What are your reef keeping methods?

[ElGuappo]

What are your reef keeping methods? Yes its Vague but "Curiosity".........

[danny zubot]

I try to stick to bi-weekly water changes of between 15 to 25% depending on what the tank looks like. I usually test my CA, MG and ALK every other week as well. Unless something doesn't seem right, then I test more often to get a better handle on my dosing regiment. For example, lately, with my new tank I've had to test more often to gauge my ALK consumption. It seams that just because I doubled my water volume, it doesn't mean I simply double my dosing. If only it were that simple.:biggrin:

[christyf5]

Weekly 10% water changes. Test when I feel like it to make sure my tank is on track. Its been having issues for the past 6 months or so so i was testing every week. Now that it has been back on track for the past 4-6 weeks I feel I can slack off a little on the testing :razz:

[Delphinus]

I'm kind of all over the map on this one. Testing, I generally try to test for the things I watch out for once per week, but sometimes fall off the wagon and will let it slide. Tonight I tested Ca, Alk, Mg, NO3 on 3 tanks and PO4 and K on 1. That was a solid hour of testing!! I hate it when I need to do that but it had been 2-3 weeks since my last battery of tests. Ideally I just test a couple parameters one day then some others another day.

Water changes .. I try to do one big one (25%-33%) once per month, but sometimes let this slide too. But I aim for monthly for the big ones, clean out the sump, etc.

Now that I'm doing zeovit on one tank, on that tank in particular I'm doing 10% weekly changes but am still going to aim to do the big one monthly just because there's a fair bit of mud accumulating in the sump that needs to be shop-vac'd out.

2 out of 3 tanks I dose powdered supplements ("two parts dosing" daily - one morning, one evening) and the other tank has reactors.

The nice thing about the two-part dosing is that the same stuff works on multiple tanks. But it's manual labour, the reactors are a nice automation, but then there's an investment required in the infrastructure. Running 3 reactors on 3 tanks is probably outside of most people's budgets. Then again running 3 tanks is outside of my budget and the costs seem to be only rising, I'll likely be simplifying things at some point just because this isn't a sustainable pace for me anymore.

[mark]

Do a 10% change every 2-3 weeks with supplemented water (using IO and is low in Mg and Ca right from the pail), and rely on a Ca reactor in-between.

Have a PH monitor and the probe in the Ca reactor effluent so easy to give a quick check every couple of days to see how it's running. If it's ~6.7 I don't even look at the bubble count but might look at the drip rate to get a idea. Every week or two I'll record the PH, reactor rates, Ca, Alk and less frequently Mg and NO3.

[Myka]

I do a waterchange when my tank tells me. It's my GSP of all things that tell me when it's time. When it retracts, and doesn't come out for a few days it's time to do a waterchange. Funny thing is, it's just the solitary rock of it that tells me, the stuff that's made it onto the rocks (grrrr!!!) isn't sensitive.

So, right now I'm doing bi-weekly 30% waterchanges because I have 30 Bangaii babies in a "net" in there, and boy do they add to the bioload!

I test maybe twice a month, but my levels usually stay ok because of the large waterchanges. I just end up dosing a bit of calcium, and some alk (w/ pH buffer). I have been doing waterchanges with Mg of 1500 in hopes of helping to battle the GHA I have right now because of the massively overloaded tank from the baby Bangaiis. I need that new Banger grow out system up and running!!

[digital-audiophile]

I do weekly 5% waterchanges with RO/DI and reefers best salt.

I dose my zeo daily and have started a two part solution as I have been noticing low alk and ca levels.

I test every weekend for Ca/Alk/No3 Po4.

[ElGuappo]

I do bi monthley waterchanges and dose purple up biweekly and iodide and strontium monthley. i do about 30% when i do a change. i havent done a water change in about 6 weeks this is the longest ive gone. i have done a top up or two. but no water changes and my tank looks the cleanest iit ever has.!!!!!!! i dont get it. glass rock substraight all clean as a whistle. i should mention i have cut my feeding down again. had to up it a ittle as some hermits and a litlte coral went missing. feel i have a good amount now.

When i do do water changes i use tap water with safe powder (minimal amount) to dechlorinate and de nitrate. and use coral marine sea salt. this salt has 72 trace elements aswell as a dechlor. i mix my water a minimum of a day in advanve to a monthe in advance.

[steve fedyk]

I change water very two weeks and test the water new water. Once a week I test KH, Ca, Mg, and NO3, well if time is there.

[bv_reefer]

water changes every 3 days and supplementing/testing all on sunday

[Lance]

20% WC every 2 weeks with IO salt. Test for KH, Ca, Mg weekly. Other tests monthly. Change Carbon & Rowaphos every 2-3 weeks.

[Zoaelite]

Monday-Dose Ca/Alk, Sponge Power, Feed fish
Tuesday-Dose Black Powder
Wednesday- NOTHING
Thursday-Dose Ca/Alk, Sponge Power, Feed fish
Friday-NOTHING
Saturday-Dose AA/Trace and Sponge Power
Sunday- Water Change (5-10%) TEST on CA, Nitrate, Nitrite, NH3, pH, Alk.

[Mikee]

5-10% weekly water change, change carbon/phos monthly, test KH, CA, MG weekly, Feed daily flakes, pellets, and mysis every now and then. Replace Ca media whenever i have to, Fill ATO reservoir 10-15g every 7-9 days.