Hello all , Its been over 2 months and I haven't added any chems to my system its been really good so far sps are growing good the only thing I been doing is water changes about 12 gallons .I see a big differance in color .I will let you know how things are going in a few weeks .
No chems for more than 2 months
- Thread starter feefer2
- Start date
saltaholic
Premium Member
cool...my tank on the other hand I have to add rediculous amounts of tech a and tech b. I water change 6 gallons a week on a 40g system. Not so much a problem alk more a fight to maintain a 400ppm calcium level. Wanting to add a calcium reactor but money has been tight sooo someday hopefully.
Jandree22
New member
Want a used Ca Reactor setup for $100? On craigslist I found a used setup for sale for $100 and thought it was a steal of a price so I jumped on it. But now I'm having a little buyers remorse because with my current goals the money could've been better spent elsewhere (new RO membrane/filters, increased flow, bulbs, coral, etc)... no SPS to demand a Ca reactor at this time, for me.
Included are...
K2R Calcium Reactor (w/Eheim pump)
20lb CO2 tank, filled
Regulator (probably needs a needle valve for fine tuning flow)
If you're interested, let me know and I could send pics. Not a big deal, I'll probably hook it up eventually if I don't happen to resell it, just figured I'd put it out there for you to ponder
...anywho, feefer2, sorry... didn't mean to hijack your post! I'm actually curious what your motivation for pursuing this is; curiosity, experimentation, convenience, cost?
saltaholic
Premium Member
100 bucks? Sold! Do you wanna trade for anything?
As far as my Mag. levels I honestly dont know I need to get a test kit. I use reef crytals from IO I always assumed that the water changes I do with a reputal brand of salt would be oky?
As far as my Mag. levels I honestly dont know I need to get a test kit. I use reef crytals from IO I always assumed that the water changes I do with a reputal brand of salt would be oky?
saltaholic
Premium Member
hmmm no pm?? Sorry to hi jack the tread
I am just experimenting to see what the out come is hope all goes well it seems to be good so far ..I am using io salt I was using reef crystals trying to see if all this chem thing is a money maker for companys so we buy there products ..the only thing running is carbon and phosban on my system ... Just think if it works out okay I save a alot of money and I will have a more natural system ..
what Iam doing is 12 gallon water changes 1 week
ph 8.2 steady
cal is 400 drops to 370 between water changes
mag is 1300 steady
alk is 11 drops to 9 between water changes
to be honest this is almost what I was dealing with when I was dosing so not much change ....could it be a money thing i will find out ...
P. S. color is much brighter not dosing so far
what Iam doing is 12 gallon water changes 1 week
ph 8.2 steady
cal is 400 drops to 370 between water changes
mag is 1300 steady
alk is 11 drops to 9 between water changes
to be honest this is almost what I was dealing with when I was dosing so not much change ....could it be a money thing i will find out ...
P. S. color is much brighter not dosing so far
TomRep
New member
Some products are a waste of money, some are not. As far as salts go, io and RC are almost the same thing made by the same company. RC tends to have a bit higher levels of alk and sometimes ca and mg. if you do weekly water changes, the only other elements your system should need, depending on coral load, is the big three. I have a 50 breeder and the only thing i add is alk, ca, and magnesium to keep things at the levels i want. Everything I add is a DIY mix, so that saves me there. Do to my coral load, i'm dosing about 26ml CA and alk per day, and about 30 ml MG per day. corals are growing like weeds and I'm saving money, so i'm happy. Oh, and I use RC salt with a 5 gallon water change every other week.
tom
tom
Jandree22
New member
lol, thanks. now that your NO3 reactor is built, I know you're jonesing for another DIY project<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14107573#post14107573 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NCNBilly
Joel, if you decide to go the reactor route later on, I'll help you build one.
bmorecopper
Member
Hey Salt,
I have a mag test kit you are more then welcome to use. If you are in York you are not far from me. Let me know and I will get it to ya.
Copper
I have a mag test kit you are more then welcome to use. If you are in York you are not far from me. Let me know and I will get it to ya.
Copper
bmorecopper
Member
I haven't used any chemicals for a few months either. (Trippkid and I were just talking about this last week.) Ever since I stopped I have had better growth on everything. Now I only supplement calcium. Other then my nitrates being a little high I haven't had any problems.
TomRep
New member
In my opinion and from what I have witnessed in my tank, nitrates are an over rated item. I've ran both my tanks (old 120 and new 50) with 0 nitrates and phosphates and had a heck of a time getting my corals to color up. I fed well and had plenty of fish in the 120, then disaster struck. In the 50, I'm allowing nitrates of 2-5 ppm and phosphates around .01-.05 and my corals have great color and are growing well. I do have some spots of nuisance (s/p) algea that are driving me crazy, but atleast my corals are doing well. I think it's easier to run a tank with 5-10 ppm nitrates and .01-.1 phosphates then it is to run a ULN tank AND keep you corals looking good. JMO of course.
tom
ps. I'm mostly sps and zoas with a few LPS starting to come in
tom
ps. I'm mostly sps and zoas with a few LPS starting to come in
Update , Things are well still have not seen anything that could be a problem system is staying steady 9 alk 430 cal 1300 mg sal 1.025 temp 76.8 hope it stays running this way coral look great fish don't care .. have a good one , hope to meet up with some of you at the next meeting ....
