madweazl

A bit of a drive but I have a Hammerhead/Dart you can use.

Heck, I just wish I knew the species for half of my acroporas.

I loose about 3/4g a day on the our 75g.

Another piece of that is the exaggerated total water volume as well. Something else to keep in mind is the accuracy of the Hanna checker. When combined, I think the real culprit is the skimmer (1/2g per day on a 75g is crazy).

Like your angel, our CBB is finicky and thus far, will only eat clams (haven't tried live black worms but the frozen clams are easy). The clam within LRS isn't good enough, oh no, it has to be a whole clam. Now, I can shell it and toss it in the algae clip and the CBB is ok with that for some reason but don't you dare try to fool him/her beyond that. The plus side, everything in the tank enjoys picking at the clam so it's a frenzy when I drop it in there.

I still stick to Marineland Visi-therms (I've never had one fail knock on wood) when it comes to heaters. The only other one I'd use would be the Eheim/Jager but their size can be an issue sometimes (doesn't seem to be the case for you).

And I'd guesstimate your water volume to be closer to 75-80g when it comes to using the calculator above. Your sump only holds about 12.5 gallons before equipment displacement is calculated

You mentioned a 75g display but estimated 100g in the system; how large is the sump? I have a 75g display with a 30g sump but have 74g of actual water volume. Half a gallon of skimate every other day is a ton! Pretty sure this is seven or eight days worth for me (this isn't to say you should or shouldn't have the same amount, just an example).

There has also been a pretty big shift in how we light tanks as well. Going back 10, 15, 20 years ago, I don't remember ever seeing tanks that were run so heavily blue where it is quite common now (e.g. the AB+). Lit in this manner, you can enjoy those colors in your own home provided you enjoy a tank that blue (not I). There are some that believe the colors will fade over time under the heavy blue spectrum however.

This little yellow austera has done really well the past year. 14 Jan 2018 19 Jan 2019

It will only lower the alkalinity if the mix being used is lower in alkalinity (most are 9.5+).

I keep calcium and magnesium levels right where it mixes up so it works out great for me after I adjust the alkalinity. Everything is a bit low right now because there was a growth spurt while I was out of town and I also missed a water change during that period.

At that size and running only fours per day, I doubt it is making any measurable difference.

Nice!

I thought that one went offline yesterday?

Yep. You can get it in the pool supply area of most home improvement stores. I don't think the brand makes any difference (I have two different ones in the garage I use). The only issue is the amount of hydrochloric acid (they range from 20% to about 33% typically) so you know how much to dose. I use the low fume (20%) stuff and store it in a little bottle so it's easier to manage.

I'm not sure what the magic number is; ours is roughly 12% of system volume and has worked quite well up until just recently. Phosphates have been on the rise since I started feeding whole clams with the introduction of the copperband butterfly. It seems to be able to hold them steady but cant reduce them. I imagine that is due (at least in part) to the low nitrates as well (<1ppm).

Double thanks!

I only mentioned it because the muriatic acid may save you an appreciable amount of money compared to dosing the calcium and magnesium levels back to your desired range. If it is something you're interested in, 3ml of low fume muriatic acid (20% hydrochloric acid) will drop the alkalinity of 5g of fresh mixed water approximately 3 dKh (full strength is about 2.2ml if I remember correctly).

Regular old Instant Ocean has been working great for me but I think you're running elevated calcium and magnesium levels? IO should mix up at around 425 calcium and 1330 magnesium.

You can use muriatic acid to bring the alkalinity of your Reef Crystals down to a desired level. It will require some time to de-gas CO2 after it's added so the pH can return to normal levels but I typically let it mix for a day prior to use anyways and it's always been fine (not sure what the minimum time would be as I've never bothered to find out).

I stick to the refractometer and check calibration before each use; it only takes 45 seconds and leaves me no doubt.

Is the sump 10g or just the refugium compartment? If the sump is 10g, that doesnt leave much room for a refugium; depending on the size of the display, it may not be worth running one at all. This was my last design; it only has the extra over under to support some sort of media (i.e. sponge) before the return pump (I don't run one now but thought it may be useful at some point) but the last piece (furthest right) could be removed as well.

Just because they're difficult to keep, doesn't mean they're difficult to catch and sell. Fish that are difficult to catch, bring to the surface properly, and successfully transport command higher prices. I generally shy away from the difficult fish/inverts because I don't want to kill any more (I've killed more than my share) but I recently picked up a copperband butterfly for the first time after being in the hobby well over 20 years. Knock on wood, it has been doing well but I've only had it about eight months at this point. I am happy that I had the opportunity to acquire one.