drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

Brett, I mix Oceanic and IO in a 50/50 mix and it balances out nicely. If that helps any, the two cheapest salts to boot.

Nice Jack! :thumbsup: I've read some other guys do the same over in Zeoworld too. Glad to see some practical success with it. I think I can get Seachem Salt locally fairly easily too (hopefully).

Somewhere I read Seachem has higher Borate levels but if you do a 50/50 mix it helps balance it out.

 

[sirreal63]

I have been doing it for several years now, and yes the borate is higher. I used to have a thread that showed the breakdown of all the elements and the IO/Oceanic mix seemed to correct each others issues. I just looked for it but have no idea what happened to it. I tend to run higher on the alk and calcium than most people, dang calcium reactor is too efficient. I rarely have to supplement my water changes to match the tank.

 

[drummereef]

I have been doing it for several years now, and yes the borate is higher. I used to have a thread that showed the breakdown of all the elements and the IO/Oceanic mix seemed to correct each others issues. I just looked for it but have no idea what happened to it. I tend to run higher on the alk and calcium than most people, dang calcium reactor is too efficient. I rarely have to supplement my water changes to match the tank.

Can you tell me what the Alk and Ca is of the newly prepared 50/50 mix?

 

[sirreal63]

Typically alk mixes about 10 and calcium at 450. Sometimes it runs a little lower or higher, depending on where I am in the barrels and variations in the mixes. I don't even measure the mag any more, just correct as needed in the tank.

 

[drummereef]

Typically alk mixes about 10 and calcium at 450. Sometimes it runs a little lower or higher, depending on where I am in the barrels and variations in the mixes. I don't even measure the mag any more, just correct as needed in the tank.

Great, thanks Jack!

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Don't think I haven't been working over here. I'm still finalizing the new Apex Controller and Module panel but it's coming along. Again, I made the panel out of 1/2" plywood laminated with FRP to match the other panels in the room. One of the best features of the Apex is the ability to add extra features via "modules". If you notice in the pics below I added a WXM Module to control my Vortech MP40w pumps. The setup was relatively involved and time consuming since it was required to update the firmware on both the Apex Controller and each Vortech pump, but once it was done it worked flawlessly.

The idea behind the WXM Module is the ability to control the modes of my Vortech pumps throughout the day. You can also control the intensity of each mode as well. My current program is as follows:

19:00 to 19:30 Reef Crest
19:30 to 20:00 Lagoon
20:00 to 02:00 Day (constant 100%)
02:00 to 02:30 Lagoon
02:30 to 03:00 Reef Crest
03:00 to 19:00 Night (constant 70%)

As you can see, I'm changing modes throughout a 24 hour cycle. The Day and Night cycles are a constant mode but I've programmed the Night cycle to run at 70% speed versus the Day mode which is 100%. I'm really liking how I can manipulate the programs throughout the day to simulate a more natural environment from day to night.


Here's the pics.


Apex Controller panel. The Vortech Battery Backup will be mounted in the bottom left corner of the panel. Just haven't had time to finish, I'll post the final pic when it's complete.

Closeup of the Apex Controller and WXM Module.

Wire management. I made a DIY grommet out of a 1" white hole plug so the cat5 ethernet cable could cleanly pass through the wall where it travels upstairs to my router. I also snipped up some 1/4" cable clamps and used some industrial double sided tape to keep the rest of the wiring nice and tidy. The cable clamps are open on one side which will allow me to easily remove the heater and pH probes for cleaning and calibrating without having to deal with cable ties.

One more pic. Here you can see where the Vortech Battery Backup will be mounted on the panel in the bottom left corner.

 

[sirreal63]

To expound a little, with Oceanic it seems the calcium mixes higher when near the end of the bucket. I suppose it settles easier. lol I have been doing this off and on for almost 6 years now. It may be my imagination, but it seems the quality control has lapsed in the past few years with salt.

 

[sirreal63]

That is just slick! Your attention to detail floors me. Reminds me I need to do a better job of wire management soon, it is getting crowded under my tank.

 

[psteeleb]

looks great Brett - thanks for the updates

 

[tegee]

Brett...I have been using Seachem Reef Salt for years and been very happy. I played around with CoralLife for about 1+ years and like it too. Both have been very consistent with readings. Next week I am switch to Seachem's new Salinity salt and I am anxious to see the results with regard to their "Guaranteed Analysis". Their Reefsalt is $0.37/gl and the Salinity comes out to $0.41/gl if I get 225 gls/bucket out of the mix as they state on the bucket. I will keep you informed what my results are. I may even do a review of their salt in the coming weeks in the Chemistry Forum.

HTH

 

[drummereef]

To expound a little, with Oceanic it seems the calcium mixes higher when near the end of the bucket. I suppose it settles easier. lol I have been doing this off and on for almost 6 years now. It may be my imagination, but it seems the quality control has lapsed in the past few years with salt.

That is just slick! Your attention to detail floors me. Reminds me I need to do a better job of wire management soon, it is getting crowded under my tank.

Thanks for the kind words Jack. And thanks again for all the info on Seachem salt, very informative.

looks great Brett - thanks for the updates

You're welcome!

Brett...I have been using Seachem Reef Salt for years and been very happy...

Definitely let me know what your levels are of the newly made saltwater if you have time. KH, Ca, and Salinity would be perfect.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Water Change
Interesting results from my water change this evening. Prior to the water change I tested the Alk of the tank again, which measured 8.1dkh. I performed a 24g water change on the system which is a total of 220g, so roughly an 11% change. Salinity matched at 1.025 and the makeup water's Alk was 10.1dkh. After the water change I waited awhile and tested Alk on the system again. It measured 8.3dkh. :hmm3: So even after an 11% water change with a difference of 2dkh in Alk from the makeup water to system water, the effect was negligible. Go figure! :spin2: So I guess I'll stick with IO salt and/or experiment with the 50/50 mix of IO and Seachem.


Alkalinity / ULNS
So currently I'm keeping the Alk right around 8dkh. I haven't added 2-part in about a week. Ca is a little high for ULNS, around 450. Before the water change polyp extension was great but was a little retracted after the change. Could have been a slight temp difference but I feed the tank some Rod's and Cyclops to see if I could get any response from the corals, but keeping an eye on it. Still planning on experimenting with my dosing plan hopefully starting next week. We'll see how the corals respond...


New Snails
I also traded all 9 Mexican Turbos back to the LFS for some smaller snail species. There isn't enough substantial algae left in the tank to support them and they were starting to knock over some corals so away they went. I picked up 12 more Nerite and 8 Astrea as well. I'm hoping they are small enough to get down into the holes in the rock where the Turbos could not. I was pleased with the Nerites I picked up last weekend, they really seems to "polish" the rock where the Turbos were more grazers.


New Coral
Also picked up a Neon Green Candy Cane while I was there. Candy Canes are one of my favorite LPS corals. I had a couple colonies in my 40g and was waiting to find some nice ones for the new tank. Not quite happy yet but they were hungry when I feed the tank so I think they will do well.

 

[Greenmaster]

Still jealous. Keep up the awesome work.

 

[110galreef]

UPDATE:


Water Change
Interesting results from my water change this evening. Prior to the water change I tested the Alk of the tank again, which measured 8.1dkh. I performed a 24g water change on the system which is a total of 220g, so roughly an 11% change. Salinity matched at 1.025 and the makeup water's Alk was 10.1dkh. After the water change I waited awhile and tested Alk on the system again. It measured 8.3dkh. :hmm3: So even after an 11% water change with a difference of 2dkh in Alk from the makeup water to system water, the effect was negligible. Go figure! :spin2: So I guess I'll stick with IO salt and/or experiment with the 50/50 mix of IO and Seachem.

Im back to report my tests! I wasn't slacking! haha

So i tested my current water params, again I have been feeding heavy last week to make sure new tangs were fat & happy & was a little freaked about the biopellets & coral discussion:

Salinity: 34.3 on Apex
Cal; 440
Alk: 8.3
Mg:1350
PO4: 0.05...looks like I can cut back the feedings now & not stress about underfeeding corals & fish! Was at 0.00 like 10 days ago.
Nitrite & nitrate: 0

OK, so i made up a ~33gal mix of IO at 35ppt. Using a refractometer, but very hard to know if I am at 35ppt or 34.8 or 35.2...etc....anyway close as i could tell. I tested the params:
Cal: 400
Alk: 12.0..a bit higher than you drum....but salinity may have been a tad higher than 35ppt. Plus my mix was in the 200g box/bags.
Mg: 1320

So i then performed my WC of about 33gals. or ~12% WC. At the end my salinity went up from 34.3 to 34.6 on apex. remember new water was more like 35 or a tad higher. I wanted salinity to go up a tad anyway, plus we wanted 35ppt IO numbers.
Results very similiar to yours. My ALK only went from 8.3 to 8.6dKh, which was basically just one reading from the previous. Plus this was a tad larger WC than normal, and I used higher salinity than what the tank was to try to raise it a tad as well.

So i got a bump in ALK of .3dkh, very similiar to your .2dKh bump. so sounds like IO will be just fine to continue long run.

Oh and the new progress in fish room is awesome as always! I too really like the cany canes....such a bright coral too.

 

[psteeleb]

UPDATE:


Water Change
Interesting results from my water change this evening. Prior to the water change I tested the Alk of the tank again, which measured 8.1dkh. I performed a 24g water change on the system which is a total of 220g, so roughly an 11% change. Salinity matched at 1.025 and the makeup water's Alk was 10.1dkh. After the water change I waited awhile and tested Alk on the system again. It measured 8.3dkh. :hmm3: So even after an 11% water change with a difference of 2dkh in Alk from the makeup water to system water, the effect was negligible. Go figure! :spin2: So I guess I'll stick with IO salt and/or experiment with the 50/50 mix of IO and Seachem.

sounds about right

11% water change with a 2.0 point delta on alk should net 11% of 2.0 or just under 0.2. you went from 8.1 to 8.3 or a 0.2 change, spot on

 

[psteeleb]

UPDATE:

New Coral
Also picked up a Neon Green Candy Cane while I was there. Candy Canes are one of my favorite LPS corals. I had a couple colonies in my 40g and was waiting to find some nice ones for the new tank. Not quite happy yet but they were hungry when I feed the tank so I think they will do well.

nice find - I've been looking for a frag of neon green and the blue trumpet

 

[demifelix]

I just started following this thread.....it looks awesome

 

[drummereef]

Still jealous. Keep up the awesome work.

Haha, thanks Green.

So i got a bump in ALK of .3dkh, very similiar to your .2dKh bump. so sounds like IO will be just fine to continue long run.

Oh and the new progress in fish room is awesome as always! I too really like the cany canes....such a bright coral too.

That's great news 110g. Thanks for posting your results. :thumbsup:

sounds about right

11% water change with a 2.0 point delta on alk should net 11% of 2.0 or just under 0.2. you went from 8.1 to 8.3 or a 0.2 change, spot on

I'm bad at math so I'm glad you chimed in. I'm still shocked it would be such a negligible increase but I suppose the math doesn't lie.

nice find - I've been looking for a frag of neon green and the blue trumpet

Thanks Pete. I'll keep my eye out for the blue ones too. I'll share some if I find them.

I just started following this thread.....it looks awesome

Thank you demifelix.

 

[110galreef]

I ran into an interesting article....may or maynot have anything to do w/ use of biopellets & Nitrates & phosphates. These reads get confusing. But its short quick read!

MARINE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY: ON REDFIELD RATIOS

http://scienceweek.com/2004/sa041119-5.htm.

Scroll down a tad to get past the ads....

 

[drummereef]

I ran into an interesting article....may or maynot have anything to do w/ use of biopellets & Nitrates & phosphates. These reads get confusing. But its short quick read!

MARINE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY: ON REDFIELD RATIOS

http://scienceweek.com/2004/sa041119-5.htm.

Scroll down a tad to get past the ads....

Great read! It has a lot to do with bio pellets imo. The ratio (Redfield Ratio) of N and P is vital for the bacteria colonies to operate at peak efficiency. Even though the exact ratio is unknown, this is why people dose sodium nitrate. The idea is if P > N there is an imbalance of nutrients based upon the Redfield Ratio. So by dosing sodium nitrate the idea is to put the nutrients back in balance and reduce P by raising N. Therefore correcting the ratio where N > P. At least I think this is right... :lol: The pellets seem to not do well if P is greater than N from what I've seen. It's just difficult to measure N and P accurately when running a UNLS, when our test kits read 000 or have a relatively large +/- variable to deal with.