Electrobes' K.I.S.S. 40Br Thread

[tdukes]

Sorry for the late reply, It's just a new VHO actinic from UV

lighting(460). Nice looking bulb (alittle more pop) than the 03. A few

online vendors carry them.

 

[Electrobes]

No biggie, thanks for the info.. I will have to purchase a new set of bulbs soon and will definitely give them a look.

 

[Electrobes]

I did change my lights as of recently. I was running 2 X Aquasuns + 1 X Super Actinic when I started in June of last year. About a month ago I switched one Aquasun for a 50/50 bulb. Today I switched that 50/50 bulb for a Super Actinic... finally getting the color I wanted.

In the beginning when I first set up this tank I was worried that a single tube of Aquasun wouldn't be enough for the tank.. and I was wrong. I believe this current lighting scheme is perfect for my softy dominated tank.

My tank was this: 1 X Super Actinic + 1 X Aquasun + 1 X 50/50:

Now it is this: 2 X Super Actinic + 1 X Aquasun:

I am hoping I'll get some coralline growth from the switch, but if I don't I won't complain as the coral colors and possibly growth will most likely improve and that alone would make me happy.

Now I just need to finally get a Phosban Reactor (Or build one) to finish my Surface Skimmer + MJ-900 thingy.

The chaeto ball I have is still doing well. I got an awesome sized ball (Thank you!) from the last CMAC meeting and used about half to fit it inside the space in the rocks.

Since I was up, I did some testing:

Calc: 400ppm by Salifert (I added some more calcium afterward)
Mag: 1440ppm by Salifert (Holy cow that's a major increase from what I had.. must have miscalculated the dosings)
Alk: 10.2dKH or 3.66 meq/L by Salifert (About the same as last month)
pH: 8.3 Salifert (The same as last month)
Amm: Not Detectable by API (The same as last month)
Temp: 77.0 F by Lifegard Thermometer
Sal: 1.026 by Refractometer (.001 more than last time, but no big deal)

I am about to head out to Lowes, on suggestion by Ron, I am going to see about building my own reactor to finish the surface skimmer + MJ-900 thingy. Even if it doesn't work, it gives me something to do (I don't have kids yet, so I'll take advantage while I can!)

 

[Electrobes]

Well the wife informed me that anything that can possibly leak onto the floor from the tank does not get made by me. Instead I ordered the Phosban Reactor, plus an extra O-ring, an extension kit (Was curious to try it out and it was cheap), and Phosban (Good to have as back up plus it was on sale). The bonus about me buying is that I get a clear tube that let's me know if clumping is going on, plus in reality.. if I had done it DIY I would have saved about 15-20 bucks.. so no biggie.

 

[ron69]

Crack Rock wanted me to tell you that your a wuss!!

lol Just kidding.

You run any carbon on your tank? I wonder if you could run carbon and phosban together?

 

[jnarowe]

you can but they generally use different flow levels.

 

[Electrobes]

Yep J is correct. It is typically not suggested to run both at the same time. But l don't think I have a phosphate problem, it's just good to have it just in case. I do run carbon as more of a toxin catcher than a water cleaner.

 

[chrismunn]

i like the new lighting scheme alot more that the origional. the first set up was too pink, or from what i can tell in the pics?

 

[ron69]

I knew carbon usually takes more flow but..I figured on a small tank like yours you probably wouldnt need a lot of carbon or phosban. So if you could combine them...well you get the picture. And even if it wasnt as much flow as you could run, it would still be beneficial.

 

[Electrobes]

chrismunn: Thanks, yeah the original was more pink/yellow. This bluer scheme is prob far more natural than what I had originally, considering most soft corals are deeper water lovers.

Ron: The other thing I realized is that the carbon would be exhausted faster than the Phosban. I would need to pull out the carbon faster than the Phosban. If I need both, I'll just stick an in-tank whisper that I have with carbon and use the phosban in the reactor. If I had phosphates spike.. that would be my biggest concern, and I would try to find the source ASAP and get rid of it.

Here's hoping that never happens! :eek1:

 

[Electrobes]

Thinking about the Phosban Reactor and recently looking in my Reef closet, it occurred to me that I do have my Polyfilter that I'd like to try. I'm thinking on top of using my usual black diamond in the Phosban Reactor that I may also cut out pads to fit inside the reactor, and place them at the end of the reactor, where the water leaves the reactor.

What do y'all think about that? Flow rates should be about right for both, and both should last a little under a month before needing replacing. Off the top of my head I can't think of any cons for this idea.

 

[jnarowe]

poly filters are interesting and placing them on either side of the carbon might yield interesting information about what the carbon is absorbing.

 

[Electrobes]

I think maybe I'll give it a try.. it would be interesting to see what catches and what doesn't. It wouldn't be a perfect test, as there is more water going through carbon than the carbon can handle, so whatever shows up on the polyfilter may just be what got missed. But on the other hand I can measure by time.. how fast does the polyfilter get used up before it needs to come out?

 

[jnarowe]

I don't know what the specs are...they just get dirty like any other floss, only they may turn a color and show a particular contaminant is being absorbed.

 

[Electrobes]

Yeah.. well either way I'll give it a try.. I have a sherman ton of carbon and polyfilter for my tank. I'll sacrifice in the name of reef science

 

[jnarowe]

hehehe...

 

[dwd5813]

that lil tank has come a long way. good job. sorry if i missed the explanation but it was asked in spike's thread about your ph/surface skimmer setup, does the ph just blow back into the tank or is that exported somewhere?

 

[Electrobes]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14307401#post14307401 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dwd5813
that lil tank has come a long way. good job. sorry if i missed the explanation but it was asked in spike's thread about your ph/surface skimmer setup, does the ph just blow back into the tank or is that exported somewhere?

Thanks

Right now I have the MJ-900 just blowing back into the tank after the water goes through the surface skimmer. I am waiting on my Phosban Reactor to get here, and it will be connected to the MJ-900. Instead of the water just being blown back out into the tank, it will go through the reactor then back into the tank.

I will show pics of the assembly so I can better show what I mean. Though I speak English fluently.. I still speak it poorly

 

[Nanook]

[moved]

 

[dwd5813]

:lol: this is turning into the little thread that can't make up it's mind.

that sounds like a good plan re: the skimmer into po4 reactor.