jdm01's New 90 Gallon

Calcium is still low, but I am going to the LFS tomorrow to pick up some Kent Marine Turbo Calcium. Hopefully that works. Today I changed out the three Rio 1700's for 2 Seio 1100's. The instructions, for the mechanically un-inclined, are pitiful, but now that I seem to have them figured out I wish I would have done them a long time ago. Thanks PatMayo and Bertoni!!!
 
P.S. - Aside from the calcium issue and the light layer of green algae, the water is crystal clear. I am cutting back on feeding, so that should help.
 
Hopefully I can catch a couple of pic's and post them tomorrow to see what people think about the powerhead placement.
 
I installed the new Seio M100 powerheads last evening. The stream is certainly not as harsh. The Seio's are not quite as adjustable as I thought they might be, but they are light years ahead of the Rio's. I will probably move the plate coral in the lower left, it appears to be getting a lot of current. I got the magnesium and phosphate kits so that I can complete my testing. Then I will use the Kent Turbo Calcium to boost the calcium level. Scary part is I flunked high school chemistry. My tank room looks like a small chemistry lab now - UUGGGHHHH!!!!

04_26_06Tank.jpg


As always, suggestions are welcome.

Thanks again to PatMayo, Bertoni, and Avi.
 
Not to worry, it will click one day in your head and then you will feel like half a chemist.

The tank is looking good!!

I just started dosing Kalkwasser so I have a whole bunch more learning to do. Seems like I am starting all over again.

Oh well, to live is to learn right?

John if you look at my thread you will see how I mounted the power heads to mag cleaners. It makes it more adjustable and you don't have to worry about the powerheads falling into the tank and sand bottom. The suction cups well errrr, suck. After a short time they will fall. Check it out. Plus you can reconfigure the pumps to be a smaller profile in your tank.

Here is the thread

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=780206&perpage=25&pagenumber=2


Regards,

Pat
 
Okay, so here is a chemistry update. I have checked both phosphates and magnesium. The phosphates are at 0.1 ppm and the magnesium is at 1,260 ppm. I added about 1/4 teaspoon of Kent Turbo Calcium earlier this evening and about 1/8 last night. The good news is that CA is holding in 300 ppm. The bad news is that the level is only 300 ppm. I may actually try 3/8 tsp tomorrow morning and see where I end up. The good news is that the water is crystal clear.

Adding the Seio's and removing the Rio's appears to have been a good decision. Water temp is down 2 degrees to 80 degrees.
 
Did you use the chemistry calculator for the calcium? You can raise the calcium level up all at once. The calculator will tell you how much to use.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

I used the thick type super glue. You can buy it online. I think I got mine at Marine Depot. Just about all the online stores sell it. I think regular super glue will work as well. Just make sure it's nice and dry before you put it in the tank.

Regards,

Pat
 
Nice look so far but I would slow down..... nothing good happens fast in a reef tank and is especially true in the first year
 
The basic water parameters seem to be staying good. Calcium is on its way up. Pat, yes I did use the calculator. It works best if you put in the total system volume in gallons. I missed that part. Told you I was not much of a chemist. Anyway the calcium is up to around 375 ppm. One more dose tomorrow and I should be good. While not ideal, ph is remaining in the 8.0 ppmn range. If I can get the calcium fixed I may add a coral or two in the next few weeks.
 
The substrate is a mix of live marine sand, crushed coral, and puka shells. Some think this might be problematic. Should I remove the puka shells and just stick with the live marine sand and crushed coral???
 
I find it odd that you are having these chemistry issues so early.

Phosphates: unless you induced them via the water supply, I can see no way you would have any. (I do not like the CC or puka shell substrate myself as they may be an issue later down the road)

CA: Again, unless your salt is woefully inadequate, you should not have any reason to be suffering low CA levels. There is nothing in the tank to consume CA any faster than water changes replace it

My point is this, one of my tanks is a 75G SPS tank with 100+lbs of live rock (refuge holds 15lb reef rubble). I only rarely have to supplement the CA levels. I do large water changes and this keeps the levels up. You have nothing other than live rock and Coraline to consume the CA and so I must wonder about the testing process or kits. (many are notorious for inaccuracy). I would still take a good sample to a LFS and have them test this stuff for you.
I have simply found that as soon as I start pouring supplements into a system, I often end up with other problems. Adding to much CA in a dose can cause your levels to drop. Alk issues may prevent CA levels from rising etc.
 
Thanks for the input. I am not really sure what happened. The only thing I really have struggled with is the calcium. I made the mistake early on of using PurpleUp. That was a mistake to never again be repeated. I just recently got the calcium up in my 29g and I have much coraline growing now. The only thing I can think of is that I have been buying my water pre-mixed at the LFS. That may well be the source. If I have this poblem again, I will invest in the necessary equipment to mix my own.
 
Okay, so I have things back to normal now. I have increased the calcium back up to the 400 ppm range. I am dosing Kent 2 part and it seems to be holding well. I know there are better 2 part's that I could use. I will change over when the Kent is gone. Riht now I am giving my corals a chance to readjust. The LFS is getting some new LPS in soon, so maybe I will have some new coral pic's soon.
 
I would also invest in "Salifert" test kits. Adjusting water parameters to inaccurate test results is also an issue here very often
 
I am in the process of switching over right now. Unfortunately the lessons learned in this hobby can be very expensive.
 
Great news!!! I have been testing for a variety of things, mostly so that I can get used to using the test kits. Over the years I have learned that it is easiest to test for things when you know the values should be good so that it is easier to know when you have a problem. Because of how I got my 29g out of whack, I decided to test the 90g for Strontium. The Salifert Strontium test kit also tests for calcium. The calcium part of the test reads 440 - right in the zone!!! Feels like blind luck, but that is better than no luck at all.
 
Okay, so here is an update. The water parameters are in line with what they should be. I have a 29 as well as the 90g. They are not connected, but I do use the same water for maintenance and top off. The smaller tank is really beginning to grow coralline in a big way. The 90g is beginning to grow coralline, but is probably a week or two behind. No real rush, just a statement of fact. I am doing every other day doses of Kent Marine 2 part calcium/buffer supplement. This is it. Once this is gone, I may change to something different like Randy's, but this seems to be working for now.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7324012#post7324012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdm01
Okay, so here is an update. The water parameters are in line with what they should be. I have a 29 as well as the 90g. They are not connected, but I do use the same water for maintenance and top off. The smaller tank is really beginning to grow coralline in a big way. The 90g is beginning to grow coralline, but is probably a week or two behind. No real rush, just a statement of fact. I am doing every other day doses of Kent Marine 2 part calcium/buffer supplement. This is it. Once this is gone, I may change to something different like Randy's, but this seems to be working for now.
Click to expand...
Yea probably best to get used to one thing at a time. There is so much to learn in this hobby that it is easy to get behind the curve with so much new stuff you "can" do. It is a relief to just "plug and play" sometimes :)
 
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