Am I all GROWN UP / REEF READY?!

in about 6 months i'd try an anenome but only if either a get bigger light fixture or b stack the rock so the anenome can get really high in the tank to get enough light to live

also get your salinity up to around 1.025, just do it via water changes
calc will come down on it's own as coraline begins to grow so I wouldnt worry about that to much, just don't dose any calc for a while only test it

 

The watts per gallon is so useless here it's not even funny. T5s are good quality lights, you have more choices than you realize.

As to starting corals with color, let's see here....Well there's a lot of variety of zoas to choose from, the ricordea mushrooms can come in many colors including bright orange (many have multiple colors on them). I'm sure others have more ideas (keeping in mind that this is a new tank we're talking about).

Refractometers near me range from $50-80, but price differs with area, so it could be different for you. Try checking online.

As to the salinity mix up a super saturated gallon of RO salt water, and slowly put it in the sump. Some people drip it, others pour in a little at a time, either way the goal is to slowly raise your salinity without having to do a water change. For future reference check the salinity of your new salt water before it goes in if you do a water change. Make sure it is where you want it (~1.025).

I never got what kind of salt you were using or what you were dosing into your tank. I'm trying to figure out what drove your calcium up so high.

 

I am using oceanic natural sea salt mix (contains calcium booster)
I also earlier on dropped one tablet of sea-lab #28... (also contains calcium among other natural elements)

Not sure if the sea - lab is something you use often or not... I have a 2 lb box... LFS said to drop one tablet every 6 weeks or so...

I use a drip method in the sump...
So I guess I would have to raise salinity through a bi weekly water change...
(your saying mix the salt in the ro water to get it up to 1.025 then add it to the tank)
Do this every 2 weeks until at desired level?

 

buy some IO (instant ocean) salt and use that for a bit till you get your calc down
as far as raising the salinity with a young tank you need to be doing water changes once a week anyway I'd just raise it slightly there, or you can use some saltwater for topoff instead of ro/di and ditch the tabs, you should get all the trace elements and other things that are deplinished off water changes not off dosing some crap the LFS told you you needed to use so they could make a buck

 

No, the super saturated is if you wanted to increase the salinity now (not as in immediately going from 1.021 to 1.025, but over a period of an hour or so) Increasing it through your water changes is another way to do it. (In saltwater, the phrase '10 different ways to skin a cat' holds a lot of truth). You can pick either one. The super saturated mixture won't hurt anything if slowly added (it's the same concept as acclimating). Personally I use this method so I don't have to do a water change when I don't want to.The water change option is just as viable.

From now on though whenever you do water changes make sure the new water is at 1.025. That way you don't have to worry about your salinity as much.

 

Red sea master test kit. Includes everything but mag and it comes with some good supplements plus it's fairly cheap and does upwards of 65 tests a pop.

 

Ditto, Stores live to sell stuff. Some of the only things that ever need to be dosed in a tank is calcium (for tanks with a lot of coral where the calcium is sucked out of the water over a few days). Sometimes some tanks need iodine, but there are way to many people dosing this that don't need to. Only other thing I can think off is magnesium. However, like Iraf mentioned, your tank is young and not stocked to the brim. It can get all of these elements out of the salt.

 

Very interesting...
I had no idea what I was really buying at the time when I was sold the sea lab #28... I've learned a lot and HAVE GONE THROUGH A LOT since then! Lessons learned! However, now that I have the 40 dollar 2lb box... should I use it? It says 4 cubes per 50 gallons... seems like a lot.

 

Sure, what the heck. Since you've got it might as well, but cut the dose in half, and monitor your params from there.

 

oceanic is the best salt! I've recently begun using it after years of instant ocean and I can tell the difference. I don't have to dose 2 part system as much and my fish and corals love it. Also,a once a week water change should cover your tank right now, without corals and without having to add anything. testing this to be sure. you might need to supplement Mg though. It's really good salt. I've raised the sg in my tank before in 4-6 hours from 1.022 to 1.025, with no harm. they actually seem to like it. If you have a star or shrimp, those are the most affected by drastic changes in salinity .....

Light......some may say you can use pc's for anemone's but from experience, NO you can't (IMO) I have had pc's and t6's and the t6's will keep one alive but not make it flourish. Invest in some good t5's or mh's if you can stand the heat issues and the $$ it costs to run them.