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If that works that would be a great find. Thanks Tom. Cheaper than the quinhydrone powder. I am a bit affraid of this though: Contents: 5 packets of +92mV, 5 packets of +265mV Quinn-7 is supposed to be +86mv and Quinn-4 263mV The 265mV solution will work but the 92mV is 7% different...

He didn't tell me to calibrate, I called and asked what the heck was the Quinn-4 and Quinn-7 coming up in the ACIII screen. It was my decision to calibrate, just in case. I had the Redox 400 and was about to use it when the weird message appeared on the screen, so I called Curt and asked. As a matter of fact, I didn't need to calibrate because once I placed the probe in the 400 solution after 45 mins I was getting a 394 reading.... close enough. He explained the need to use the Quinhydron powder with pH7 and pH4 solutions to create the Quinn-7 and Quinn-4.

The way the ACIII calibrates the ORP is by placing the probe in two solutions with a determined mV value. The controller calls them Quinn-7 and Quinn-4. Same basic mechanics as calibrating the pH probe. However, they don't sell these solutions but you can make them. Redox Standard Quinn-4 - 263mV @ 25oC 1. Take a 20ml sample of pH 4 Buffer Solution. 2. Add a small quantity (approx 0.05-0.1g) of Quinhydrone Powder. 3. Shake vigerously to mix. (Very little quinhydrone will dissolve, so the solution will end up grey/black). 4. The Redox Standard is now ready for use. 5. Discard after use. Redox Standard Quinn-7 86mV @ 25oC 1. Take a 20ml sample of pH 7 Buffer solution. 2. Add a small quantity (approx 0.05-0.1g) of Quinhydrone Powder. 3. Shake vigerously to mix. (Very little quinhydrone will dissolve, so the solution will end up grey/black). 4. The Redox Standard is now ready for use. 5. Discard after use.

I spoke to Curt and he told me to get that powder to be able to calibrate with the ACIII. You can check how OFF your probe is with the PinPoint 400 redox solution, but Curt also mentioned that he doesn;t trust the solution that much... I tested my probe and it was reading 394 after about 45 mins in the solution, so I need no calibration, but it would be nice to get the powder. This is the only one I found so far: LINK $40 plus shipping for 25g.

In order to calibrate the ORP probe in the Aquacontroller III I need to make my own 2 solutions with pH4.0 solution and pH7.0 solutions, mixed each, to the point of saturation, with Quinhydrone powder. Where can I get that powder locally? Do any of you have some I could buy? Do any of the LFS carry it? Thanks!

Thanks! I thought it might have been the other way around!! I guess a have quite a bit of flow!

Thanks kngfisher. With the aim of 50 to 100 gph out of the Ozone reactor I think I would be better off getting a smaller media reactor to filter with active Carbon the effluent from the O3. Nextreef sells a shorty that might be the perfect complement for the GSA Ozone Reactor. That way I can put the regular media reactor on a different output and get the media fluidized.

Thanks John for the detailed information. Would you care to explain why the fish system is that low? Hypo-salinity to fight diseases? I have read this online: Is that the reason? Thanks!

$400 is too much $$ for what you are getting there. If you have the space you can put a sump under your tank inside the stand, you can add a skimmer to it and you can have a section for a refugium. Lighting a refugium doesn't require expensive lighting. As Der ABT mentioned, it is a pretty crappy skimmer. I can see the appeal of not having to drill your tank or use an overflow box, but if you haven't setup your main tank yet I would drill it, use a smaller tank as sump and get a decent skimmer.

+1 Lights and controller! As far as lights I would consider a retrofit, you can save money unless you can get a great deal on a light fixture.

Good point!

Hey Dave, what flow produces which behavior? More flow thinner and less flow thicker? Because I get really thick and stubby growth out of my Birds of Paradise.

It seems the majority strives for the 35ppm mark. I've read that you are less prone to infections at slightly lower salinity, you use less salt (save some $$) and many retailers and vendors keep their livestock at around 32-33 so there is less shock for new fish. It could be all a bunch of BS though! I imagine that lower salinity will also affect the number of Ions and therefore give you lower Ca and Mg levels. I think I will try to go up to 35 from 34 and try to maintain it there for the next 6 months to see how it affects my tank. Keep the numbers coming!

Yeah that longhorn is HUGE! The tank is amazing, as always, much much better in person. Great job Dan!

My clowns won't even get close, they host my leather coral.

How did you fare with the Interceptor treatment? I was wondering if this could be an option to keep the pod population.... disconnect the refugium from the system while you treat and keep it aerated and treat the rest. I am not sure if the red bugs have any affinity to algae, so chances are there are none in the fuge. I had red bug, and I had to treat twice in a 2 week period. The first time around I removed my harlequin shrimp and about 40 hermits. I couldn't get any of the peppermint shrimp or the 2 cleaner shrimp so they stayed in. All the shrimp survived. On the second treatment I didn't pull the hermits and several died (I have the tiny blue legged ones) but many survived. My pod population is still alive. I didn't see any massive die off. I used 11mg of Interceptor in each treatment for a total tank volume of close to 180 gal. I let it run with no carbon for about 8 hours the first time and 10 the second time. After each treatment I run brand new carbon and did a 10% water change. I keep the skimmer on all the time. Good luck!

I was wondering at what value do each one of you keep the salinity on your reef tanks. Mine is 1.0256 specific gravity or 34 ppm. I have had it as low as 1.022 and as high as 1.027 from what I see on my record book for the last year. But overall I try to keep it just a hair below the 35 ppm mark in my refractometer. Before I do a water change I measure it and it is always below the 34 mark, closer to 32/33 (probably due to salt creep). I keep the salinity of the new water at around 36/37 to get the tank back to the aforementioned 34. I do small water changes (5-6% total volume) every 2 weeks.

As far as the Tang police... and if you don't mind me throwing this comment in your thread Jan. I acquired a Yellow tang 2 years and 6 months ago. I had it in my 55 for about 1 year and a half and it now resides in my 92. It's been with me almost from the start and it has done great in two tank sizes that are not normally recommended. I imagine that it would be able to "exercise" better in a 100+ gallon tank but I have had no problems whatsoever. Just my 2 cents on the subject. Now back to the regularly scheduled program: "Killer mini carpet anemones!"

My silver dollar mini carpet captured one of my anthias several months ago. It got stung and died. The carpet had it by the tail and by the time I was able to release it have of the tail section was eaten. I QT the Anthia but didn't last more than a day. Sorry for your loss Jan.

If the species are endangered.... aren't we doing humanity a favor by keeping and propagating specimens even if it is in our tanks? Maybe at some point we will have to start gluing frags to the reefs!

Tell me about Justin, I think we got very lucky. Thanks again to Tom for putting it together! You can still find them online. Trust me guys these Cole Palmer Masterflex pumps blow the hobby type peristaltic pumps completely out of the water

Great job!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I am with you on all the advantages of LED over MH. I ran some numbers and this is what I came up with: If you go MH. $100 for Ballast, $125 for a good Reflector and $85 for the Light Bulb if you get a Radium. That's $305 initial investment plus yearly bulb cost ($60 to $85) and 10 hours of 400W consumption of electricity. The electricity would be 400W x 10hrs x 30days = 120 kWhr @ $0.157/kWhr in NoVA comes up to about $19 per month or $228 per year. So your year expenses would be about $300 to run a single 400W MH. Add to that the Chiller. If you get a 1/4 HP and only have to lower the temp 10 degrees you are looking at 600 Watts and about 800 if lowering 20. My guess is that the chiller would run about 30% of the time during the day depending on how hot do you keep you house in the winter and about 80% of the time in the summer. So 600 Watts for 8 hours per day for 8 months and 800 Watts for 18 hrs per day for 4 months. That's $23 per month in cool months and $68 in hot months. You are looking at $184 for Autumn, Winter and Spring and $272 for summer. For a total of $456 per year. You are looking at $756 per year to run a single 400 MH and a 1/4HP chiller and $305 initial investment. In my case I have to add 4 x 75W VHOs that run for about 3 hrs/day. That comes to about $5/mo and $60/yr. Plus $100 to replace bulbs. So I look at about $916 per year to keep my tank lit up and cool. Do you have Watt consumption numbers for the LEDs? What is it, 3watts each? Let's say 3.5Watts to account for about 85% efficiency. It's probably better but lets be conservative here. If I can get away with about 120 LEDs (100 whites and 20 blues) that's $20/mo or $240 year. I save $676 the first year alone! 120 LEDs would cost roughly $1,000 to $1,200. Without selling my current equipment I can pay for it in 2 years.

Mine isn't poisoning anything, but it definitely wins the battle for space.

This could be a good deal for a brand new one. Make sure the tubing comes with it as well. http://cgi.ebay.com/Cole-Parmer-Masterflex...=item35a5d08636 I bought a Cole Palmer one from a semi group buy from an eBay seller that Origami coordinated. This is the one I got: http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_...2360&pfx=EW With a single head: <a href="http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_view.asp?sku=7720160" target="_blank">http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_...asp?sku=7720160</a> Brand new would have been like $2,000. We got them for about $100/ea. These are lab. grade peristaltic pumps. You can digitally control the flow from a Min flow rate of 0.6 mL/min to a Max of 3400 mL/min. <--- That's almost a Gallon per minute!!

Thanks guys. I think the video helps get a better idea of how it works. 6 days of straight operation without a problem. The PVC cement is holding up fine for the little hole on the top union. My ORP is steadily rising, it reached 315 yesterday from a 280 value when I started using the reactor. I was already using the UV, but with the Ozone I have achieved a new level of water clarity. I don't use filtersocks or any type of mechanical filtration and the mere use of the Ozone has eliminated virtually any trace of specs and particles in the water. I placed a longer tube out of the relief valve effluent carbon filter and I stuck it inside the macro algae a few inches below the water line in the fuge. That has eliminated the whistling sound. The bubbles out of the tube go to the top and break right away, without forming add any microbubbles whatsoever. So far I am thrilled with the device. It will take a while to see the benefits. I am now at 75% output out of the Ozone generator (I started at around 25%) which means 37.5mg/h. I will eventually go to 100% (50mg/h). The only issue is the silica beads container, the air-dryer. Neither one was manufactured to support high pressure operation. The one that came with the RedSeas, this one: would pop open, the good news is that it works great as the carbon filter for the relief valve effluent. I am not sure it is Ozone safe, because it is supposed to run before the Ozone reactor to dry the air coming into the reactor corona. I will see if it degrades. It would seem silly for Red Seas to make it of a material that is not ozone safe... but you never know. The other air-dryer: Holds the pressure a bit better because the caps at both ends screw in. Still, I had to apply a liberal amount of Teflon tape to keep the air from escaping. I think I still lose a bit of air pressure from the luft pump. It is rated at 7psi and I can only get barely above 2psi inside the chamber. Not that I need anymore than that per Dan's calculations, but it would be nice to know that I can go higher if needed. I will probably end up using Bulk Reef Supply's Air Dryer: Or just build one with a filter housing from AirWaterIce.com which is way cheaper.