ninjamyst Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 Hey, when you take your pictures do you ajust your lights? they all come out so detailed and nice! thanks! I dont adjust the light for the pictures. I have a custom white balance dialed in on my camera so pics dont come out super blue. There are times where I have to adjust exposure on the camera if things come out too dark. But what I find is that when taking pictures top down, there's plenty of light. Having a shallow tank helps too. Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 Haven't tested my water in almost 6 months so did some test today. Alk - 7 Ca - 500 Is that ok? Alk seems a little low but I always had that issue. I notice that zoas in my Spec does better than zoas in this tank and my montis not looking so great. Can it because of low alk? Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Haven't tested my water in almost 6 months so did some test today. Alk - 7 Ca - 500 Is that ok? Alk seems a little low but I always had that issue. I notice that zoas in my Spec does better than zoas in this tank and my montis not looking so great. Can it because of low alk? That's a little low- mine dips to 7 from time to time and know one really shows any stress but it's for short periods- I normally try to keep mine in the 8-9 range - that seems to be the sweet spot. Ca. A little high I shoot for 420-50 range with my Alk. level. Are you maintaining through water changes - those are pretty good numbers . Maybe your Alk. Is higher right after the W/C ? Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I'd say lower Alk is better thank high alk. I last tested and my Alk wasn't even measurable lol. I'm assuming it was at 14 or so. As for your Monti's what do you mean by "not looking so great" could be multiple things. Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 I'd say lower Alk is better thank high alk. I last tested and my Alk wasn't even measurable lol. I'm assuming it was at 14 or so. As for your Monti's what do you mean by "not looking so great" could be multiple things. Dull color on the monti's. When I first got the msytic sunset, it's bright red with blue polyps. Now it's darker dull red. I also have a green monti cap with blue polyps that is more brown now. I really want to get bright color montis. Link to comment
owenj Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Beautiful pictures, Ninja. I envy your camera skills Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Its not lack of lighting,that's for sure. Next think I could think of,would be nutrients. Tight high or too low,it could be either. Are they out in plain site or hidden ? Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Beautiful pictures, Ninja. I envy your camera skills thanks!! Its not lack of lighting,that's for sure. Next think I could think of,would be nutrients. Tight high or too low,it could be either. Are they out in plain site or hidden ? they are out in plain site. it could be nutrients but i am running carbon / phosguard / purigen / skimmer. i only feed every other day. it's probably cuz my tank is so overstocked =P. i plan to do a big cleaning with 50% water change when i get back from vacation next week. Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Mixed new saltwater today and tested for Alk. It was 9.8. Pretty good. That means my tank is sucking up lots of alk. I better start dosing. Do I need to dose both calcium and alk or just alk? I have Seachem Fusion 1 and 2 already. Also, what vendor is everyone stalking for black friday? It sucks I will be out of town so I can't go to LFS for BF sales. Aquapros usually have really good sales and you have to get there early or they will be all picked through. MyReefToYours.com is having a sale similar to last year where they will list corals for pennies. Will also look forward to Saltcritter sale but $40 shipping is meh. Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Mixed new saltwater today and tested for Alk. It was 9.8. Pretty good. That means my tank is sucking up lots of alk. I better start dosing. Do I need to dose both calcium and alk or just alk? I have Seachem Fusion 1 and 2 already. Have you ck'd Ca. - as spider said above- get a good 2 part but you should ck your calcium- let the dosing games begin? Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 So even if my calcium is very high at 500ppm, I still need to dose both??? Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 How much calc,Alk and magnesium is your tank consuming within a few day period ? That's how you can determine what you need to dose,and how much. Say you tank is consuming 50ppm of Calc every 2 days(hypothetically speaking),I'd dose a ml to 1/2 ml and see how that does. If your tank is eating up alk,dose to what level you desire and dose whatever it takes to get there. So on and so forth. Just jot down your levels,every few days,dose,test,dose test ect ect. Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 So even if my calcium is very high at 500ppm, I still need to dose both??? Seems to be imbalanced - is your tank using much Ca. ? Is it still at that 500 mark- should be coming down some. When I initaially started dosing it was tough to keep my Alk. In line until I got my Mg. Up- above 1200- now I keep it around 1300- 1350 Ca., Alk, and Mg. Are all related- having the right amount of Mg. Makes it easier to keep your Alk./Ca. . In line- that's my experience . If your Ca is still that high- don't dose anymore- if you can- ck Mg. and just dose Alk. to the level you want. Get them more balanced then you can see how much your tank uses over a week or so period. Unfortunately this means testing- especially after a w/c Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Yea, i will do a water test tonight. Just finished water change. Then do another test tomorrow. My calcium is very high all the time. My alk very low. My mag...no idea =P. Link to comment
D Z Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 What salt do you use again? Link to comment
gena Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Yea, i will do a water test tonight. Just finished water change. Then do another test tomorrow. My calcium is very high all the time. My alk very low. My mag...no idea =P.I would test your magnesium too. It might be low if you are having trouble balancing the other two. disclaimer: I'm not a chemist, I just play one on the internet . Link to comment
kimberbee Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I would test your magnesium too. It might be low if you are having trouble balancing the other two. disclaimer: I'm not a chemist, I just play one on the internet . After 4 months, I finally started testing my own water (BF was always doing it for me). It's so fun! Definitely makes me feel like I'm playing chemist! Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 what brand test kit does everyone use? I have Red Sea Pro and it's such a pain with titration.... What salt do you use again? using Reef Crystals Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I use Red Sea. But use crummy API to test against it to see how close they are. I should probably test myself,I haven't tested in maybe 2-3 months lol. Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 I use Red Sea. But use crummy API to test against it to see how close they are. I should probably test myself,I haven't tested in maybe 2-3 months lol. I think I have some API tests too...Will run all that when I get back. Driving down to Florida tonight and hope to come back to not too many things dead... For Black Friday, I am looking forward to MyReefToYours.com's sale and Woo's Aquatic. Will only have my phone with me so it's gonna be fun buying via mobile... Link to comment
wildbill79 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I think I have some API tests too...Will run all that when I get back. Driving down to Florida tonight and hope to come back to not too many things dead... For Black Friday, I am looking forward to https://www.facebook.com/103849356383655/photos/a.142762135825710.21750.103849356383655/581316008636985/'>MyReefToYours.com's sale and Woo's Aquatic. Will only have my phone with me so it's gonna be fun buying via mobile... What part of FL? Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 oh coming down to these parts aye ? what part ? Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 New swag will be coming very soon! Love the newer photos. Keep it up Jacky! -Dave Link to comment
teenyreef Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 what brand test kit does everyone use? I have Red Sea Pro and it's such a pain with titration.... using Reef Crystals I use Reef Crystals with Salifert test kits. I've used Red Sea and API too. Most of the tests with Salifert seem easier to use than Red Sea, but that could be just because I've had more practice with Salifert. The only complaint I have with Reef Crystals is that the levels can be inconsistent between batches. Link to comment
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