menglish

My tank is in the basement so i do not need any heat during the summer time. I have gotten used to the filter sock cleaning every week. I hose them off then soak them in 10% Clorox for a few days, Not a big deal for me

So I have been running the same 2 eheim 250W heater for the past 5 years. in my 180DT. They are run off my Apex and are set 1 degree apart. What i do differently is this, every late spring/summer, i take them out of the tank, clean them and store them outside the tank. In the winter, when the temp decrease, they i reinstall them. That has worked well for me. I cleaned my return pump/skimmer 1x a year and my flow pumps about 1x per month. I use 2 filter socks that i swap out every week

That so does not make sense. You would expect the ph in the chamber to increase. However, since no flow going our of the reactor, i can see this happening. I am using a small Eheim pump for the feed. I know it was off as the flow out of the reactor stopped. I know the circulation pump was still on and working as i can hear it put see some bubbles coming up in the reactor

So i turned off the reactor feed pump for a few hrs and the ph in the reactor increased from6.4 to 6.63. I measured the Alk coming out before and after the change and it went from 17dkh to 16dkh. Not a big change. the tank alk dropped from 8.6 yesterday to 7.8 dkh today I will try lowering the reactor ph from 6.4 to 6.2 and see what that does

Hi Tom, Yes, I am confident all the equipment are working correctly. I tested the ph probe, that is fine. Check all the pumps, that is fine, I can hear the solenoid coming on and off. I can see the CO2 bubbles in the bubble chamber. Media is definitely being used up and the reactor ph is stable between 6.37-6.43. (it is set If CaRxpH > 6.40 Then ON If CaRxpH < 6.30 Then OFF) Rechecked the effluent today and it is stable at 17 dkh ( over two days). I was still thinking this is a bit low Alk is down a bit from 9 (yesterday) to 8.6 ( this morning) flow rate is still 50 mls/min

This has been an issue for a long time. I was using a CaRx, Kalk Stirr and soda ash to get the alk up. The alk would dip to 7.4dkh. I did noticed that my Mg was low (1200). So perhaps that had something to do with it. I was concerned that the Alk was precipitating out of solution. I have since brought it up over time. I will continue to watch it over the next few days. Would also get some TLF Reborn media. Perhaps that would make a difference

I will have to get some Two little fishie media Just test and the tank Mag 1400 Ca 375 Alk 9 (but i added extra soda ash to brink it up from 7.7) Will let it run a few days then will retest

BRS has done these experiments you suggest. Reactor media does make a different. I was comparing my results to what they have done. based on media type, ph and flow rate. Perhaps i can play with the CO2 rate, but that should not matter as much, given you are going by the ph in the reactor

So here is an update; CaRx chamber pH 6.4 CaRx media. Carib sea Effluent flow rate 50mls/min Effluent Alk 17 dkh This Alk is still much lower that expected. Any other suggestions?

So I have been dealing with this for months. I do not think it is an issue of testing. I use a hannah and i have a red sea kit too. As for my corals, all my sps colonies are doing great. I have one that is basket ball size and a few that are volleyball size. I have had problems with my lps. I had a beautiful bubble coral (volleyball size) and it just melted away and i have no idea why. Next to it and touching, is a huge yuma rock, some of the polyps on the yuma are just releasing from the rock. again, have no idea why. They are starting to look better now.

Hi Eric, Great suggestion!!! I think you might be on to something there. Did some test just now; -The reactor ph is 6.4 -the flow rate of the effluent (all the way open) is 170mls/min -the alk coming out of that is 12 dkh I will adjust the flow rate down to 50mls/min and retest tomorrow. I am not using a carbon doser, so i cannot adjust the co2 that way, but i can increase the bubble rate a bit to allow more co2 in the chamber.

Yes, the media is being used up as i have topped in off several times

So I have been struggling to keep my alk above 8 dkh for a while now. Decided to add a Kalk stirr to help. At one time was adding upto 2000 mls per day of Kalk water. It is not making a difference. I have a 180 mx reef dt with lots of HUGE SPS colonies. I run a Geo CaRx with 2 chambers. I use Carib sea media and the CaRx chamber ph is set to 6.4 and the effluent is open all the way. Today i decided to test the alk coming out of the reactor and it was only 11 dkh. That number should be about 35 kdh (according to BRS video series). I have calibrated the Reactor ph probe several times, so that is not the issue. I have went through CO2 tank and can see the solenoid opening and closing. The ph is stable in the reactor at 6.5. I dont think i tank is using that much alk. I have been using extra soda ash to bring the ph up as it settles about 7.4 dkh Any suggestions?

Welcome to the group Andrew. you will find lots of information here on just about anything you want to know. I encourage you to ask your questions

WOW!!!!!!1

How old is your tank? It is stunning well done!!!

Andrew, no worries at all. You will find lots of help here. Just ask you questions. Regarding the frag, it will be here for you when you are ready to receive it

Welcome to the club. you will find that you can get lots of help here Hit me up when you tank is ready. i will give you a frag

So, at first i was thinking that your flush valve was turned to flush the membrane, so recheck that. 30 psi is very low, a booster pump is needed. I have anywhere bw 60-90psi. The other think i have is a 75g upgrade kit from BRS. Now my waste is significantly reduced. 1g waste for ever 1g RODI produced. You can get a 1 g jug and just measure exactly what your waste and production ratio is. My waste water, i put it in a 75g storage bin outside and i use it to water the lawn/garden. Good luck Milton

collecting cup?

been managing it. It is still there but not a problem

I am not very up with the technology, but i think Zoom is a good candidate. With an account, one can host a large group. the Moderator idea is a good on. I could not tell you how to do that. where are our teckie members?

Lucky you.

I think this is a good idea. i was thinking of a format to have a group chat for members. This I think could work. Certainly a way for newer members 9and seasoned ones too) to get some expert advice on reef related topics

I have tired it without success. It only knock them back for a few weeks then they returned. I used as much as 4mg/gal for up to 1 week. It still did not completely get rid of them. If you could take the rock out