Reef Tank Temperature - Discussion

I am currently running my 125 gallon reef tank at temperature range  between 27.8 - 29.4 degrees centigrade. Is this a bit too hot?

Yes "a bit" is about right. Ideally you want to be around 80 degrees and your temps are 82 -85.85 degrees is about maximum before the animals get stressed

I've tried injecting copious amounts of air into the dry column & have  also installed a ventilating fan with its louvers directing on the water  surface of my sump. In addition, lots of air is also forced on the surface of the aquarium. With all these, I only manage to bring the temp as above.

Humm I wouldn't want to see it without the fans!

I've had a chiller before, but got busted a few times also the noise is irritating. I desperately need some advice on how to keep reef tanks cooler or maybe it will be better if you can suggest on some corals that can  thrive in this temperature.

You don't say

• how long has it been like this what took place to notice the increased temp
• how old is the tank
• how does the tank look (creatures)
• is this due to seasonal temp swings?
• where in the world you live (ambient temp)
• what the room temp is?
• type of lighting MH ??
• enclosed hood?
• if your tank is lit with MH how many watts?
• and do your creatures need such high light/watage

I would recommend to look into

• the light/wattage is it needed?
• use a room air conditioner if the ambient temp is constantly 80 deg or higher.
• air conditioners work very well
• improve your fan situation make sure the hood is adequately ventilated
• 85 deg is max 80 is desired

Yes, you were right about me not providing you enough info on my tank. Anyway, I live in a tropical 'island' (is now a city/country) near the tip of west Malaysia. Pretty high temps here, around 25 - 35 degrees centigrade all year round. I think can't do anything much to lower my reef tank. Maybe, be a bit selective on inverts. Anyway, I find that reef temps in the sea are around 27 - 29 degrees ya know, but I do not see the point of why inverts in our tanks have to be kept at lower temps.

Actually the best advise is common sense. How do the creatures look? That is the BEST indication regardless of what you read or hear. Animals, fish inverts, coral can adapt to a fairly wide range of conditions. The real problem with high temperature is the metabolism of the creature is increased. So it eats more, produces more waste and IMO accelerates its life span. Although if its a hardy animal it will also reproduce more. I really don't like chillers as they are expensive and expensive to run. If you could get a room air conditioner that would definitely bring down the tank temp as well as keeping you cool ;-) 

That's my preference. Actually your tank temps are not that much different the your observations of the sea in your area 

Simplified Reefkeeping

New Tank Set-Up...Discussion

1. YOU MENTIONED USING THE MAGNUM WITH NO MEDIUM.  I'M ASSUMING YOU MEAN
NO CHARCOAL -- USING THE FILTER ONLY AS A FILTER FOR BIG CHUNKS AND WATER
 MOVEMENT.  DO YOU NEVER USE CHARCOAL TO CLEAN UP THE WATER?

No I mean *no media* at all. The live rock does all the biological filtering so you don't need a secondary filter! In fact a separate filter will INCREASE your nitrate levels... This is all in  my book.

 2. I'VE ORDERED MY SECOND ICE CAP -- PLUS 4 URL 110W BULBS.  2 ACTINIC WHITE AND 2 ACTINIC 03.  IS THERE SOMEWHERE TO GET MORE INFO ON THESE BULBS.  I'VE READ SOMETHING SOMEWHERE BUT CAN'T FIND IT AND REMEMBER ONLY ENOUGH TO KNOW THERE IS MORE TO THEM THAT I SHOULD KNOW.

That sounds great. Ice cap and URI are a great combination. The most important thing to know is to replace the bulbs in about 6 to 8 months. Other than that its just technicalities that are in my opinion ..un important. For some more info look on my links page for online dealers they should have more info
 
 3.  CHEMICALS.  KALKWASSER -- I NOTE THAT KENT HAS A POWDER ,  I ASSUME THAT I'LL JUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PACKAGE.  ANYTHING ELSE I WOULD FIND HELPFUL?

Yes that's good I would follow the instructions in my book though as they are much more detailed. Also an excellent alternative to the high price kalkwasser is simply balls pickle lime. same thing.. calcium hydroxide price difference is about $1.49 for balls... $11.99 for kalkwasser. You will use allot of this
stuff so I would buy a case of balls

LUGOLS IODINE.  I'VE FOUND NOTHING THAT FITS THIS DESCRIPTION -- COULD  YOU GIVE ME A BRAND NAME, OR SOME MORE INFORMATION.

Go to  a pharmacy (not a chain, but a small mom & pop) and ask for lugols solution about 12 a pint will last a life time...some states you need a prescription just tell them what your using it for... a trace element for a reef tank

ESV STRONTIUM -- I'VE FOUND KENT HAS A STRONTIUM, BUT NOTHING ABOUT ESV --

ESV is a brand name of a very good company that produces chemicals for the tank. THey tell you on the label what the concentration is the strontium is about 12 a pint also and will last at least a year see my links for a online dealer

WHAT SHOULD THIS NOVICE KNOW THAT TO OTHERS IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE?

Off the top of my head I would keep it as simple as possible... you don't have to get all caught up as if it were surgery or something... its very easy. And the tank ends up taking care of its self.

Simplified Reefkeeping

The best way to cycle a reef tank.

CYCLE THE TANK WITH LIVE ROCK ONLY

Step 1. Purchase all (or if your budget is low at the time, get at least 1/2) of the live rock you will use, and proceed to step 2. When ready, get the second 1/2 of the rock.

Step 2. When all the live rock is in the tank, test for ammonia and nitrite. You need to get a zero reading, which could take 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the amount of die-off on the rock. Do not proceed to step 3 until steps 1 and 2 are complete.

Step 3. Begin to add inverts (clams, shrimp, starfish, crabs, snails). Add a few at a time, checking ammonia and nitrite. After all inverts are added, and the test results for ammonia and nitrite are zero, proceed to add your corals, a few at a time. Continue to test for ammonia and nitrite until all your corals are added. When the readings are at zero (this will usually take about 2 weeks, possibly longer), proceed to add the fish in the same manner as above, until all the fish have been added.

Cycling the tank with live rock is the simplest, most trouble-free way to start a reef tank.

Step 4. When the test results read zero, and you begin to test and record nitrate, your tank is completely cycled. When you cycle this way, the live rock does most of the conditioning. This is the way to start your system. It is definitely the safest procedure, because it is hard to know how much die-off the live rock has on it. This way you won’t endanger the valuable, delicate specimens you will add later. Remember, only bad things happen fast. You will need to exercise patience, resisting the impulse to do things in reverse. Remember: live rock first, inverts second, corals third, and fish last. You are now up and running. This will take about 2 to 6 weeks, possibly longer.

Once all the rock is in the tank, the cycling of the water will begin. In approximately three days, there should be a measurable amount of ammonia. Test and record the ammonia at this time. Continue to test and record it at three to four-day intervals. The reading will rise and rise, until one day it will drop off and be zero. At that time, begin to test for nitrite.

The nitrite cycle is very similar to the ammonia cycle, so use the same procedure as described for ammonia. Do not become alarmed with the test results! This is the cycling process, and the tank will balance out! As long as you do not have any fish, inverts or coral in the tank, you have nothing to worry about. Be patient, let nature take its course, and the tank will cycle.

When the nitrite test reads zero, you should begin to test for nitrate. You will get only very faint nitrate readings, because the tank is now balanced and has virtually no bio-load (waste products from fish, invertebrates, etc.).

When the bacteria “catch up” (multiply to process the waste in the tank), you will get zero readings of ammonia and nitrite The tank has now had its first and largest cycle. When you add more livestock, this will increase the waste load, and the bacteria will have to multiply and catch up with the increased load. You will get mini-cycles of ammonia and nitrite when you add livestock. These small cycles will be insignificant as long as you don’t add too many creatures at once. Begin by adding inverts, two to three at a time, until they are all in. Do the same with the corals (possibly slower because of the cost). Test for ammonia and nitrite a few days after each addition. If the test results are zero, proceed to add creatures as described until all inverts and corals are added. Give them a week or so to acclimate. Test for ammonia and nitrite. When they register zero, and the inverts and corals appear to be well adjusted, you are ready to add fish in the same manner as described.

How much Live Rock is required in a reef tank, what is recommemded?

It is very important to have the correct amount of live rock. Some people have gotten carried away with the idea that if some is good, more must be better. This is not true! As with all concepts of reef keeping, balance is very important here. If you don’t have enough live rock, natural internal filtration will be ineffective, because the bacterial colony on the rock will be inadequate to perform the task. Or, if you have too much live rock, you will have dead spots on it. These are areas of live rock that are covered with other rock, blocking some surfaces from light and water circulation. These dead spots are likely to trap waste, sediment, uneaten food, and many other products you would otherwise remove regularly. When waste products accumulate in these areas, they will be a sure food source for micro-algae, which will thrive, causing diminished water quality.

This is referred to as “stacking” the rock, and it should be avoided at all costs.

The correct amount of live rock to have in a reef tank is between a minimum of 1 pound per gallon and a maximum of 1.75 pounds per gallon. Somewhere in the middle, like 1.35 pounds per gallon, would be ideal. Do not exceed 1.75, unless you want to turn some quality live rock into base rock, which would take at least a year to recover and resemble what it was before other rock was stacked on top of it.

I have met many people who have jammed as much live rock into their tanks as would physically fit, in an effort to create a natural system. The only result they got was a natural disaster. Two-thirds of the rock died. The water had so much nutrient in it that it could not be reused. They had to start all over again, rinsing all the rock, buying another tank to use the excess rock, or trying to sell the rock back to the store (as base rock). They learned that when it comes to amounts of live rock, more is definitely not better. Again, do not exceed 1.75 pounds per gallon.

Amounts and quality of live rock for a 55-gallon setup: (55 gallons x 1.5 = 82.5 lbs.)

• 12 lbs. base rock for bottom, fist size
• 40 lbs. premium quality for back and sides, large flat
• 20 lbs. encrusted octocoral, large long, for high points
• 11 lbs.  of ricordia mushroom rock for accents
•  

Simplified Reefkeeping

Planning the Reef Aquarium

The most important thing to do is to plan. The reason this is so important, in my opinion, is that so many people would like to get into this hobby, but they don’t plan. They walk into a pet store, see some nice live rock and coral and invertebrate, and they want to start a tank with that. After their purchase, they find their light is not strong enough, their water isn’t pure enough, they don’t have test kits or the right size protein skimmer. Their tank has not been properly conditioned, so the livestock they bought dies. At this point, they are shocked at what it will cost to get the proper items, and many just give up. Some others try to go on with half of the items they really need, still with bad results. Do not take this approach!

Summary: Understand what is involved

• Can you afford a reef tank?
• Write a plan
• List actual costs of items in your area
• Get an idea of a tank size

1. What size tank?

Its location, preferably near a sink (for water supply and drain). Will the floor carry the weight of the tank? Preferably away from direct sunlight. How much floor space will all the equipment take? Is there enough power supply to run all the equipment? Will there be enough room to service behind the tank? (See Chapter 12, on large tank location.)

2. Your budget.

Can you afford it? List and plan (very important). You may not be able to have everything up and running right away. But if you are patient and plan ahead, buying what you need as you can afford it, you will end up with the largest, most pleasing setup you can have. Put a lot of effort into the functioning of the system first, before adding live creatures to it. Plan for the ease of water changes and waste water drainage, the location of your tap water purification system, a large protein skimmer, and high-power lights with the proper bulbs. Once you have these in place (proceeding to each item as you can afford it), you won’t have to worry about jeopardizing the livestock you will buy. This is definitely the best approach. The next pages will give a recommended sequence for purchases.

In this hobby only bad things happen fast, due to lack of time spent on planning

3. Your time.

Remember: only bad things happen fast in this hobby, usually due to lack of time spent. Patience is invaluable. Keeping a reef will take a considerable amount of time, especially if you fabricate the components yourself. However, the rewards are exceptional! You will get tremendous satisfaction from knowing that you built components that are practical to maintain, and far exceed factory-built standards. But all this takes time,a lot of time. Are you willing to do water changes every two to three weeks? Are you ready to change your prefilter every week? Make limewater as needed for evaporation? Remove algae as needed? These are all responsibilities you have to take into consideration. (See Chapter 9, "Maintenance.")