Nano tank noob

[R3verb]

Hi all,

I have a 24 gal tank with only 3 fish in it. I was wondering if maybe I could do some simple corals? yay, nay? Any suggestions?

Casey

 

[Bifferwine]

Adding corals will depend on the type of light that you have, and your water quality. What lighting do you have, and what are your parameters?

 

[R3verb]

I have a hood system with Current USA bulbs. One is a daylight bulb that combines a 6700k with a 10,000k light at (I think) 40w and a second bulb that has 460nm and 420nm ACTINIC lights (though the 420 may be out) and that one is at 40w as well. What are my paramaters? My water quality?

 

[ErinCahir]

Yep. pH, Nitrates, Nitrites and ammonia to start off with.

 

[R3verb]

last time i checked, ph was at 7.1, Nitrates was just barely elevated yesterday but I just added a new fish on friday. Nitrites was 0 and ammonia was 0. temp at 78 deg

 

[Smitty]

Whoa, that ph is extremely low, are you sure you read it right? Even with those low lights, you may be able to keep mushrooms.

 

[reeftanker84]

yikes the ph is waaaaay low,you need to boost it up to a minimum of 8.1 and max 8.4,i am surprised your fish are alive,that low of a ph is usualy only found in freshwater,what is your salinity?

 

[fastrd400]

Wait, what time did you take the reading of the Ph? Always take that reading well into the day after your lights have been on for hours. Ph will drop at night, and then rise again after your photo period starts. It is not uncommon to get low readings early, and then normal in the evening.

 

[Smitty]

I agree that they are lowest in the morning, but not that low. That has to be a mistake.

 

[R3verb]

woops sorry guys. I was reading the numbers off of my fresh water setup sheet. (South American cichlids require almost acidic PH numbers.) Saltwater PH (tested this morning) was an 8.3

 

[Smitty]

Whew...that sounds much better. :)