What additives if any?

[jet_jer]

I really appreciate all the help. I am planning on finding my source of 77-80% Calcium Chloride today and then look at how to add it to the tank. I also purchased a Kalk Reactor - I know I could have made one and I actually have about 3/4 of the stuff to make one - but if I got a good deal on a Geo unit and most of my DIY projects don't work right until unit #3 or #4 so I can save myself the mess since this will hold water and messing up will get a lot of stuff wet .

Water changes are something I do regularly anyway as I have a real short sand bad on top of some starboard - I needed the sand in there . I vacuum the sand regularly and thus need to add saltwater. At the moment I am looking to make this a lot easier by installing some PVC draining in my house walls - Yeah lots-o-fun! but in the long run it will allow me to protect against my ro/di unit overfilling my reservoir container and sump, will allow for a quick water change by draining some water then refilling. I think it will work out well and not need the buckets anymore.

Man the things I never thought of due to the wife factor

jer

 

[nwrogers]

Point taken m-fine and I don’t completely disagree but this is a subject that has been largely debated. There is no one way to do things and I am not going to argue over what is the best way. In the end the only thing that matters is having a stable and healthy environment. If you can do that, than you will succeed long term. However there are some organics that cannot be removed by skimming or activated carbon. Here is a great thread that has both sides of the argument. However I think you will find if you read far enough into the thread that your view is looked down on very much by some of the “best” marine aquarist alive right now…

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=202026&session=ewTLxjBVY0gK2QKknM5HNGim2Z

Look for quotes by gregt, Gary Majchrzak, Bomber, Randy Holmes-Farley, etc. and this one by JB NY…

Originally posted</a> by JB NY
Telling people that water changes are not necessary is just plane bad for the hobby and bad advice. For 95% of us who keep reef tanks. Water changes are necessary and beneficial. If you have been having great luck with no water changes for a few years and you can post a picture of your tank flourishing then great. You have obviously had great success with it. But I would never tell others not to do water changes.

I change out 25 gallon (10%) twice a month and still about every 6-8 months I go through a week or two were I end up doing water changes every few days just to get things back under control. I also have two refugiums and skim heavily.

As I said, I'm not saying you HAVE to do water changes. It's just I would never not do them in my tank and I would NEVER recommend to someone not to do water changes as well.

There is no point is arguing this any further on this thread. If you read this thread I linked to above you will understand why you are giving bad advice. I go on and read it…

Nate

 

[m-fine]

To be clear, I am not against "water changes" or advocating keeping the same water for 10 years. I am just against using FREQUENT SMALL changes to try and maintain chemicals or remove them. It is always a short term strategy that will not scale to multiple years.

If you siphon the substrate regularly you will generally change some water out, but that is a side effect. To avoid buildup of harmful chemicals (or recover from a disaster contamination) using only water changes, you need big water changes, 75%+. These are not only more work but also more stress on the tank so I would never recommend they be done frequently except in emergancy situations. I like to do a 90%+ water change once or twice a year on top of the normal siphoning. If you do it back to back weekends you end up with 99% fresh water. I don't give out too much advice on this because I can only go by my experience, and there are definitely risks to go with the benefits. So far I have never killed a fish or invert doing a large change, and I ended up doing them every 4-6 weeks on my Berlin until the ice storm killed it. The key is to spend a day or so prepping to match the water as close as can be done and then make the actual change as quick and smooth as you can. Is it safe? Is it the best? I have no clue but it has worked for me, and when it is done I know what I have in the tank.

Anyway, the best reef keepers do a whole lot of things to their tanks to keep them in world class shape. From cleaning to dosing to water changes, everything contributes to the whole. Just about anything you do to a tank someone else has a better tank without doing it, and another guy has a better tank doing 10 times more then you. The key IMHO is they typically are actively involved in the tank weekly if not daily and don't neglect the tank.

 

[jet_jer]

So I couldn't find any Dow dowflake at Home Depot - I'm always looking for this stuff at the wrong time of year . I was able to pick up 16oz of Kent Liquid Calcium - and according to the calculator to go from 315 to 420 for calcium - I need 12.7oz of the Kent LC to get where I want to be. SO I figured I would do this in 3rds or is that to much. Also, since there are no immediate instructions do I just mix say 4oz with some ro/di and then pour into a heavy flow area?

Jer

 

[m-fine]

I would go slow, a capful at a time into the sump or a high flow area. Spend a couple days on it so you don't have a high concentration anywhere to cause an alk crash.

 

[SkiFletch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7518949#post7518949 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by m-fine
I would go slow, a capful at a time into the sump or a high flow area. Spend a couple days on it so you don't have a high concentration anywhere to cause an alk crash.

/agree. crashing your alk by dosing calc too fast doesnt really solve your problems