Arce Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Sooooo updates are still coming on the vacation.. but had to post something now because i am truly confused. So I've been sitting infront of my tank since i got back home, been doing a barrage of tests and cleaning. Appears im still having alk issues so just to be sure i figured id do multiple tests to make sure im not having wrong readings. With my Hanna i got these three results.. 120 ,117 and 122. Thats in ppm or whatever and converts to around 6.5 dkh area. Then i pull out the red sea test kit..... and im getting readings in the 9s.... No idea whats going on or what to believe. Going to get another kit from the LFS tomorrow. Im going to laugh if my kits are just faulty and my alks been stable this whole time. DSCN0562 by justinarce5692, on Flickr Page bump 2 Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 I've determined that the red sea kit that i was using is definitely inaccurate. I had an old kit that had a small bit of fluid left over and I'm getting different readings. Going to Email red sea to check if there was an issue with the kits batch or something. Good news is my calcium isn't stuck at 380-390 as I've been thinking and its actually at 410. Not a huge difference but i was just worried that i couldn't bring it up for what ever reason so its good to know it was just a faulty kit. For Alk, i changed the battery just to see if it would be that. Ended up getting two readings at 117 and then one at 119 ppm. So its somewhat accurate and im going to go by the hanna check and not the red sea kit. I'm going to bring some water to my LFS to see if he will check it just in case. This is so frustrating. 1 Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Went and bought a salifert alk kit. Also my LFS gave me a new vial for my Hanna just to check and see if the others were stained and causing issues or something. The new hanna vial gave a reading of 128 ppm = 7.168 dkh. Salifert test kit read in around 7.2-7.3dkh. So im going to go off these and say they are accurate. Just for kicks the guy at my LFS tested with an API kit and got a reading of 8.5-9 dkh which is the same the red sea kit was giving me. Going to just go with what the salifert and new hanna vial are giving me. I honestly dont care about what level it really is i just care about consistency to be able to make sure that my levels remain stable. 1 Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Welcome back Gracias Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 This is why I don't really like testing much to begin with. It seems like everyone gets varying results from different brands of test kits. color changes can be so subtle sometimes. I for one can never get the same result twice. It gets EXTREMELY frustrating! I hope you get it figured out though! 1 Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 This is why I don't really like testing much to begin with. It seems like everyone gets varying results from different brands of test kits. color changes can be so subtle sometimes. I for one can never get the same result twice. It gets EXTREMELY frustrating! I hope you get it figured out though! Frustrating doesnt even begin to describe it!!! Good to know someone else feels my pain lol. Well.... Out of curiosity i did a couple more tests with the salifert and hanna. Not quite sure how i got a 7.3 with the salifert yesterday, i must have done something wrong, probably since it was my first attempt using it. Today i did a few tests and got a 8.0-8.2 with salifert, did it about 3 times all the same reading. The hanna is still reading 7.2ish. If my tenius wasnt STNing i would throw all my kits out the window and wing it. 1 Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 I need a new return pump. The one i have is slowly dying and getting weaker. The overflow i have can only handle 300gph i believe but i want to buy a pump that if i upgraded, could suit a larger flow. So probably looking for somethjng in the 700gph area. Was thinking about maybe getting a jebao dc pump since it could be turned down, any other ideas? Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Nope, they're a good choice. Been running a DC-6000 for a year now, great little pump! 2 Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Nope, they're a good choice. Been running a DC-6000 for a year now, great little pump! I was looking at them. The 6000 seems like its overkill, but the 2000 might work. Might be short a bit if i were to upgrade though as its max is like 560 i think. Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Other options im considering is a sicce syncra 2.0 and a tunze Quote Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I have a syncra 3.0. Love it. Pretty quiet too. 1 Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 I have a syncra 3.0. Love it. Pretty quiet too. Can you adjust the flow of the syncras? From the picture i saw it looks like it has a knob in the inlet Quote Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Can you adjust the flow of the syncras? From the picture i saw it looks like it has a knob in the inlet I believe so. But it was installed before i got home and i didn't need to adjust anything when I was home. Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 I believe so. But it was installed before i got home and i didn't need to adjust anything when I was home.Hmm ok, i want to try to get a pump that is a bit bigger for when i upgrade. Stuck between a 2.0 or a 3.0. Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 This is why I don't really like testing much to begin with. It seems like everyone gets varying results from different brands of test kits. color changes can be so subtle sometimes. I for one can never get the same result twice. It gets EXTREMELY frustrating! I hope you get it figured out though! I am with you kimber and besides all that it's tedious and I am not great with that. That's probably why I haven't tackled challenging SPS. Fortunately my seahorses make me do so much WCs that my CA, Alk and Mag get replenished that way so I am getting away with it. 1 Quote Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Hmm ok, i want to try to get a pump that is a bit bigger for when i upgrade. Stuck between a 2.0 or a 3.0. You could Go with the 3 and if it's too much you can reroute it back to the sump if you can't dial it down. It costs more to buy 2 pumps than to but a couple of fittings to reroute the extra water. Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 You could Go with the 3 and if it's too much you can reroute it back to the sump if you can't dial it down. It costs more to buy 2 pumps than to but a couple of fittings to reroute the extra water.Good point, might just do that. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 You could Go with the 3 and if it's too much you can reroute it back to the sump if you can't dial it down. It costs more to buy 2 pumps than to but a couple of fittings to reroute the extra water. Why would you not use a valve on the output? It wastes electricity unnecessarily otherwise. Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Why would you not use a valve on the output? It wastes electricity unnecessarily otherwise. Hows a valve on the output going to save electricity? The pump runs at the same speed regardless? Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Hows a valve on the output going to save electricity? The pump runs at the same speed regardless? When a magnetically driven pump (all aquarium pumps, essentially) are pushing water up, the higher they push it (more head height), the less energy they consume. Not 100% sure how it works (soemthing to do with Bernoulli's principle), but it can be verified via a watt meter on the pump outlet. Adding a ball valve is basically the same as adding more head since you are restricting the outlet. Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 When a magnetically driven pump (all aquarium pumps, essentially) are pushing water up, the higher they push it (more head height), the less energy they consume. Not 100% sure how it works (soemthing to do with Bernoulli's principle), but it can be verified via a watt meter on the pump outlet. Adding a ball valve is basically the same as adding more head since you are restricting the outlet. Not quite sure if thats accurate. Do you have any resources that prove that? Bernoullis principle is simple put that with an increase in speed of flow you get a decrease in pressure, like a venturi. But how does that relate to energy consumption of the pump? regardless if the pumps restricted by a valve it will use the same amount of energy. If anything valves restricting the pump will cause back pressure on the pump which could damage it. My fluid dynamics is a bit rusty though lol. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Not quite sure if thats accurate. Do you have any resources that prove that? Bernoullis principle is simple put that with an increase in speed of flow you get a decrease in pressure, like a venturi. But how does that relate to energy consumption of the pump? regardless if the pumps restricted by a valve it will use the same amount of energy. If anything valves restricting the pump will cause back pressure on the pump which could damage it. My fluid dynamics is a bit rusty though lol. Yes, I have verified it myself with a watt meter and ball valve With more head pressure, the impeller does not spin as fast, which doesn't use as much power, which creates less heat., which is a good thing for the pump life. Pumps have no way of knowing if you're valving it down or adding more vertical height Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Yes, I have verified it myself with a watt meter and ball valve With more head pressure, the impeller does not spin as fast, which doesn't use as much power, which creates less heat., which is a good thing for the pump life. Pumps have no way of knowing if you're valving it down or adding more vertical height But thats my point, since your using a valve to control the flow, it causes a higher pressure before the valve. Thats why the impeller wont have enough power to remain at its consistent speed. Isnt that action what could cause a pump failure? The pressure against the pump. Interesting though that it reduces its energy consumption. Never would think it would do that unless it was designed to "slow" down at higher pressures. Quote Link to comment
D Z Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Found a good explanation on the subject: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/332667-throttle-back-pump/?p=4460504 1 Quote Link to comment
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