New on the marine side

do I need co2 for corals in a saltwater setup? Any other tips for saltwater would be appreciated as i am hopefully changing over from years of keeping discus to saltwater in the coming weeks....

I would advise you to do more googling / reading.
Lots more.

Edit starts here

Sorry that sounds a bit harsh on rereading, what I mean is that there is tons of info on the web, read that first then come back here for the finer details.

Co2 is not needed in a "normal" marine setup.

Hows Things mate

Yes i would say myself so a lot off reading on what setup you are going to be going for what live stock and so on before you go head first in

Marine is not hard it is just very time consuming but sure any good fresh water tank is also

The more you know and the more you take your time with it would be best as it will pay off in the long run for you

You do not need Co2 to keep corals steady and balanced levels in a marine tank is best

Depending on what time off setup you are going as in say FOWLR,Softies,lps,sps will all depend on what equipment you will need as in dosing pumps more flow lighting and so on there is a lot in it but the more you read around here on the forum you will learn and a lot we all are always learning you never stop learning in this hobby

If there is anything you need please just post and im sure there we will many people to help

Also i iss you are in the meath/cavan area im in navan me self so if you ever need anything at all just just get on to me

Sean

Hi lads,

I realise that may have sounded like a stupid question but I had remembered at the time i bought my co2 system for freshwater there was one for saltwater too so i just asked it off the cuff and i admit the lazy way instead of looking into it in detail on the net but then again thats why i joined here is for advice and answers to questions. No matter how silly they may seem we all have to start somewhere
I have done a lot of thrawling through the net regarding marine set up but some places boggle you with jargon as with every walk of life i guess lol.
Following a chat and advice from my aquatic shop and top guys they are at Seahorse Aquariums i have to say cant beat them, I have decided to go with soft corals in my set up and plan mixing my own water so hopefully i will succeed with my attempts without too many hiccups. I will post some pictures over the coming weeks to show you my progress the tank has arrived and is currently cycling. So like always now patience is the key

CO2 is used in Cal rectors and the use off CO2 in order to get the PH in the chamber low enough to dissolve the media making the Ca/Alk available

There are many in the reef game that would not use these and some that would again it is all about your system

If anyone i would same should only be used on a full SPS setup but anything other then that there is no need

there is never silly question and as sheag has said i the last few days in a post this only a silly answer which most off mine are

Start slow see how you get on with softies im sure in no time you will have some LPS and hard corals as i did i have no SPS and they are not to my taste as i don't like them but that's me other are different

just keep you alk cal and mag stable this is the keep to keeping corals and for them to thrive also a good bit off flow read up on each coral you are going to get before you get them to see if they light heavy flow or not that much and also about lighting will help a lot to know wheres best to place them in the tank and to keep other stingy corals away from each other

As for mixing salt this would be best make sure you get your self a RO unit good TDS meter and a good Salinity Refractometer for testing your salt level while mixing salt and most of all pick a good salt and stick with it changing types off salt will have your levels all over the place this is what you don't want in a reef tank

What i do for mixing salt and for adding and taking from my tank is

i got a new wheelie bin power hosed it a lot and made sure there was no nastys in it i use this for mixing my salt i put in 100L off water and marked it so i know where on my bin where 100L is for my RO water i fill to this line with RO water then i add my salt add slowly so that you don't add much at the start do bit by nit so that you know how much to add to get you to your level you want keep test with your Salinity Refractometer then add a power head and leave for 48H to let the salt mix

Some would also add a heater i have never done and i know a lot that don't but up to you just add the water to the tank slowly

After all is mixed and im happy with my Salinity off my water i bring the wheelie bin into my tank use my pump that i have for water changes to tale water from my tank with a hose on it going out to a shore i have it marked on the tank on how much to take out after this and take the hose off the pump and add my other hose to the pump i have for putting water back into the tank i then put the pump into the wheelie bin and pump the water back into my tank to where i want my level to be and there you have it

Just one thing if you have a sump mark the levels in your sumo off your water level 1 level when all pump on an running and another that when are off so you know what level to get to when you are doing a water change

wish you the very best

Sean