Kimber's Old Tank Thread

[spectra]

50 minutes ago, kimberbee said:

The nearest LFS is a 35 min drive away, they charge $80 for a bucket (they don't have bags). They are pretty over priced for basically everything... 

 

That's my fear whenever I order something heavy!! I'd love to hear what you think of the Tropic Marin salt once you try it!!

That stinks.........just like Ben said I get a bucket for on average of 50. I used Tropic Marin years ago as it was the go to at a local store. I had no issues with it but like I said that was in the 90s...…...and that said its still going so...……..

[jedimasterben]

57 minutes ago, kimberbee said:

Where do you buy from!! 

You no likey Brightwell?

Generally from Foster & Smith for that sale price. Looks like mostly purchased in July.

 

And no, Brightwell seemed to be on the leading edge of the trend of "look at the results we get with dumping all of these different things in, what's in them, oh no, just magic, buy some and see" that now there are dozens and dozens following suit.

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

live aquaria has some good salt. I've been using it for a while now. I ran out and ended up grabbing a small bag of fritz rpm. 

[mcarroll]

On 2/5/2020 at 2:44 PM, Dirté Sanchez said:

I use a spectrometer for mixing because it’s in the garage in a 55g brute can. I get it to exactly 1.025 and the last time I tested it for alk it was only at 10. Degrades to like 8-9 the longer it sits even with a big circulation pump in there. I don’t make a fresh batch for every water change because it takes forever, so I used stored water. 

Do you have a thermometer in the garage (or in the garage water) so you know its temperature each time you take a specific gravity reading?  Refractometers are usually temperature dependent in their readings.  (What is the yearly temp. range out there just out of curiosity?  And which refractometer are you using?)

 

Applying a heat source to mixed saltwater -- such as a large pump or heater -- is known to cause precipitation. 

 

See the following article:

What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium? by Randy ...

 

Once your salt is mixed, you're better off just putting a lid on it to keep it clean, but otherwise leaving it alone.

 

On 2/5/2020 at 4:32 PM, Dirté Sanchez said:

I wish I knew what the psi was coming out of the hose- I’m afraid to crank it up too much and hurt the filters. It takes 8-10 hours to make 55g, so all damn day, which is why I try to make it and then store it. 

You are less likely to hurt the media than you are to blow out a canister/housing. 

 

Housings often seem rated for a maximum pressure of 125 psi....and that's considering an expected household water pressure of 40-80 psi.  Torquing water pressure up even higher than 80 psi probably isn't the best idea for most folks.  (They do make high pressure filter housings though.)

 

That rating on your housing will probably be temperature dependent too, BTW....they seem to be rated up to a maximum of 125 degrees F.  Strength may not be ideal at the extreme ends of a housing's temperature range.

 

You might look in the manual for your filter or call the manufacturer to ask what the ideal operating PSI would be and if they know the maximum acceptable PSI.

 

13 hours ago, jedimasterben said:

But then you have to buy from Brightwell 😄

Not unless you're a store.  If you were interested in this stuff, you'd pick your personal favorite retailer and buy (or inquire) there.  Either they could get it from Champion (or Brightwell) or you could order it from Champion.

 

And nobody "has to" buy anything.  It's a hobby first of all, so that would be a weird way to look at any part of it.  Plus there are so many additive suppliers in the industry -- always has been.  Why hate on Brightwell when they're in such good company?  Is there one you're rooting for instead?

 

But especially why in this conversation?  You brought up salt-less seawater-mix and I'm unaware of another supplier for a similar product, so...???

[ECLS Reefer]

48 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Do you have a thermometer in the garage (or in the garage water) so you know its temperature each time you take a specific gravity reading?  Refractometers are usually temperature dependent in their readings.  (What is the yearly temp. range out there just out of curiosity?  And which refractometer are you using?)

 

Applying a heat source to mixed saltwater -- such as a large pump or heater -- is known to cause precipitation. 

 

See the following article:

What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium? by Randy ...

 

Once your salt is mixed, you're better off just putting a lid on it to keep it clean, but otherwise leaving it alone.

 

You are less likely to hurt the media than you are to blow out a canister/housing. 

 

Housings often seem rated for a maximum pressure of 125 psi....and that's considering an expected household water pressure of 40-80 psi.  Torquing water pressure up even higher than 80 psi probably isn't the best idea for most folks.  (They do make high pressure filter housings though.)

 

That rating on your housing will probably be temperature dependent too, BTW....they seem to be rated up to a maximum of 125 degrees F.  Strength may not be ideal at the extreme ends of a housing's temperature range.

 

You might look in the manual for your filter or call the manufacturer to ask what the ideal operating PSI would be and if they know the maximum acceptable PSI.

 

Not unless you're a store.  If you were interested in this stuff, you'd pick your personal favorite retailer and buy (or inquire) there.  Either they could get it from Champion (or Brightwell) or you could order it from Champion.

 

And nobody "has to" buy anything.  It's a hobby first of all, so that would be a weird way to look at any part of it.  Plus there are so many additive suppliers in the industry -- always has been.  Why hate on Brightwell when they're in such good company?  Is there one you're rooting for instead?

 

But especially why in this conversation?  You brought up salt-less seawater-mix and I'm unaware of another supplier for a similar product, so...???

I have a thermometer in the brute I mix and store the water in. And a heater because even in Houston it can drop the water temp 60. And the next day heat it to 75-80. So I get a text of sweat on the lid, enough to lose quite a bit of water in evap. I’ve noticed this round with the lower temps I’m not seeing any precipitation in there, when I saw a ton of it during the summer. 
 

As for the spectrometer- it was cheap amazon brand 🤷🏻‍♀️. I use a Hanna electronic one for the tanks inside and can spot check the water from the mixing tub. Have calibration solution for the manual spectrometer too. 

[mcarroll]

3 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

I have a thermometer in the brute I mix and store the water in. And a heater because even in Houston it can drop the water temp 60. And the next day heat it to 75-80. So I get a text of sweat on the lid, enough to lose quite a bit of water in evap. I’ve noticed this round with the lower temps I’m not seeing any precipitation in there, when I saw a ton of it during the summer. 
 

As for the spectrometer- it was cheap amazon brand 🤷🏻‍♀️. I use a Hanna electronic one for the tanks inside and can spot check the water from the mixing tub. Have calibration solution for the manual spectrometer too. 

Precipitates on Heaters and Pumps and Preventing Precipitates on Heaters and Pumps are probably the two most interesting sections of that article, BTW.....especially the stuff that most folks don't keep in mind about supersaturation in seawater.

 

IMO use the smallest (in terms of wattage) pump that will do the job and consider running it on a timer so it's not running 100% of the time, and maintain the lowest adequate temperature possible with the heater.  It could be expected to be worse in the Summertime as well...not sure if there's anything you can do about excess ambient heat other than discontinuing the heater and pump during warm weather though.

[kimberbee]

Tank tourrrrr!!

 

 

[FISHnChix]

Hey what happened to the new rfa??

 

Tank looks good by the way... so I have always wondered how people clean there sand when they have those plates.. do you just move them during cleaning?

[kimberbee]

1 hour ago, FISHnChix said:

Hey what happened to the new rfa??

 

Tank looks good by the way... so I have always wondered how people clean there sand when they have those plates.. do you just move them during cleaning?

The RFAs are in the other tank. 

 

With plates, I scooch them over every few months and siphon underneath. I don't do it everytime cause I don't want to bother them too much or they'll move.

[kimberbee]

And now one for the 20 gallon:

 

 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

9 minutes ago, kimberbee said:

And now one for the 20 gallon:

 

 

 

Simple clean and peaceful! Is that a Picasso clown?

[kimberbee]

6 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

Simple clean and peaceful! Is that a Picasso clown?

I think it's a DaVinci? 

 

It was sold as a "swoop swirl" clownfish, but if you google that, only results from my nano-reef threads come up! 😂

[ECLS Reefer]

4 minutes ago, kimberbee said:

I think it's a DaVinci? 

 

It was sold as a "swoop swirl" clownfish, but if you google that, only results form my nano-reef threads come up! 😂

He has a pretty pattern. Tank looks good!

[SeaFurn]

Good lookin nems Kimber! I didn’t remember there were 14 in there. Plenty of room for more! 🙂

 

[spectra]

1 hour ago, kimberbee said:

And now one for the 20 gallon:

 

 

 

Fancy.............

[kimberbee]

So. I really messed up... 

 

I've been pretty lucky at avoiding disaster for the past 5.5 years. Other than the move where I lost half the corals in my lagoon, I really haven't dealt with too much bad. Until yesterday...

 

I thought I was doing good by mounting my various hammer frags onto some rocks, but it turned very bad, very quickly. I used JB Water Weld, which is definitely reef safe once cured. I used it to create the rock structure in both of my tanks. So it must not be ok to use in the tank when still pliable. My hammers are pissed the eff off, like turning black, losing flesh, totally shrunken pissed. And my sinularia leather, the one that came with my tank when I purchased it used, is turning black and disintegrating. 

 

I changed out my chemipure packs, added additional carbon, and did a 4.5 gallon water change. That's about all I can think to do. Not sure if fragging anything is even worth it at this point. Do I mess with my corals and risk pissing them off even more so they die? Do I sit back and wait, but then they die cause I do nothing? 

 

I'm pissed at myself. Finally felt like things were back on track and I could start adding to my tank after 2 years and now this. About to lose 2 of my first corals. 

 

I know it sounds dramatic, but if they don't bounce back... the future of this tank looks bad. 

 

[mitten_reef]

Is the leather looking worse than yesterday?  looks like it, but not sure if it is also due to the lighting here vs video yesterday.  

 

hammer seem to hold steady so far?  

 

at this point, I'd leave them be.  just make sure that no other corals start to decline as well.  

[kimberbee]

8 minutes ago, mitten_reef said:

Is the leather looking worse than yesterday?  looks like it, but not sure if it is also due to the lighting here vs video yesterday.  

 

hammer seem to hold steady so far?  

 

at this point, I'd leave them be.  just make sure that no other corals start to decline as well.  

Leather worse, hammers same. I'll be able to tell more when lights come on.

[billygoat]

3 hours ago, kimberbee said:

 

I thought I was doing good by mounting my various hammer frags onto some rocks, but it turned very bad, very quickly. I used JB Water Weld, which is definitely reef safe once cured. I used it to create the rock structure in both of my tanks. So it must not be ok to use in the tank when still pliable. My hammers are pissed the eff off, like turning black, losing flesh, totally shrunken pissed. And my sinularia leather, the one that came with my tank when I purchased it used, is turning black and disintegrating. 

Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that things have gone south in the tank. I sure hope everything bounces back and recovers! I'll be sending you some positive vibes. 😥

[A.m.P]

Huh, I've used waterweld in my tanks before without any reaction at all, except the skimmer attempting a waterchange, in fact I'm pretty sure it's common practice to use it in a sandwich between cyanoacrylate...

I hope everything bounces back.

[kimberbee]

2 minutes ago, Amphrites said:

Huh, I've used waterweld in my tanks before without any reaction at all, except the skimmer attempting a waterchange, in fact I'm pretty sure it's common practice to use it in a sandwich between cyanoacrylate...

I hope everything bounces back.

That's the only thing I can think of that would have made this happen. 🤷‍♀️

[kimberbee]

The hammers are starting to improve a bit,  so I don't think I'll lose them all. 

 

The sinularia is looking a little worse, though. The main stalk had more black on it, so I sucked that off again. The 3 little nubbies I had rubber banded around a rock loosened up and floated off. I found them and put them in a small jar with sand and a tiny rubble piece. 

 

Pretty sure that's about all I can do for now.

[Tamberav]

Reef putty almost killed my fish once. Yet every other time I used it.....it was totally fine.

 

All I could find is that if it manipulated too much it can mess with pH?

 

Idk I have seen problems like this over the years after weld but it seems very uncommon. It seems reef safe 99 percent of the time and 1 percent shit gets pissed.

[ECLS Reefer]

How is everything today? Jack said the leather and toadys could be shedding; they don't look dead, so I'm hoping they'll be okay.

[jack1978]

4 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

How is everything today? Jack said the leather and toadys could be shedding; they don't look dead, so I'm hoping they'll be okay.

Pictures would help- they might be dying.....

...... or could be shedding.