Urbanek's 250

[uwdanno]

Stellar as usual.

 

Just curious - what is your daily sodium bicarbonate consumption in dkh? I have to imagine its crazy high.

[urbaneks]

Stellar as usual.

 

Just curious - what is your daily sodium bicarbonate consumption in dkh? I have to imagine its crazy high.

Great question. I'm always curious about other people's consumption rates. My tank uses 1.2 dKh per day. I keep my alk in the mid 7s. I use to keep it about 8.5 which drove my consumption a bit higher. It's kind of odd, you'd think that the consumption rate would be the same once balanced but I found that was was throwing extra 2 part to keep the tank at 8.5.

[uwdanno]

Great question. I'm always curious about other people's consumption rates. My tank uses 1.2 dKh per day. I keep my alk in the mid 7s. I use to keep it about 8.5 which drove my consumption a bit higher. It's kind of odd, you'd think that the consumption rate would be the same once balanced but I found that was was throwing extra 2 part to keep the tank at 8.5.

 

Interesting. Not nearly as high as I expected it to be. I suppose your water volume in relation to tank size is high despite being packed with SPS.

 

My 20 gal nano with ~ 15 gal water volume is using up about 3.75 dkh daily. Its a bit alarming! I'm trying to see what variables I can influence to use less. Fewer corals isn't an option.

[urbaneks]

 

Interesting. Not nearly as high as I expected it to be. I suppose your water volume in relation to tank size is high despite being packed with SPS.

 

My 20 gal nano with ~ 15 gal water volume is using up about 3.75 dkh daily. Its a bit alarming! I'm trying to see what variables I can influence to use less. Fewer corals isn't an option.

If you are not dosing equal amounts of cal and alk, that will cause a need for more alk. When I first started dosing I was hell bent on a set alk and cal number. This lead to unequal amounts of each component. This lead to high amounts of alk and lower amounts of cal. I later read that it's best to pick an alk target, match your cal to your alk dose and let the cal settle. For me, I end up with alk about 8 and cal about 430.

[TheKleinReef]

this thread makes me very happy sad.

 

such a beautiful tank.

[uwdanno]

If you are not dosing equal amounts of cal and alk, that will cause a need for more alk. When I first started dosing I was hell bent on a set alk and cal number. This lead to unequal amounts of each component. This lead to high amounts of alk and lower amounts of cal. I later read that it's best to pick an alk target, match your cal to your alk dose and let the cal settle. For me, I end up with alk about 8 and cal about 430.

Makes sense. I knew about the ca impact on alk but hadn't considered changing that yet. I think I'll shut off my ca dosing pump until I can stabilize alk. My ca (400) is disproportionally high compared to alk (6.0).

 

Thanks for the insights

[RollaJase]

If you are not dosing equal amounts of cal and alk, that will cause a need for more alk. When I first started dosing I was hell bent on a set alk and cal number. This lead to unequal amounts of each component. This lead to high amounts of alk and lower amounts of cal. I later read that it's best to pick an alk target, match your cal to your alk dose and let the cal settle. For me, I end up with alk about 8 and cal about 430.

Hmm, interesting you should say that. My Alk to Cal ratio is about 25/17ml daily My ratio was almost equal when I was using my Red Sea Pro Cal test kit which was reading about 150ppm lover than actual readings. I may try reducing the Alk dose slightly and see how that effects the Alk and Cal consumption. Nothing major, maybe 0.5-1ml daily and see how it effects things over the course of a week.

[uwdanno]

Hmm, interesting you should say that. My Alk to Cal ratio is about 25/17ml daily My ratio was almost equal when I was using my Red Sea Pro Cal test kit which was reading about 150ppm lover than actual readings. I may try reducing the Alk dose slightly and see how that effects the Alk and Cal consumption. Nothing major, maybe 0.5-1ml daily and see how it effects things over the course of a week.

I was at 24/11. I just dropped my alk and raised cal to be at 14/14. We can compare notes in a week.

 

Sorry for hijacking your thread Urbanek!

[urbaneks]

this thread makes me very happy sad.

 

such a beautiful tank.

 

The KleinReef - Say it isn't so! Thanks for the kind words, but I by no means want it to make anyone sad.

 

Makes sense. I knew about the ca impact on alk but hadn't considered changing that yet. I think I'll shut off my ca dosing pump until I can stabilize alk. My ca (400) is disproportionally high compared to alk (6.0).

 

Thanks for the insights

 

uwdanno - That's one way to go about it which will work fine. If I may offer you another suggestion to consider. This mirrors the way I setup my doser. Shut both cal and alk dosing off. Manually dose your alk from 6 to your target, for this example lets say 8. I don't like to raise my alk more than .5 dkh per day so in this case it would take 4 days of manually dosing to get me to 8. During this time, I would not touch cal. Obviously, you will need to be testing each day to make sure you are making your desired progress. Once you have hit your target of 8, measure your cal and then manually dose to your desired cal target. In my case, I would dose cal to 430. At this very moment I now know that my alk is 8 and my cal is 430. Test your alk 24 hours later and record your results, repeat this a 2nd time the following day. You now have two data points of how much alk your tank is using per day. Calculate your daily dose and match your cal dose to your alk dose. At this point, manually dose your tank back to 8 and 430 and turn your doser on. I would let the tank run 2-3 days before testing again. If my alk is at 8, I know my dose is right on, if it's low or high adjust accordingly. Let your calcium go where it will naturally land to give you the alk you want.

 

Once I'm locked in, I test my alk weekly to make sure I'm staying consistent. I don't chase 8, as long as I'm within .5 of 8 I call it good. If I start getting 7.4 then it's time to up my dose. I test my cal every 2nd week, mainly just to make sure nothing crazy is going on. (I didn't mix my cal solution right, doser clogged and not dosing, etc, etc)

 

Hmm, interesting you should say that. My Alk to Cal ratio is about 25/17ml daily My ratio was almost equal when I was using my Red Sea Pro Cal test kit which was reading about 150ppm lover than actual readings. I may try reducing the Alk dose slightly and see how that effects the Alk and Cal consumption. Nothing major, maybe 0.5-1ml daily and see how it effects things over the course of a week.

 

Good call - If I could sum my philosophy up it's this.... Chose an alk number that you like and dose to keep that stable, let your cal go where the alk dose take it. I've ran Alk from 7 to 12 and they all work, stable is the key. I don't care for high alk as it causes havoc on pumps, heaters, glass, etc. 8 seems to be a good middle range for me and I stay within .5 of that.

 

I was at 24/11. I just dropped my alk and raised cal to be at 14/14. We can compare notes in a week.

 

Sorry for hijacking your thread Urbanek!

 

No worries on the hijacking. I'm happy to provide my opinion. That is what the forums are all about. Honestly, I wish I got a few more questions here on NR.

[RollaJase]

Good call - If I could sum my philosophy up it's this.... Chose an alk number that you like and dose to keep that stable, let your cal go where the alk dose take it. I've ran Alk from 7 to 12 and they all work, stable is the key. I don't care for high alk as it causes havoc on pumps, heaters, glass, etc. 8 seems to be a good middle range for me and I stay within .5 of that.

I used to be hell bent on the numbers also and found I spent less time enjoying the hobby and more time with my head in my stand. Right now i'm chasing 8dKH and around 450ppm Cal. I only test once, maybe twice per week and worst case my Alk may have drifted 0.3-0.5dKH over the course of a week. Recently it has been completely stable, the colouration has been fantastic and I have been enjoying reefing more than I have in a long while.

 

I'm not sure if you have covered it before but what do you use as your dosing solutions? Do you use a 2 part solution or dose the big 3 individually? Do you add any additional Potassium or other supplements for coral colouration? I'm sure you probably have covered this before, I'll flick back a few pages for a thorough read when I'm done at work.

[uwdanno]

I shut my dosers off this morning. Looking forward to testing tonight and the next. Thanks for the help.

[yoshii]

May 29th, 2016 - Photo Update

 

ORA Green Slimer - Macro Shot

This photo is so incredible!! Did you use focus stacking?

 

Every time I come back to this thread I am just blow away. Your tank and photography are so beautiful! Your corals look amazing and your dedication is obvious. I only wish one day I'll be able to create a tank that comes close to this one

 

I looked briefly, but I couldn't find what lighting your using?

[urbaneks]

I used to be hell bent on the numbers also and found I spent less time enjoying the hobby and more time with my head in my stand. Right now i'm chasing 8dKH and around 450ppm Cal. I only test once, maybe twice per week and worst case my Alk may have drifted 0.3-0.5dKH over the course of a week. Recently it has been completely stable, the colouration has been fantastic and I have been enjoying reefing more than I have in a long while.

 

I'm not sure if you have covered it before but what do you use as your dosing solutions? Do you use a 2 part solution or dose the big 3 individually? Do you add any additional Potassium or other supplements for coral colouration? I'm sure you probably have covered this before, I'll flick back a few pages for a thorough read when I'm done at work.

 

Glad to hear that you've relaxed some on your drive for one number. I've found that it's helpful to shoot for ranges and be happy with them.

 

I use the BRS bulk products where you mix your own solutions using their powerders with my RODI. I like their calculator and it's nice to be able to reference that against their products. I dose Alk, Cal and Mag for the big 3. I also dose a bacteria supplement, amino acid and trace elements. All are setup on dosers so that I can keep my sanity. For bacteria, I use bio gro 123, amio is Acropower and I use the Fauna Marin color elements from my trace elements. All are dosed according to the bottle's directions.

 

I shut my dosers off this morning. Looking forward to testing tonight and the next. Thanks for the help.

 

Look forward to hearing how things go.

 

This photo is so incredible!! Did you use focus stacking?

 

Every time I come back to this thread I am just blow away. Your tank and photography are so beautiful! Your corals look amazing and your dedication is obvious. I only wish one day I'll be able to create a tank that comes close to this one

 

I looked briefly, but I couldn't find what lighting your using?

 

Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words. That photo was not focus stacked. Simply a one and done with a nice macro lens. Seeing it makes me realize I need to get the porthole out again. It's been too long for those easy to get top down shots. As for lighting, I have an ATI Powermodule which has 8 T5s and 4 banks of LEDs. It's a great light.

This new page of the Journal needs some photos. To many words!

 

[RollaJase]

Glad to hear that you've relaxed some on your drive for one number. I've found that it's helpful to shoot for ranges and be happy with them.

 

I use the BRS bulk products where you mix your own solutions using their powerders with my RODI. I like their calculator and it's nice to be able to reference that against their products. I dose Alk, Cal and Mag for the big 3. I also dose a bacteria supplement, amino acid and trace elements. All are setup on dosers so that I can keep my sanity. For bacteria, I use bio gro 123, amio is Acropower and I use the Fauna Marin color elements from my trace elements. All are dosed according to the bottle's directions.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions . I'm dosing the big 3 individually also, unfortunately BRS won't ship to Aus but one of our larger online stores buys pharmaceutical grade supplements in bulk and repackages them fairly cheaply. They give directions like BRS also which takes the guess work out of things, it's nice that they go the extra mile. I was dosing Salifert Coraline Amino Acids a while ago and found they really helped with coral colour but also fed my cyano issues at the time. I still have some laying around but don't know how it will go being dosed through my doser. The directions specifically say it must be shaken prior to adding to the tank. You don't dose any form of liquid carbon at all? Have you done so in the past? I found dosing vinegar really helped clean up niggling algae issues and really helps produce a dark skimmate.

 

As always, the photos are remarkable .

[mitten_reef]

 

The KleinReef - Say it isn't so! Thanks for the kind words, but I by no means want it to make anyone sad.

 

 

uwdanno - That's one way to go about it which will work fine. If I may offer you another suggestion to consider. This mirrors the way I setup my doser. Shut both cal and alk dosing off. Manually dose your alk from 6 to your target, for this example lets say 8. I don't like to raise my alk more than .5 dkh per day so in this case it would take 4 days of manually dosing to get me to 8. During this time, I would not touch cal. Obviously, you will need to be testing each day to make sure you are making your desired progress. Once you have hit your target of 8, measure your cal and then manually dose to your desired cal target. In my case, I would dose cal to 430. At this very moment I now know that my alk is 8 and my cal is 430. Test your alk 24 hours later and record your results, repeat this a 2nd time the following day. You now have two data points of how much alk your tank is using per day. Calculate your daily dose and match your cal dose to your alk dose. At this point, manually dose your tank back to 8 and 430 and turn your doser on. I would let the tank run 2-3 days before testing again. If my alk is at 8, I know my dose is right on, if it's low or high adjust accordingly. Let your calcium go where it will naturally land to give you the alk you want.

 

Once I'm locked in, I test my alk weekly to make sure I'm staying consistent. I don't chase 8, as long as I'm within .5 of 8 I call it good. If I start getting 7.4 then it's time to up my dose. I test my cal every 2nd week, mainly just to make sure nothing crazy is going on. (I didn't mix my cal solution right, doser clogged and not dosing, etc, etc)

 

 

Good call - If I could sum my philosophy up it's this.... Chose an alk number that you like and dose to keep that stable, let your cal go where the alk dose take it. I've ran Alk from 7 to 12 and they all work, stable is the key. I don't care for high alk as it causes havoc on pumps, heaters, glass, etc. 8 seems to be a good middle range for me and I stay within .5 of that.

 

 

No worries on the hijacking. I'm happy to provide my opinion. That is what the forums are all about. Honestly, I wish I got a few more questions here on NR.

 

Thank you for sharing all the insights about Alk/Cal dosing situation. I'm just starting to think about dosing the big three. Just got the Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro test kit to start collecting my 'baselines'.

[urbaneks]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions . I'm dosing the big 3 individually also, unfortunately BRS won't ship to Aus but one of our larger online stores buys pharmaceutical grade supplements in bulk and repackages them fairly cheaply. They give directions like BRS also which takes the guess work out of things, it's nice that they go the extra mile. I was dosing Salifert Coraline Amino Acids a while ago and found they really helped with coral colour but also fed my cyano issues at the time. I still have some laying around but don't know how it will go being dosed through my doser. The directions specifically say it must be shaken prior to adding to the tank. You don't dose any form of liquid carbon at all? Have you done so in the past? I found dosing vinegar really helped clean up niggling algae issues and really helps produce a dark skimmate.

 

As always, the photos are remarkable .

 

RollaJase - It's my pleasure. I enjoy sharing tips/tricks with people on the other side of the world.

 

I have never dosed any liquid carbon source. I've ran bio pellets in the past but I'm currently not using any carbon source. I do run a little GFO to keep phosphates in check.

 

 

Thank you for sharing all the insights about Alk/Cal dosing situation. I'm just starting to think about dosing the big three. Just got the Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro test kit to start collecting my 'baselines'.

 

You are welcome. Best of luck as you head down the dosing path. I'm always happy to give my opinion and you know where to find me.

[spinycheek]

 

Ben - Sorry that I missed you while you were in town. Hope you were able to stay cool while in AZ.

 

 

 

 

It was actually the coolest weather I've had while visiting AZ. Kinda ruined snake finding, but it was pretty comfortable.

[urbaneks]

 

 

It was actually the coolest weather I've had while visiting AZ. Kinda ruined snake finding, but it was pretty comfortable.

 

Well that may have been a bit cooler but it was not comfy! For what we did not have in heat, we had humidity. As bad as June and July are here, August is the worst! From what my brother tells me (Mr. Herp), it needs to be in the 70s before the herping gets good. I like to tease my brother that there are no snakes in AZ. Every time I go to Colorado, we find some snakes, every time he comes to AZ, we don't find jack.

 

For those of you not familiar with herping, it is basically reptile hunting but for the purpose of taking a photo, checking out the critter and letting it on it's way. My brother who lives in Colorado is a herping fool. Spends lots of time out and about. If anyone is into that sort of thing you can check out his website here.

[urbaneks]

August 7th, 2016 - Photo Update

 

I just recently rescaped the tank to open up the middle of the aquarium. This is the 2nd time I've in 2 years that I've made some pretty major adjustments to the scape.

 

 

Bio Reef's Green Goblin - The greenest of green corals

 

 

Geo - The Geometric Pygmy Hawk. He looks menacing!

 

ORA Green Planet

 

The Problem

 

The Solution

 

Mummy Eye Chalice

[spectra]

Amazing pics as usual.........

 

Tank is looking great!

[spinycheek]

 

Well that may have been a bit cooler but it was not comfy! For what we did not have in heat, we had humidity. As bad as June and July are here, August is the worst! From what my brother tells me (Mr. Herp), it needs to be in the 70s before the herping gets good. I like to tease my brother that there are no snakes in AZ. Every time I go to Colorado, we find some snakes, every time he comes to AZ, we don't find jack.

 

For those of you not familiar with herping, it is basically reptile hunting but for the purpose of taking a photo, checking out the critter and letting it on it's way. My brother who lives in Colorado is a herping fool. Spends lots of time out and about. If anyone is into that sort of thing you can check out his website here.

 

 

Phoenix was certainly hotter than where we were in the Catalinas, I was tempted to drag the kids up there. We were driving around until we noticed the temperature in the 60's! I'd never imagined it would be that cold in Southern Arizona in August. We did manage to see a few nocturnal herps though, so it wasn't a total loss. I can't believe Kevin isn't killing it down there, I've never seen him not find something amazing.

[Arce]

WOW . That last set of photos are amazing.

[Nick Kohrn]

August 7th, 2016 - Photo Update

 

Geo - The Geometric Pygmy Hawk. He looks menacing!

 

 

 

Those last photos are fantastic. I absolutely love this one of Geo. I would immediately buy a calendar or whatever else you could attach your photos to. I should start using your photos as my wallpapers of my phone and computer.

[urbaneks]

Amazing pics as usual.........

 

Tank is looking great!

 

Spectra - Many thanks over and over again. Really appreciate the kind words.

 

Phoenix was certainly hotter than where we were in the Catalinas, I was tempted to drag the kids up there. We were driving around until we noticed the temperature in the 60's! I'd never imagined it would be that cold in Southern Arizona in August. We did manage to see a few nocturnal herps though, so it wasn't a total loss. I can't believe Kevin isn't killing it down there, I've never seen him not find something amazing.

 

I'm shocked to hear that you had 60's anywhere in AZ during the day. That is pretty unheard of, even up in the Mountains. To be fair to Kevin, he only comes out at Xmas or in July. Neither is worth a damn for herping. One of these days he will make it out during prime time and I will see what it's all about. I've lived in AZ most of my life and I've seen 4 snakes in the wild that were not garter snakes. One of those 2 were dead. Contrast that with my trips to Colorado where I've seen every snake that lives in Co.

 

WOW . That last set of photos are amazing.

 

Arce - TY for the view and comment. Love the emoji

 

Those last photos are fantastic. I absolutely love this one of Geo. I would immediately buy a calendar or whatever else you could attach your photos to. I should start using your photos as my wallpapers of my phone and computer.

 

I'm planning on doing something at the end of the year with all of my photos. I hope to have a calendar and a poster option.

[Illuiix]

Crazy.