Higher Calcium Level for SPS Growth? (vs Health)

[Wally.B]

You can lower it in your water change water with muriatic acid. Plenty of threads on here on how to do it.

Thanks. Sound like a lot of work. I'll read up, but I guess you lower Alk in the Water Change water (bring down water change water to needed alk Levels to match Tank's Alk Level). So why in the world would the salt not be just provided with lower Alk level (when Salt Manufacterer recommends alk of 7.0 and makes their salt 8.0).

And I'm not sure how great it would be to add muriatic acid into weekly water changes.

Anyway. I will read up on this more.

 

[swk]

Thanks. Sound like a lot of work. I'll read up, but I guess you lower Alk in the Water Change water (bring down water change water to needed alk Levels to match Tank's Alk Level). So why in the world would the salt not be just provided with lower Alk level (when Salt Manufacterer recommends alk of 7.0 and makes their salt 8.0).



And I'm not sure how great it would be to add muriatic acid into weekly water changes.



Anyway. I will read up on this more.

Muratic doesn't hurt anything as long as you off gas the water for 24 hours before using. Ph needs time to rebound after being exposed to a strong acid. I drop the alk of all my IO water change water.

 

[Wally.B]

Muratic doesn't hurt anything as long as you off gas the water for 24 hours before using. Ph needs time to rebound after being exposed to a strong acid. I drop the alk of all my IO water change water.

Interesting.

So is there a Muriatic Acid add calculator out there? A table for how much (ml), how strong Muratic (%), to how high Alk the Salt mix is for so many Gallons of water.

I will email Aquaforest for their thoughts around their recommendation of low Alk, when their salt mixes higher Alk out of the bucket.

 

[swk]

Interesting.



So is there a Muriatic Acid add calculator out there? A table for how much (ml), how strong Muratic (%), to how high Alk the Salt mix is for so many Gallons of water.



I will email Aquaforest for their thoughts around their recommendation of low Alk, when their salt mixes higher Alk out of the bucket.

I use this formula for store bought muratic acid. If you get more pure hydrochloric acid online than this would need to be adjusted.

Gallons to be treated X dkh lowered X .123 = ML muratic to dose.

For example for my water change-

25 gal X 2 (lowered from 10 to 8) X .123 =

6.15 ml muratic to add.

 

[reefmutt]

I don't see a problem with having a tank alk of 7 ish and wc water at 8..
Unless you are doing very large waterchanges, the difference in alk really doesn't matter.. I don't think..
Also, I'm not sure I would add muriatic acid in the probiotic salt.. May defeat the purpose of having bacteria in the salt.. The muriatic might kill it..
What was the alk of your old salt, Wally?

 

[Wally.B]

I don't see a problem with having a tank alk of 7 ish and wc water at 8..
Unless you are doing very large waterchanges, the difference in alk really doesn't matter.. I don't think..
Also, I'm not sure I would add muriatic acid in the probiotic salt.. May defeat the purpose of having bacteria in the salt.. The muriatic might kill it..
What was the alk of your old salt, Wally?

Hey, I'm not top keen on playing with Muratic Acid at all. (Actually interested at all).

My previous salt was Tropic Marine PRO. Which by spec has the following:

At Salinity of 1.024
ALK 6.5-7.0 dKH
CALC 420 ppm

But I mixed it to Salinity of 1.025 and got:
ALK 7.7
CALC 450

I liked the lower Alk since I would just add the proper ammount of baking soda to raise Alk to match my tank water which I would run at 8.25 to 8.5

This whole concept of AquaForest and running a tank at 6.5-7.6 dkH is new to me.

I emailed the Manufacturer to ask how to use their 8.0 salt at this recommended lower ALK.

I also did reading. And from small glimpses this low ALK tank running is related to ZeoVit systems. Basically Ultra Low Nutrient Systems ULNS (which my tank isn't since I don't run ZeoLites). From reading the ULNS systems kind of stave the corals of Nutrients and feed them substitutes to get better coloration (layman's explaination)

There are risk with ULNS like bringing in new Corals from Non ULNS systems (the ocean, other people tanks, LFS). So this is not quite the way I want to go yet, till I build up my Corals in my tank.

I read about Low Nutrient Systems, which is less drastic, and I'm more into this category, by having a ATS and a Bio Wall.

I think running this BioSalt might be an interesting experiment. Little hard in the few Frags I have in my tank.

I already noticed after a couple of days, that I had to desensitize by skimmer, since it started skimming Wet a lot with the new salt. (Must be salt since NOTHING ELSE has changed). May be doing in Biotic nutrient encapsulation, (high level term). I'm no expert, but the concept might be good.

Looking forward to Manufacterer response.

Will just run my tank at 8.0 dkH or just a bit below. But not lower than 7.5.

 

[Wally.B]

I'm not sure I would add muriatic acid in the probiotic salt.. May defeat the purpose of having bacteria in the salt.. The muriatic might kill it..

Maybe someone will correct me if I'm Wrong, since I am totally new to Probiotic Salt.

I don't think the Salt contains Bacteria (Hard to believe bacteria can survive in dry salt...Bacteria is usually suspended in liquid to survive). It has something in it to support Bacterial Growth. Kind of like the equivalent of Carbon Dosing (vinegar,volka), is what is in the Salt. (THEIR Brocure is totally against Carbon dosing when using ProBiotic salt).

That is why you first seed a new tank with their startup Bacteria, and they recommend a BioFilter (Ceramic Porus) like I have. Then you switch over to their top up bacteria once levels are establish in bacteria Medium.

I actually just Ordered the AquaForest ProBio-S Bacteria, since my 10 ml ZeoBak is running out, and I will start dosing that bacteria.

I don't plan on using any other AquaForest product at this point.

Trying to stay as close to natural as possible.

 

[reefmutt]

Maybe someone will correct me if I'm Wrong, since I am totally new to Probiotic Salt.

I don't think the Salt contains Bacteria (Hard to believe bacteria can survive in dry salt...Bacteria is usually suspended in liquid to survive). It has something in it to support Bacterial Growth. Kind of like the equivalent of Carbon Dosing (vinegar,volka), is what is in the Salt. (THEIR Brocure is totally against Carbon dosing when using ProBiotic salt).

That is why you first seed a new tank with their startup Bacteria, and they recommend a BioFilter (Ceramic Porus) like I have. Then you switch over to their top up bacteria once levels are establish in bacteria Medium.

I actually just Ordered the AquaForest ProBio-S Bacteria, since my 10 ml ZeoBak is running out, and I will start dosing that bacteria.

I don't plan on using any other AquaForest product at this point.

Trying to stay as close to natural as possible.

Yes. Good point about the salt... I've always been a bit nervous about adding muriatic acid to my salt mix, regardless..

Regarding your last sentence, above.. Natural sea water has an alk below 8.. Closer to 7, if I'm not mistaken..

I have been using their probiotic salt, pro bio s and coral b (similar to KZ's coral snow) for about 6 weeks. The bacteria and coral b, I add a couple times per week at night. I love how crystal clear the water is the following day..
I would say my pe is even better than it was before using the salt but it may just be a subjective thing..

 

[Wally.B]

So I got an answer from AquaForest about Alkalinity recommendation.


Hello,

8,0 KH is still safe to sps corals and sps tanks.
You Can use that salt for now.
I will correct our guide that KH should be from 6,5-8,0.

Regards,
Aquaforest

 

[Wally.B]

I have been using their probiotic salt, pro bio s and coral b (similar to KZ's coral snow) for about 6 weeks. The bacteria and coral b, I add a couple times per week at night. I love how crystal clear the water is the following day..
I would say my pe is even better than it was before using the salt but it may just be a subjective thing..

It's only been a few days (using the Probiotic Salt for me, and my tank does look different. Could be a placebo effect.). I still have Coral Snow so I use it. Waiting for ProBio-S, but still have ZeoBak.

Too soon to say. We'll see in a few weeks, like you. (Keep me posted)

 

[Wally.B]

One Month+ After GHA Cleanup (Photo Compare)

- So for my records I'm posting a compare after GHA clean up
- Algae is VERY slowly creeping back, but under control.
- My Algae Scrubber is working so hard, that I'm going to add another LED for better distribution (since it clumps around single LED)
- New AlquaForest Salt change #1. I do notice that just before Water Change the Corals look depleted, and then perk up after Change. Must be lower Trace Elements compared to Tropic Marine Pro.
- I did change out my RGB led strip that makes White by combining all three colors, with a Pure White LED strip. Looks better and New Photo Show more contrasts.

 

[Wally.B]

NEW Frags GLUED on Rocks

So those Frags I got are finally Glued in for Display. (Photo for the Future Growth Compares)

 

[Wally.B]

Made Decision (DELAYING LED Fixture Purchase for 1 year) Ordered Replacement MH Bulbs

So my MH 250W bulbs are over 18 month old.

Even though the MegaChrome Bulb Manufacturer's Spec states good up till 3 years, I am suspicious the OLD BULBS are reason for my Lack of Coral Growth and Possibly a cause of Algae growth.

I just ordered a pair of Phoenix 250W 14000K replacement bulbs. Will give these bulbs a try. From reading posts and reviews, I can't really go wrong.

This will delay my LED purchase for a year. Hoping over next year LED's improve and costs come down.

 

[Wally.B]

Few more Frags from (GTA Reef).

So I visited that guy that I met at the Frag Show that has the most amazing Tank and Frag Collection I've ever seen (GTA Reef).

Picked up a few more frags from him.

If anyone has proper names for these pass them on.

Yeah the tank is going to get a bit FRAG crowded (Unrealistic Layout if they grow) , but I'm mounting them on separate Small rocks for future adjustments.

 

[sahin]

Those are nice acros. You'll like the Phoenix 14K. Keep up the nice work. I've been following this thread from the start; I admire your hard work and determination. :thumbsup:

 

[Wally.B]

Those are nice acros. You'll like the Phoenix 14K. Keep up the nice work. I've been following this thread from the start; I admire your hard work and determination. :thumbsup:

Thank Sahin. It's not really hard work, it's a challenge and I love it.
Can't wait for the bulbs to arrive. It will prove a lot (Coral Slow Growth and Algae issue).

Here is another project in the works.

Circulation Improvement (Gyre Custom Controller):

After tank rebuild and changes to pump positions, my circulation is pretty good.

However I couldn't crank up my GYRE to 100% overnight for the mercy of Fish.

So this new Gyre Pump Controller improvement is going to allow me to Run my Gyre a bit quieter overnight, but will allow me (to push the pump to 100% full thrust, and stronger Pulse Mode) during daytime and it's nicely independent from my Apex Controller.

Just got the prototype working today.

Full details the DIY custom Gyre Controller are here.

CUSTOM DIY (Arudino) Gyre Controller MOD

ANOTHER PROJECT Brewing is improvement (extra LED) to my Santa Monica Algae Scrubber (which is working great), plus a DIY Larger HomeGrown Algae Scrubber (from China Parts - Grow LED's)

 

[Wally.B]

Algae Blenny (Doing a great job on Algae in other LPS tank).

So my other tank had few spots of Algae and being paranoid of Algae (for good reasons). I reacted fast by getting a Algae Blenny.

He clean up every spot and I've been having to supplement some Veggie flakes and Nori since he begs for food.

See how chubby he is getting. Produces lots of waste as you can imagine, which would be great for my SPS tank.

Is quite friendly and has a nice personality.

BTW. Pheonix 250W 14000k Bulbs arrived today. Will put them in this weekend. From what I read it can take a couple of weeks for them to burn in and get their proper colors.

Also China RED/BLUE LED's also arrived, so going to add the EXTRA LED to the Santa Monica Scrubber, and will start building the DIY scrubber soon.

 

[Wally.B]

DIY (V2.0)- Aurdino (Gyre Pump) Controller (Finished)

Finally got this project finished. Bit more (nice to have) programming to do but it's ready to use.

- Will be expanded to add more thing like Dosing Pump, Feed Button, etc, etc

- Might even interface into Apex, or put on Network for remote control.

** GOT THIS PROJECT OUT OF WAY, so I can work on Algae Wars Movie during March Break Week, and maybe Algae Scrubber **

 

[Wally.B]

NEW 250W MH Phoenix 14k Bulbs installed (Nice )

So I just installed the replacement 250W Phoenix Bulbs (Old ones were Giesemann MegaChrone CORAL Bulbs).

Nice blue crisp look. Definitely noticeable change.

They still will need a few hours/days to burn in for final look.

So no more excuses that my OLD BULBS are reason for slow SPS Growth. Or that their age is causing my Algae growth.

Onward!!

 

[Wally.B]

A bit too early with new MH Bulb, but is this improvement Actually Possible?

So the New MH bulb has been on two hours, and maybe it's just me getting excited prematurely.

Couldn't help but notice this Coral has perked up. It never used to Polyp and it just started.
Blue Green Chromis also noticed

Interesting the same is happening on my Frag Rack at the back (with the new Frags).

Can SPS corals react so quickly to proper/improved lighting??

I just reduced the Photo Period in case these new bulbs have extra PAR Punch, to not burn anything.

Not raising lights, but will ramp up photo period over next couple of weeks.