SPS Setup suggestions/comments

[ycnibrc]

montipora is pretty hardy so you can add a few. Try one of each species and see if they doing ok then add some more. The encrusting type and carpriconus are stronger than the digita. Make sure you have some flow over it so algea and detritus don't settle over it.

good luck

 

[Serioussnaps]

Im chiming in about the dosing pump. I think kalk is one of the best things i have ever done to my tank. Yes, with the right doser you dont need a float valve, you just find out your evap rate and set the amount of ml's/hr you want to add...I just set it to a number then tested the salinity every 24 hours until it stayed solid for 3 days...then i just leave it at that number.

here is what i use....nautilus II from innovativeaquatics....keeps my ph 8.23-8.33, alk and CA constant, salinity constant....only cost 170 bucks

Sorry for all the wires exposed...i had just moved so they were everywhere...eyesore!!!here it is though:
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m255/Serioussnaps/P1010419.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

i drip it into my sump:

a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m255/Serioussnaps/P1010421.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

if you are considering starting up on kalk you will need a PH monitor for sure...kalk is very potent and carries a ph of 12.0 so using a monitor is necessary IMO

heres a cheap one

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m255/Serioussnaps/P1010420.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

 

[bpd964]

A ph monitor came with my calcium reactor and I calibrated it last month. For the past 2 weeks it has been steady at 8.3 and during the day I saw it at 8.4.

My top off to my tank is pretty simple using a float valve on my sump. I manually fill my 20G top off tank NOW, and if the float valve happens to stick, I still have room in my sump to hold the water so no overflow. No more float valve from my RO/DI.

My sister is a nurse at the local hospital so I ended up getting 2 of those dosing machines because she wasn't sure which one I wanted. I will post pictures of them later and I will probably be selling the one I don't keep.. You would be amazed if you saw the stuff hospitals throw out..

Anywho, I guess it can't hurt to add a kalk system, especially if it's a free setup. I just need to research on how to calculate everything.

By the way, can anyone suggest a place to get some montipora frags? I would even buy some small frags off of anyone here..

thanks..

 

[Serioussnaps]

btw....the dosing machines you just scoop from the hospital arent going to be suitable for reef keeping unless you know how to do the mods and disable the alarms...if you can do that you are golden but if not they are basically worthless for reef purposes

 

[bpd964]

hmmm, I have no clue as to what you are saying other than the alarm issue. Is there something i'm missing?