be safe than sorry. A one off capital expenditure to prevent future heartache AND headache.

Also there are many many articles online, not just 1 so google-fu for the win to get a broad spectrum of the reefing world.

Have fun Ya'all!

[Oprime]

Dear Firestarter

No offense taken but do advise what is it that you think about the article that is misleading or untrue. I shall be more then happy to clarify these points in addition to what has already been clarified.

On the pictures requested will take some shots and post them. These thingy's were not there when live rock was placed in the tank.

[Oprime]

Thickness of glass.

I think its important for us to understand this and to get more bang out of the buck. I have seen guys here who have 6 foot tanks with 15mm glass panels. I think its a waste because you dont need such thick glass and just for that 3mm extra which you dont need alot of extra cash is wasted. The main factor is the height of the tank. I am quite sure that if the height of the tank is 2 feet, it is DEFINITELY possible to have an 8 foot long tank IF the tank maker has the skill and know how to get the desired bracing done. My concern is that the market sentiment today is anything longer then 6 feet do 15mm. It would be nice if there are any engineers on this site who are also reefers who could explain this point professionally. The Australian article posted gives the basic blue print of how a tank should be constructed and what the proper thickness should be. Ofcourse its better to be safe then sorry but if you know that you will be safe then sorry doesnt arise. IMO tank makers are quite happy to scare some of us, for obvious reasons, into believing that we need 15 mm when we dont.

[Oprime]

Glass thickness

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-139898.html

[CFOh]

the motivation of author statement above were height playing more significant or dominant role versus length in deciding glass thickness. Let consider when both object having same volume but one taller and the other one longer, which one easier to tilt? Will derive more when free... Just share my tot... Cheers

As I promise to derive more.... Below r the general convention for glass thickness calculation, as you can see the length taking account in term of constant ratio (β) versus height, therefore the impact would be negligible in normal condition unless exceed certain matrix.

But on the other hand, look at the Height (H) in the notation, it play dominant effect as one of the key variable.

Pls find the notation below:

Glass thickness = ( (β x (H^3) X 0.00001)/B )^0.5

β = A constant ratio between length over height

H = height of Tank

Bending Stress ( B ):Tensile Strength / Safety Factor

Just share my tot..... Hopes above helps.... Cheers..

Edited August 23, 2011 by CFOh

[Rxcp14]

Hmm as someone new to marine setups, i will still follow the use of test kits. I got a veryvery expensive and bad lesson of going with my gut feeling abt the parameters and using even a cheap multi test strip. It made my high grade crystal shrimp tank i had for a couple of years to crash, following the death and sell off of my shrimps and decomm of my 2ft tank(which became marine now). Test kits will help u eliminate possible causes of death, ie; ammonia burns/poisoning, too high/low dkh and such. It also helps when ur dosing nutrients in ur tank after water changes or weekly dosing. Example, change 20% of water will replace only 20% of nutrients from saltwater. If stocking of tank is on the extremes(very low/high), my own thought would be that depletion of nutrients will be different. Of course following manufacturer's instruction is best, but if i got, say, a low stock level, wouldn't weekly dosing accordingly be extra nutrients accumulating down the road?

Regarding the filter u wrote its not needed but ur using one, it can be added if needed, im using a hangon one which can have multiple uses like as a media chamber for chemical and bio medias, breaks water surface for circulation and increase oxygen levels, siphons out extra food, floating poo and stuff.

Which the above said, im in no way trying to put down anyone in anyway. this is written on neutral ground in accordance to my own experiences in freshwater tanks. no offence yea ppl out there!

[Zoa guy]

how is kh related to decomposing matter???????? or are you talking bout ph???

Your pricing is kinda...... A simple tunze 9002 or red sea prizm 200 liao, unless you're talking bout air stone skimmer which u can get for 5 bucks. And yeah, $250 if u want an iceprobe without a controller.

if u're not a fan of test kits then how u gonna measure your parameters???? using a moniter/controller?

As far as i know, test kits and moniters/controllers are the only way u can measure your parameters.

and try not to put it on a table....

for lighting, i support t5 for now. But in the future, that would probably change...leds are birghter and controllable but are more expensive and u dont need a fully controllable lighting. t5 has more bulb choice

[Oprime]

None taken but i think you did not read the posts written after the article where I categorically stated that some tanks come with box filters built in and that I removed mine to make space.

[Oprime]

Same with regards to KH etc....explanations were given.

[Oprime]

THANK YOU CFoh!!

[iskay]

2 cents worth. -

[CFOh]

2 cents worth. -

Thanks for sharing, Take note on the excel file formula at C39 were missing square root, and formula at C41 is the correct one. Thanks

[Zoa guy]

missed the explanation part...

for the salt, i think one should just stick to a brand s/he likes same goes for nsw. i've seen successful aquariums filled with both nsw and salt mix.

How bout dosing? What kind of additives do you add for your tanks?

[Oprime]

Dosing?

All I use is Red Sea Coral Pro for synthetic sea water. 72% of it is comprised of sodium chloride harvested from the Red Sea and the salt crystal have within them the 45 essential trace elements The other 28% consists of all the essential things that a reef aquarium needs which is calcium, Magnesium and Carbonates plus another 12 major elements. No need to add strontium la, this la that la! Seriously speaking when you think its time to do a partial water change you are actually "dosing" your tank. There are a considerable amount of people out there who dont do water changes and all they do is top ups. These guys would probably need to dose their tanks to replenish the elements and minerals which are absorbed by coral growth etc.

[wilsontantw]

Stumbled upon this while browsing members tank specs forum...

Is this

[Zoa guy]

tanks dominated by stony corals need additives to increase the Ca,mg, kh level, this and that. I believe that it is good to add strontium. I actually doubt that u can keep your Ca, mg...etc level in check through frequent water changes in stony dominated tanks. BUt for softies and fowlr, it should be alright though.

Dosing as in what additives to add and how u add it...like via a dosing pump, gravity drip system....