Just did a few days ago...nothing major at the moment just prepping stuff.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2600702
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2600702
jemw's 90 gallon
- Thread starter jemw
- Start date
jemw
New member
UV filter timing change
UV filter timing change
I have my heater in the center chamber of my sump, and wanted to get some additional water flow around it to disperse the heat better. Was thinking of adding an additional low flow pump, then it dawned on me that I already had the beast there in the form of my UV filter. I had been running the filter for 1.5 hours in the AM and 1 hour in the PM but changed it to coincide with the heater turning on and off based on the temp censor of my Apex. This has worked out great as the heater isn't on as much and the temp doesn't spike as a result of the poor circulation in the center chamber. AND my water is clearer.
UV filter timing change
I have my heater in the center chamber of my sump, and wanted to get some additional water flow around it to disperse the heat better. Was thinking of adding an additional low flow pump, then it dawned on me that I already had the beast there in the form of my UV filter. I had been running the filter for 1.5 hours in the AM and 1 hour in the PM but changed it to coincide with the heater turning on and off based on the temp censor of my Apex. This has worked out great as the heater isn't on as much and the temp doesn't spike as a result of the poor circulation in the center chamber. AND my water is clearer.
jemw
New member
It's 11.5" x 5.5"
jemw
New member
Latest water params
Latest water params
The corals I added are happy and starting to grow. Did my water tests yesterday with these results:
Temp - 77.7º
Salinity - 1.025 - down from 1.026 which may be a result of the dosing
Ph - 8.08 - again may be a result of the dosing
Amonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Phosphate - 0.04 - borderline would like to see lower
Alk - 7.6 dKH - down, don't understand since I am dosing. Changed dosing from twice daily to every hour at 1/24 the daily dose. Will see next week.
Calc - 435 - Up as a result of the dosing.
Magnesium - 1160 - down, don't understand as I am also dosing for this
Added mysis shrimp to the reef frenzy for feeding, fish don't seem to care for it.
Latest water params
The corals I added are happy and starting to grow. Did my water tests yesterday with these results:
Temp - 77.7º
Salinity - 1.025 - down from 1.026 which may be a result of the dosing
Ph - 8.08 - again may be a result of the dosing
Amonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Phosphate - 0.04 - borderline would like to see lower
Alk - 7.6 dKH - down, don't understand since I am dosing. Changed dosing from twice daily to every hour at 1/24 the daily dose. Will see next week.
Calc - 435 - Up as a result of the dosing.
Magnesium - 1160 - down, don't understand as I am also dosing for this
Added mysis shrimp to the reef frenzy for feeding, fish don't seem to care for it.
jemw
New member
Stirrer for Kalsawater
Stirrer for Kalsawater
As stated earlier, I have limited space in my stand and was constricted for the dosing reservoir. I did a post here for a suggestion for a magnetic stirrer and received a reply pointing me to the GHL Magnetic Stirrer. It fits perfectly under my reservoir in the confined space. It requires 24Vdc to drive it, so I ordered the DC24 to Bare Wire Accessory Cable - Neptune Systems from BRS and will modify the connection to the GHL to use it. :lolspin:
Stirrer for Kalsawater
As stated earlier, I have limited space in my stand and was constricted for the dosing reservoir. I did a post here for a suggestion for a magnetic stirrer and received a reply pointing me to the GHL Magnetic Stirrer. It fits perfectly under my reservoir in the confined space. It requires 24Vdc to drive it, so I ordered the DC24 to Bare Wire Accessory Cable - Neptune Systems from BRS and will modify the connection to the GHL to use it. :lolspin:
jemw
New member
Had an opportunity to test my electricity failure mode today. Although I did cheat a little by turning the heater, lights, mp40, and skimmer off. Wanted to see how long the system would run with the mp40 running on it's backup battery, and the return pump on my UPS. We received notice of the power down on Monday, so I finished the installation of my airstone system yesterday to test it's working.
As the power was off for six hours, I was able to see the final results. The UPS lasted for around two hours, at which time the airstone kicked in to provide additional oxygen to the tank. The MP40 battery backup was still functioning when the electricity came back on.
It is worth noting that the state I had set the equipment to (off) with the Apex, was how it was when the power came back on. I had to manually go back in and set them to auto. It is also worth noting that I had to do a physical reset for the Apex to start communicating over ethernet.
Interesting note that since I am dosing Kalsawater hourly, my PH has raised to the 8.2 arena and is more stable. My ORP has also risen to the 39x to 40x range as well.
As the power was off for six hours, I was able to see the final results. The UPS lasted for around two hours, at which time the airstone kicked in to provide additional oxygen to the tank. The MP40 battery backup was still functioning when the electricity came back on.
It is worth noting that the state I had set the equipment to (off) with the Apex, was how it was when the power came back on. I had to manually go back in and set them to auto. It is also worth noting that I had to do a physical reset for the Apex to start communicating over ethernet.
Interesting note that since I am dosing Kalsawater hourly, my PH has raised to the 8.2 arena and is more stable. My ORP has also risen to the 39x to 40x range as well.
jemw
New member
Nutrients
Nutrients
In my last tests I found "Phosphate - 0.04 - borderline would like to see lower"
In reading articles on nutrients, I'm not so sure that a zero level is best for corals. I think I will not make any further steps to reduce the phosphate and see if the few corals I have like it. I don't have much in the way of algae in the tank as the tang/crab/snails keep it clean.
Nutrients
In my last tests I found "Phosphate - 0.04 - borderline would like to see lower"
In reading articles on nutrients, I'm not so sure that a zero level is best for corals. I think I will not make any further steps to reduce the phosphate and see if the few corals I have like it. I don't have much in the way of algae in the tank as the tang/crab/snails keep it clean.
jemw
New member
Fighting a brown hair algae problem. Added a Lawnmower Blenny, but he doesn't eat much. Ordered and received Vibrant Reef Aquarium Cleaner this morning. Added the recommended dose will see how it looks tomorrow.
Also finally received the Apex cable for the 24V connection to the GHL Magnetic stirrer I've had for over a week. My order for the cable was delayed because of the hurricane on the east coast. I dose at the top of the hour, and set the Apex to give it a six minute stir before the dose. If anyone is interested, here is the code I used:
Set OFF
OSC 054:00/006:00/000:00 Then ON
I may have to adjust beyond six minutes, but will monitor. As a side note, when I cut the GHL cable and did some testing I found that their red wire is the minus (-) connection, not what I expected.
Also finally received the Apex cable for the 24V connection to the GHL Magnetic stirrer I've had for over a week. My order for the cable was delayed because of the hurricane on the east coast. I dose at the top of the hour, and set the Apex to give it a six minute stir before the dose. If anyone is interested, here is the code I used:
Set OFF
OSC 054:00/006:00/000:00 Then ON
I may have to adjust beyond six minutes, but will monitor. As a side note, when I cut the GHL cable and did some testing I found that their red wire is the minus (-) connection, not what I expected.
jemw
New member
I'm happy with the results of using the Vibrant Reef Aquarium Cleaner, it has eliminted almost all of the brown hair algae overnight. So far no ill effects on the corals or the fish. When I went to clean the glass this morning, there was nothing there to clean.
Modified the port to increase the kalsawater stirrer to 10 minutes before dosing time. New code below.
Set OFF
OSC 050:00/010:00/000:00 Then ON
With my kalsawater dosing in place, I am beginning to see more coraline algae throughout the tank.
Hopefully I am on the road to a stable tank now.
Modified the port to increase the kalsawater stirrer to 10 minutes before dosing time. New code below.
Set OFF
OSC 050:00/010:00/000:00 Then ON
With my kalsawater dosing in place, I am beginning to see more coraline algae throughout the tank.
Hopefully I am on the road to a stable tank now.
jemw
New member
It appears that the Vibrant Reef Aquarium Cleaner doesn't kill off the coralline algae. As mentioned in a prior post, I was beginning to see coralline growth on the rock. Once the brown hair algae had cleared, I found a lot more of it than I thought was there. It would appear that my kalkwasser dosing is finally bringing the levels up.
jemw
New member
I have also opted to remove the lighting from my sump. I was using it to maintain PH levels during the lights out, but it is yet another source for unwanted algae. I'm only running my heater, UV filter in the center chamber with a huge size of ChemiPure Elite. The PH level drops from 8.3 to 8.19 during the night. As long as it remains in this window I think I can leave the light off.
