Hello! New Fluval M40

Hello,

I am new to the hobby. I was hoping to join a forum that can be very helpful considering I know only from what I've read and have very little hands on experience.

Started my saltwater tank on Black Friday.

Fluval m40 (14gal)
Fluval PS1 skimmer
Fluval nano reef light (156 LEDs, 25000k)
Heater
ChemI pure elete
10lbs live rock
Live sand

Pair of fancy clownfish
One banded coral shrimp
Two hermit crabs

I don't plan on putting anymore stock in the tank. I really enjoy the simplicity of having the pair of clowns and a CUC.

 

Sounds like an amazing tank! Would love to see pictures of your tank too!

Have you had tanks in the past?
Do you know about fish keeping?

 

hI and welcome you tank sounds nice! people here will be happy to help you and give advice!

 

Welcome to fishlore!

 

Here is a picture of my tank. Still have a little bit of the diatom bloom going on but this is nothing compared to what it was a few weeks ago!

 

Sorry for the sideways picture not sure what happened.

 

Welcome to fishlore!

 

Thanks for the warm welcome.

The only other tank I've had was a 10 gallon freshwater tank about 6 years ago. Unfortunately it didn't last too much longer after I left for basic training.

I have always wanted saltwater. Prior to purchasing my tank I spent a lot of time reading up on the nitrogen cycle. Trying to better understand how a water enviroment operates continues to be my second job.

I suppose the first problem I have is my PH doesn't seem to stay above 7.8 even though I have added seachem reef buffer with the two water changes I've done so far. The PH will raise to 8.2 but later in the day it always lowers back down to 7.8 I was told that 7.8 will be fine for my reef but I tend to be sceptacle considering most corals seem to appreciate 8.1-8.4 PH

Any thoughts on why the PH always lowers?

Salinity 1.0235 measured with hydrometer
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate <.5 ppm
phosphate - 0
carbonate hardness 12-13 which seems to be a little high