400g system from scratch pictorial

I picked up a 500 mL bottle of Seachem's Reef Complete that "Raises Calcium and maintains Magnesium and Strontium".

Apparently, every 5 mL / 20g raises Calcium about 10 mg/L. They say not to exceed 12.5 mL / 20g per day. So I can pour in half a bottle of this stuff today (250 mL) and that should raise my Calcium from 360 to 385 and then dump the other half in tomorrow and I should be at 410, theoretically at least.

I'll test both Calcium and Magnesium tomorrow before proceeding with adding in the second half of the bottle. The label also warns that this product should not be used at the same time as "Carbonate additives" which I assume would be my kalk for maintaining alkalinity? They say to wait 30 minutes at least. Since I only drip it w/ my topoff, I'll just turn of the dosing pump for about an hour or so, that should do it right?

It looks like I might be able to score about 30 # of Mg from littlesilvermax for a really good price if we can work out shipping cost. I would then mix a little of this in with my fresh saltwater anytime I mix up a new batch. But let me see what this Seachem Reef Complete will do for me first. If all I need is to give a one time boost, then I might not need to worry about adding Mg on a regular basis.
 
You shouldn't have to be adding MG on a regular basis. You must be using Instant Ocean salt to have a lower MG from the beginning. You might want to add half the bottle over a couple hours time just in case and test after you do.
 
scotty1234 said:
You shouldn't have to be adding MG on a regular basis.
Click to expand...

I disagree.

Ca and Mg are both utilized in the formation of hard corals, coralline algae and macroalgae such as halimeda. If Ca is constantly being pumped into a system by a Ca reactor, Mg must be added by some means as well.
 
scotty1234 said:
Most of the time it gets replaced when you do a water change.
Click to expand...

I do weekly 15% water changes in my three tanks and have to add Mg at least every other water change to bring it back up to 1300-1325 ppm.
 
I added half the 500 mL bottle over the span of a couple of hours. I waited an additional hour, and then tested both Calcium and Magnesium. Calcium went up to 385, just as predicted. Mg however, remained at 1260. I'll add the remainder of the bottle tomorrow night and test for Ca and Mg again.

IO salt is the only kind I can get around here at a reasonable price, so I'll likely stick with it, despite it being low on Mg. It's cheaper for me to buy a bunch of Mg in bulk, and then add a little as needed when doing water changes.

I added 3 of these guys last Friday. They are very entertaining to watch, as they try to clean each fish as they swim by. So far only the Lawnmover Blenny appears interested in their services. They'll also jump onto your hand/arm with no hesitation. 2 of them are missing part of one or more antennas, but I'm sure they will return after the next molt. My CBS seems to ignore these guys which is good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will stay that way.

cleanershrimp1.jpg


I also got this guy Yesterday. He's pretty big at 3"+ and nice and fat. He seems quite content and is busy picking at the rocks all day. Btw, all those white dots are sand corn.

mandarin1.jpg


I don't plan to add any additional fish for a while and have taken my QT tank down for now. When I cleaned out the canister filter, I was suprised at how many pods were living in the sponge. They must have come with the small rocks that I briefly put in the QT from the fuge a while back. I don't think that mandarin is going to starve anytime soon!
 
I added another 125 mL of the Seachem stuff this morning before work and then the final 125 mL when I got home. A couple of hours later I tested and got the following results:

Calcium 390-395 (not quite the 410 I was hoping for)
Magnesium 1290
Alkalinity 9 (down from 11 on Sunday)

I don't think adding anymore of that Seachem stuff is going to do anything. I guess my parameters are better than they were and if Calcium and Magnesium don't slip again, I might be ok I suppose.

I was checking out my 100g rubbermaid fuge and that thing got a layer of coraline all over the inside of it. Will that stuff keep building up forever, or will it stop once a certain depth has been reached?
 
I am not sure about in rubbermaid tubs. But the coraline on my back glass of my tank will get just so thick (and not all that thick) and then it starts to flake off. After that a "new batch" will start again, HTH..
 
Click here for some good reading on alkalinity and calcium problems.

I've always used baking soda to raise the alkalinity and never had any problems. To raise the calcium I always use the Seachem Advantage Calcium product. After you raise the ca and alk your reactor should be able to maintain it for you. You can also increase both by making your reactor release more co2 and effluent water into the system. That would be the first thing I would check is to see if you have a good effluent drip and good co2 flow.
 
The more your corals grow, the more Ca and Mg uptake. It'll require testing, but hopefully stabilize how much addition you'll have to do. It takes both to form the skeletons if I remember some of the talks correctly. It's self-defeating wanting your corals to thrive and grow! ;-)

Nice Mandy, I have one just like em. They are very cool.
 
Coraline will suck back calcium pretty good.

I think you should be able to maitain the levels in your tank with your equipment, just need to take advantage of it a bit better.

My 250 is full of SPS, all are growing like crazy! 5 clams too, 2 are over 6 inches.
What media are you using in your reactor?
What is your effluent DkH?
Once you get the Magnesium just bring up your freshly made water to something like 1380 and you should not even have to test it anymore. Also, it would be good to bring up your freshly made water to about 425 calcium.

FWIW I kept my tank at 425/1350/9-10 for about 6 months with hardly any maintenance, I only tested once every 6 weeks!

Since my reactor had a problem I have had some issues. Right now my tank has been at 370/1310/7-8 and everything is still growing well, so I wouldn't worry too much about keeping high numbers. I still like to keep my numbers like they used to be so in case something breaks while I am away for a few days the numbers don't stray down too much.

Good luck.
 
wow////

wow////

It looks like I've got a reason to continue making money now.. I just read the whole thing tonight.. Morning practice in 6 hours.. ouch..
NICE job..
 
Thanks guys. I hope to have my magnesium this week, so I'll mix it in w/ my next batch of water.

I use ARM media in my reactor right now. I have not tested my effluent for DkH, just Calcium which was around 480 or so.

Since re-filling my CO2 bottle, I've been struggling to get a steady bubble count. It keeps dying, so I unscrew the needle a bit more and all is well for a few days, then it dies again. The input pressure remains steady at 10 PSI, so I'm not really sure what's going on.

I have tried just blasting the reactor with CO2 and just letting the pH probe cut it off when the effluent out the 1st chamber drops to 6.5 and then turn it back on once the effluent goes back up to 6.7. But I think it would be better to have a steady bubble count.

Those are CE2000 amps that I run bridged into 8 ohm loads giving me 1320w for each of my power hungry JBL 18" subs.
 
pclausen said:
Since re-filling my CO2 bottle, I've been struggling to get a steady bubble count. It keeps dying, so I unscrew the needle a bit more and all is well for a few days, then it dies again. The input pressure remains steady at 10 PSI, so I'm not really sure what's going on.
Click to expand...

When you get a new bottle of CO2 you have to purge it, crank it wide open for a couple of seconds to get any crap out. Mine did exactly what yours is doing and you have to take your regulator apart and clean it out now.:mad:
 
Also, try measuring your effluent Dkh. I have a feeling it is low because you are running too much through your reactor. You might have to slow down the effluent and the bubble count. It sounds like you will get less ouput but that is not always the case. First check your Dkh and report back.
 
It has been a long time since I have seen a tank this well thought out, you have set a precident for NewB reefers, Planning is everything beautiful setup I am impressed keep up the good work
 
Looks good Peter. I agree w/ LSM about the CO2 bottle.

BTW, do you have that chart showing the values for the past TOTM winners?

Thanks,
Chris
 
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