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Chrisokinawa

Reefing newb
So I have been reading over quite a few forum posts about water changes as well as water chemistry. I am a bit concerned since I am new to this but then maybe my concern could also be a way to help regulate water chemistry without the hassle of water changes every week.

So I bought my tank used, added some bells and whistles and off I went without knowing anything about reef tanks. But I do know quite a bit about marine biology. I added 15 gallons seawater, 15 gallons tap water (unchlorinated over here) and Red Sea salt additive. I let the tank mature until all parameters leveled off which seriously happened in less than 48 hours. I picked live rock (coral fragments) and some creatures from the tidepools in the areas (being careful not to grab an important species) which included hermit crabs, box crabs, guppies, mudskippers and 2 whitebar damselfish. I also added a bit of live Ulva (Sea lettuce).

Here we are a month later and I have had no major issues with a fluctuation in parameters. The only thing that changes is the salinity due to the evaporation rate but that is still naturally maintained between 33 and 38 ppt, much like that of the open ocean which is never the perfect 35ppt. All other parameters have remained steady including ammonia. I might carry out a water change in a week or so.

My theory is that the algae has helped regulate the water chemistry.

What does everyone think?
 
Which parameters are you talking about? Ammonia should always be 0, and it looks like you got live rock directly from the ocean and put it in your tank. There was probably no die off, so no rise in ammonia, plus the bacteria in/on the rock is keeping the ammonia away. Calcium, alkalinity and magnesium are used up in calcification, as in corals growing their hard skeletons or coralline algea growing. If you have neither, you won't see a drop in those parameters. Algea will help keep nitrates down, but doesn't really help with much else. With your tank only being a month old and you picked livestock directly from the ocean, I would not expect to see much of a change in any parameters.
 
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