My new 600 gallon reef
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Goodwin9
Premium Member
Thanks to kau_cinta_ku's sharp eye, he had spotted a possible source of the copper in my tanks when he noticed the valve that had been installed before the python hose to fill and drain my tanks. Melev changed this out for me and and now have elmininated one more potentail cause of the high copper readings in my tanks. For those who might have done as well as I did in chemistry, brass contains copper....
New valver installed......
New valver installed......
SERVO
New member
If you had a source of copper, aren't you concerned about the Cu depositing and slowly leaching out over time? ?
Can you ever leech copper out while using multiple chealtors? Wouldn't this be simular to using a tank that was previously treated with Cu? I don't know, but I hope that this is different. If the Cu is introduced, it has to be removed other than via H20 changes, right?
Can you ever leech copper out while using multiple chealtors? Wouldn't this be simular to using a tank that was previously treated with Cu? I don't know, but I hope that this is different. If the Cu is introduced, it has to be removed other than via H20 changes, right?
clekchau
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11091961#post11091961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Goodwin9
I had to give another Clown tang a try in the tank. Picked up a nice one and took a couple of pictures.
wow what a beauty, what happened to your first one i must have missed it?
pcostanzo
New member
Thats a beauty. He's huge. I would also love to give another one a try. They are my favorite looking fish. I had the exact opposite happen that should happen. I had a mild mannered Kole tang relentlessly beating on my clown tang. They were both the same size and the clown could be 8 feet away and still get chased. Unfortunately, I couldn't get either out of the tank. The clown died in about 2 weeks and I think the Kole was so stressed from the situation he lost all his color and died 1 week later.
melev
Well-known member
Chuck, thank you again for inviting me into your home and letting me play in your tanks. I had a great time and really enjoyed speaking with you about the various facets of your setup. If you have further questions, don't hesitate to ask.
I think your new Reefkeeper 2 is going to be a winner!
I think your new Reefkeeper 2 is going to be a winner!
jnarowe
New member
Good to see you're getting a controller man! With all those tanks, I don't know how you have time for the 3 S's...you need some kind of PC rack system to handle all that stuff. Oh wait, you have those! :lol:
I hope you guys had some constructive time together. Looked like a big crowd on Saturday.
I hope you guys had some constructive time together. Looked like a big crowd on Saturday.
kau_cinta_ku
New member
no wonder Marc never got his coffee, Chuck was hiding down in the fish room with the whole pot :lol:
i guess fish room don't work quite well as all his rooms are fish rooms but you get the point lol
i guess fish room don't work quite well as all his rooms are fish rooms but you get the point lol
melev
Well-known member
He's not posted yet, so I'll update you on a few more things we got done. Sunday morning, we tested his water with a several different tests. Chuck's got many many kits on hand, and from different makers. I primarily used Salifert, but he also had a couple of Hanna digital meters that would produce results via a visual scan of the test sample. Those were kind of neat to see, and didn't take long to produce the test results. We also opened up a brand new multi-kit by Ocean Systems (?) and pretty much doubted that particular kit was accurate at all. It has a single vial test method (similar to pool kits) where you insert the matching colored plastic comparison chart and open a tiny foil packet containing a reagent, but even testing two times in a row, it wasn't right.
His other Calcium Reactor wasn't working correctly. The feed tubing had algae growing inside of it, which obstructed the flow going into the reactor. This was replaced with new tubing. Chuck, perhaps you can hang something over that area (paneling or even a simple towel) to stop light from shining on the tubing to prevent this from reoccurring. You could also use that black stuff that hold wires together, often used behind computer desks. It is removable and not permanent which would allow you to take a peek from time to time. Anyway, it still didn't solve the problem with the reactor, so he tried bleeding the air out of the top of the reactor and that solved the problem. I don't understand how it could have been vapor-locked since the circulation pump should move water and air easily through the reactor. I guess it was just a lot of air a the top and the pump was unable to create suction at this point. It didn't look like it was much, but I guess it was just enough to create an issue.
Speaking of which, we saw the same thing in Lunchbucket's new Euro-reef Calcium Reactor. Chuck and Eric are both using the Schuran media, which looks like stone noodles. You see a ton of airbubble rising inside not unlike some freshwater tanks. Chuck has another reactor under the 600g that is filled with ARM and it doesn't bubble up like that at all. Since both reactors are identical and the only difference is the media, we think the media is the reason for the bubbles. We need to find out from more people using that media to see if theirs are doing that as well.
We calibrated the Pinpoint pH meters, and installed his new Reefkeeper II. That was actually a very easy process once we got the powered plugs installed under the stand. Now with the press of a button, all three circulation pumps are turned off for 15 minutes when he needs to feed the tank.
Due to the way the tank is configured with those pumps, there is no way to keep any of them running during feedings. We discussed them all, and because the goal is to keep the food only in the display during those daily feedings, it was impossible to have any of them turned on:
One pump runs the closed loop with penductors. Each of those returns has an anti-siphon hole (which is good in case the pump or plumbing ever fails; it can't siphon out a lot of water) which are above water level when the other pumps are off. Leaving the closed loop running would normally be the best choice, but the anti-siphon holes suck in air and blow a ton of bubbles into the tank.
The second pump runs through the chiller and sump. Running it would draw water (full of food) into the sump & chiller. That's not a good option.
The third pump runs through the blue filters seen in the picture above. Some of those contain pleated filters that the food would trap against, and simply rot around the clock until the filters were swapped out. The food would clog up the filters prematurely, which Chuck is already changing out every 7 days. So that pump isn't an option either.
The Reefkeeper 2 makes it a lot easier for him, or anyone else tank-sitting, to press a button and feed the tank without the risk of forgetting to turn the pumps back on. They are the only form of circulation in the tank.
I showed him some minor things about how I use my test kits, refractometer, and how I clean and store the beakers. I really like how he tracks the tank's parameter history, which he can flip through page by page to see how the numbers have changed over time. Because he has so many tanks, each page is filled with data from just that day's worth of testing, which he told me takes almost 3 hours.
We joked around about this and that throughout the visit. He reminds me of the LFS owner nearest my home, who opens up brand new items to use in the tank rather than locate one already in use. When he told me the tank's temperature that day, I was shocked. I could see a thermometer lying on the substrate growing a healthy amount of coralline algae, and rather than getting his or my arm wet, he just opened up a brand new package and placed a new themometer in the tank. :lol: Btw, Chuck is tall and can reach and see anything. I'm either on my tippytoes or grabbing a bucket to get up high enough to do anything on his tank. The water temperature was perfect, btw. It was just a false reading from a tool he uses. Chuck, you can soak that old thermometer in some water and vinegar and it'll look brand new the next day. Same with feeding clips, etc. The suction cups don't need to be soaked. I think it might even make them less pliable perhaps.
The person you'll want to PM about your denitrifier is skydancer (Alex). If you need his phone number, let me know.
His refugium is now going to run on reverse lighting via the Reefkeeper, and he'll be harvesting macro algae from there more frequently. I noticed on the webcam last night that it was on. :thumbsup:
Chuck - Did the tank seem brighter to you yesterday with the lenses clean? Or did it just blind you?
I love that your coffee maker is under the tank. :lol: So convenient!
His other Calcium Reactor wasn't working correctly. The feed tubing had algae growing inside of it, which obstructed the flow going into the reactor. This was replaced with new tubing. Chuck, perhaps you can hang something over that area (paneling or even a simple towel) to stop light from shining on the tubing to prevent this from reoccurring. You could also use that black stuff that hold wires together, often used behind computer desks. It is removable and not permanent which would allow you to take a peek from time to time. Anyway, it still didn't solve the problem with the reactor, so he tried bleeding the air out of the top of the reactor and that solved the problem. I don't understand how it could have been vapor-locked since the circulation pump should move water and air easily through the reactor. I guess it was just a lot of air a the top and the pump was unable to create suction at this point. It didn't look like it was much, but I guess it was just enough to create an issue.
Speaking of which, we saw the same thing in Lunchbucket's new Euro-reef Calcium Reactor. Chuck and Eric are both using the Schuran media, which looks like stone noodles. You see a ton of airbubble rising inside not unlike some freshwater tanks. Chuck has another reactor under the 600g that is filled with ARM and it doesn't bubble up like that at all. Since both reactors are identical and the only difference is the media, we think the media is the reason for the bubbles. We need to find out from more people using that media to see if theirs are doing that as well.
We calibrated the Pinpoint pH meters, and installed his new Reefkeeper II. That was actually a very easy process once we got the powered plugs installed under the stand. Now with the press of a button, all three circulation pumps are turned off for 15 minutes when he needs to feed the tank.
Due to the way the tank is configured with those pumps, there is no way to keep any of them running during feedings. We discussed them all, and because the goal is to keep the food only in the display during those daily feedings, it was impossible to have any of them turned on:
One pump runs the closed loop with penductors. Each of those returns has an anti-siphon hole (which is good in case the pump or plumbing ever fails; it can't siphon out a lot of water) which are above water level when the other pumps are off. Leaving the closed loop running would normally be the best choice, but the anti-siphon holes suck in air and blow a ton of bubbles into the tank.
The second pump runs through the chiller and sump. Running it would draw water (full of food) into the sump & chiller. That's not a good option.
The third pump runs through the blue filters seen in the picture above. Some of those contain pleated filters that the food would trap against, and simply rot around the clock until the filters were swapped out. The food would clog up the filters prematurely, which Chuck is already changing out every 7 days. So that pump isn't an option either.
The Reefkeeper 2 makes it a lot easier for him, or anyone else tank-sitting, to press a button and feed the tank without the risk of forgetting to turn the pumps back on. They are the only form of circulation in the tank.
I showed him some minor things about how I use my test kits, refractometer, and how I clean and store the beakers. I really like how he tracks the tank's parameter history, which he can flip through page by page to see how the numbers have changed over time. Because he has so many tanks, each page is filled with data from just that day's worth of testing, which he told me takes almost 3 hours.
We joked around about this and that throughout the visit. He reminds me of the LFS owner nearest my home, who opens up brand new items to use in the tank rather than locate one already in use. When he told me the tank's temperature that day, I was shocked. I could see a thermometer lying on the substrate growing a healthy amount of coralline algae, and rather than getting his or my arm wet, he just opened up a brand new package and placed a new themometer in the tank. :lol: Btw, Chuck is tall and can reach and see anything. I'm either on my tippytoes or grabbing a bucket to get up high enough to do anything on his tank. The water temperature was perfect, btw. It was just a false reading from a tool he uses. Chuck, you can soak that old thermometer in some water and vinegar and it'll look brand new the next day. Same with feeding clips, etc. The suction cups don't need to be soaked. I think it might even make them less pliable perhaps.
The person you'll want to PM about your denitrifier is skydancer (Alex). If you need his phone number, let me know.
His refugium is now going to run on reverse lighting via the Reefkeeper, and he'll be harvesting macro algae from there more frequently. I noticed on the webcam last night that it was on. :thumbsup:
Chuck - Did the tank seem brighter to you yesterday with the lenses clean? Or did it just blind you?
I love that your coffee maker is under the tank. :lol: So convenient!
melev
Well-known member
:lol: Look at that picture! It was the only area in Chuck's basement where you had a flat spot to put down a few items.
I'd love to see a counter top down there somewhere, where you can work on stuff. If if it was a flip down counter top that folds up out of the way the rest of the time.
I'd love to see a counter top down there somewhere, where you can work on stuff. If if it was a flip down counter top that folds up out of the way the rest of the time.
jnarowe
New member
Seriously, get a real desk Chuck. 
I just want to comment on this. I use the Gen-X/Schuran media and it is really top-notch stuff. But, when I re-start my reactor, there is always a period of very high bubble saturation. My guess is that it is from having the lid off and allowing air to get into the reactor, but as you noted, it doesn't seem to happen with the ARM. Whatever the case, it should go away after some time.
Because of the way this media reacts, it is often recommended to have a lower pH, like around 6.20 - 6.30. I have discussed this at length with Steve Weast, who also uses this media, and what he said has helped me immensely. He said to not worry about bubble counts, reactor pH, etc. but to concentrate on flow. Keep the bubble count steady and vary the flow through the reactor so that you get the best numbers for your reef. As time goes by and your corals grow larger, then the flow will have to be adjusted.
I used to try and keep the pH low, but it was producing too much bubbles in the reactor and spiking my numbers. Now I keep it at 6.45 - 6.50, and that seems to be perfect for my reef now. With a low coral mass, you just don't need to be running the reactor full tilt. But keep in mind, it's not the reactor pH that is important, it is the Ca and alk that you get when you test your tank water.
Ad this media really adds a lot of other elements as well. So, as far as the massive bubbles go, it should go away by itself. If not, you are running too much CO2...I control my CO2 using pH probes so that it goes on and off withn the range I described above. It also is control by the tank pH, so if that goes out of spec. the CO2 will be turned on or off. That's why controllers are so helpful, and in Chuck's case, he should have an array of Reef Controllers...With the Neptune System, you can actually monitor multiple tanks. Not sure about the ReefKeeper though.
Chuck, feel free to PM or call regarding the Ca reactor if you want to discuss this more.
I just want to comment on this. I use the Gen-X/Schuran media and it is really top-notch stuff. But, when I re-start my reactor, there is always a period of very high bubble saturation. My guess is that it is from having the lid off and allowing air to get into the reactor, but as you noted, it doesn't seem to happen with the ARM. Whatever the case, it should go away after some time.
Because of the way this media reacts, it is often recommended to have a lower pH, like around 6.20 - 6.30. I have discussed this at length with Steve Weast, who also uses this media, and what he said has helped me immensely. He said to not worry about bubble counts, reactor pH, etc. but to concentrate on flow. Keep the bubble count steady and vary the flow through the reactor so that you get the best numbers for your reef. As time goes by and your corals grow larger, then the flow will have to be adjusted.
I used to try and keep the pH low, but it was producing too much bubbles in the reactor and spiking my numbers. Now I keep it at 6.45 - 6.50, and that seems to be perfect for my reef now. With a low coral mass, you just don't need to be running the reactor full tilt. But keep in mind, it's not the reactor pH that is important, it is the Ca and alk that you get when you test your tank water.
Ad this media really adds a lot of other elements as well. So, as far as the massive bubbles go, it should go away by itself. If not, you are running too much CO2...I control my CO2 using pH probes so that it goes on and off withn the range I described above. It also is control by the tank pH, so if that goes out of spec. the CO2 will be turned on or off. That's why controllers are so helpful, and in Chuck's case, he should have an array of Reef Controllers...With the Neptune System, you can actually monitor multiple tanks. Not sure about the ReefKeeper though.
Chuck, feel free to PM or call regarding the Ca reactor if you want to discuss this more.
melev
Well-known member
He has both the American Pinpoint pH controller on the 'bubbly' reactor and the Milwaukee on the ARM reactor.
Chuck gave me a small bottle of oil to put in my bubble counter. Can't wait to try it out. It looks like life is moving in slow motion instead of what I'm used to (using RO/DI water).
Chuck gave me a small bottle of oil to put in my bubble counter. Can't wait to try it out. It looks like life is moving in slow motion instead of what I'm used to (using RO/DI water).
kau_cinta_ku
New member
I was always wondering about that. cause the bubble goes so slow but looks very cool.
Chuck, LMK if you need any help. whith things you discussed with Marc. I am always free during the weekends and I could even prob. make it up during the weekday's if you needed.
looks like you 2 came up with some very good ideas and did alot to your tank to make it run much better. I wish you the best. I would still love to see that tank a full blown SPS tank.
Chuck, LMK if you need any help. whith things you discussed with Marc. I am always free during the weekends and I could even prob. make it up during the weekday's if you needed.
looks like you 2 came up with some very good ideas and did alot to your tank to make it run much better. I wish you the best. I would still love to see that tank a full blown SPS tank.
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