tracey walker Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Hi everyone I'm new to reef keeping kept cichlids for a few years . I live in san marcos looking for a friend to help me and to send questions at . I kind of jumped out there and bought some of the harder corals to grow but you live and learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Welcome! You will find a plethora of knowledge here. What corals did you purchase? It will be easier to give guidance if we know what we are dealing with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Welcome! You will find a plethora of knowledge here. What corals did you purchase? It will be easier to give guidance if we know what we are dealing with! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Welcome to the club Tracey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvickery2 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 It's an addiction and this is just online therapy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Therapy ? This is a bunch of dealers! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracey walker Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 lol I have several zoas ,xenia , but I bought a bubble coral which is not doing to good and a sun coral that's doing ok . my redleg hermit messed up the bubble coral pretty bad . I checked my nitrates lastnight and they are around 80 doing a water change later hoping to get it down I have crushed coral in the tank it seems to hold all the dirty matter . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Crshed coral is a great substrate, I run it myself. I find it best to clean my substrate every few water changes. Not being as dense as sand I don't think it absorbs nutrients in the same way. I do 30-50% of the bottom at a water change, every couple of months. In deep sand bottom tanks this usually can be postponed for a while (up to years) before it starts leaching Nitrates into the tank, the flip side being that once a DSB is has maxed out its a real bugger to fix it without breaking down the whole tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Welcome and good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Welcome to ARC. You are not very far from Aquaculture Ranch at Bear Creek. Come visit. I enjoy meeting people and talking about this hobby. With 45 years experience at reefkeeping, I may be able to answer some of your questions. To the point, I have used CaribSea Florida Crushed Coral for many years. My oldest set up at 12 years old is a 75G Jaubert Plenum. Laissez la bonne temps roulee, Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Welcome. Just about every one of us has killed a coral at some point in both early and advanced levels. When it happens to me I will generally avoid that particular species and try again later. Those nitrates are a touch higher than many of us like to run but they'll come down with time and maintenance. Crushed coral is ok. I used it for two years and kept lots of sps and haven't had much of a waste issue. You just have to stir it and vacuum it often. Make sure it's shallow. Nitrates should come down in time as your bacterial populations diversify and you start getting denitrification in your rock work. Macro algae helps too...see mr subsea (the above poster) for extensive info on macro algae (but not limited to). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo59 Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Hello! I am a fellow San Marconian and am also new to the hobby (in the process of converting a freshwater to saltwater), so I probably can't help. But it's good to see San Marcos peeps in here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.