Reef Parameters

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BIGgourami

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2007
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in order to keep a happy, productive and above all successful reef, you need to have your tank's water match, as closely as closely as you can, the ocean. it seems kind of obvious but it is MUCH easier said than done. you can go look at any successful reef tank and you will see that. then you can ask the owner about why it is so successful and he will most likely say that he has nice equipment, and quality help (which he'll mostly probably include himsself in :D) which does helps (although DIY equipment works fine if you know what you are doing, and everyone has to be a begginer at some point), and if he really thinks about it he'll probably say that he has really stable water parameters. it's really one of those things that seems so basic it's often overlooked. if you're anything like me... you'd have absolutely no idea what to shoot for in terms of parameters and chemical levels an dsuch, i bet you'd like a list of these reef water parameters in some detail, hopefully this article here will be helpful to you.



stability is probably more important any one set number here
PH: as close to 8.3 as possible

Temperature: 78° F to 84° F

Alkalinity: 8 to 11 dKH... or... 2.86 to 3.89 meq/L

Calcium: 390 to 450 pp

Magnesium: 1350 - 1400 ppm (or 3x Calcium levels)

Phosphate: .03 ppm

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: <15 ppm
 
owhh.. :(

well this was for the parameters of onion's 'win my sticker' atricle contest, so.....
 
Well you should be more specific and say a tropical reef. I will copy and paste the definition of reef from Wikipedia

"In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water yet shallow enough to be a hazard to ships. Many reefs result from abiotic processes&#8212;deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes&#8212;but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of waters developed through tropical biotic processes dominated by corals and calcareous algae."

and
"Geologists define reefs and related terms (for example, bioherm, biostrome, carbonate mound) using the factors of depositional relief, internal structure, and biotic composition. There is no consensus on one universally applicable definition. A useful definition distinguishes reefs from mounds as follows. Both are considered to be varieties of organosedimentary buildups: sedimentary features, built by the interaction of organisms and their environment, that have synoptic relief and whose biotic composition differs from that found on and beneath the surrounding sea floor. Reefs are held up by a macroscopic skeletal framework. Coral reefs are an excellent example of this kind. Corals and calcareous algae grow on top of one another and form a three-dimensional framework that is modified in various ways by other organisms and inorganic processes. By contrast, mounds lack a macroscopic skeletal framework. Mounds are built by microorganisms or by organisms that don't grow a skeletal framework. A microbial mound might be built exclusively or primarily by cyanobacteria. Excellent examples of biostromes formed by cyanobacteria occur in the Great Salt Lake of Utah (USA), and in Shark Bay, Western Australia."

So lets just say the params for the most common type of reef tank being tropical.
 
BobbyG123;1878821; said:
y nitrates so high always thought they should be 0??
Click to expand...

ideally yes, but they can do that high without any sort of fatalities, but should definately be kept as low as possible, another reason RO/DI is strongly reccomended
 
are you using tap water? tap water often has nitrates in it..
 
you LFS doesn't sell RO/DI water?
usually it's something like 50c a gallon.. they might also sell premixed SW for like a buck a gallon
 
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