jnguyen4007

It's been many years since I last took chemistry in college, so I do have another question on it. If the pH level is low, does that mean that one of the causes could be due to too much CO2 in the air/water and too high pH means there's too little CO2?

I'm curious to know what is considered as normal pH range. My reef tank is located on the ground floor with a discus tank next to it. We rarely open the windows down stairs. I have a kalk stirrer running and filling the sump as the sump water evaporates. With the ACIII running, I see that the pH level in my reef tank is between 8.07 and 8.29 with it being lowest between 6 and 9 AM. James

WOO HOO. I finally got around to setting up the email notification. Thanks to everyone for the problems and solutions. I just basically followed you guys along and got it up and running. Most likely much faster than I would otherwise. Next part is to program the heater and lights.... I love this thing! James

WOW. Thanks for the complete listing. Officers, can we have this list pinned so folks can refer to it in the future?

Sounds like not only do they cost a heck of a lot more than standard Ca test kits but also a heck of a lot more troublesome to use.

Where is a Tractor Supply store around here? James

PUH LEEZE LOL Anything is better than super petz. Even my 2 year old's diaper is better than super petz. LOL

A regular Ca test kit should be more than sufficient and considerably cheaper than a dedicated Ca monitor device. JMO. James

Interesting article. I remember reading in the Scientific American Journal awhile back about the earth's magnetic polarity reverse itself over the millenium and that in turn also caused havocs with the climate and environment around the world. I am not an alarmist but I do believe that all of that CO2 that are being released into the atmosphere world wide can't possibly be good for the environment. Nature has a hand in that too with volcanic eruptions and such, but that is out of hand. What is within our control is what we release into our atmosphere.

Ooh... this sounds interesting. I want to know more and see how you put it together too. James Looks like I'll have to be extra nice to you so you can help me with it too. HEHEHEHE James

John, I agree with you 100%. Budget is tight for me but after thinking over whether I should save a bit of money now and get the Jr or spend more now and save later on an ACIII and all of the features that comes with it, I decided to join the groupbuy and got the ACIII. My 30 gal reef tank is no where the cost of those that are much larger, but a lot of my money has gone into it. So skimping on a device that could potentially save me from costly catastrophe later just wasn't an option. I love this hobby and I can count on the ACIII being there for me when I'm ready to upgrade to a much larger reef system. James

I don't know if Aitapsia can or do cause your zoanthids to close up. To get rid of aitapsia, I heard that joe's juice or straight kalwasser injection will get rid of them. You might also want to take a look at your water quality as that could be a reason why your zoanthids aren't opening like they should be. Just a thought. James

This is what I found on Neptunesys website: Serial Connection Accessories PC Serial Cable In order to connect the AquaController to a PC, a serial connection is required. This serial cable is 6 foot long with a minidin 8 connector (plugs into the AquaController) on one end and a female DB9 connector on the other. If a longer serial connection is required, a 'straight through' serial externsion cable can be purchased from your local computer store Ground Isolated Serial Connector The ground isolated serial connector (SERIPC9) is used to break ground loops between your PC and the AquaController. In some installations a ground loop is formed when a serial connection is made and can cause erroneous pH and ORP readings. This ground loop can be broken by installing a GISC in the series with the serial cable from the AquaController. If the serial cable is going to be permantly hooked up to the AquaController, then the GISC is recommended. The GISC measures 1.5" x 1.25" x .65" and has one male DB9 connector and one female DB9 connector. Note that the GISC is only for use with the AquaController, AquaController 2 or AquaController Jr. Based on the above information, it sounds like they're saying a serial connection is required. But, the response I got from Curt said differently. I'm thinking that the response I got from Curt is specifically for the AC III and possibly the AC Pro because the question I asked him was concerning the need of a serial connector for ACIII to prevent fluctuated reading of the pH and ORP probes. In any case, I'm glad that Curt supports the ethernet cable usage instead of the serial cable for the ACIII. James

Not knowing enough to agree or disagree with what I've seen from everyone's response so far, I decided to go to the source, the folks who makes the AC controllers and ask them. This is the reply I received back from Curt Pansegrau via email: The serial port isn

Johnny, You still carry that Sera brand ALK test kit that I bought from you a few months back, don't you? Like you told me, that brand worked very well. It was just a tad bit more complicated to use than the salifert brand. I mention this so for those who are looking for a good ALK test kit, they should give this a try especially if Johnny carries them at BRK. James

I guess many of these will eventually find their way back to the store for retail huh. LOL OK, I can wipe the drools off of my face....again.

The knob makes it a bit easier to calibrate as all you do is turn the knob. The one that I have requires you to turn with a small screwdriver to adjust. It's still very easy to use and very sturdy. James

I think most people here use Salifert test kits. I bought a different brand to test my alk from BRK because they ran out of the salifert. Johnny recommended it so I bought it and been using it. It's a bit more complicated to use than the salifert but just as effective. James

Tee, I have a small 30 gal tank and most of my live rocks are small, but I should be able to pull out one or two from the back of the tank to give you. It's not much but the rocks are live and the tank is well established. They're yours if you want them. James

Tee, Read my PM to you concerning this guy. James

I saw it on the Discovery channel and it was pretty heart breaking seeing the kind of damage that shrimp trawler can do. If the barrier reefs become a protected sanctuary, I wonder if the shrimp trawlers can go further out into the ocean to find shrimps or if shrimps can only be found in coastal area.

I use this refractometer, but I think the quality on all of them are about the same so you can choose whichever you want. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...Code=Hydrometer James

so how do you kill them? take the rock with them on out of the water and squirt either joes juice or kalwasser on them? James

I like Dan's list. Definitely cut your clown fish down to one pair. Like Dan, I prefer the dark one. I personally like the black and white. Can't wait to have a tour of your tank room. James

I agree with Brian, the inline TDS meter is great. I have an older model than the one shown and I refer to it everytime I run my RO/DI. If you're interested in a pH monitor, you might as well spent a bit more and get a pH controller like the Milwaukee SMS122. You can use it to monitor your pH and when you're ready to set up a calcium reactor, the same device will monitor and control your pH as well. If you can afford it or willing to save up for it, you can get one of the muti controller devices like those that Brian listed that not only monitor and control your pH, but it also control your temp, lights and so much more. James