Hello new to salt water here in northern Az

[Timj]

Hello all I'm new to the salt water area. I purchased a setup that was established. I have now set everything back up and tuning it in all seems to be going well. The tank is about 95 gallons with as he said 200lbs of rock. The tank was pretty dirty due to the previous owners lack of time and he decided to sell. I have done two water changes so far and it seems to be going well. There were a few fish in it as well and all seems fine. I'm looking to learn a little more information about things that I'm getting a lot of different information about. If anyone can dumb down some answers for me I would appreciate it

Not sure what color lighting is best? White or the blue?

Salinity level seems to be fine what other levels should I be checking? What is each chemical level should be at? What does each chemical do?

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Hello Tim,
Welcome,

When it comes to lighting unless you're growing coral, it's all preference. You'll find that most lights are rated by their Kelvin rating or K rating. This number refers to the color of the light lower the number the more yellow or red it is, the higher the number the closer to blues and UV. A 6500K light will be yellowish and will be a great range to grow macro algaes, and a 20,000K light will be a deep blue, kind of what you would see in most reef tanks.

Most tanks that you will see will be more in the blue range and will probably have an array of different K rated lights to achieve a certain color that aids in coral growth. Corals are going to need light in the range of 10,000K-20,000K. When you're closer to the 20,000K range you'll begin to see corals fluoresce and show some beautiful colors.

There are many popular lights out there. You'll see T5 lights, LED's, and even metal halides. All have their pros and cons from cost to heat to electrical consumption, some offer a shimmer affect on the bottom of the tank while others don't, some are dimmable others aren't.

But to answer your question, to get the beautiful colors of coral and fish, a light close to the 20,000K range is where you want to probably be.

Other than salinity, while the tank is new you'll want to watch for ammonia and nitrites but after it's cycled you're going to want to keep an eye on Phosphates and Nitrates.

If you're going to keep corals then the list of wht to test gets larger, the big 3 are calcium, magnesium and alkalinity. those are the basic building blocks for coral structure. As far as where you want them to be, (these are averages some may have preferences based on other criteria in their tank) Calcium 380-400ppm, Magnesium 1450-1500 ppm, and Alkalinity 8-9 dKH.

I know this may be a lot of information to digest, and it's definitely NOT all inclusive, if you have questions or need clarification, please ask.

 

[Timj]

Hello Tim,
Welcome,

When it comes to lighting unless you're growing coral, it's all preference. You'll find that most lights are rated by their Kelvin rating or K rating. This number refers to the color of the light lower the number the more yellow or red it is, the higher the number the closer to blues and UV. A 6500K light will be yellowish and will be a great range to grow macro algaes, and a 20,000K light will be a deep blue, kind of what you would see in most reef tanks.

Most tanks that you will see will be more in the blue range and will probably have an array of different K rated lights to achieve a certain color that aids in coral growth. Corals are going to need light in the range of 10,000K-20,000K. When you're closer to the 20,000K range you'll begin to see corals fluoresce and show some beautiful colors.

There are many popular lights out there. You'll see T5 lights, LED's, and even metal halides. All have their pros and cons from cost to heat to electrical consumption, some offer a shimmer affect on the bottom of the tank while others don't, some are dimmable others aren't.

But to answer your question, to get the beautiful colors of coral and fish, a light close to the 20,000K range is where you want to probably be.

Other than salinity, while the tank is new you'll want to watch for ammonia and nitrites but after it's cycled you're going to want to keep an eye on Phosphates and Nitrates.

If you're going to keep corals then the list of wht to test gets larger, the big 3 are calcium, magnesium and alkalinity. those are the basic building blocks for coral structure. As far as where you want them to be, (these are averages some may have preferences based on other criteria in their tank) Calcium 380-400ppm, Magnesium 1450-1500 ppm, and Alkalinity 8-9 dKH.

I know this may be a lot of information to digest, and it's definitely NOT all inclusive, if you have questions or need clarification, please ask.

Hello and thanks for the information. I have two morsel led 10.000k each with variable brightness and color on each with 55 led each. I'm guessing this should be efficient. I have done some testing and my levels seem to be ok so far

Carninate 440 ppm. Little high
Alkalinity 411.7 ppm. High
Phosphate 0.25 little high
Nitrate 0 good



I don't have the testing items needed for anything else at the moment but intend on doing so. I also plan on adding in an RO system when I can to help with the hard water

What is the best choice kit light to use to grow soft corals? I just added a small coral frag with a few zoas I believe they are called. They are beautiful in the blue light. I placed them in one of the homes in a live rock that I have now. Should they spread?

Thanks for the helpful information so far I apreciate it!!

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Hello and thanks for the information. I have two morsel led 10.000k each with variable brightness and color on each with 55 led each. I’m guessing this should be efficient. I have done some testing and my levels seem to be ok so far

Carninate 440 ppm. Little high
Alkalinity 411.7 ppm. High
Phosphate 0.25 little high
Nitrate 0 good



I don’t have the testing items needed for anything else at the moment but intend on doing so. I also plan on adding in an RO system when I can to help with the hard water

What is the best choice kit light to use to grow soft corals? I just added a small coral frag with a few zoas I believe they are called. They are beautiful in the blue light. I placed them in one of the homes in a live rock that I have now. Should they spread?

Thanks for the helpful information so far I apreciate it!!

10,000K is the range that is most beneficial for coral growth but [we] in the hobby like the blue because it brings out the vibrant colors, we either supplement 10,000K with 20,000K or find a combination on lights that aid in growth as well as beauty. One other thing that I failed to mention last night is that corals need intense light which is measured in PAR. Most hobbyist start out with soft corals and/or zoanthids, (sort of the route you're going) they don't require an intense amount of light which means you don't have to spend a mint on lighting unless you know you're going to step up to the stony corals later on.

"Best light" is so subjective, you can ask 10 people and they will give you 15 different answers. I personally started off with T5 lights (because of the cost) but once I started having great success with coral, I stepped up to LED's. I'm a proponent of Ecotech Radions. Ever since they became available I had to have them over my tank. The great thing about them is they have an array of different color LEDs that can individually be adjusted to achieve any color you want. They are on the pricey side and they aren't necessary for your needs, but you asked about the best, so I gave you my opinion. Not that you can't get them used for a good price. They have made many versions of the light, which get better every time, their most current lights are the Generation 4 pro's, but to be honest, I had the Generation 1's for so long and they grew SPS coral like nothing else. I recently sold 8 of them for $100 each to make way for the Gen4's. If you can get your hands on some of those, you won't be disappointed.

Do you know what kind of zoanthid you got? I'm a bit of a zoas nut, I like to have a few gardens of those at the bottom of the tank. I would put a bunch of different ones together and allow them to spread and populate an entire rock. They will spread so you have to be careful, know where you want them to go.

There is a lot of great information in different sections of this site. there are forums specifically for soft coral, LPS, SPS, zoanthids etc. Be sure to check them out and read as much as you can before making big mistakes.

Also there is a section for lighting also one called new to the hobby and that forum is stickied with lots of great information. give that a look too.

 

[tcamos]

Welcome! It's a great hobby and very addicting.
When it comes to adding that RO unit you mentioned I recommend doing it sooner than later. It's very helpful to be able to make your own water and that convenience can make the difference. You mention RO, but it needs to RO/DI by the way.