Folta

Sorry to hear it Dave! I hope things start to get better. Let me know if you still want to come down and check out my tank, etc, or if there's anything that I can help you with Tim

Adding carbon to a system is a very opinionated matter. On the plus side, its suppposed to help clear the water (make it crystal clear), and can remove chemicals from the water (many treatments require that you remove the carbon from your system for the time for it to work.) It also helps absorb the 'fish smell'. On the downside is its longevity. It's been argued that carbon's effectiveness can last as little as one day. After the carbon is 'done', it will start leeching the contaminents it picked up back into the water, making your water worse for having it in there. Personally, I no longer run carbon on any of my systems. I have found that with my cichlids, they started breeding shortly after I removed the carbon from the filters. I do however have some carbon on hand, that occassionally I will run in a filter for a week to help clear things up or take medications out of the water.

Again, I'd just like to say thanks to all those who have posted on my threads to give me advice and ideas of how to get my tank to the point I want it. It is really appreciated, and makes me proud to be a member of such a fine club. Jon, that is a good point about how the corals would react to the light, ie. turning brown instead of turning white. In addition, the corals that are alive and doing fine (zoanthids, yellow polyps, etc) don't seem to be 'reaching' for light at all, but more squished against the rocks. Chip, thanks for taking the time to talk to me over the phone about this. It was really helpful, and now I have a nice list of things I am going to do over the next few days. I'm going to hook up my UV Sterelizer (and order a new bulb), I'm going to extend my light cycle to 10 hours per day, and I'm going to adjust the way I've beed adding kalkwasser. At the current time, I have been adding about 3 gallons of ro/di water a day, using kalk. I've been adding it all at once, not slowly dripping it in. Chip mentioned that he think this could be creating spikes in my parameters (particularly pH, alk) that are adversly affecting the corals who are more sensitive to those parameters. Another thing Chip said I should do is to completely take down the 55. In doing so, I can move all sand, all water, etc to the 180, to introduce as much of the old stuff to the new system as possible. I concurred with this, and I plan to do it in the next few days right after I make the changes I mentioned above. Thanks guys, hopefully I'm on the road to success.

Hey Chip. I thought I had posted it, but according to my tests my pH is 8.3. Thats been constant since I got the 180 setup. Alk and Calc I'm measuring using Salifert test kits pH I'm using a redSea test kit Salinity I'm using a refractometer from Dr's Foster and Smith Nitrite, Ammonia, Nitrate I used redSea test kits Aside from the UV, there's really nothing on thats not setup on the 180. All pumps that I'll be using, lighting, skimmer, all up and running. I have two pieces of liverock left, a few corals, and sand. I suppose I could transfer over. I wonder if I have a contaminant in the water. I'll give you a call at your land line tomorrow during the day (after 10:30 of course).

Ok, I just had a thought. what if I'm not providing enough light? I've been so cautious about providing too much light, that I had been running 4 bulbs on each side for 6 hours a day. All corals were very low in the tank, and thats only 320 watts over a 6' spread, at about 20" deep. And as we know, sps is typically very light intensive. I just finally connected the other timer I had. now I'll be running the other 2 bulbs on each side for 6 1/2 hours a day (come on 15 min before the rest, and go off 15 min after), so that the 6 hour period will be receiving the full amount of light. I'll see if the hydnopora and other corals seem to be doing better or worse. I'll still be adding the buffer, turbo calc, and kalkwasser.

Did a small water change today again (just 10 gallons, not much on 180 gallon tank wtih 75 gallon sump). Checked Alk and Calc levels: Alk : 9.1 Ca : 370 So they are improving. This is using the recommended dose of turbo calcium, and as far as the buffer, I've been doing a reduced amount, instead of all at once. Goal is 10 / 400

I was trying to think about what else I could have done on the 55 that I have not done on the 180. And realized two more things: I used a bag of biochemzorb, twice last year on the 55. I ran a UV Sterelizer on the 55, that I have not transferred over to the 180 yet (40 watt). I decided to not only dose the turbo calc, but to dose the marine buffer as well. The thought being that it added something to the water that I may be lacking for good growth of the corals.

Hey Jon, thanks for that PM, you had a few good insights there. I considered trying the swap thing, however a few things have kept me from doing it so far; little containers will cause larger salinity changes, different flow then the rest of the tank (ie. could cause a problem in its own), and also the corals I had in the 55 were growing towards the 180 when I was running the t5's over it. Quazi, that is also a good thought. I actually am using a good portion of the blue polyfilter material, I have it crammed inbetween the last two baffles so some water passes through it. I did another water change today. I will check parameters tomorrow when I get home from work. The tank isn't a 'total loss' as far as corals are concerned, some of the hardier ones are doing ok. I think once I get my alk and calc where I want them to be, I am going to try an LPS - hammer, or torch.. and see if it grows. I was looking at the hydnopora coral I have in there and it actually had polyp extension for the first time I've seen since adding it to the 180. Here's a few pics I took tonight:

Hey Eve, yeah I have. The orange digitata was transferred, and is slowly fading away, and the tri colored stag I transferred which died in a couple days. Both were doing excellent in the 55

Jon, thats why I'm befuddled. I used the same measuring devices on both the 55 and the 180, and was trying to match parameters before I transferred anything over. I guess its possible I got a 'bad' batch of salt, I bought two of the 150g pails of salt (IO) and have only used those since setting up this tank. I've had much worse 'swings', so to speak, in the 55 than what I've noticed in the 180.. so I just don't get it. Dosed turbo calc again, as well as topped off with kalkwasser like usual. Also preparing another water change.

Eve, I don't believe the tank is still cycling. It has been up for a few months now, I used alot of the water from the 55 (not all as I left some stuff in there) however it was only about 30-40 gallons that I transferred over... to a tank that is 180 gallons and a 75 gallon sump. All live rock but 2 medium pieces was transferred over as well - this originally was a combination of rock I got from fellow club members as well as a couple different stores (congressional, Dr. Macs, etc). I know some of the rock that I got from club members was cycled 4+ years prior to me getting it last year. I don't have any algae problems either. I'll put the probe in my tank tonight when I get home. Lee, what made me thing of magnesium as possibly being an issue was that I've seen numbers from tests people have run on freshly made IO saltwater, and mag levels were low. I also remember reading that low magnesium levels makes it difficult for the Alk to be raised. pH every time I test is 8.3, however I still need to get a pinpoint monitor to be more accurate. I dosed turbo calcium last night. Also, I read more on the label of the seachem pH marine buffer that I had been using in my 55 - Seachem marine buffer - and it says that with each dose, it raises the Alk by approximately 1 meq/L. I also use seachem's buffer for cichlids on my 55 gallon cichlid tank, and have had wonderful results with that tank (no corals obviously, but live plants growing well and my fish breed regularly).

I own a grounding probe (thanks for that too, clownfish), but I don't have it in the water. I'll have to add that. As far as the lighting, the actinics are the 'blue' bulbs, the 'aquablue plus' bulbs are actually at about a 11,000 k color. When on alone they look similiar to my 10,000K MH's. The actually lighting is a little less, if anything. I have a pair of 250 watt 10,000k MH's over the 55, about 8" off the water. Things in the 180 are all low, as I don't have any rockwork stacked high.

Yeah, it was the sand that mike clownfish used. He had emptied his tank of fish, water, etc, but the sand was still in the bottom. We scooped it out, and I rinsed it then added it to the tank. I haven't decided if I want to add the buffer... what about miracle mud? Doesn't that add trace elements including magnesium?

I actually have some of that turbo calcium. I added a dose as recommended on the container, and I"ll keep up with that in addition to the kalkwasser until my calcium is around 400... then I'll use it as needed to maintain that level (if I can get it up there). Alk I want to get up to around 10, but to get that up I think I'll have to find a way to up my magnesium level. I got out my container of Marine buffer, and on the side it says it 'replaces trace elements including...... magnesium.... ' so..maybe when I was dosing that last year on m 55, it was enough to allow the alk to stabilize higher (it was in the 8's). Should I dose it as well for now? If not, what else should I do to get my alk up, as the kalk just doesn't seem to be doing enough.

:wall: :wall: :wall: This is getting extremely frustrating. The orange digitata and stag that I transferred over from the 55 (that I got at the last meet) are not doing well. The stag is dead - went completely white over 2 days, after I put it in (I put it in a little bit after the orange digitata seemed to be doing ok). The orange digitata, lately, has been lightening up... still putting out polyps, but the base orange color has been fading away. And today, its missing some 'flesh' to its side! Tank is a 180 gallon (standard size 6' x 2' x 2') Sump is 75 gallon, divided into 3 chambers All water is RO/DI, for both top off and water changes Have done my regular water changes Lighting: 2 racks of Tek light fixtures, each rack is 6 bulbs, 39 watts per bulb, 3 foot length bulbs, total of 468 watts. 8 bulbs are on a timer and are on from 4 pm to 11 pm 4 bulbs are switched on manually by me from 7 pm to 11 pm 3 aquablue +, 2 actinic, 1 daylight per side Flow: Return from sump is by a reeflo dart (3600 gph at 0 head) 2 seio 2600's in the tank (2600 gph each) Water Parameters: Ammonia: 0 Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 0 Alkalinity: 7.6 Calcium: 325 pH: 8.3 Salinity 1.026 (usually 1.025-1.026) Magnesium: unknown (no test kit yet, this is suspicion to me as to why I can't seem to get my alk up) Temp : 80.0 degrees, max swing 0.1 degrees. Top off: Kalkwasser (with RO/DI) to replace all evaporation water. Yes, I don't know why my alk is only 7.6 and calc only 325 with doing this. Water changes: All water changes are done using RO/DI water and Instant Ocean salt. Water is mixed in a bin overnight. This water is added to the sump, and 10 minutes later I extract the same amount from the sump. (I add the water to the chamber that is closest to the dart, and extract from the side that the water comes down from the display tank). Done about once a week, sometimes a few weeks inbetween if I'm busy. Livestock: Snails, hermits, crabs... all doing absolutely wonderful. Fish, doing absolutely wonderful. Great color! Playful, look happy, all eat well, etc. Zoanthids and mushrooms: seem to be doing ok. More and more of the zoanthids that I put in initially are opening up. SPS: Almost all dead. Most things die within a few days of being in my system. Stag that I put in a few weeks ago died after a couple days. Orange digi is fading away, and today I saw a part 'missing flesh'. The hydnopora I added on day 2 is still struggling to stay alive. Has not lost any flesh in about a month, and a few polyps seem to finally be coming out. LPS: Only had a couple that I put in day 1. Dead. Filtration: Live rock for biological filtration. Same amount of liverock that was in the 55, however the bioload has actually been reduced since then (corals dying) if anything, so I don't see that as an issue. MR-2 Skimmer in sump, fed by a mag 18. Mag 18 sits in far right chamber (after the baffles, the chamber where water is pumped back up to the display from), skimmer is in center chamber. I'm getting extremely frustrated with this. I still have my 55 gallon tank up. I run the MH's on a random basis over that, there is no heater, barely any flow (one maxijet 1200), temp is probably in lower 70's... basically I would think things would be going downhill fast. But NO! I have a few soft corals in there, xenia, pocillipora, even a milli - and they are all doing ok!! The water I use to put in this tank still for evap (I don't even dose it with kalk) is the same I use on the 180. I'm really just so frustrated with this right now... the 180 has been up and running for a few months now, and I'm still having so much trouble with the corals, and I just don't know whats wrong! :wall: The only things I used to add to the 55 that I've never done with the 180 are: Seachem marine buffer (used to use it with every top off and water change) One time dose of red slime remover to eliminate cyanobacteria. Worked beautifully, and the corals all showed their best after that. Ok, reef gurus... help me out! I do not want to give up!

Welcome to the T5 club! Hope they work out well for you. Things in my tank are improving, but I think its more of a water issue for me than the lights... things have been getting progressively better.

Chip, I actually already do have Salifert CA (Alk, and phosphate) test kits that I bought a month or two ago. I also have a refractometer that I bought from Drs. Foster and Smith. That is good to know about having to clean/replace the probe for those particular meters. What I was looking for really was to be able to get my readings at a quick glance - something I could just glance at every day when I am viewing the tank to make sure things are in order. The pH tests I have are pretty crappy (not salifert), and it sounds like that meter in particular can be used on a continual basis, which would be really nice. Johnny, Cheapest I've found so far is $76 plus $5 shipping, so $81 total price. As an FYI, I am pretty far from your shop (I'm up in Olney, MD) so my gas cost would be in the neighborhood of $5 anyway. Do you do price matching on the monitors?

What is the difference between the controller and the monitor?

I need to get a pinpoint pH monitor, with the AC adapter so I can run it continuously (my test kits are too ambiguous so instead of buying new test kits, I might as well get this monitor). Also, does anyone know if you can run the salinity and calcium pinpoint monitors continuously as well? Do the controllers that people have been discussing lately keep track of all these parameters?

I bought it from big als online: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/produc...ategory_id=2795

In my 55 gallon about 5 months ago, I was having a horrible cyano outbreak. I was using a skimmer, doing water changes with water that had a tds of 002, and yet something was 'feeding' it. I syphoned it out on a daily basis, and it just kept coming back. I finally decided to use the red slime remover, which I believe is an antibiotic. I used it according to the directions on the box, and within 2 days the cyano was completely gone and never came back. I still have yet to see even a trace of it. The best part of using that product was the growth of my corals afterwards... it was almost like they went into overdrive! Now, I've only had one experience with this product, so I'm not saying to go ahead and use it without thinking... but I did want to just share my personal experience of it. The stuff I used was by Ultralife.

depends what type of freshwater. If you're doin cichlids, I learned a lot from www.cichlid-forum.com

Cool. Will the shipment be brought to the meeting on the 25th? If so, that'd be the easiest to divide.

I will get 1/2 a bag if that rounds us up. If I'm in, then I would like to pick it up at the meeting if possible. I can bring a 5g salt bucket for my 1/2 bag. Who wants to be my 'lime buddy' !? =p

I think its a matter of how close your lights are, what your tank temp is, and if you have any cooling. With 2 250w MH's about 8" off the water, and a fan blowing the air between the halides and the tank, I had no shadows, good growth, and lost about 1 to 1 1/2 gallons a day. Another thing to keep in mind is that with MH's, they cover about a 2' x 2' area.. which means you have areas that are getting low light no matter how you orient the 1 MH.