Let us know the results! Mine alk seemed easier to maintain as I raised mag but I changed too much at once to be sure.I know reefers in MD that run beautiful reef tanks at 350~400 CA that are all SPS. They typically run higher alk. Nothing to be nervous about at 380 IMO. Mine is usually from 375 to 425.Looks great!+1

Base levels for 10 gallons of salt water. SeaChem Reef Salt mixed with 0 TDS RO/DI for 24hrs and tested before (5 gallon) water change:

Salinity: 1.025.5
Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: 0
Phosphates: 0
pH: 8.3
Akalinity: 9
Calcium: 480
Magnesium: 1100

Base levels for calcium are excessively high, after routine testing for several weeks. Weekly calcium tests on new water average 460ppm. Mag requires dosing. *90 grams of SeaChem "Magnesium Advantage" required to raise Mg to 1300ppm (for 10 gallons).

Note to self: Next time use less salt to bring salinity up to 1.024 and reduce calcium level. Add Mg supplement which will raise salinity to 1.025.

That is good information. My reef crstals with RO/DI measured 350 CA, 11.8 alk and 1100Mag with a salinity areoun 1.025.

brshriver, I was using Oceanic which has high ca and mg lvls, I have switch to red sea pro salt now and noticed that Im prob. gonna have to start dosing mg also.

Good to know. I recently switched from reef crystals.

I figure SeaChem reefsalt will be a more comfortable 440ppm calcium at 1.024 salinity. On top of that, I'll add 90 grams of "Magnesium Advantage" to bring Mg up to 1300ppm, while at the same time raising salinity to 1.025. I'll verify my theory when I mix 10 gallons new salt water next week.

BTW: Since I've been slowly raising Mg, I've noticed hints of fluorescent colors in my milli and roscoe SPS for the first time, AND I haven't once had to supplement my alkalinity dosage via my ATO. I already see a relationship between Alkalinity and Magnesium. This hobby brings out the chemist in me

I noticed that u use api kits and so do I. Have you found a Mg test kit yet for api, I cannot find it.

Glad to hear it! This seems similar to my experience.

I wasn't able to find an API Mg test kit either, so I recently bought the Elos kit. Satisfactory but EXPENSIVE. $28.

A word of CAUTON for anyone planning on using SeaChem "Reef Calcium" instead of SeaChem "Reef Complete" for raising calcium. Most higher dosage attempts at raising calcium levels have resulted in temporarily shocking (freezing) the corals. This can't be good. For this reason, SeaChem recommends using "Reef Complete" for RAISING Ca, since it's an *ionic* calcium supplement. "Reef Calcium" should be used for MAINTAINING levels only. I've been using "Reef Complete" for the past several months until I ran out 2 days ago and tried "Reef Calcium," thinking it didn't make any difference. Big mistake. I'm off to PetsMart for more

(sorry to bore you all with these non-photo posts. my water is almost in check all the way around. once it is, I plan on removing some softies and stocking it with some pretty cool SPS)

The tank and the pictures are awesome.

But this thread is packed with information as well.

Far from boring IMO.

BTW Purpleup, I got my Rapids installed this weekend. Tied it into a 10 gal fuge. Installed a bulkhead fitting in the 10 gal and it gravity feeds back to the Rapids canister. With ball valves on, well, everything, I can direct a nice slow flow through my fuge. Time will tell.

OK, back to this great thread of yours.

Reef calcium's active ingredient is calcium glutenate I think. This is a sugar. Reef Complete's active ingrediants are Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride and Strontium Chloride which are all salts and will increase salinity over time. I read in either The Reef Aquarium volume III or the Book of Coral Propagation that it was unclear if corals could use the calcium in calcium glutenate but coraline algae could for sure. Corals can use the ionic calcium in calcium chloride. I still use the Reef Calcium on my system with a calcium reactor to promote coraline for this very reason. Maybe it maintains calcium by giving the coraline algae antoher calcium source.

I dose both products on my smaller tanks twice a week similar to www.garf.org's bullet proof reef system.

Its the stronium in it that helps the coraline growth.

Ha Thanks. Recent postings of this thread should be quite useful to those using SeaChem Reef products. I'd like to see how you've plumbed a 10G into a Rapids Pro! Would you mind posting a pic of it here?That's very interesting info. Now I question whether or not I should use the remaining supply of Reef Calcium. Just to clarify, you dose BOTH Reef Complete and Reef Calcium in your smaller tanks?

My milli seems to have been most affected by whatever is in that Reef Calcium solution. Some polyps are out but extension is minimal. It's already starting to show recovery, but it's surprising that only 40ml over 2 days had that much negative impact. Anyhow, I doubt I'll use it again.

Well, really not worthy, but since you asked....
Installed bulkheads in both. ( my first tank drilling, yikes ) 3/4" ball valve and hose.



Added a "T" to the return and ball valves between the "t" and the return to both tanks.


And the finished product. Well, sort of, still need my light. This one will fill in for now. 13w 7k.


Its been running about six hours now and the skimmer is producing funk already. YAY. I am surprised how quiet this is.
Sorry about fouling your thread with "dirty" pics. The camera really picks up that salt creep huh?

Hmmm. Looks quite functional. I really like that concept. Do let me know how it continues to work for you and I might do something similar to my tank here. About the "T" return, you added it to the return tube which leads back into the display tank right? or do I understand it incorrectly? Has it caused a steady drop in water level in your diplay tank due to reduced flow?

nice to see you got it running like you were talking about

Yes you are correct. Display level has remained constant so far. Very little flow is directed to the fuge. The ball valve is barely open. I have had to "tweak" the valve a few times since initial start up but all seems well right now.



Thanks!

This might work for me. I swapped out both of the OEM blue tubes for black ones of the same size, so I actually can use a little return flow control. It would allow me to open up the valve a little wider to the fuge. If you don't mind, keep me posted on any critical tweaks and performance issues of your setup. Thanks for sharing!

It would be nice to have a self-replenishing natural food source that won't spoil.

I don't mind at all, more than happy to share.

Not sure if I'll get any sleep tonight. I keep thinking I hear something leaking.

if you do fall asleep...and hear something leaking. is that a wet dream?

Hahaha. I believe it would be. I was dreaming about my version of this fuge mod, thinking I can somehow plumb my .75G directly into my overflow box. Hmmm, but it will require drilling. I'll explain later if I can get it to work.

Corals look much happier this morning, including the milli. It's polyps are all out again. I'll continue dosing Ca with SeaChem's Reef Complete from here on out. I expect to reach desirable Mg levels by Thursday of this week. Alkalinity has shot up to 11dKH via my normal ATO dosage and I expect that has something to do with the increased level of Magnesium. I may top-off manually today and see how my Alk levels move without any supplementation.

Yes. In my 46 gallon bow, I does two tablespoons of the one that raises calcium on Monday and Thur. I also does two tablespoons of the one that maintains calcium on Tue and Friday. I does two tablespoons of Reef Plus (vitamins and iodine I think) on Wed and Sat or Sunday. I does the same on my 20 but cut in half.

I test every week or so and tweak from there based on results.

Glad to see your corals looking even better. They looked prety darn good before. Can't wait for a new FTS!

I looked up the active ingredients of Reef Plus and it's hard to doubt that corals would not benefit from using it. Has there been a noticeable difference in the health of your corals since you've been using Reef Plus? I used a similar product for about a year in my BC14, but stopped adding it since I didn't see many other reefers practicing the same thing.

I have always used it so I don't know.

I thnk propagator claimed he saw a difference. The big three are what really matter though: cal, alk, and mag. That and good flow.

Wet dreams aren't always all that great when your a reefer .

That was another thought, Drilling and adding a bulkhead to the overflow box. But it looked a little tight with the leveling screw "boss" molded into the base. Thought of drilling the sides, or back then figured fittings and such would become too bulky. Also considered adding the "T" off the overflow hose itself, but decided the size of ball valves and such would be huge and heavy. I also didn't care to toy too much with the design, flow rates etc. of the overflow itself. So that's how I wound up with what I did.

At the end of the first full day all seems well.

Like you, I am disappointed in the surface skimmer itself. I'm thinking of trying the old Nano-cube type of mod with a thin piece of plastic to create a spillover. I'll try it if I can find some material tonight. Will let you know of coarse.

ADA? isnt that in japan?

im really surprised on how how people can get their aquascape looking like that....

Funny, I've been thinking of drilling the side of the overflow box for the longest time. Your gravity concept with the ball valves tied it all together for me. I figure that I only require very minimal water movement from the main display to the .75G pico fuge, so during my visit to HD I decided to plumb it using 1/4" airline tubing. From the landscape irrigation section, I picked up a pack of '1/4" doubled barbed connectors' for a drip watering system. I plan on using these as mini bulkheads, extruding out of my display overflow box AND my pico hang-on-back filter. Airline tubing should insert into the ends of the connectors quite nicely, and ultimately lead down into the sump. Somewhere in between the airline tubing, I'll use little air valves to control water flow. So instead of drilling into glass I'll be drilling into plastic, which will eliminate the risk of an all out system crash. Best of all, this method requires no return pump using gravity only. To better illustrate (without drawing), the diplay overflow box is roughly 20" high from the top of the granite counter; the pico fuge sits right on top of the granite counter, where it's HOB filter is only 7" high; the sump is at floor level sitting at the bottom of the cabinet beneath everything else. Water will flow from a small hole drilled in the back of the overflowbox, down into the pico HOB filter, and into the sump from there. I figure my Tigger Pods will be small enough to travel through 1/4" tubing, into the sump, then into the tank where they can be eaten up in small quanities. Because the flow between the display, pico, and sump is soooo minimal, my Tigger Pod population should remain constant in the pico fuge.

SOMEBODY TELL ME IF THIS WILL NEVER WORK. Otherwise, I'm drilling my tiny holes as soon as I get home

*I'm also curious to find out if you can get improved surface skimming from the overflow box.

Phase 1 of my RIMLESS PICO FUGE plumbing job:

The blue tube from the pico connects to the back of the external overflow directly below the water line.


The blue tube siphons water from the external overflow box, but this siphon can be broken if the water
level in the external overflow ever drops. This can be caused by shutting off the sump's return pump.


The clear tube siphons water into the sump below, sucking in Tigger Pods at random.


The sump then sends the Tigger Pods sporadically into the display tank as live food for my
hungry fish and corals.


The system will not crash if the blue tube siphon breaks, but a clog in the clear tube would definitely cause up to 4 gallons water to spill onto the hardwood floor! Phase 2 will involve drilling a larger whole (with a 1/2" bulkhead?) into the pico fuge itself so that no siphon will be required to re-start it. In the meantime, I pray.

*Nah, too risky. I'm shuttin down the siphon to the pico fuge till morning. Goin to bed. 12:32am.

Nope, not worth the risk to that beautiful floor. ( also not worth the weeks of pain and suffering you may incur from the little women for damages to said floor ).

Sorry I didn't get back right away, I'm still having trouble getting consistant email notifications on thread
replies.

Looks pretty sweet.

Question, how is adding a larger fitting in the pico going to solve the possible flooding due to clog?

Or do you intend to increase the size of all the plumbing?

If you go with the larger fitting in the pico you would have to throttle that down with a ball valve to match the flow rate of the feed line from the display overflow tube, yes? If not the pico would run dry, no? Please just me if I'm missing sumptin'.

I installed a thin piece of clear plastic sheet on my overflow. No install really as it just stays in place via the suction from the overflow itself. The plastic does not cover the last two slits on each end allowing some flow "around" the sheet. It is difficult to tell how well it is doing as I have quite a bit of surface agitation going on with my skilter still running along with my HOT magnum ( to help with the sand storm caused when adding sand to the new fuge) and also the overflow return. It does seem to work but I'll have to get back to you after I remove the skilter ( no laughing guys ) and aux filter. I should have a better read on it then.

Oh wow, that black sand looks neat, where did you get it?

Randy...too funny!! i just bought that exact same pico!! great minds think alike i have not set mine up yet..... yours looks super cute!!

You're partly right in the pico running dry with a larger fitting, that is IF I plumbed it into the HOB, but I was thinking of drilling the back of the glass at the top of the water line. So it would only flow into the sump at a rate of the water that's being added to it via the smaller tube. With that said, I think I'll simply buy a mini heater for the pico, keep the simple airline connections AS IS, and open up the valves only when I want to feed Tigger Pods into the main tank. I'm thinking it would mean no extra work on my part and it would keep the population of my pods in better control. Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse not to drill. I've never done it!

That sounds like a simple enough mod. Can you see it pulling water down from the surface? Please let me know how it works out for you.It's called Black Tahitian Moon sand. Bought it from my local LFS, but I believe you can also order it online. IMO, it looks neat at first but I do miss the white sand, which is easier to keep clean. Hahaha. Thanks patty. Ultimately, it's going to be a mini food factory of pods for my tank. I'm hoping so anyway. I hope they will propagate in less than 1G of water. Hey, got any new pics of your space paly's? What are they called anyway?

BTW: One of my clowns has bubbly eyes and a difficult time breathing. It's mouth and nostrils? are open at all times. I've had it for over a year now, so I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the Mg supplements I've been adding to the tank. It still eats like a champ though. I need to research this condition a bit more. Hoping it is not a fatal disease. POPEYE perhaps? Also hoping it won't spread to the other fish!

Tonight the tank finally met it's magnesium target of 1300ppm Took 9 days of gradual dosing to reach this level, which was easily 540 grams of SeaChem Magnesium Advantage.

Now I'm wondering if this change in water chemistry was too much for my clown. Today it's still very aggressive in it's eating habits, but it has very puffy eyes and a swollen mouth.

Quick update on the blueberry gorgonian: It hasn't been opening and extending it's polyps as frequently and as far out as before the Mg dosing began. So I am concerned that it may not be eating enough. But maybe I'm simply paranoid.

The rest of the coral still looks great. Hopefully, all of the tank's inhabitants will acclimate quickly to the new water params, as I work hard to maintain Mg 1300ppm, Ca 400ppm, & Alk 9dKH. And it is hard work! I lowered salinity down to 1.025 from 1.026 to allow for higher fluctuations without threat to my livestock. I've quickly learned that adding Mg also raises salinity, so it has to be diluted with freshwater before adding it to the system. Once given enough time to mix in the tank, the same amount of water must be removed from the system to keep salinity in balance.

I can't imagine the mag affecting the clown, especially over that time period.

All of the chloride based supplements (calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and strontium chloride) will increase salinity. The impact is just more noticeable with the magnesium products because it takes so much more to raise it. Check your seachem product for raising calcium and maitaining the other two - it will have all of the chloride based chemicals as its active ingredients. I think regular water changes is very important when using the products to prevent the build up of chloride over time. At least I have read that. I don't understand why that is necessarily bad though as I have never seen a full explanation.

Makes sense. I figured that routine dosing would cause build up of undesirable stuff in the water, so I recently increased my volume of weekly water changes to 5Gs per week from 3.5Gs. From here on out, before new saltwater is added, Mg will be adjusted to 1300ppm. Hopefully, I'll simply need to maintain Mg moving forward so I won't have to worry about salinity fluctuations. Thanks for all of your advice over the last couple of weeks. It's helped me to better understand what's goin on chemically in my system. NOW I NEED THAT SUNSET MONTI!

By the way, the Blueberry Gorgonian is looking perkier again. And I think the clown might make it. Lastly, I reduced the lighting period for the 150K 14K lamp by 2 hours after I noticed a small patch of GHA growing on one of the base rocks. This light is now on between 11am - 3pm. The 250W 20K lamp is on from 8:30am to 7:00pm. Personally, the 20K blue is much easier on my eyes

It's growing like a weed! Maybe 1 more month?

Not a problem. No matter how long it takes, I can wait.
This tank ain't goin anywhere, as long as I can help it.

Some random fish shots I took today...













and then some...


i hope it lives.


Fast growing Tub's Blues. just tracking progress


Decided to keep a tiny hydnophora frag. The mother colony is now in my BC14.


Blue Anthelia is sloooooowly starting to spread naturally in the tank.

*01/27/08 This morning Mg tested 1400ppm. Yesterday, I dosed 10 grams of Magnesium Advantage in attempt to maintain Mg @ 1300ppm. My guess is that once Mg levels are reached in this thank, consumption rate is low. For now, I may not have to dose Mg mid-week, so long as my new water is brought up to the proper 1300 level. Ever since Mg levels were increased, my consumption rate of Ca & Alk have been cut in half! Cool thing how paying close attention to one parameter is saving me tons of money by keeping the other ones in check. There is a clear chemical relationship between Ca, Alk & Mg - ALTHOUGH I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT.

I'm leaning towards replacing the Rapids Pro overflow box with this one by CPR:


It has a 3/4" bulkhead outflow at a flow rate of 300gph. I'm already using 3/4" black tubing, so it should be rather simple to swap it out for this new CPR unit. Why go through the trouble? Because I've always felt the plastic blue look killed the slick look of the ADA tank. Clear acrylic & black should tie in better with my overall setup. On top of that, if the CPR skims the water surface better, I may be able to pull out my stand-alone surface skimmer along with the MJ600 that powers it - two less pieces of hardware in the tank.

I might also use this glass return tube designed especially for ADA tanks (pricey!):


In the meantime, I'll continue using the RP4 sump and integrated ATO I have now since I am very pleased with it's functionality and dependability. But by the summer, it'll be so damn hot in Northern California that I'll have no choice but to incorporate a chiller into the mix with a custom made acrylic sump. Lots of work to do still, but because my present setup is so modular, I can modify it slowly as needed. It'll also be nice to design a refugium into the whole build.

Your tank is starting to look more "mature" in the photos. Looks like your corals have settled in nicely and are now starting to grow into their new homes.

I have always been, and remain, impressed with your work.

This tank is going to win awards, I think.

Excellent work!

- Josh

Josh, thanks man. I really really appreciate that. Compliments to you as well, not only for the success of your own tank, but for the influence you've had on this one as well. Your input has helped a great deal in getting this tank off to the right start. Now I wouldn't go so far as to say it's going to win awards. More like personal re-wards if and when my milli springs back to colorful life. Man, transitioning into keeping SPS has really fueled my interest in this hobby! Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Off topic, do you know what this macro algae is called? I kinda dig it. It seems to be slow growing enough for me to leave it well enough alone.

Looking good as always Purp!

Just a little update on my attempts to improve the surface skimming performance.

Well, although I can see some improvement I am still not happy with the results. I am actually going to add a surface skimmer to my mj1200 as you have. I run one of those in my prop tank and It does the job very well.

I see that you are looking at the CPR and I have to agree it would probably look slick on your cube. That glass return tube is sexy as well.

Keep those great pics coming.

Awesome tank, well done!

Not sure as the picture is not real clear, but my advice is to not let it grow intertwined with that coral. I have had bad luck taking that approach with caulerpa sp. or other slow growing invaders/macro algae that I don't recognize growing inter-mixed with a colony. In my experience, it ultimately negatively affects the coral. Move it to the fuge or off by itself.

My .02.

Thanks! I used to run the surface skimmer on an MJ1200, but it was difficult to keep the collection cup floating due to excessive flow intake. It also pulled too many micro bubbles into the tank. Try an MJ600 instead if you have one.




Why thank you. Someday, I hope to have a 2-way tank installed in my home as well. Just a bit larger than yours. Great job with it, btw.




Ahhhh. Definitely something to consider. I just need to decide which I like better, the macro algae or the coral. Hmmmm.

***
I'm really starting to see good results now in FASTER SPS growth and coloration. Now I'm ready for the next batch of frags to come in. Can't wait. The backside of the tank is anxiously awaiting to be colonized.


Hey, these "daisy" look-a-likes came out of nowhere. 3 of them are pictured above in between the palys. What are they? Xenia? They're not from my Blue Anthelia.

Right Side.

I think this side will look great once the zoas grow out.

More super pics! And the blueberry gorg looks healthy in that last one!

--Diane

Looks like clove polyps.

Thanks again, Diane. I'm glad the blueberry gorgonian made it through my 2 week Mg dosing period. Amazingly, it's looking better than ever. I really like what's going on in my tank right now b/c all of the different species of corals in the tank are looking extremely satisfied. This wasn't always the case before. Everything seems to be reacting very well to the home made RO/DI water and the increased Mg. I believe 29 TDS in my tap to begin with and 0 TDS after filtration has made a big difference in their "quality of life." hehe. Check out some SPS pics I snapped off earlier. (I know, you've seen these before. But they're healthier today!)

ORA Birds Nest. It's FLUFFIER.


ORA Roscoe under 14k and 20k. Green polyps extended during the day and darkening. Tips showing darker purple and a fluorescent teal.


Millepora is showing signs of LIFE. (under 14k & 20k)


Under 20k only. I think it wants to be a Blue Milli.


Purple tipped acro under 20k. Tips are nice and bright purple, although I'd like for it all to be purple.

^^^ Looks like a magazine spread!

Spectacular!

--Diane

It's been roughly 3.5mos and 4 days since I first put live rock in the tank. Often neglected but much appreciated is the coralline algae that quickly takes over the rockscape. I've never seen such fast coralline growth in my other tanks. I would attribute it to the MH light intensity and the extended lighting period from 8:30am to 7:30pm. What I don't like are the other types of algae that have quickly spawned throughout due to the intense lighting. Can anybody help me identify some of this stuff (especially the brownish speckles) and let me know if it's GOOD or BAD? Thanks in advance.








Diatom?



Another interesting day in the fish lab, my base water for my weekly water change tested at 500ppm for Ca with a 1.025.3 salinity level. I don't mind it b/c it should only raise the Ca in my tank by 10-15ppm or so, but I find it curious that SeaChem Reef Salt would have it so high. Hmmm. Maybe I got an overdosed batch.

Temp reached 84º today! Accidentally left the fan in the OFF position, and the timer wasn't able to turn it on as scheduled. In the winter, the tank won't exceed 81º degrees with only one MH ON. But with both lights on and no fan to cool the water surface, the corals will most certainly fry. Good thing I came home at 3:30pm before things got super hot in there. Luckily for my tank, the animals didn't seem bothered. I don't know what I would do if I lost it all due to a minor oversight. Need to save up for an RK2.

Damn... Close call bro!
BTW, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this... But, your tank is absolutely amazing!!!