tom39

IMO piggybacking a RO to increase the volume of water made and is a great option. Not trying to discredit what others have said but with proper flushing of the RO membrane and the use of a quality carbon block to remove chlorine and chloramines. The lifespan reduction of the RO membrane is unrecognizable. I have been running a piggyback setup for over a year with an average usage of 40g/week using 2 - 100gpd membranes and the tds output reading of both are 1-2tds depending on the time of day.

+1 for never testing anything but salinity. IMO, even with a PH of 8.4, the volume of water in the average WC is not going to make much of a change to the tank PH and any change should self regulate itself within a few hours.

My clowns feed my nems every time I feed. I think it has a lot to do with what you feed though. When I only fed mysis, brine or pellets the clowns only ate for themselves. Now that I have switched to reef, herbivore and fish frenzy they feed the nems the larger pieces and gobble down the smaller pieces for themselves.

It is my experience with that skimmer that if you are intaking too much water your venturi is clogged. Or the pump has been changed out and is to large for the skimmer. If I recall correctly, that skimmer uses a pump that flows 1000 lph. Mine was the old style OTC 1000. If your pump is correct, pull your pump and clean the venturi hole and put it back together. Note that the skimmer is not sold with an airflow restrictor and designed not to use one. You cannot restrict the airflow to the skimmer or you will have issues getting it dialed in or working properly. Also, the water volume of your system has nothing to do with the mechanics of the skimmer. The skimmer may not be able to pull skim as efficiency as a larger unit but that is where sizing of a skimmer comes into play.

Spotsylvania, VA Exit 126 off of I95

Mine does that also sometimes. Put a piece of filter material between the hole and the output elbow and it will diffuse and keep the micro bubbles from getting to and going into the output elbow.

I just found this thread and can't believe that I had not seen it before. I have thought of doing this same thing every time I use my Hanna Alk meter but then I put it away and out of sight out of mind. Thank you Tom for putting this together and sharing it with everyone.

At first I thought it was my test kit. My test kit for kh is Red Sea but I have had it or almost a year so I went out and bought new regent but got the same results. But to be absolutely sure I bought a salfert test kit and got similar results. I even considered purchasing a Hanna checker but thought I would post before spending another $50. As for age of the salt, I got it from a friend that got out of the hobby a few years back. Both boxes were never opened and was stored in his finished basement. The salt in the bags is not entirely dry though, even though the bags were never opened. The salt is not clumped but does not flow dry out of the bag. So Origami, I think that you are correct in your thinking that excessive humidity was absorbed even tough it was in a climate controlled basement. Now I guess my question us, is this harmful to use? Or can I add supplemental additives before using it, to bring it up to an acceptable level without causing harm to my tank tenants? I only have enough mix for 300g so in a few months none of this will be an issue. Thanks everyone for all the help and shared experience, Tom G

So I have been having a few issues with Instant Ocean Reef Crystals (IORC) and was wondering if anyone else has had this issue also. When I mix a batch of water I have noticed that the Alkalinity (KH) is low. By low I mean, below what my test kit is able to detect. My guess is about 4.0-4.1 dkh. I derived this value by adding 2-part soda ash to bring up the dkh and then using the value of the amount of 2-part dosed and the value of dkh after dosing, to reverse calculate the starting value. Anyway, I called Instant Ocean about this and their first response is that I am mixing it wrong and precipitating the KH out. When asked to explain my mixing procedures they say, well that is how our salt expert says to do it, let me ask her if there are any other possibilities. The only variable with my mixing procedure that they have issue with is that my water temp is a few degrees below what they recommend. They recommend having the water at 78* when you add the salt and my water temp is about 72-74*. Lastly, one odd thing that I have noticed when I mix is that even after the salt is mixed for 24hrs there remains a white grit on the bottom of the mixing bin. Not much, but about 2-3 tbs for a 20 gallon mixed batch of water. Anyone else have this problem? If so, I would appreciate your insight and response and what you have done to remedy the problem. Thanks, Tom G

Yeah, I have seen that before too. When I first started, I thought a star would be a neat addition and something to talk about. Now that I know a little more about them, I am glad I never did.

Thank you for the offer, I have a lead and if it doesn't pan out I will bring it to you.

Do you use filter socks? How often do you change them out. I had the same issues even though everything tested 0ppm across the board. What I found to be the biggest contributed factor was waiting to long to change a sock out. I was waiting 7 days when I cut that in half I seen a noticeable change in gha growth.

So what did you do with it when you took it out? Did you just dispose of it? I was hoping not to do that and I could find it a home.

I have a large brittle star that was given to me and it now way to big for any of the tanks I have. As for size, I estimate that each leg is about 8" and the center hub is about the size of a half dollar. I think that I have a pic and will post it shortly. Thanks, Tom

Not sure what you mean by decapitate it and it will grow a new head. Is what I have a head?

Kool, thank you both for the info. I tried to attach it to a rock but it broke free and landed where it is today. It seemed happy there and has not caused any harm to those around it so far. But just in case, I think that I will move the Duncan a bit further away. Lastly, if it is a fast grower and started to get too big for the tank. If I was wanting to scale it down, would I just cut it to a sizable piece with a knife or blade? Again, thank you for the info.

I picked up one of the free frags at the meet and have no idea what it is. Can anyone identify it for me please and also let me know what care it requires? It appears to be doing well and looks like it is even growing. It is the spiny looking piece to the left of the green Duncan.

I read through that thread when it first came out. What a crazy story. One thing for sure it will make you think twice before boiling rock.

Retro fitting leds into the fixture has been a consideration, but that adventure adds another $450 to the parts list. Plus, explaining to my understand wife that I am going to spend $175 on a light that I am not going to use is hard enough. Not sure my wife will be so understanding when I tell her the cost has escalated to $625+. [emoji15] Thanks for the suggestion but I think I will stick with repairing what is there and not worry about finding a new place to live when she finds out how much I spent. [emoji12]

I bought a tank and it came with an Odyssea MH/T5 light fixture that I am trying to recycle. From what I have read about the fixture, the T5 ballasts are cheap, the MH ballasts are limited and need to be moded and the fans need to move more air. The light configuration houses 2 - 250 MH (15K), 4 - 54W T5 bulbs and 6 moonlight led pods. After giving the fixture a good scrubbing, I assessed the condition of the light and my estimate to fix it is $175. The list includes 2 new 15k MH bulbs, 4 T5 bulbs, 4 moonlight leds, 2 T5 ballasts, 4 mosfets for the MH ballast mod and 1 - 6P/125v/ dbl/bipolar/rocker switch. Also, I am repairing this light just for the fun of it and I don't intend on using this light personally. More than likely pass it on to someone else but don't want to pass on a piece of junk when I do. I have only ever used leds and know nothing about MH or T5's so any help is appreciated.The question I have is what bulbs should I use for the T5? Since I will not be using the light, I guess I am looking for is more of a general light spectrum, a light that would be good for the beginner to intermediate reefer. What do you all think about this combination? 2 - ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Aquablue Special and 1 ATI Coral Plus. Please let me know what you think, Thanks, Tom G

Sorry it took so long getting back. I had it checked out and they flushed it, put a few drops in it (I think it was like an antibacterial) and told me that if it didn't get better by today to come back in and if they could not get it under control they would refer me to a specialist. They also recommended using rewetting drops 2x an hour to help flush everything and keep the eye lubricated. Well by the morning, my eye was still a bit bloodshot but the itching and sensitivity to light had all but gone away and a the day went on it felt better and better. I am hoping that by tomorrow this will be nothing more than a really good learning experience. On the bright side, because of all this I got to buy another piece of aquarium equipment - SAFETY GLASSES! :-) Thank you everyone for all the help and suggestions, you all are awesome. Tom G

Yeah, I kinda knew the answer before I asked it. It is feeling better though since I flushed it real good in the shower. But now I am off to see a professional, I swear my doctor visit co-pays this month have been as much as my truck payment. BTW - On my way home, I am going to buy myself a new piece of aquarium equipment - SAFETY GLASSES. Thanks for the advice, Tom G

So I was doing a WC, general cleaning and rescaping my tank this morning. One of the rocks that I pulled out had a few mushrooms on it that I was wanting to remove. So Like I have done many times before, I pull the rock and scrape the mushroom from the rock. Most times when I start scraping, they just deflate and the fluid runs out. This time though, it popped and the fluid splashed me in my face and one drop went right in my eye. At first I didn't think much about it and kept working. About a minute later, my eye started to burn, and then the splashes on my face started to burn. I ran to the bathroom and washed my face and hands, pulled my contact and flushed my eye with contact solution. The burning went away on my face almost immediately after washing and in about 5 min my eye stopped burning also. But since then my eye is bloodshot, itches and is sensitive to sunlight. Has anyone ever had this happen to them? If so, did you seek medical attention or did it heal up on its own? Thanks Tom G