catfish2

Thanks for the input everyone. I really appreciate it.

From what I read you're not missing any pieces of the puzzle. When adjusting the doser I test for Alk daily and bump it daily until the amount you dose gets you to the right amount of alk needed. The swings you're experiancing in alk can cause the SPS stress so I wouldn't wait days between adjustments but rather adjust daily as mentioned.

That amount of Alk you mentioned (129 mls) sounds high so maybe double check the figures but after confirming you'll want to make whatever adjustments your calculations call for.

Hope that helps somewhat???

I think I just needed the confidence to go for it. Do sort the calcium out once the alk is stable? I know alk usually fluctuates quicker than calcium so do you still adjust calcium on a daily basis till it's where you want it? Thanks!

How old are the test kits? Have you tried having someone else test the same water sample with their kit to see if the numbers are the same or close to the same?

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I haven't had anyone else test my water recently. The kits are new except the ph and nitrate, but even those are still within the expiration date. Thanks for the suggestion!

What type of lighting? How old are the bulbs? I am sure you have this covered but I just didn't see any mention.

I forgot to mention how nice your tank looks.

Thanks for the compliment. I'm using 2 OR t247's they are about 2 months old and I'm loving them. Color has really improved!

Are you using GFO? That stuff can suck the alk out of the water. I had a similar problem as you when using 2-part, and then removed my Chemipure Elite, and was able to reduce my daily dose by 1/3rd.

This may be the key. I didn't know gfo could lower alk. I've been using it since I started this system. I didn't even mention I was using it because I had no idea it could be contributing. Thanks!

Catfish2 - I have the exact same situation going on. 50gal of water volume and am dosing 130ml CA and Alk per day with a dosing pump in 24 increments. I called brs twice and they said some tanks just consume a ton like this. I have a little participate on my pump but not much else.

That's good to know. I appreciate the input.

Not to add much to this thread except that even though your numbers are a little low your tank looks great, and the acros look larger than last time I had seen your system, I swear I was over only two months ago? On another note, dosing 130ml to a 150ml a day in a 55 seems like quite a lot. If you do switch out the GFO you can compensate by doing some carbon dosing\NoPox.

That's an interesting idea to switch out the gfo for some type of carbon dosing. I'll have to consider that. At this point, it seems easiest to just add more ca and alk though.

Alright, I've been frustrated over the last month trying to get my calcium and alkalinity on track and I can't figure it out. So, I thought id put it out there for all you wonderful people to help with. I know this shouldn't be this hard.

 

Background: 55 gal with 20 gal sump mostly sps with some lps and a few zoas (see pic below). Been running for over 2 years with no major issues. Ghl doser dosing brs 2 part, kent essential elements and acro power. Dosing 4 ml of calcium and alkalinity 23 times per day. (total 92 ml for each part)

 

Problem: sps won't grow! I know there are Lots of reasons for this, but the most obvious, and problem I'm trying to solve now, is low alkalinity and calcium.

 

Labs: (current as of today)

Calcium 390- Red Sea

Alkalinity 7.0- Red Sea

Magnesium 1320- Red Sea

Ph 8.4- API

Phosphate 0.006- Hanna ultra low phosphorous (corrected to phosphate)

Nitrate 0- API

Salinity 1.026- refractometer

 

My attempts to correct the problem:

I did not adjust my dosing pump at all, but dosed the following by hand in addition to what my dosing pump was putting out.

7/3/15: ca 350, alk 7.6, mag 1240- started by increasing mag to 1360

7/6/15 corrected alk from 7.6 to 9.0

7/7/15 corrected ca from 350 to 450

7/8/15 rechecked levels: ca 450, alk 6.8-7.2 (alk dropped considerably in 2 days, not sure why did my coral take up that much?)

7/9/15 corrected alk from 6.8 to 8.4, ca 450, mag 1560

At this point I decided to await 5 days, retest, and then my plan was to divide the amount lost by 5 to get the daily deficit.

7/14/15 alk 6.7, ca 390-400 I did the math and brs calculator shows I need 37 more ml of alk per day and 56 more ml of ca per day. That would be a total of 129 ml of alk and 148 ml of ca per day.

 

My concern is that those amounts of ca and alk per day sound crazy. Is that a normal amount? You can see how heavily my tank is stocked in the pic below.

 

Question:

Is the solution really as easy as just adding more and more ca and alk until my levels are where I want them or am I missing a piece of the puzzle? I have some precipitation on my heater and power heads, which makes me think it's not a lack of ca and alk, but I don't know what else to do.

 

We'll thanks for taking a look. I'm open to any input/ feedback. I tired to be as detailed as I thought was necessary, but feel free to ask for more info. PNWMAS rocks!

 

Thanks! I like the look too. I thought about a shelf on top, but my wife preferred it without the shelf. I got the brackets from Home Depot. They have a variety of sizes. I went with the 14x8 to make sure they stuck out far enough from the wall. Here's a link to the ones I used:

http://t.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-12-in-x-8-in-Satin-Nickel-Heavy-Duty-Shelf-Bracket-14829/202824717/

 

They are rated for 600lbs, but I guess how you stick them to the wall is what really matters. I used 2 #14 x 1 1/2 inch screws with dry wall anchors. These lights are only 5lbs so I'm sure that is plenty strong.

 

Level and a pencil was all I used to figure out where they were going. Measure 5 times drill once!

I know you said you don't care for big braces, but heres what I did with my ocean revives. Height is adjustable with their hanging kit.

 

Price drop bump... $120

I've been using a ghl doser I got used and I've been happy with it. I'm not sure if it's "the best" but it has it's own timer and everything.

http://www.aquacave.com/ghl-profilux-dosing-system-add-on-3-pumps-w-o-controller.html?fee=1&fep=1948&gclid=CjwKEAjwnpSsBRDH3pT2-7q55R4SJABRiNyTIDu62kI6JfTgMRscyKBgz_ZWBRd2NWUZz0uDapCZBBoC3kfw_wcB

I use red sea, but I don't really worry as much about matching the end color up to the color on the card. i just look for when the sample changes to completely pink or completely blue even if the end color (blue or pink) is not the same shade as what is shown on the card. I'm not sure if that is the best way to do it or not, but it seems to work for me.

I'm planning on being there. I'm trying to get my wife to come too. We are thinking of doing the hotel thing and making a weekend of it.

I'm selling this fixture. It works great and has been growing all corals including sps in my tank for almost a year. No issues with the fixture whatsoever. The bulbs are at the end of their life so I decided to upgrade to LEDs instead of buying new bulbs.

 

Check out the link below for complete specs.

 

http://t.petco.com/product/117845/Coralife-Lunar-Aqualight-Quad-T5-HO-Aquarium-Light-Fixture.aspx?cm_mmc=CSEMGooglePLA-_-Fish-_-Coralife-_-1516639&mr:trackingCode=AA4DA553-7D38-E111-B18D-001B21A69EB0&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=t&mr:adType=plaonline&mr:ad=55967175733&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=81305232853&gclid=Cj0KEQjwhuqrBRCFuPz4ipOx5JIBEiQAZJ7F-hmP7QKkOQ6-Fpkfk3WFFijL-dWKc-9eLTGerlLBHzIaAmLY8P8HAQ

 

Asking $150. Feel free to make an offer. I'll consider trades, but I'm not really looking for anything right now so let me know what ya got and I'll consider it. Bulbs are included, but getting old. Oh I'll throw in the timers too. Thanks for looking!

So since it's warming up, I thought I would see if anyone has any suggestions for cooling a tank. Chiller is the obvious answer, but I'm looking for more economical solutions.

Some of the things I'll do is point a fan at my sump. This causes more evaporation, but can lower the temp a little. I've also put frozen water bottles in the sump (not sure if this is a good idea or not). I'd be interested in hearing any other ideas people have.

Man, sorry you've been dealing with this (I've been following along in your other posts). At least you've found the cause now. I really appreciate you sharing the info with us.

Yeah that would actually be perfect.......thanks I appreciate it!!! I'll save you you good stuff

Sounds great ill pm you later with contact info and all that good stuff.

Thanks for taking a look everyone!

You coming up to pdx soon? I'm breaking down the 250 and doin all wrasses and specialized fish. I will have lots of corals and zoa's I can trade you

Brian67 I'll be in Portland in 2 weeks. If you can wait till then I can.

Nice picture! I think it's mine

That's really funny if this is your pic. It's that first image that comes up on google if you search melanarus. I just needed a pic. I think posts with pics are so much more fun to look at!

Like the title says id like to find this guy a new home. I've had this guy for over a year or so. Great colors, interesting fish, and has been a model citizen as far as corals are concerned. He just eats a ton and makes it harder for my anthias to get enough food. They will also pick on snails.

If you're interested let me know what you have to trade. I'd consider a reef safe fish or coral. I'm not looking for anything in particular, but I keep mostly sps. I can take it to the May meeting.

 

I can't get a pic of mine because he's asleep right now, but he looks just like this and is about 4 inches.

Congrats john! Thank for all you've done and all you will continue to do!

Nic pics! Not to take anything away from the second one, but I think I like the first one a little more. I always like macro shots. Just my vote. Thanks for sharing!

Some people say the white/light colored ones are fine, but the grey/black speckled/colored ones will eat Zoas. I've only ever seen one harming anything in my tank. It was eating a zoa and sure enough, it was a grey one. I'd vote to get rid of it if you can.  

Congrats Robert!

I've heard of ppl putting cell phones in uncooked rice after dropping them in the water. I'm not sure if that does anything, but might be a thing?

We'll said Jeremy, thanks for posting this and thank you to the BOD!

This is totally one of those things that I would say "that would never happen to me" about. Until it does and then you're like oh crap, how did this happen. Glad it's getting better and thanks for posting, it makes us all a little more aware.

I think the reef roomba is called turbo snail! Jk, jk, I agree a reef roomba would be great. Set it at night and by the morning glass is clean! Fishboys you could be a zillionaire with that idea!

Sign me for a frag!

I use a bubble mag NAC 7 on my 55 g and have no complaints.

sounds awesome!