what should my next piece of equipment be?

So i have a 140gal total system.
i was looking at getting a carbon reactor, is there anything else i could get that would benefit me more?

i have all the necessary stuff. phs, skimmer, lighting, pumps, ato, wave-maker.

so carbon reactor or what else would be a good investment?

 

An auto doser would be a good next purchase if you are keeping clams and SPS.

 

i am not yet, but hopefully will in the future. Do i really need to dose with such a large water volume? i am using reef crystals salt and if i do weekly water changes shouldn't that replace the stuff they need? i mean until i am heavily sps or clam stocked?

 

You should be OK with water changes unless you have tons of LPS. Just test Ca, Mg and alk every few weeks. Mg may be the one that you will have to dose because most salts tend to be low on Mg.

I would say after the carbon reactor you could be good if you already have a GFO reactor.

You may not need either reactor if your stocking level is low IME.

 

i do not have a gfo reactor. and i only have 2 clowns 1 anthias 1 scoter blenny and a spotted mandarin.

should i be using gfo? my phosphates always test at 0 when i test for them.

 

They test zero because algae, rocks, and sandbeds suck them up quickly... Which makes for bigger problems down the road.

 

Please explain. I set up a refugium to house a dsb and macro algae, live rock and sand in the DT, why would having zero phophates pose a problem?

 

True, pretty sure when I started my tank my water has a lot of phosphates and now they are are leaching back into my water via Rock and Sand.


Have you thought about a wave maker setup? I really enjoy my MP10 and so do my livestock.

 

Algae consumes nitrates and phosphates. That is usually why people get false readings especially when they see the algae present in the tank. Reducing nitrates and phosphates will kill off the algae.

 

Which is why you keep macro algae (chaeto) in the refugium/sump, so that is doesn't emerge in the DT. But either way, they aren't false readings. The macro algae uses it. I thought 0 ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and phosphates is what we are supposed to strive for... what problems will arise in the future?