people who go with "almost" no Water Changes needed!

[karimwassef]

Oh. I also use a slurry kalk DIY reactor where I create a kalk "mud" and use a motor stirrer to create my ultra saturated clear liquid.

I still need to refill it with about 1.5kg of powder every month

 

[glennf]

That tank looks perfect to me with no water changes. I love it when people say it can't be done. :lmao:

Haha paul.. some people can get away with it[emoji23]

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[glennf]

My DT is the same as your volume ~ 380gal but I have a large system with a surge (100), sump (180), secondary sump (100), and aux tank (50). Given that they're reciprocating (levels alternate in them), the total is ~700gal = 2650liters.

So I have a lot more volume to absorb the kalk but my
pH pushes at 8.4

I have to limit it to avoid going over. My current Ca/Alk is 500ppm/7.5dKH

My Alk consumption is 4dKH per day and rising so I am likely to have to switch to two part (or balling) or add vinegar to my Kalk mix.

I use ultra-aggressive aeration (insane DIY skimmer 12' tall with Dual injection pressure penductors) to reduce my pH using gas exchange, otherwise, my pH would blow over 9!! This skimmer injects about a gallon of fresh air per minute into a thick froth. I discovered this solution when I was curing my concrete rockscape and this skimmer brought the freshwater water pH from 10 to 8! It's an excellent stabilizing factor. I have a problem because I turn off my skimmer at night. So I need to use my Apex to turn off my doser if the kalk goes over 8.4. I make up for it during the day though.

My evaporation is only about 20gal/day so my salinity slowly does drift downwards due to excess water, so I use my regular water changes to compensate.

You are lucky with your available tank and supporting technics space.
We european like to save space, because we don't have the luxury of space...

So you alk comsumption is quite high also..
I love to see pics of your tank.

Haha... so 2 part is the final problem solver.

Be carefull with apply vinegar because it is a carbon source.... uncontrolled carbon dosing can crash your tank due to bacteria bloom, or nitrate deficiency.

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[glennf]

Oh. I also use a slurry kalk DIY reactor where I create a kalk "mud" and use a motor stirrer to create my ultra saturated clear liquid.

I still need to refill it with about 1.5kg of powder every month

Quite a diversity of technics...sounds interresting.
I need pics to visualize.

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[karimwassef]

Here's a link to some vids. Click my name in YouTube to see all the vids including some equipment building, etc...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2YtdwALbf_I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F4S2vnxXVbc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/41usuLeiNbE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N-aRe7Uckfk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here's my SPS thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2545088&page=5

And a few tank pics

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/6E29B26D-2600-4113-B0A1-59B27EFFB170_zpsvg18k5et.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/6E29B26D-2600-4113-B0A1-59B27EFFB170_zpsvg18k5et.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 6E29B26D-2600-4113-B0A1-59B27EFFB170_zpsvg18k5et.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/36444632-1756-41B0-AF00-DCBD99E2C7A8_zpsrw5cv5eb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/36444632-1756-41B0-AF00-DCBD99E2C7A8_zpsrw5cv5eb.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 36444632-1756-41B0-AF00-DCBD99E2C7A8_zpsrw5cv5eb.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/DF8CF464-9B9E-49B1-896F-00E6C8AFE62F_zpsbgz5tork.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/DF8CF464-9B9E-49B1-896F-00E6C8AFE62F_zpsbgz5tork.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DF8CF464-9B9E-49B1-896F-00E6C8AFE62F_zpsbgz5tork.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/1D82B651-B2FB-4286-94E0-C32D94135963_zpstmbmcbcz.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/1D82B651-B2FB-4286-94E0-C32D94135963_zpstmbmcbcz.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1D82B651-B2FB-4286-94E0-C32D94135963_zpstmbmcbcz.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/CD4C3C8E-F2E2-46E2-9465-06E605906C6A_zpsc0rtg1kw.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/CD4C3C8E-F2E2-46E2-9465-06E605906C6A_zpsc0rtg1kw.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo CD4C3C8E-F2E2-46E2-9465-06E605906C6A_zpsc0rtg1kw.jpg"/></a>

 

[glennf]

It's starting to fill up.. you're on the right track Karim

Here are my top shots

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[karimwassef]

Ha! We even have similar corals next to each other... The purple milka stylophora and gold/green fuzzy birdsnest and green slimer ... Your color morphs even match mine... For a minute, I was confused by the pics wondering what happened.

My tank is about 2.5yrs old and the SPS are just about 1.5yrs old in my tank.

The milka started like this:
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/12FC3480-F6AD-4B01-874E-79C0C9919307_zpsqan5ta0u.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/12FC3480-F6AD-4B01-874E-79C0C9919307_zpsqan5ta0u.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 12FC3480-F6AD-4B01-874E-79C0C9919307_zpsqan5ta0u.jpg"/></a>

 

[glennf]

Ha! We even have similar corals next to each other... The purple milka stylophora and gold/green fuzzy birdsnest and green slimer ... Your color morphs even match mine... For a minute, I was confused by the pics wondering what happened.

My tank is about 2.5yrs old and the SPS are just about 1.5yrs old in my tank.

The milka started like this:

Haha..." back to the future"......

My tank is from q4 2004 and 5he sps craziness started in q4 2011.
All were similar frags like yours

Good progres with the stylopora.

Nowadays only make this kind of "frags"....

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[salty joe]

I was looking at the Dutch no water change system, and IIRC the Red Sea test for iron is used. Red Sea recommends 0.15 ppm iron, which is 44-75 times higher than NSW. The lowest it can indicate is 0.05ppm, still far higher than NSW. I saw iron listed at anywhere from 0.002ppm to 0.0034ppm on seawater composition charts.

So, it seems the only good my Red Sea iron test kit might do for me is tell me if I am overdosed.

 

[glennf]

I was looking at the Dutch no water change system, and IIRC the Red Sea test for iron is used. Red Sea recommends 0.15 ppm iron, which is 44-75 times higher than NSW. The lowest it can indicate is 0.05ppm, still far higher than NSW. I saw iron listed at anywhere from 0.002ppm to 0.0034ppm on seawater composition charts.

So, it seems the only good my Red Sea iron test kit might do for me is tell me if I am overdosed.

Right!

Beside that rs iron test has a delay.. i tested it and i only showed the any measurement after a few hours standing.

I rather use the sera Fe test.
Iron won't stay long into the system becauae i wil react an percipitate with I.e. PO4.
That's why is use iron dosing.
0,15 ppm i my maximum singles dose per day.

Btw.... i am not mimicking nsw, but trying to push bounderies to improve my tank performance

My Targeted po4 and no3 levels are also much higher than nsw and most people target am my results are just fine.

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[karimwassef]

How much Fe do you dose? Why does it help?

 

[salty joe]

Btw.... i am not mimicking nsw, but trying to push bounderies to improve my tank performance

My Targeted po4 and no3 levels are also much higher than nsw and most people target am my results are just fine.

.

That's interesting. I've always assumed the best thing to do is mimic NSW. What are your targets for phosphate and nitrate and the other chemicals we can test for? How often do you test?

BTW, your tank is stunning, a real jaw dropper!

 

[glennf]

How much Fe do you dose? Why does it help?

0,02ppm-0,15ppm per day
In problem systems even 0,25ppm per day, devided in 6 dosings.

My PO4 is being controlled by Fe dosing

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[glennf]

That's interesting. I've always assumed the best thing to do is mimic NSW. What are your targets for phosphate and nitrate and the other chemicals we can test for? How often do you test?

BTW, your tank is stunning, a real jaw dropper!

That is what most people is being assumed/taught.
I went my own way doing experiments and found out, not all the rules are that holy.
My tank is prove enough...

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[glennf]

What are your targets for phosphate and nitrate and the other chemicals we can test for? How often do you te

The picture says it all...

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[karimwassef]

This is the first I've head of Fe dosing to control phosphates. Some GFOs may be doing this intrinsically, but I've never heard of it being dosed explicitly for this reason.

So - which source for Iron do you use? I'm a wild experimentalist myself so I'm willing to try... I see you use Sera Fe to test.

Anecdotally, I lost a pair of "stainless steel" clippers in my overflow once and when I found it again, it was red and corroded. My tank didn't suffer at all - probably lucky that it didn't have other nasties in there. I always wondered what effect that had.

Maybe the new trend will be dropping a pure iron ingot into the sump?

 

[smatter]

I am also curious as to how one controls phosphates with Fe dosing.

 

[glennf]

This is the first I've head of Fe dosing to control phosphates. Some GFOs may be doing this intrinsically, but I've never heard of it being dosed explicitly for this reason.

So - which source for Iron do you use? I'm a wild experimentalist myself so I'm willing to try... I see you use Sera Fe to test.

Anecdotally, I lost a pair of "stainless steel" clippers in my overflow once and when I found it again, it was red and corroded. My tank didn't suffer at all - probably lucky that it didn't have other nasties in there. I always wondered what effect that had.

Maybe the new trend will be dropping a pure iron ingot into the sump?

Iron (Fe) ions bind with PO4 ions in the watercolumn, which result in FePO4, a solid, which pecipitate and get filtered out by the powerfilter of skimmed out.
Both Fe and PO4 are than unavailable to do any harm.

Basicly GFO is rust.....

Any pure iron source will do the trick....

Happy Reefing, GlennF.

 

[glennf]

Update on the tank:

Rescaped and doing just fine.

Happy Reefing, GlennF

 

[biecacka]

Glenn, if I may ask, where can one purchase the DSR supplies at?

Corey