I've had a 120gal reef ready for about 6yrs with about 150lbs.of live rock and 4 inches of crushed coarl and lots large of fish.The water that i used is from my well that has levels of nitrate.Know i would like to turn it to a reef tank what do i need to do,i donated all of the fish,the tank is still running and the skimmer is still pulling a lot of gunk and the levels of nitrate are extremely high.My question is, is the liverock any good for a reef or is it saturated in this soup of high levels of nitrates.I was thinking of scrubing and dipping the rock in buckets of clean salt water and removing all my blue plastic balls that are in my sump.I know that i'm starting all over is all this a waste of time or should i buy new live rock and sand.My lighting is power compacts with 4 96wt.bulbs is that plenty for a reef, i need help i'm totaly confused
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starting over the right way i need help
- Thread starter vin1
- Start date
No, the rock should be fine.
You need to remove the crushed coral though, and then change all the water. For a reef, you will need a RO setup to make decent quality water.
I would run bare bottom rather than adding sand, just to simplify things.
And yes, take out the bioballs too.
The lighting should be sufficient for a reef, you will want to be sure the bulbs are fairly new....
You need to remove the crushed coral though, and then change all the water. For a reef, you will need a RO setup to make decent quality water.
I would run bare bottom rather than adding sand, just to simplify things.
And yes, take out the bioballs too.
The lighting should be sufficient for a reef, you will want to be sure the bulbs are fairly new....
thanks dan,i have another question on water should i buy ro or rodi is there a differents or distilled and is it ok for my family to drink it.If do buy any of these do i buy an expensive one or a regular priced one and is the name imprtant.I am never in a rush so gallons per hour or gallons per day is not an issue.dan thanks again
The RO/DI is a little bit purer, but I use just RO and it seems fine.
By distilled, do you mean buy the water or buy a distiller? I have heard distilled water could have copper in it from the evap coils; but no idea if that is founded in fact. Distillers themselves use a lot of energy and are very slow.
RO is fine to drink. RO/DI probably is too, but it is not used for human consumption. I believe it is because bacteria could live in the elements, or something like that. There was just a thread discussing it recently somewhere...
I don't think the brand makes too big of a difference. The gpd makes a big difference in price. And 3 stage is probably worth having over just a 2 stage.
By distilled, do you mean buy the water or buy a distiller? I have heard distilled water could have copper in it from the evap coils; but no idea if that is founded in fact. Distillers themselves use a lot of energy and are very slow.
RO is fine to drink. RO/DI probably is too, but it is not used for human consumption. I believe it is because bacteria could live in the elements, or something like that. There was just a thread discussing it recently somewhere...
I don't think the brand makes too big of a difference. The gpd makes a big difference in price. And 3 stage is probably worth having over just a 2 stage.
I would suggest a 4 stage RO/DI unit. Kent Marine and SpectraPure both make good units. Looks like current cost is around $200.
Deionized water isn't suitable for drinking. It isn't poison, but I believe it lacks the electrolytes your body requires for selective reabsorption. If I'm wrong, maybe a urologist out there can better explain it.
Deionized water isn't suitable for drinking. It isn't poison, but I believe it lacks the electrolytes your body requires for selective reabsorption. If I'm wrong, maybe a urologist out there can better explain it.
wow i just read that thread that dan connor put out there about ro/di water,a lot of it went over my head like it was a different language,but what i did get is that ro is ok for my family to drink and a plus for my future reef tank.But again i have another question with my well water, i had it tested and the test came back saying that my water is hard and it is ok to drink but it has a small amount of oder so i installed a whole house filter and i change the carbon filter every 3 months that takes care of the oder.Know should i remove this filter and install a ro unit under my sink and is the ro unit at walmart ok or should i buy elsewhere. Thanks again everyone out there
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