Am I on the Right Track?

[Skylar Oborny]

I would like to eventually have a reef tank with a few fish, my current setup is a 55 gallon reef ready tank that consists of 100 lbs of dead rock & 40 lbs of live sand ( I recently introduced a maroon clownfish to the tank, yes I am now aware that the maroon was not the best choice for a first fish since it is known to be aggressive ) below my display tank I have a home-made berlin sump that has a filter sock ( which I am not really sure how to clean ) a pump to go to my carbon reactor and the return line from my carbon reactor, in the second / middle compartment I only have dead rock ( I would like to turn this into a refugium, and in the final compartment I have a small protein skimmer ( hoping to get a larger one soon ) and my return pump to the display tank. I also have a 20 gallon trash can with a pump to my ATO to replenish evaporated water to the sump.I have a 48" light fixture that holds 4 t5 bulbs, I have 2 white light and 2 actnic lights along with the moonlight LEDs ( 1 white light and 1 actnic light is burnt out ) , I have two power heads in the displaytank on opposite side walls pointing different directions.

My water parameters currently read :
salinity: 1.021, nitrates: 0, ammonia: 0, pH: 8.0, Calcium: 280, KH: 11, PO4: 0

I have noticed my water is not crystal clear, I can see a lot of particles, I am a little worried about this, am I overreacting? What can I do to maintain perfect water quality so I can begin to add corals?

 

[SarahSmile]

A lot of corals are very easy to keep, very forgiving. A lot of them flourish in "dirty"water. Green star polyps, mushrooms, most soft corals actually.

 

[SarahSmile]

Your salinity is a tad low.

 

[Skylar Oborny]

Where will I want my salinity for corals? Will the soft corals help clear up the water?

 

[SarahSmile]

1.025 is a good number to shoot for. No, corals do not clear up the water, some just won't really grow much in water that is too clean. They thrive in dirtier water. That's all.

 

[Sidekick41]

I would get the other two bulbs working before getting too many coral. not sure two bulbs is enough light even for some soft corals.

 

[Skylar Oborny]

yeah, I will definitely have all bulbs working before I add corals

 

[Marinne13]

your calcium seems really low as well, should be around 380-450...not that you need high numbers for soft corals but that is really low

what salt are you using?