OK! Enough chat...Starting a 1000g+ Reef

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I would say 75-76 is perfect. I would keep my tank there but it costs more in electricity to have the chiller running more often so I settle at 78 for a mix between electrical consumption and heat. The main problem with running higher temps is if something goes wrong with the cooling of the tank, the temperature does not have as far to rise before it reaches a level that is critical to the survival of the inhabitants. A lower temp gives you a bigger buffer against disaster. Lower temps also decrease metabolism which helps makes anything "bad" happen slower.
 
Well crap! I've had my heaters cranked to keep up the temp for no reason then! I'll have to turn them down! :D
 
Actually that temp. is the seasonally correct temp. for the Marshall Islands. The low is 75F and the high is 80.5F for that area and the ACIII Pro mimics the seasonal changes of both temp. and the sun/moon phases.

And no one says anything about the pH???

And BTW Travis, in case you missed it, I don't have a chiller. :cool:
 
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That AC3 is very nice. I wil have to invest in something like that if I ever build a large tank. Nice that you set a location to mimic. Forgot if it was mentioned but is your live stock choices to mimic that area too? If so any sites you recomend to do good biotope research?
 
Well, 8.4 is a bit high but not something to worry about. I aim for 8.1 but all tanks can fluctuate at least 4 points. Are you buffering alk or anything? Calcium and magnesium levels not too high or something?
 
Spiffyguy I do plan to house animals from that area but I am not going to be "anal" about it. That comes mostly from my desire to keep tank bred animals when possible and most of what is currently available with a MI origin is wild caught. I have not done any biotope research yet.

NexDog Not buffering anything really. The only stuff I have put in are some bacteria and a little Purple Up. Really to dose this tank with anything takes a substantial amount. I may add baking soda tomorrow if the pH continues to rise.

Calcium is steady at 375 ppm. Don't really need much right now anyway. Interestingly, I did a water change of about 80g today to see if that would affect the pH and it just continued to rise, but I did not age the water so that could be a factor as well. I notice that the hermits are not very active so they are definitely being affected by the pH at this point.
 
Don't add anything to the water. I doubt the pH will continue to rise. Heck, it could be a false reading if there is any stray electricity in the water.

Do you have a pH test kit? Can you test a sample of the water in a separate cup/container with the probe?

If you aren't dosing anything to the system, there is no reason the pH would continue to rise forever. The numbers are not in any danger zone currently. Actually, I don't even believe them, unless this room is wide open to constant fresh air around the clock.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7012026#post7012026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe

And BTW Travis, in case you missed it, I don't have a chiller. :cool:
Click to expand...

Yeah, Yeah, Rub it in.:lol:

I agree with melev on the PH. I tend to doubt the accuracy of the reading. Even if it is accurate, it is not at a danger level. I've never heard of a tank reaching a ph high enough to be dangerous without dosing anything that causes an elevation in PH.
 
Sorry about your table giving way, those stainless tables sure look stronger than they are. So much for not doing strinuios activetys.

Howââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s you skimmer top coming along. are you still going with the pvc neck? Did you say the body is 22ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚? how tall are you going to make that 6ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ neck? That cone realy looks good.

Roland
 
Marc Points taken. The room does have fresh air because I have an open attic type vent built into the wall. However, I don't think it is enough to change the pH if that is what you are suggesting. I don't have any stray electricity in the system but I will test the pH with a test kit and make some comparisons. I might consider it a false reading if the increase wasn't so steady. Plus the behavior of the crabs is definitely the "canary-in-the-coal-mine" right now and they have all but stopped activity. I think some have died.

Since I am adding fresh rock today, I will be making extra water changes for the next few days and that will also have some affect on pH I would guess.

yourfishman The skimmer is coming along nicely and it now has a 13" acrylic neck. The body is 50". It has been delayed because of other activities but I hope to finish it by the end of the week.

Did I mention the rock is coming today?? :D :D :D :D :p :eek2:
 
Better figure out where that pH rise is coming from. If it is killing hermit crabs, what will it do to your new live rock?

Since the AC III has a probe, grab a cup of the system's water, and put the probe in that. See what it measures.
 
Marc The pH has taken a break though and is at 8.40. That is still .05 higher than yesterday at this same time though. I did a couple of chemical tests and they seem to reflect the probe results. It's hard to tell since the chemical tests are difficult to read in relation to small changes. I am not in a panic, but just concerned about the trend.

I am not adding anything so the ph should be stable. The only other notable situation is the diatom bloom and there is some resulting "respiration" from the bloom. I would guess that it is oxygen. It is possible that the bloom and the small amount of algae growing are creating some swings that are trending up. Since I am not dosing any CO2, that might result in a climbing pH. I don't know enough about the process to get a difinitive answer though.
 
For the crabs, have you checked your ammonia in awhile, could be the cycle is killing them.

You might also want to check your water for copper, are you on a well?
 
good questions. ammonia is only slightly above zero but I haven't tested in about 48 hours. did a water change yesterday. I am only running RO/DI so there shouldn't be any copper in the water.
 
do you of any good source for info on the reationship of skimmer neck dia hight compared to skimmer body dia/crosssection area?

i was asking about your diameters. it look you said your neck dia was 6" dia.and the body was 22" x 22" is that right? i have to build one simmular to yours 18" x 18" and shorter it a NW. Your is going to be a becket right?

i don't get it why is 8.4 bad? thought 8.3 was the goal. ive been out of the hobby for a while so forgive all the questions?

Roland
 
First off, the good news of the day: The rock is in the tank and I already did one water change. It is really sweet rock.

Roland The skimmer neck is 6" x 13" acrylic tube. The skimmer body is 16" x 14" x 50"h. I have no source of info. on appropriate dimensions as they relate to each other. My skimmer design is based on a hybrid of other DIY skimmers and is sized to fit the maximum skimmer within the space available. I have no idea whether it will even be enough for this tank! But much like i guessed on the ventillation system, I think I am right in the "ball-park" for having enough skimming capability plus extra.

You never know until you try it!:D
 
Truthfully, I believe the riser size is a function of the amount of stable foam created. The more stable foam you can create, the larger you need the riser diameter. The riser length will determine wet or dry foam.
 
so how do you define stable foam? it look like BK has very wide necks but shorter than most, is it from the more stable foam created by diffusing turbulance?

Roland
 
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