saltwater newbie attempting a 55 gallon reef

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Shiroi Katsune;3400042; said:
This is a great thread. Hands down one of the most informative beginner reef threads i've ever seen. I know i've learned a lot. Someone should sticky this.
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Thanks! I'm glad that people other than just myself are getting something out of this thread. I haven't even started adding corals yet....so I intend to keep it going for a while.

sktydsntkno;3400723; said:
Whatever happend to the crab? were his claws dull tipped? if so might be a Red Mithrax crab = good crab
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He is in my sump for now. His claws were pointy, but I'm still waiting for an ID from Mr. Reef before I decide whether he will stay there or go back in the display tank.
 
mr.reef24;3404430; said:
why was my post deleted in here?

mr.reef24
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It was a double post from a month and a half ago at the very beginning of the thread. You posted the same answers twice, the second time in a different color font so we could read them easier. I asked a mod delete it to clean up the thread a bit....no info was lost :D

Any luck trying to get an ID for the crab I found??
 
BTB0923;3394987; said:
Got him....he's not as big as I thought. To catch him I decided to try a simple approach with just a glass and some bait. I honestly wasn't sure if he was going to be bold enough to climb over the lip of the glass to get at the squid, but he did. Now that I have pics, is it a gorilla crab like we thought? I doubt he is reef safe, but if he is I would like to put him back in the display tank as I'm sure he would be a great addition to the clean up crew.
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Red cling crab SP. Quite a few variants on specific shell markings on these, however this one does carry all the correct markings, appendage proportions and claw type is consistant...NO exactly reef safe, is an omnivore...best kept in a sump.
 
Thanks Reefscape. I guess I'll keep him in the sump. I just wish my chaeto would grow so he had something to hide in. I still don't understand why its not growing. I was under the impression it usually grows like crazy, even under low light conditions. I must be doing something wrong.

I've been testing my tank fairly regularly and all the parameters are staying pretty constant. The usual readings are as follows:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0-0.5 (api test is hard to read, gonna get salifert next time)
ph: 8.2
alkalinity: 9-10
calcium: 390-400 (I've been treating with Brightwell 2-part and I'm still experimenting with dosing quantities to keep it above 400)

I'm thinking about establishing a regular water change schedule but I have a couple questions. If my nitrates and phosphates are staying low is it really necessary to do weekly water changes? I would think doing regular water changes might be a waste of money because you have to treat the water to get your calcium and alkalinity levels back up after every water change, right?
 
I dont know much about setting it up because I bought it all put together but heres a sudgestioon for fish to live on your reef maybe a small port jackson shark or a bamboo shark with a snowflake eel
 
Reefscape;3405488; said:
What salt are you using, as you have to dose calcium / 2 part buffer...seems odd...
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Right now I'm using regular Instant Ocean salt mix, but I intend to transition to Instant Ocean Reef Crystals mix when the bucket of regular I have runs out.

I haven't been using much of the buffer part of the two part treatment as my alkalinity and ph have always tested ok. I'm mostly using it to get my calcium levels up. In what way does it seem odd?
 
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