HI all- been away for a while

yeah, something could be chewing up the pH too. when my tank was new it tended to like to be around 7.5ish for the first little while. that started correcting as the tank matured a little.

as long as you're not spiking your alk with the buffer, then it shouldn't be an issue to buffer it up then keep it stable with the kalk drip.

i feel like i read earlier in this or the other thread that the salt you were using was old? or maybe even just a funky batch, who knows. :)
 
Yes the salt is old (maybe 5 years old) - worked late today, so just got home and the PH with the lights off for several hours is 7.85. I will test ALk tomorrow- too tired tonight.
 
LOl- well now that the PH is staying 7.89- 8.0 guess what, the Alk is = 300 on the Hanna checker- did it twice. Ahhh... way too high. So I guess I will have to do a water change already - will test the new water before putting it in the tank - SOB.

That old salt ( reef crystals) has to be the culprit. the bag was open and resealed by hand and the salt wasn't hard- a few chucks only, but somehow the salt must have degraded. I have an unopened bag , and also I think a bucket of IO ( unopened) - both are old = 5 years. So I will mix up 5 gallon of both of those and test it for PH and ALK.

I guess better to find out now the salt is bad and get a new source than purchase livestock and have it not thrive. Not to mention drive myself nuts figuring out why.
 
Made up 5 gallons of the IO to 1.026 , PH= 8.08 ( same PH probe at lower temp due to RODI water not being heated- so probably closer to 8.00 at 78 degrees ) , Alk = 214 = 12 dKH= slightly high.

Is it me or either my instruments are off, or the IO salt is "iffy" as well. now to test the reef crystals ( unopened bad).
 
You want sodium carbonate to raise ph. To make it just take baking soda (bicarbonate) and cook in your oven @400 degrees for an hour. The change is that the moisture is taken out of the bicarbonate. Plus with carbonate you won't need to dose as much to keep your alk stable like you would with bicarbonate
 
Yep- finally figured it out. SO added some cooked baking soda- ph raised to 8.1 = Yeah. Retested ALK 300== BOo!!

Had a leak today- plumbing not setup right- should have changed it/fixed it before resetting it up. So, had to take a bulkhead out of the overflow area - because the guy glued a PVC pipe into the bulkhead- so when I moved the tank the weight of the PVC pipe must have put pressure on the bulkhead and the seal gave way - cant tighten it from below ( wasn't sure why) - so took it apart and I have never seen a bulkhead that is this cheap- no wonder it leaks the "nut" part was not solid when it pushed up against the glass- rather it had notches in it. SO Off to Home depot or Lowes- hopefully they have a decent bulkhead - at least I did not have to drain the whole tank and sump - just the overflow area. I think I will make both the bukheads inside of the overflow drains and then run the return form sump to display up the back of the display tank and use a utube or 2 90 degree PVC fittings to direct water back into display.
 
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Update:

Another hiccup= The temperature controller failed- blanked out - no power - even though it is plugged in - in the trash it goes. So if anyone could suggest a decent Temp controller let me know. I cant seem to connect to the AC3 unit via my laptop or I could use it with a DC8 I have. But since I cant connect to it, I cant program it and I am just using it as a temp and PH monitor.

So, I emptied the overflow area- thank goodness the bulkhead was in the overflow so I did not have to drain the whole tank.

OK -leak is fixed- 10 gallons of water drained on the floor- but I was ready with towels,etc. - which is OK as I had to get rid of the water that has the high Alk anyhow. So , made up new water after fixing the bulkhead and redoing the plumbing. So now tank is at 14 dKH and at 8.0 PH. So we are are getting there. I wonder if that high of Alk is detrimental to fish or corals or other livestock? Also noticed the Hanna checker Alk solution is out of date = 2014. So one more thing to buy. We shall see if the new solution will effect the Alk reading.

Also took the time to find and mount an old 250 HQI to the canopy and begin the process of sending in the gen 1 Radion that came with the setup into Ecotech to retro fit it to a gen 3 with wide angle lenses so it will reach the entire length of he 36 inch tank= $215 total cost. Also they need to fix or replace the fan that was loud. The old HQi light has no glass in it ( cracked some time ago) - so would not work for livestock- but should be Ok for now. I should try to find glass for it as it is a great backup light - fired right up with a old bulb still in it. Again - if anybody has an idea where to get this type of glass -let me know. It is amazing how different the tank looks with the different light on it. Do you think hermit or snails will be affected by the HQi light without the UV glass protection?

Opinions always wanted, and thanks in advance for any info ...
 
I wouldn't run a DE bulb without the glass. Call a local glass company and just get a piece of glass tempered to your exact size needed.
 
FYI I just got some sump baffles cut for me at Community Glass on Brownsville road near the start of South park.

They did a good job, and had quick turn around. They might be worth checking out. I'm not sure if they have that specific type of glass, but if you are looking for a local source, they would be a good place to start.
 
ok thanks- ABC glass said their source for tempered glass wont do anything that small. I will call Community glass ASAP.

I did find an online place that will do it- $35 each x 2 pendants plus $16 shipping or something like that. The problem is it wont get here until 7/7/15 at the earliest.

NOT open Fridays or weekends - so far all places I have talked to have a minimum size which is like 11 x 11. I need 7.25 x 4.5 and 3/8th thick
 
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OK Aqua-medics returned my email- they scrounged and found a few- so I got 2 for about $50. Never found a local that could do it. and only one company out if the state of WA online that could do it.

PH - holding about 7.9-8.1. Alk is still high at about 15 - but seems, from what I have read, that will be "OK" as it will come down slowly and is not high enough to bother livestock.

So, onto planning the livestock scenario.
 
Received the new glass from Aqua-medic yesterday- so put it in and fired it up- amazing how the light looks different with glass in it .

Today I got my upgraded Ecotech Radion back. SO, wont be using the Metal halide light anymore. But, I have functional backup ready to go. And could sell the 2 Aqua-medic Oceanlight halide pendants I have now in good conscience.
 
Would you sell just the pendants or sell with ballasts? If so what ballast does it use? I may be interested.
 
I have ballasts. Checking types. I keep getting in trouble here on R/C for selling with out prices etc. etc. so PM me.
 
OK Upgraded Radion is installed- NOT as bright as the 250 watt DE Halide light - but programmable and basically no heat and cheaper on the electric bill - a good trade off IMO.
 
Retested the Alk with newer fluid , since my PH is again reading 7.68. The Alk now reads 10.69 - so I guess I will not worry about the slightly low PH. Re-calibrated the probe again- no change. So , I will go to Seahorse ( local Store) and have them check the PH and if it is close to my reading then I guess I cant do anything about it and all other parameters are good, I got the canopy ready for "jumpers" as I plan on getting a wrasse and Firefish gobies. New refugium LED light is mounted. I am finally ready for livestock.
 
OK - picked up 2 Firefish Gobies at Seahorse over the weekend and had them test my PH ( since it was reading 7.6- 7.7 again) - their test with color compare chart showed it at 7.8- 8.0. I had them give me a bit of their water - retested it at Seahorse with their tester= 8.2-8.4. When I got home I put my probe into that water and it read 8.05 - so no question my PH readings are lower ( .15 to .35 ) than the actual PH. Now the question is - WHY? Either the AC3 is no longer working properly or the probe itself is faulty. If anybody using a probe setup I would appreciate coming over with my probe and plug it into you setup and see if it reads correctly or not.

If it does than that means the AC3 is not calibrating properly and may never work properly. SO - I guess I will just get a new PH monitor- since I already have a probe.

I also got a clump of Cheato from a friend- thanks friend.
 
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