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jstlsn

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Posts posted by jstlsn

    PINPOINT Salinity Calibration Fluid

    in General Discussion

    Can PINPOINT Salinity Calibration Fluid go bad? I have a bottle that I purchased out at BRK on 02/10/2007. I just calibrated my refractometer and it was off by .004. It has been a few months since I last calibrated it, but I don't understand how it could get so far off. If the calibration fluid is correct the salinity in my tank is too high. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

     

    Thanks

    Brad

    Aquacontroller GB

    in Blue Ribbon Koi

    John is 100% right on this one. GET THE ACIII. I currently have a Jr and I now have to upgrade to III and I only have a 75 gallon tank. I have used all 12 of devices and 40 lines of code.

     

    Now my only concern is that they will come out with a new Aquacontroller after I get the ACIII.

     

    John, do you throw in wife convincing with the cost???? :)

     

    Brad

     

     

    For those considerding the JR, a word of caution......most people are upgrading to a ACIII in about 6 months to a year. and now with the price on the ACIII coming down 100 bucks, its almost a no brainer in my book.

    John

    Power off in Falls Church

    in General Discussion

    Valentines Day has to be one of the worst times of the year for something to go wrong with your tank.

     

    I'm running on my generator now and have been since 7:15a.

     

    Lost power around 5:00a

     

    Thank god I have 5 trucks on the road today so they can do drive by's through out the day for me.

    Kalk

    in General Discussion

    I love my GSA Kalk Stirrer. One of the best things I have for my tank. Plus, if I remember correctly about 1/4 the cost of a similar deltec.

     

    Brad

     

     

    About 60 :cheers:

    Kalk dossing vs 2 parts

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by jstlsn

    I run Kalk and 2-part. All of my topoff goes through the kalk, but I don't have enough evaporation to meet the Calcium/Alk needs for my tank with the topoff. So, the 2-parts adds the rest. I think 2-part is much stronger than kalk. You can add a lot less 2-part to reach your desired levels. I could be a bit off on this but that is my understanding and so far it is keeping my Calcium and Alk at good levels for my coral to grow.

     

    Check out bulkreefsupply.com. You can get all of the 2-part stuff at really good prices.

     

    Brad

     

     

    In my setup I have always dosed Kalk and never done the 2 part method. From my perspective it seems that Kalkwasser dossing is just much easier. I am curious if I am missing something. I understand that when corals start using much more calcium and Alkalinity the Kalkawaser may not be able to keep up but I dont see this as the reason people go to two parts. Plus kalk is so cheap to buy.

     

    I suppose my question is: What is the advantages, if any of doing 2 part soloution over Kalk dosing?

    TEK T5 fixture VS TEK Retrofits

    in General Discussion

    I have the 6 bulb retro. Then I switched out one of the ballasts for an Ice Cap ballast and added the Ice Cap reflectors. It looks great.

     

    The only advantage I see for the fixture is it is easy. Take it out of the box and put it on top of the tank.

     

    Brad

    Best Store for fish near Fairfax, VA

    in General Discussion

    Try Blue Ribbon Koi. It is a little bit outside Fairfax, just north of 66. They can probably get both of those for you and give you a fair price. The website is www.blueribbonkoi.com. You can also PM John the owner here on wamas. His userid is johnnybv.

     

    Brad

     

    I was looking for a blue-spotted jawfish and a Helfrichi firefish yesterday at Marine Scene in Herndon. Very nice store but had neither. Where can I find one in this area?

     

    FN :scuba: :)

    new item from Neptune

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by jstlsn

    You are correct that the pump does not plug into the DC8. However you need to keep in mind that each pump does take up a timer. For example, I have an ACJr with a DC8 and a DCHD4. The ACJr can control 12 timers. That is 1 timer for each plug. However I also have the AquaSurf with 2 pumps on it. So I have to leave 2 of the plugs on the DC8 empty and assign those timers my pumps. If you have a ACIII then I think you can have 24 timers and more flexability.

     

    Brad

     

     

     

    In reading this, I want to clarify you can have the pumps not plugged into the DC8 and still control them with this unit. So your tunze's do not have to take up a spot on the DC8.

    Algae Problem - PLEASE HELP!!!

    in General Discussion

    Thank you everyone for all the help and suggestions.

     

    dschflier - I have probably been fighting hit problem for 3-4 month. Never really noticed it was becoming a problem until it was too late. I am sure it has been in the tank longer than that. The phosban is still running and I am still skimming. I can run the lights for less time each day. I have been running Kalk for 5 months now. I always syphon as much algae as I can out of the tank when changing water. I might also increase my water changes. Might just do two 10 gallon changes a week.

     

    The one important factor you left out is how long you have been trying the things you have been trying. I agree with most of the suggestions but I also would continue doing everything for a long time. Once algea gets a foot hold it can survive with not much food.

     

    I would start using Phosban again, continue skimming, Lower the lights, feed a bit less add crabs. If you are not adding Kalk I would add it. Anything that will help eliminate Phosphates. When you do the water change turn off your main pump use a power head to get the garbage in the water column and then syphon out as much garbage as possible. The snails will eat what is available especially if you dont give much food. Increase your water change to maybe 15 gallons a week.

     

    This is war. :-) You have to fight it like one. If 6 to 8 months down the road your algea is not turning white and losing its grip I would be suprised. I would try and look for progress after each month and look at ways to improve your attack after each month. This will allow you to keep focus. if some of the rock is easy to remove without dirupting your whole tank I would remove it and find a tool that will help in cleaning it off of individual rocks. maybe a hard bristle brush.

     

    YBeNormal - My RO/DI filters are about 5 months old. I am going to order a full set of new ones. Also, I flush the membrane about once a week.

     

     

    As Dan recently discovered, TDS = zero really does not mean that your water is pure. Your RO/DI water could contain phosphates and other impurities that don't register on a TDS meter and/or are not easily tested for using home test kits. When was the last time you changed your prefilters & DI resin? Have you back flushed your RO membrane lately?

     

    FWIW, I have the same algae in my tank but only in patches on the glass and a few very small patches on the LR. I also see it on frags that are being traded, in the LFS and in many of the other members tanks. It does not seem to be a problem for anyone.

     

    I found this page while searching on Google:

     

    http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com/forum/...f086f5f689bf9da

     

    This guy has the same stuff on his rock. Someone identifies it as bryopsis. So I searched Reef Central and found this:

     

    http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...hlight=Bryopsis

     

    This stuff in this link looks totally different. So, does anyone know if what I have it bryopsis. If so it looks like raising the Mag level might be a good fix.

     

    On a side not, I ran a 1" section of rock under very hot water for a could of minutes. It turned the algae white and not it is disappearing. Only problem is that coraline aglae also died.

     

    Thanks

    Brad

    Algae Problem - PLEASE HELP!!!

    in General Discussion

    The tank has been up for about 13 months. I had other smaller algae problems in the beginning, but nothing like this. This stuff is slowly covering all of my rock. The pictures I posted were of my smallest rock because it is easy to pull from the tank. There are several larger rocks that are a lot worse.

     

    Do you recommend any specific type of hermits? Looks like John has Red Leg Reef Hermits, Scarlet hermits, and Blue legs in stock. How many should I get?

     

    Thanks

    Brad

     

    I personally would get more hermits. You mention you have been battling the algae for 4 months. Is that how old the tank is?? If so, it might just be new tank syndrome. If that is the case, the algae will probably go away as your system matures.

    Algae Problem - PLEASE HELP!!!

    in General Discussion

    I would say I have

     

    30 Astrea Snails

    1 Margarita Snail

    1 Cerith Snail

    2 Turbo Snails (Got these specifically to fight this algae)

    2 Scarlet Hermits

    1 Peppermint shrimp (Don't think he likes algae)

     

    Brad

     

     

     

    Well you have the skimming down. What kind of cleanup crew do you have?

    Algae Problem - PLEASE HELP!!!

    in General Discussion

    I have been battling the algae for at least 4 months.

     

    My tank is 75 gallons and there is 90 gallons total in the system.

     

    My current skimmer is a Bubble King Mini 160.

     

    Thanks for everyones input.

     

    Brad

     

    The most important thing that helped me battle hair algae was upgrading my skimmer. If there are less nutrients in the water, the algae will simply melt away. What skimmer are you using? How big is your tank by the way?

    Algae Problem - PLEASE HELP!!!

    in General Discussion

    Ok, I have been fighting an algae problem in my tank for some time now and I feel like I am fighting a losing battle. I have done everything I have read to fight and algae but nothing seems to help. I don't even know what kind of algae this is. It is dark red/purple in color. It starts out growing like a vine forming a mesh over the rock and then starts growing up and out. It is almost impossible to pull of the rock. I have even tried a steel brush and can only get a little bit to come off. Here are two pictures I took of the algae on one of my rocks. When the rock is out of the water the algae mattes together. It is not slimey as it might appear in the pictures.

     

    WHOLE ROCK

    algae_rock.jpg

     

    CLOSE UP

    close_up.jpg

     

    I had my water tested by aquariuimwatertesting.com and here are the results.

     

    Ammonia (NH3-4) ........................Good ......................................... 0.005

    Nitrite (NO2)................................Good ......................................... 0.001

    Nitrate (NO3)...............................Good .............................................0.2

    Phosphate (PO4) ..........................Good ........................................... 0.02

    Silica (SiO2-3) .............................Good .............................................0.4

    Potassium (K) ...............................Low............................................. 268

    Calcium (Ca)................................Good ............................................ 426

    Boron (B) ....................................Good .............................................4.1

    Molybdenum (Mo).........................Good .............................................0.1

    Strontium (Sr) .............................Good .............................................8.5

    Magnesium (Mg) ..........................Good .......................................... 1214

    Iodine (I

    aquariumspecialty.com

    in General Discussion

    I ordered a Bubble King Mini 160 from them before Christmas. When it arrived it was a Bubble King Mini 180. If my sump was big enough to hold the 180 then I would have been excited. Anyway, I called them and they were very helpful. He sent me the 160 that day and I had it 2 days later. And he gave me his UPS account number and all I had to do was drop the 180 off at UPS.

     

    Over all I was happy with the experience. Mistakes happen and they were very quick to resolve it. I would order from them again.

     

    Brad

    Good Deal On Backup Generators

    in General Discussion

    In case anyone is in the market for a backup generator, Home Depot is running a sale on a couple of their generators. Last night I go a 5700 watt Powermate Generator for $399. Regular price is $699. They also had a 5000 watt Powermate Generator for $399. Regular price is $599. Not sure how long the sale will be running for, but the 5000 watt model is in the sales ad dated 12/06/07-12/12/07. And, I got mine at the Home Depot in Woodbridge. They still had more of each model in stock at 8pm last night.

     

    Brad

    Skyline Fish Nerd

    in General Discussion

    I have heard good things about Fire Flies. And maybe Dan will let us see his new tank. When I picked up my kalk stirrer, all he had was a big hole in the floor.

     

     

    I am down in bn 39 right now. we should all get together and make a trip out to Fire flies I drove there the other day it's only about a 10 min drive from here.

    -Byron

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