Hello, been meaning to introduce myself for a little while.
I am new to reefing and haven't had any kind of aquarium in the last 20 years. I got inspired to do this as my 6 year old is a budding marine biologist (as many of us were at that age) and I thought it would be fun to do together. Was really struck by the beauty of the corals/inverts in saltwater and decided to try a reef.
In January 2017 I bought a second hand Red Sea Max C130 on Craigslist (compact fluorescent top with retrofitted LEDs) and read a few books. Learned about BRS soon afterward and joined, been enjoying the hobby ever since. I have a mixed reef with lots of the starters corals (4 types of birdsnest, other easy SPS, candy cane, Duncan, zoas/palys, couple euphylias, derasa clam, etc...). Things were going smoothly so I decided to try a few acropora, which were going pretty well until mid-August when I lost 3-4, I think due to heat stress as my tank was hitting 82-84 during the day. Will need to figure this out for next summer.
Having a smaller tank is nice as significant water changes are pretty easy, but starting to see the downside as I pay more attention to water chemistry. I'm starting to notice big swings in my Alk - it is 9-10 dKH when I do a big water change (using Reef Crystals), but drops to 7 within 2 days and 6 within 5 days. Is this a crazy drop? Can my corals actually be consuming carbonate that quickly? My Alk, calcium and magnesium are always on the low side even with weekly water changes. Am wondering if I should just stop thinking about it and keep up with my water changes (10-20% per week) or actually start dosing something (maybe 2 part?). Would be interested to hear what you guys think!
Anyways, now that the monthly meetings are starting up I will look forward to introducing myself and saying hello in person soon!!
I am new to reefing and haven't had any kind of aquarium in the last 20 years. I got inspired to do this as my 6 year old is a budding marine biologist (as many of us were at that age) and I thought it would be fun to do together. Was really struck by the beauty of the corals/inverts in saltwater and decided to try a reef.
In January 2017 I bought a second hand Red Sea Max C130 on Craigslist (compact fluorescent top with retrofitted LEDs) and read a few books. Learned about BRS soon afterward and joined, been enjoying the hobby ever since. I have a mixed reef with lots of the starters corals (4 types of birdsnest, other easy SPS, candy cane, Duncan, zoas/palys, couple euphylias, derasa clam, etc...). Things were going smoothly so I decided to try a few acropora, which were going pretty well until mid-August when I lost 3-4, I think due to heat stress as my tank was hitting 82-84 during the day. Will need to figure this out for next summer.
Having a smaller tank is nice as significant water changes are pretty easy, but starting to see the downside as I pay more attention to water chemistry. I'm starting to notice big swings in my Alk - it is 9-10 dKH when I do a big water change (using Reef Crystals), but drops to 7 within 2 days and 6 within 5 days. Is this a crazy drop? Can my corals actually be consuming carbonate that quickly? My Alk, calcium and magnesium are always on the low side even with weekly water changes. Am wondering if I should just stop thinking about it and keep up with my water changes (10-20% per week) or actually start dosing something (maybe 2 part?). Would be interested to hear what you guys think!
Anyways, now that the monthly meetings are starting up I will look forward to introducing myself and saying hello in person soon!!