400g system from scratch pictorial

LOl how funny I go throughthe same thing anytime I am cleaning I must look up and inside the tank to make sure Im not knocking somthing down but surely enough Im a good 3-5 inches away
 
pH dips

pH dips

I have been watching my pH steadily drop over the last couple of weeks. My display lights (750W MH) alternate with the fuge lights (250W MH). Display lights come on at 7:30 am. I log pH every hour, so naturally I get my lowest reading at 7:00 am.

When I started, my reading was 8.09 @ 7 am and my peak was around 8.21 just before lights out @ 7:30 pm. Since adding the aragonite sand, my peak is now barely above 8, registering a peak of 8.04 last night and a low of 7.97 this morning. Perhaps I have some aragonite residue on my pH probe (its on everything else it seems), but my ORP keeps rising and is currently at an all time high of 378.

Anyway, I hope to have my kalk reactor by the end of the week (spoke to Reeftek yesterday). I plan to drip at whatever my evap rate is using my dosing pump (set to dose at a rate just above actual evap) controlled by a float switch, and then adjust the frequency of the X10 controlled kalk mixing pump to slowly bring the pH up to a daily average of 8.3. I figure I'll allow the kalk mixing pump to run several times during a given 24 hour period until I reach my set point, then only run it at night, assuming it can maintain my target pH. That should keep my pH swing as low as possible, right?

With my first batch of critters arriving next week, I want to bring my pH into the proper range first. All the online places say their live guarantee only applies if pH is maintained between 8.2 - 8.4. So I need to raise mine by 0.2 to meet that criteria. Then again, they also say to maintain a water temp of no more than 80 degrees, so I thought I'd ask about the pH range as well.
 
Last edited:
Do you have anything photosynthetic growing in your fuge? corraline, macro, etc... that should help minimize the swings.

- steve
 
Steve, the only thing growing in my fuge right now are diatoms and hair algae. I don't know that I have anything for macro algae to "eat" just yet being that there is nothing but cured rock in the system otherwise. Should I already be thinking about getting macro for the fuge?
 
pclausen,

I don't know if I have posted these Reef Chemistry links to this thread before, but here they are. Hope they are helpful to you in understanding the complexities of what's going on in your new tank:

Aquarium System Volume Calculator:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/volcalc.html

The Reef Chemistry Calculator:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

Magnesium in Reef Aquaria:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

High pH: Causes and Cures:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rhf/index.htm

Low pH: Causes and Cures:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.htm
 
pclausen

I'd be proud to donate some chato to this amazing system next time I clean out my fuge.
 
Get some chaeto or macros in your fuge, you should be able to find someone more than happy to give it to you. Now might be a good time for you to set up a quaratine tank as well for the new arrivals. It would have enough time to cycle before you get your first fish in.
 
pclausen said:
I haven't seen the Rubbermaid stock tanks at Lowes or HD, only at Tractor Supply Co. Lowes and HD do carry the BRUTE trash cans up to 44g though.

I have read a few posts where members state they have gotten them at either HD or Lowes, itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s not a "standard" item they carry, but I guess they can order them, Maybe call around and see...

Shawn
 
Thanks for those links Beverly. I have come across and read most of the reefkeeping ones before, but I missed a couple. Some of those other links are great as well! I'll be a chemist by the time I comprehend all of this. lol

One thing I still don't understand is why these links talk about a pH range of 7.8 - 8.5 being acceptable, yet a lot of online vendors state that they will only warranty livestock if pH is maintained between 8.2 - 8.4. If that is so, it would seem to me that the lowest acceptable pH is 8.2, not 7.8?

Thanks so much for your offer Bax! You have pm.

Scotty, I plan to transfer some fw community fish from a 45g to a 10g this weekend and use the 45g as a quarantine tank. I plan to run a small powerhead with sponge in the sump and then transfer it to the 45g once I get some fish.

Do you think I need to put my very first fish in the quarantine tank, or just subsequent fish? I mean there are no other fish to be infected at this point.

I feel I made some good progress with the rock work last night, although it was difficult work being that the water got pretty cloudy half way into the ordeal. I took a few pictures of the procedure.

Here is a shot of the tank with the tarp down and ready to siphon water into the first vat:

rockscapes1.jpg


Closeup of the rocks before pulling them out:

rockscapes2.jpg


Here the small and medium small rocks have been placed in vats:

rockscapes3.jpg


Here is a shot from this morning after the sand storm had settled again. I got 2 jets shooting behind the rockwork. I still need to get out the baster again to blow the silt off the rocks from the storm.

rockscapes4.jpg


Left side. It's hard to tell from these pictures, but there are about 8 tunnels through this pile. Also notice the "peninsulas" sticking out.

rockscapes5.jpg


Right side. Got tunnels in this pile as well and some more peninsulas. Plenty of open space in front. I may more some flatter pieces down into the front for placing corals on them. But that will be a whole different chapter I'm sure!

rockscapes6.jpg
 
I'll be a chemist by the time I comprehend all of this. lol

One thing I still don't understand is why these links talk about a pH range of 7.8 - 8.5 being acceptable, yet a lot of online vendors state that they will only warranty livestock if pH is maintained between 8.2 - 8.4. If that is so, it would seem to me that the lowest acceptable pH is 8.2, not 7.8?

Any person who sets up a marine aquarium, whether FOWLR or a full blown reef, needs to be part chemist in order to have healthy livestock over the long term :thumbsup:

Gads, online vendors down south actually warranty livestock? Unheard of up here :hmm6:

Anyway, I've had tanks that had pHs of as low as 7.85 and others that crept up to 8.45. In the case of the low pH, the cause was our airtight condo with infloor heating during the winter resulting in CO2 buildup - not good for the tanks or for us humans. Solution was to open a two windows a crack and blow the air into the tank area. In the case of the high pH, cause was dripping straight kalk without vinegar. Solution was to add vinegar to the kalk. Good thing I read the High/Low pH articles :cool:

My goal is to keep my tanks' pHs between 8.2 and 8.35, though in winter it's harder to keep pH as high as I would like it, even though we keep alk between 8 and 10 dKH.
 
Gotta love the island look! Yes, I would quaratine your very first fish for a week or two to observe him. If you place him into the main tank your risking introducing ich or something worse with it, then you'll have to wait out the ich cycle in the main tank to die off before you can put any fish back in there. My first, second, and third major mistakes when I first started a sw tank was not quarantining my arrivals. I'm sure a lot of other have had the same experience.
 
Please quarantine!!!! I have lost so many fish b/c I have not done so. I learned my lesson. I lost a beautiful Naso b/c it came with ich. I couldn't pull him out in time and he passed on. Luckily the other fish in my tank were not affected.

Albert
 
pclausen said:
Steve, the only thing growing in my fuge right now are diatoms and hair algae. I don't know that I have anything for macro algae to "eat" just yet being that there is nothing but cured rock in the system otherwise. Should I already be thinking about getting macro for the fuge?

If you have hair algae growing in there, you have enough nutrients for the macro to live on. Some people claim that if you get your macro growing before the nuisance algae gets a chance to get going you will have an easier time of keeping the nasties under control. Getting some now can't hurt.

- Steve
 
Thanks guys. I'll be sure to quarantine all incoming fish, including the first one. Will look at getting some algae for the fuge asap as well. After looking closer at the algae in the fuge, it is all hair algae, no diatoms. It looks a little brown, but that is caused by the silt from the aragonite.
 
Now that's what I'm talking about! Beautiful Aquascaping! I love the dual island look. That's how I plan on aquascaping mine as well. Job well done!

How stable are your rock structures?
 
Re: More on snails

Re: More on snails

Originally posted by pclausen I read that I'll likely loose 25% of my sandbed each year

I've read that too but I've not found it to be true in any of my tanks, most of which have deep sand beds.
 
How stable are your rock structures?
Good question Mike. The large pieces were pushed down in the sand until they touched glass, but I'm not sure if at least 3 points are making contact. So there is a possibility that it's only 1 or 2 which means those base pieces could shift over time. The stuff stacked on top of them interlocked pretty well, except for a few smaller pieces towards the front.

But now that the water has cleared, I can fine-tune some of the medium/smaller pieces towards the front. It was hard to do last night when visibility was only about 10"!
 
pclausen said:
Good question Mike. The large pieces were pushed down in the sand until they touched glass, but I'm not sure if at least 3 points are making contact. So there is a possibility that it's only 1 or 2 which means those base pieces could shift over time. The stuff stacked on top of them interlocked pretty well, except for a few smaller pieces towards the front.

But now that the water has cleared, I can fine-tune some of the medium/smaller pieces towards the front. It was hard to do last night when visibility was only about 10"!

Have you considered cutting some 2" pieces of 2" PVC and placing the rocks on them? That would provide a more solid base for the rocks in my opinion. It also prevents the rocks from digging into the sand..

Albert
 
aiber said:
Have you considered cutting some 2" pieces of 2" PVC and placing the rocks on them? That would provide a more solid base for the rocks in my opinion. It also prevents the rocks from digging into the sand..

Albert
I thought about that, but I think the fish might eventually expose some of the pipe with their digging behavior. Some of those large pieces do have an ugly side to them, so I don't mind them being buried in the sand. From the looks of things, if anything is going to shift, it will lean into the plastic overflows and not any of the glass panes. I'm quite confident that none of the larger pieces are going to fall, even if the base pieces shift a little. My only concern are with the small and medium small pieces at the top. I might zip tie those before any fish are added. However, pointing the CL manifold jets at those top pieces from all direction doesn't make the budge at all.
 
That is a good point about the sand and all. I may reconsider. Definitely don't want the PVC showing.

Albert
 
Back
Top