dante411x

Yea, I'm already doing the water change, it's the first water change since I changed the mixing setup and I'm marveling with how easy it is I already have a bunch of frags of the birdsnest, they are in the same system though, so high hopes that they don't decide to start going the same way. About to make a run to te store and get real calcium BRS powder and make that. Then I figure I'll keep dosing the same amount I have been, just keep alk off for a week until it drops to a more comfortable level. Thanks for the advice gentlemen. Hopefully this potential crash has been avoided

Just tested. 13.4 Everything in the tank is doing ok except my birdsnest. It almost looks like stn, and I hope that it's from too high alk. I'll just leave it alone with no supplements for a day and see what it tests tomorrow at the same time. Hopefully it'll be dropping a bit. I can do a 25g water change immediately and another 50g tomorrow if necessary.

I just unplugged the dosing pump. About to test alk. Last test it was at 11.2 and that was a week ago. It's 220 gallons. Plus 75g sump plus 30g frag tank. I'd safely assume at least 275g total volume. So going and getting the calcium and continuing dosing with way higher cal and way lower alk is a bad idea?

And in other news: how to try to crash your tank by not paying attention (and trusting that the right mixes are given to you)

Good call! And it's definitely the same thing after that test. Vigorous bubbling after adding vinegar to both. No warming.

Well, I just did that. I think it's all alkalinity. Both the calcium and alkalinity solutions I've been using tested at 11.1 ph. And I made a new gallon of calcium and that tested at 11.4

I'll try that! Hmm. I either have an ATI test kit that I'm not sure if the range is good enough for it. Or I could just stick my apex probe into the solution and see what happens... Any reason not to do that? Id wash it in rodi before and after..?

Not sure how helpful a picture of the two would be, but in case the powders aren't supposed to look alike at all: Left is calcium, right is alkalinity.

Looking at the powders themselves, both of them look and smell exactly the same. I picked them up at my LFS, they were just refills. I'm just worried that maybe somehow I got two alk bags of powder by accident instead of one cal and one alk

So, let's ignore my tank parameters for this discussion, it's safe to say that they're low, stay low and I've been dosing 2 part for a good while now with no improvement in the low readings of calcium or magnesium. My alkalinity however is raising itself very well and now sits around 11. However, today I noticed something that has got me worried that maybe the calcium part of the 2 part BRS solution was mixed up somehow. When I dose the alkalinity part, right when the solution hits the water it turns a bit cloudy and dissolves almost instantly. From all the searching on forums everywhere, that seems to be normal. However, before, when I would dose the calcium part, there was no cloudy anything at all. It just dropped in and everything looked good. But when I saw my dosing pump go off today, when the calcium part hit water, it turned cloudy, exactly the same as what the alkalinity solution looks like. Is that normal? Or am I dosing alkalinity twice because something got switched around somewhere?

I would love for you to show the plan of that. Sounds awesome.

Never!

Oh. And I'm in Alexandria

Ha. +1. I used to work for the company that runs parking at that hotel (and a bunch of others). Only advice I have is, don't count on it being $30. It's probably higher now. However, if you feel like an evil person, just valet park and when your car gets brought back to you, say there was a scratch on it. Or that the guy didn't run fast enough etc...

Hahaha I don't think I'm old enough for it not to bother me But it's all good. I'm still looking forward to your tank finally coming together no matter what!

Just curious. Is this the continuation of the Wamas member map thread?

Lol I was about to say I've got a 55g and a 30g that are just sitting taking up space, but you've got the tank! Looking forward to seeing what happens here

I tried to find the picture with the biggest letters, I know how hard it is for you hokies to read. It wasn't big enough?

Yeah lol. He chases both of them around everywhere has been for a while now. Oh and to answer your question from a previous thread Ken...

No idea how he trained himself. Just dumb luck I guess. He usually won't swim up in the water column to get them (though, once in a while he does). He'll go after the ones that fall to the bottom all the time though.

Weird. Video works when I click on it, but the thumbnail says "this video is either not available or awaiting for final processing"

It's hard to see the color difference between him and the females. This kinda shows it, they're pretty close together and under same light (duh lol) And this is just kinda cool looking I think

This got me thinking of using a dosing pump to do this.. Say use one to pump out 100ml once an hour and another one to pump 100ml in. No reason this wouldn't work, right?

Spots on fins are filling in quickly. And the top fin is getting huge!

Finally got this on video. He will only eat apex auto feeder pellets. But he loves them! https://vimeo.com/104443539