My Australian 950lt SPS tank

there is no specific ratio of lacl3 to rodi water. If I remember correctly when I was using it before breaking the tank down to move I was running 10ml to a gallon of water and dripping that into the system over a 48 hr period of time. Dustin does it differently with a different solution as well. It also depends on what brand/concentration lacl3 you are using.

if you havent seen this thread already Wayne take a look at it....

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1474839&highlight=lanthanum+chloride
 
Showmethefishy said:
It's not a "mines better than yours" SPotter! It's a forum and i'm just making a comment on this persons journal! I said the corals are nice but in my opinion there is no structure to where everything is and is unlike a natural reef. I'm not trying to bag the guy just being honest about the way i see it! I WISH I had as much time as this guy to spend on my tank but i have kids and a wife that are first priority, so my tank is very much an after thought!
Click to expand...

you said pieces looked ok....but if you read his thread you would also know that he too just had a kid and he also recently re-did the scape and will post new fts of the tank.
 
Hi SPotter, i'm not trying to upset you.... i had a skim through and that's obviously the reason it's not probably where he wants it to be! But I was saying it's ok, maybe my ok is different to your ok, I was effectively saying it's nice without being great and as I mentioned, your reasoning is probably why it looks "ok/good", not "unreal"! Don't want to argue with you, please don't take offense to my comments!
 
OK... Back to the tank at hand.

What is the dosing for lacl that you are using? I have a friend that I am helping and this might do better for his tank. Plus I want to see how it works, NO not on a ginny pig tank. Just want to understand it.
 
jason angel said:
Thanks for all the great comments guys!

Hi Reefkeeper! Thanks for tagging along, and i will do my best to answer all questions.



Keeping SPS is actually very easy to do.
There is 3 NON-NEGOTIABLES, and that is it! Aslong as you abide by the non-negotiables you will succeed in growing colorful SPS.
In PRIORITY they are;
1) STABLE and CONSISTENT Ca + Alk. (Calcium levels can be between of 380-440ppm, Alk between 7.5-9.5 dkh). The best SPS systems DO NOT VARY from its set value.
*I have noticed dramatic color reduction in my SPS either from raising or lowering alk even 1dkh too quickly!

2)INTENSE LIGHTING! - most SPS is collected from shallow reef flats <10mtrs, and therefore will do best when provided with a MINIMUM of 350 PAR. - In my opinion, color temp is only a viewer preference and has less effect on growth rates than actually intensity of lighting.

3) LOW NUTRIENT WATER! - Low Phosphates are essential for nicely colored SPS (0.01-0.05ppm) - Nitrates however, i would aim to keep between 1-2ppm, as this will promote darker and richer blues, purples + greens. I ran 0.01 Nitrates for a while there, and colors are very washed out. Once i added a biopellet reactor to actually PROVIDE some nitrates to tank my colors have greatly improved.





Me and all my reefing buddies are right into LaCl, and there is a general rule amongst us that the acceptable LaCl dosing regime is 1ml per 1000ltrs per 24hrs. Many even are running dosing pumps for this regime!
It is traditionally dosed into the water intake of skimmer via ozone port, or custom port.
With my system however, 1ml per 1000ltrs in 24hrs reduces Po4 too much, and my Po4 levels are actually VERY close to 0.00 (RED SEA PRO) after a 2 week period of this dosing regime. When close too 0.00 my colors also wash out and I have even noticed a green monti bleach! Thanksfully it has now colored back up as it was one of my favorite!
So my LaCl regime is now 0.2ml per 1000ltrs per 24hrs (IF I REMEMBER!), dosed manually, and also used in conjunction with GFO.

In summarizing, I once read somewhere a wise philosophy about reefkeeping that i often think back to when designing or modifying my SPS system..
"A filter is only as good as the ease of cleaning it"
For example, you don't want your skimmer cup to be a real pain to get out of sump, because you are going to be less likely to frequently clean it if its a pain to access.
The same goes for your entire SPS system. You dont want water changes to be a pain to perform, because you will be less likely to do water changes!
If you stick by this philosophy you will succeed. The trouble lies within ones self by making a suitable compromise between looks and functionality!

GOOD LUCK ALL, and HAPPY REEFING! :cool:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts and philosophy on reefing, I appreciate it. I'm totally with you on the three non-negotiables and your LaCL details are great. In my case, I have the non-negotiables in check with my own system with the exception of PO4. The PO4 tends to run around 0.04-0.09 but jumps to around 0.17 when nitrate drops too zero. I'm going to start a conservative LaCL regimen for those times when PO4 jumps over 0.08.

Below is my own LaCL plan but is now refined thanks to your feedback about what has worked for you and your reefing buddies. I've been researching this on other reads here on RC as well. Please feel free the comment as I'm confident in it. I reference your 1000 liter example as well as a 500 liter example, which is the net water volume of my own system.

LaCL source:
SeaKlear Phosphate Remover CR seems to be the off the shelf product of choice in the US. This is the diluted version from SeaKlear.

Make a diluted solution:
For a 1000 liter net water volume system, create a solution of RO with 0.2ml of LaCL. The ratio of RO to LaCL isn't critical but the total amount of LaCL added to the system over 24 hours is. For example, you may use 4 liters of RO to 0.2ml or even 8 liters of RO to 0.2ml of LaCL for a 1000 liter system. The exact ratio of RO water to the 0.2ml of LaCL isn't critical because the goal is to get the LaCL diluted well so that it can be dosed evenly over a 24 hour time period. Regardless of the amount of RO used, add 0.2ml of LaCL in total is used to create a solution for a 1000 liter system. For a 500 liter system, a solution made up of 8 liters of RO mixed with 0.1ml of LaCL is fine.

Dose diluted solution slowly:
I have a GHL doser so I dose the diluted solution directly into the input of skimmer, a little bit ever minute or two. The key is to dose it so that the mixture is added in even increments over the course of 24 hours (no sooner).

Place skimmer to do heavy recirculating:
The skimmer is located in a chamber of the sump that receives only a small portion of the water being returned from the tank. The rate is about 10 gallons per hour into and out of this chamber. The rest of the returned water feeds into a different chamber of the sump. The solution is dosed into the skimmer chamber and because of the slow turnover of water in this chamber the skimmer has the opportunity to make several passes at the water that is being treated with heavily diluted LaCL.

Even slower is even safer:
The example sets a time limit of 24 hours to insure not adding too much too soon. Slower is even better and no harm exists in dosing a 24 hour dose spread out over 7 days. A good doser makes this easy.

Safety:
Insure that PO4 never drops to 0.00 ppm. Use in conjunction with regenerated GFO as needed once PO4 levels are < 0.02ppm.
 
I don't know if this person is also a subscriber of RC, but he wrote up a great piece on how to do this safely.

A Different Approach to Removing Phosphates

I may try this down the road, once the bioload in my tank starts to exceed what skimming and other methods can't handle effectively. I think there's another thread here on RC that really well done on the subject too. The person made a two chamber reactor for dosing and removing the particulate. This looks to be a much cheaper and more effective way of controlling/reducing PO4 than other media methods.
 
Bilk said:
I don't know if this person is also a subscriber of RC, but he wrote up a great piece on how to do this safely.

A Different Approach to Removing Phosphates

I may try this down the road, once the bioload in my tank starts to exceed what skimming and other methods can't handle effectively. I think there's another thread here on RC that really well done on the subject too. The person made a two chamber reactor for dosing and removing the particulate. This looks to be a much cheaper and more effective way of controlling/reducing PO4 than other media methods.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. I know the author from RC but wasn't aware of that he had created that post.
 
I'd love some more information on this tank, i'm still thinking it could be something really special and it looks like the author of this thread does a lot of reading. I'm curious what the final state of play with this tank will be. I am thinking about setting up a similar size tank over quite a long period of time as my spare time is restricted, but would like to use the negatives of this tank, or at least what the tank owner considers to be negatives to improve on. I understand your time has been limited due to having a baby (or at least your wife did haha) and that's why it is a bit of a mess as stated by SPotter and of course I can understand that but I would like to know what the plans are in the future to tidy it up? Some of your acro is stunning. I look forward to your reply.
 
Hi ALL,

Thanks for the kind words and feedback. Reefkeeper yes the dilution method of dosing LaCl works great with a dosing pump! :)

Anyway I purchased a new camera lense this week, a Sigma 50mm f/1.4
I cannot recommend this lens enough! super sharp, and a really nice low light, fast lense. :) ENJOY!
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Using your techniques, I implemented my own an LaCL dosing routine 2 weeks ago and I'm seeing success. Dosing consists of a diluted LaCL solution that is added to the skimmer intake at a rate of 3ml/hr which works out to 73ml/day. The solution is made of 3ML of SeaKlear CR mixed with 591ml of water. Prior to starting the regimen PO4 was typically 0.07-0.10 and now PO4 levels have dropped to 0.01-0.03. Thanks for your help!

Please tell us more about your water changes or supplementation schedule. I'm always interested in reading what folks are doing or not doing to get great results.
 
Hi All, thanks for the kind words.

Spotter - sigma 50mm f/1.4 used for these latest pics.
Crazy Beaver - Thank you!! :thumbsup:
Reefkeeper64 - Awesome! LaCl really has revolutionized the hobby! what is your tank water volume? You've got the idea though! Just becareful not to go under 0.01 Po4 or you will loose colors! :)
 
jason angel said:
Reefkeeper64 - Awesome! LaCl really has revolutionized the hobby! what is your tank water volume? You've got the idea though! Just becareful not to go under 0.01 Po4 or you will loose colors! :)
Click to expand...

My setup run about 150 gallons total. I'll be sure to keep an eye on the PO4 to make sure it doesn't test out at 0.00. Share your the rest of your water regimen when you get around to it. I'm taking notes for my own reference. Thanks!
 
Hi all. My water regime is very basic. Because the tank is bare bottom, I syphon 20-30 ltrs of water/detritus out of bottom weekly/bi-weekly and replace the water! That is it! No large water changes required!
Im a firm believer in Calcium reactor over dosing pumps also. Calcium reactor dissolves natural calcium carbonate, releasing many beneficial elements that we do not even test for! The initial setup of calcium reactor is more expensive, but the benefits are great. I don't understand why everyone here in Australia is turning to dosing pumps. lol


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