jtinoco
New member
This is what Happens when you're bored at home and find you have "useless" stuff lying around.
I noticed my pH had been low (7.4 during day and 7.2 at night even tho the light in the fuge comes on at night). My alkalinity was at 6dKH. Calcium was at 320 and up to 380 ppm after a water change of 10 gal. I figured I am going to add sps eventually so might as well get the calcium up, pH, and alkalinity. I started dripping lime (mrs wages
) this past Monday. As you can see in the pics below I started with a plastic bottle. The bottle is less than a gallon and I found mysel having to refill it twice a day because of how fast I loss water to evaporation. What a pain! So I switched over to a 2.5 gallon tank. I set it at a slight angle so I keep most of the solution dripping once it's running low. I built a little stand out of the scrap wood I had left from the stand build. The tank sits higher than the sump and it drips by siphon and a valve. I tested the water this morning before the lights came on and pH was at 8.0. I tested once I was home from work and it's at 8.2. alkalinity is at 9 dKH and calcium at 420 ppm. I'm believe I might have saturated the solution a bit much so I diluted it a bit. I will keep an eye on everything.
Then I found some 36 inch T8 bulbs and some ballasts. I wired everything and put the on the ceiling of the inside of the tank. I'm not sure if they may be too high to keep the chaeto alive but I'll keep an eye. If I notice any effects on growth I'll add some reflectors. I might have some lying around somewhere too. Ha ha!
That's about all the updates.
I noticed my pH had been low (7.4 during day and 7.2 at night even tho the light in the fuge comes on at night). My alkalinity was at 6dKH. Calcium was at 320 and up to 380 ppm after a water change of 10 gal. I figured I am going to add sps eventually so might as well get the calcium up, pH, and alkalinity. I started dripping lime (mrs wages
) this past Monday. As you can see in the pics below I started with a plastic bottle. The bottle is less than a gallon and I found mysel having to refill it twice a day because of how fast I loss water to evaporation. What a pain! So I switched over to a 2.5 gallon tank. I set it at a slight angle so I keep most of the solution dripping once it's running low. I built a little stand out of the scrap wood I had left from the stand build. The tank sits higher than the sump and it drips by siphon and a valve. I tested the water this morning before the lights came on and pH was at 8.0. I tested once I was home from work and it's at 8.2. alkalinity is at 9 dKH and calcium at 420 ppm. I'm believe I might have saturated the solution a bit much so I diluted it a bit. I will keep an eye on everything. Then I found some 36 inch T8 bulbs and some ballasts. I wired everything and put the on the ceiling of the inside of the tank. I'm not sure if they may be too high to keep the chaeto alive but I'll keep an eye. If I notice any effects on growth I'll add some reflectors. I might have some lying around somewhere too. Ha ha!
That's about all the updates.
