kevantheman35
Member
Well the maxijet 1200 was seriously underpowered for the biopellets and barely moved them at all. any recommendations on a pump thats not too expensive?
Solana tank owner thread.
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
kevantheman35
Member
Just the newer ones with the cut out section on the back pane I believe
The top black tray in chamber 2? I literally threw mine out today when I did this. Sorry :-(
I made a media rack for the second section of the back chamber of my solana. This will serve a couple purpouses for me over just having bags of media floating back there. It will allow me to more easilly remove and replace the media rather than having to reach in and fish for it. It should also help with better flow through the media as i can get the bags nice and flat across each shelf. Being DIY is nice too because the commercial one(while very nice and pricey $60)only has 3 shelfs but I wanted 4.
Im going to run floss on the top shelf, carbon on the second, gfo or phosguard on the third and purigen on the bottom. In the future I may run macro on the second shelf so I left it a bit larger.
The top shelf sits about 2 inches below waterline. The rack extends several inches above the water line just to give me something to grab to get it out. It doesnt extend beyond the tank so there is no eyesore.
I did the same thing for our tank as well. Only change I have is the top shelf has a hole big enough to place a pvc pipe. The pipe is slightly above the water line in the second chamber. I cut a slit in the floss to fit around the pipe and pipe sits on the second chamber. Reason I did this is to help keep the water level consistent in the tank. If the floss gets full the water runs into the pvc pipe and doesn't cause my ATO to keep adding more water. But I also run in the top chamber micro filter and then floss on top.
RiddleEagle18
New member
Good idea!
RiddleEagle18
New member
The top black tray in chamber 2? I literally threw mine out today when I did this. Sorry :-(
I made a media rack for the second section of the back chamber of my solana. This will serve a couple purpouses for me over just having bags of media floating back there. It will allow me to more easilly remove and replace the media rather than having to reach in and fish for it. It should also help with better flow through the media as i can get the bags nice and flat across each shelf. Being DIY is nice too because the commercial one(while very nice and pricey $60)only has 3 shelfs but I wanted 4.
Im going to run floss on the top shelf, carbon on the second, gfo or phosguard on the third and purigen on the bottom. In the future I may run macro on the second shelf so I left it a bit larger.
The top shelf sits about 2 inches below waterline. The rack extends several inches above the water line just to give me something to grab to get it out. It doesnt extend beyond the tank so there is no eyesore.
Well I just came across a couple thread about how eggcrate can leach phosphates. Some pretty solid evidence on this so I got all scared until I read deeper in the thread. Some people where using Krylon paint to coat the eggcrate to prevent the leaching. I had some leftover from my LED hanger project so I pulled it out and coated it twice. Im waiting on it to dry now before I put it back in.
Better safe than sorry I guess. I have been fighting an algae issue for the past couple weeks so Im covering all my bases.
Ya, I came across those threads too, peppered with responses from those that have used egg crate for years with no issues. But as we all know, each ecosystem is different. At least you are taking the necessary precautions to prevent potential issues later on down the road...
I received my replacement part today from Current USA... But it was the wrong piece; they sent me the Top Off plate. Not a problem because I was missing that plate too (and now I can experience all the issues that other Solana owners have with using the Top Off bottles!) so I contacted Current USA and they will send the correct part, free of charge again. Nothing but positive impressions of their customer service so far!
calistyle
Active member
I do, but my dosing is probably a little higher than needed for most. Also, has to do with your salt mix and water change time frame.
For me: (not a recommended default for anyone else)
Weekly 5G water changes using Brightwell salt (plan on trying rea sea corals, so I can lower my dosing needs)
Calcium: 14ml daily (spread out between 12 times daily)
ALK: 16ml daily (spread out between 12 times daily)
MG : 12ml daily )spread out between 12 times daily)
This keeps my levels at 8.6 KH, 450 Ca, 1325 Mg. Also, I'm still find tuning my amounts, so the numbers could change over next week or two.
as far as stock: (not shown in photos, few pieces of SPS, 8 frags of zoas)
scubasamdo
New member
My tank is packed w sps/lps , I dose 60ml Ca, 45ml Alk, and just started dosing Mg 10ml. Each is spread over 12 times a day using a bubble magnus Doser. I use red sea coral pro salt. I was doing 5 gal a week water changes, then added kalk to the top off water, now dose. I slowed down on water changes to 5 gal every 2-3 weeks.
RiddleEagle18
New member
How are you guys adding Kalk. Im thinking of adding it via my auto top off. Probably not the most precise way but I dont want to set up a doser.
You just mix the kalk in auto topoff reservoir correct.
You just mix the kalk in auto topoff reservoir correct.
kevantheman35
Member
Correct, but be careful. The kalk raises your ph so you can only add so much. I have had my float switch get stuck and dose my ph up around 10
RiddleEagle18
New member
I have a low PH. Its always been something ive battled. Runs around 7.8-8.0 so Im hoping this helps a little.
I only have a few stony corals so Im going to start real low. I have an approximate 5 gallon ATO and Im only going to start with about 1 teaspoon. See how it effect my tank levels for a week and then adjust from there.
BigRedNole
New member
I have a Cardiff (the Solana's little brother). I am looking to replace the skimmer pump. Every leans towards the MaxiJet. The current pump is rated at 160GPH. If I do the mesh mod, should I go with the MaxiJet 900 which is rated at 230GPH or the 600 which is rated at 16GPH (The same as the current pump)?
ReefM@ster
Member
Radion over solana
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