Starting a Reef Tank
Reefkeeping involves quite a bit of knowledge about water chemistry and livestock husbandry. But with a few simple tips we can get you started on the right foot. Here's a quick breakdown on how to get your start in this great hobby.
TANK SELECTION
Larger aquariums are often thought to bring success easier because with a larger volume of water you will have less fluxuations in water chemistry. Corals and fish don't do well if there are changes in water chemistry. If you have your heart set on a small 10 gallon tank we recommend researching in advance to select really hardy fish and corals. A good size tank to start with if you want to have a full thriving coral reef is the 75 gallon, 90 gallon or 110+ sizes. Tanks with an overflow kit (drilled tanks) offer you the ability to add a sump tank down in the stand. This is where you will put your filtration and top off water. We definitely recommend buying a tank with a sump system. It will make your reef keeping experience so much better.
ROCK SELECTION
There are two primary options available when buying rock for your reef tank. Live rock is wet rock that has been in the ocean or a fellow reefer's aquarium for many years. Then there is dry rock, both natural and man-made. Dry rock is cheaper but will take some time to get covered by microscopic life in your tank. Many times reefers will build their rockwork out of dry rock and then "seed" their tank with a few pieces of live rock. In time the life will spread and you'll have a full tank of live rock.
There are two primary options available when buying rock for your reef tank. Live rock is wet rock that has been in the ocean or a fellow reefer's aquarium for many years. Then there is dry rock, both natural and man-made. Dry rock is cheaper but will take some time to get covered by microscopic life in your tank. Many times reefers will build their rockwork out of dry rock and then "seed" their tank with a few pieces of live rock. In time the life will spread and you'll have a full tank of live rock.
SAND SELECTION
There are many types of sand available for your reef tank. When selecting a sand we recommend using a larger size grain as apposed to a fine soft sand. Corals need a lot of water movement to help them breathe and stay clean, and a larger particle size sand will not blow around as much when you turn up your pumps. Some reefers are even skipping the sand all together. While having a sand free tank bottom solves the problem of sand blowing around the downfall of this method is that it takes a lot longer for your tank to cycle. We have seen it's much easier to run a tank with a sand bottom chemistry wise.
There are many types of sand available for your reef tank. When selecting a sand we recommend using a larger size grain as apposed to a fine soft sand. Corals need a lot of water movement to help them breathe and stay clean, and a larger particle size sand will not blow around as much when you turn up your pumps. Some reefers are even skipping the sand all together. While having a sand free tank bottom solves the problem of sand blowing around the downfall of this method is that it takes a lot longer for your tank to cycle. We have seen it's much easier to run a tank with a sand bottom chemistry wise.
WATER AND SALT
Most reefers use Reverse Osmosis filters to get pure water for their tank. The reason for this is that tap water has many impurities and as your aquarium water evaporates you'll have to add more water to keep it full and the impurities don't evaporate so in time they will build up in your tank. There are many options available for under a hundred bucks that will last you a long time. As for salt we recommend choosing one that has an Alkalinity level of between 8-10 dKH. This is what most fish stores have their level at so it will make introducing new fish and corals much smoother. We use Instant Ocean here at The Coral Farm. You'll need a refractometer to check your salt levels. They look fancy and sound expensive but really they are cheap and easy to use.
Most reefers use Reverse Osmosis filters to get pure water for their tank. The reason for this is that tap water has many impurities and as your aquarium water evaporates you'll have to add more water to keep it full and the impurities don't evaporate so in time they will build up in your tank. There are many options available for under a hundred bucks that will last you a long time. As for salt we recommend choosing one that has an Alkalinity level of between 8-10 dKH. This is what most fish stores have their level at so it will make introducing new fish and corals much smoother. We use Instant Ocean here at The Coral Farm. You'll need a refractometer to check your salt levels. They look fancy and sound expensive but really they are cheap and easy to use.
CYCLING YOUR TANK
Once your aquarium has salt water, rock and sand then it's now time to cycle your tank. It's easiest to start with just a few cheap and hardy fish like damsels and/or clownfish. They will help start the cycle by providing ammonia to the water which is needed to start the cycle of nutrient removal via nitrifying bacteria. Along with fish you will need to add beneficial bacteria. This can be done by adding some live rock or sand from a previously established aquarium. You can also buy a product such as Dr. Tim's One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria.
The basic timeline of cycling events is first your tank will start dusty, clear up and then over the span of the next few weeks to months will go through an "ugly" stage where there are one or more algae blooms. This is natural and all a part of what must happen as different organisms win and lose their fights to colonize your rockwork. Eventually things will clear up and you will start to see that great pink/purple coralline algae form on the rock and glass. As a general rule we say once the coralline algae is about the size of a penny you are ready to add corals. At this point your tank has been stable for a significant amount of time and you should do well with corals as long as you can keep that stability going. Keep Alkalinity, Temperature and Salinity stable and you will have great success.
ALKALINITY
Once you add corals to your tank you will need to start taking care of your tank's Alkalinity requirements. Corals will "use up" your Alkalinity and will need levels raised back up to keep them alive. We recommend testing your newly made salt water from your salt mix and keeping your tank levels the same. We keep our Alk around 8.4-9.4 but anywhere between 8-12dKH will work. If your Alkalinity falls below 6dKH you might start to loose some corals. But more importantly if the Alkalinity levels change too fast that has an even higher chance of killing your corals. We recommend trying to keep your levels as steady as possible and not changing Alkalinity by more than 1-point per week.
Alkalinity is one of the most important parts of keeping corals alive. If you're going to test one thing then make it Alkalinity. To increase your levels many reefers use soda ash or baking soda. Baking soda is recommended for raising your Alk levels and soda ash is recommended for smaller additions to keep levels steady. You can find instructions at BulkReefSupply.com. We recommend the Salifert Alkalinity test kit. It's super easy to use and you get a ton of tests for less than $20.
Once you add corals to your tank you will need to start taking care of your tank's Alkalinity requirements. Corals will "use up" your Alkalinity and will need levels raised back up to keep them alive. We recommend testing your newly made salt water from your salt mix and keeping your tank levels the same. We keep our Alk around 8.4-9.4 but anywhere between 8-12dKH will work. If your Alkalinity falls below 6dKH you might start to loose some corals. But more importantly if the Alkalinity levels change too fast that has an even higher chance of killing your corals. We recommend trying to keep your levels as steady as possible and not changing Alkalinity by more than 1-point per week.
Alkalinity is one of the most important parts of keeping corals alive. If you're going to test one thing then make it Alkalinity. To increase your levels many reefers use soda ash or baking soda. Baking soda is recommended for raising your Alk levels and soda ash is recommended for smaller additions to keep levels steady. You can find instructions at BulkReefSupply.com. We recommend the Salifert Alkalinity test kit. It's super easy to use and you get a ton of tests for less than $20.
CALCIUM
Stony corals, some inverts and coralline algae use calcium from the water to build their skeletons and shells. If you only have soft corals you likely won't need to dose extra calcium. Even if you have just a few stony corals you could just do a water change periodically to add back the calcium they need. But once you start to collect many stony corals then you'll need to add more calcium more frequently as the corals use it up. We use calcium chloride from Bulk Reef Supply. You can find dosing instructions on their website. Many reefers shoot for around 450ppm calcium.
Stony corals, some inverts and coralline algae use calcium from the water to build their skeletons and shells. If you only have soft corals you likely won't need to dose extra calcium. Even if you have just a few stony corals you could just do a water change periodically to add back the calcium they need. But once you start to collect many stony corals then you'll need to add more calcium more frequently as the corals use it up. We use calcium chloride from Bulk Reef Supply. You can find dosing instructions on their website. Many reefers shoot for around 450ppm calcium.
MAGNESIUM
Magnesium plays an important role in stabilizing pH in your reef tank. As a bonus, we've also noticed that higher levels can help keep nuisance hair algae growth suppressed. We add Mg to our tank to keep a target level of around-1350-1400 ppm. You can find Magnesium and it's dosing instructions on Bulk Reef Supply's website.
Magnesium plays an important role in stabilizing pH in your reef tank. As a bonus, we've also noticed that higher levels can help keep nuisance hair algae growth suppressed. We add Mg to our tank to keep a target level of around-1350-1400 ppm. You can find Magnesium and it's dosing instructions on Bulk Reef Supply's website.
DOSING PUMPS
Once your coral collection starts to grow you'll want to start using dosing pumps to automate the dosing of additives and keep your levels more constant. An automatic dosing pump can alleviate the chore of manually dosing your aquarium and will benefit your aquarium by keeping your levels constant through daily small additions. There are some great options for under a hundred bucks that will get the job done.
Once your coral collection starts to grow you'll want to start using dosing pumps to automate the dosing of additives and keep your levels more constant. An automatic dosing pump can alleviate the chore of manually dosing your aquarium and will benefit your aquarium by keeping your levels constant through daily small additions. There are some great options for under a hundred bucks that will get the job done.
