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The Fire Swamp's 50g SCA Starfire Cube- πŸ”₯🐊. Upgrade Coming Soon


ECLS Reefer

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Speaking of cheap lights that seem to be working, @StinkyBunnyΒ and @jack1978, I have this one on the Evo and it's doing a really good job so far. Was thinking of getting a second someday for the freshwater tank since it's got some plants in it, but definitely not a huge priority at the moment.

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1 hour ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

I don’t understand dosing alk. I don’t have SPS but my alk stays right at 9-11 without me doing anything. What do you even dose for that? Bicarb?

So what do you mean it stays right around 9-11??? Β you can have alk in those ranges, but you dont want them swinging .. your alk shouldn't move more than .5dhk and honestly you want it to stay as stable as possible.. this is why I started dosing brs 2 part.. now my alk stays +- .2 dkh...

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45 minutes ago, FISHnChix said:

So what do you mean it stays right around 9-11??? Β you can have alk in those ranges, but you dont want them swinging .. your alk shouldn't move more than .5dhk and honestly you want it to stay as stable as possible.. this is why I started dosing brs 2 part.. now my alk stays +- .2 dkh...

That’s just a range I’ve seen in both tanks in the last few months.Β 

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the drop to 7 was tested by the tank sitter while I was gone, and I’d think it was maybe her technique because I’ve never gotten a read that low since starting the tank, and she didn’t change any water or dose while I was gone. You see it on both tanks here.

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But I have Seachem Reef Fusion 1 & 2– I just never use them because the levels are usually stable and the Ca slightly high to behind with

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
52 minutes ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

But I have Seachem Reef Fusion 1 & 2– I just never use them because the levels are usually stable and the Ca slightly high to behind with

Unless you see a drop that is say 1 dkh you shouldn't have to dose. I'm right on the edge so I just decided to dose every night to keep it the same.Β 

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7 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Unless you see a drop that is say 1 dkh you shouldn't have to dose. I'm right on the edge so I just decided to dose every night to keep it the same.Β 

So the goal is to keep the dkh level the exact same every day? Okie dokie.

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
Just now, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

So the goal is to keep the dkh level the exact same every day? Okie dokie.

Yeah thats what i've gathered over time. Basically, you see what your new saltwater mixes to and that is your target water. My new saltwater mixes to about 8.5ish. My tank i try and keep right around there. When I set up the new tank all the parms got buggered up and i'm slowly getting it back to what it was. I'm sitting around 7.9 right now.. I just did a water change so i'm going to test it and see where i'm at now. I had gotten it down to a science. With the consumption my tank has if I dose .6ml every night it doesn't move but .1dkh. I use the alk calculator on marine depots site.

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So, got the media reactor, put it together, found it a home in the sump, put one cup of phosguard in, and left it unplugged. Not running that until I can watch the tank more closely. After all the warnings. Test day tomorrow with possible water change, so we shall see then. Of course, if I have to work, the tank by necessity won’t get a water change until Friday. Living on the edge 😳😬😬😬

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
1 minute ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

So, got the media reactor, put it together, found it a home in the sump, put one cup of phosguard in, and left it unplugged. Not running that until I can watch the tank more closely. After all the warnings. Test day tomorrow with possible water change, so we shall see then. Of course, if I have to work, the tank by necessity won’t get a water change until Friday. Living on the edge 😳😬😬😬

Ehh I'm sure you'll be ok. If you just stir the shit out of the sand and get it all floating so the overflow takes it, you'd most likely be fine. You have filter floss in the sump or is it a sock?

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14 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Ehh I'm sure you'll be ok. If you just stir the shit out of the sand and get it all floating so the overflow takes it, you'd most likely be fine. You have filter floss in the sump or is it a sock?

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@DSFIRSTSLTWATER,

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Build a longer table. Not a taller fence.Β 

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πŸ™ƒ

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21 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Ehh I'm sure you'll be ok. If you just stir the shit out of the sand and get it all floating so the overflow takes it, you'd most likely be fine. You have filter floss in the sump or is it a sock?

Floss. And you're probably right about the sand. I need a different siphon for my vac- the big one for the SCA has like a 1.5-2 inch diameter so it's hard to get it between all the rocks and the walls. And it seems to not have as much suction as a smaller diameter tube would have, so trash doesn't rise as fast as with the other two vacs I have. Anyway that's usually an easily fixable problem. I usually try to siphon large patches of sand when I do water changes.

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
1 minute ago, HarryPotter said:

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Just got home! Wrestling with very happy puppies

That's probably the best part about getting home. My dog being so happy to see us. The cats on the other hand rarely give a shit 🀣

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1 minute ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

Floss. And you're probably right about the sand. I need a different siphon for my vac- the big one for the SCA has like a 1.5-2 inch diameter so it's hard to get it between all the rocks and the walls. And it seems to not have as much suction as a smaller diameter tube would have, so trash doesn't rise as fast as with the other two vacs I have. Anyway that's usually an easily fixable problem. I usually try to siphon large patches of sand when I do water changes.

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The hose I use is like half inch maybe. I was terrible at stirring the sand πŸ™„ granted there wasn't much room to actually get in and clean the last tank.

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5 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

That's probably the best part about getting home. My dog being so happy to see us. The cats on the other hand rarely give a shit 🀣

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The hose I use is like half inch maybe. I was terrible at stirring the sand πŸ™„ granted there wasn't much room to actually get in and clean the last tank.

I have one small fist sized rock that is an issue--it keeps migrating out of place due to the machinations of a certain tiger pistol. I hate to shove it back because he's got his gobies down there with him now. I'll just have to shop for a smaller diameter siphon. Problem is, I wanted it to be long enough to reach the sand bed without me having to stick my hand in the water and make a big splashy mess on the glass while doing the siphoning, and evidently a 24in siphon can only be found in fat baseball bat sized diameter.

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
2 minutes ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

I have one small fist sized rock that is an issue--it keeps migrating out of place due to the machinations of a certain tiger pistol. I hate to shove it back because he's got his gobies down there with him now. I'll just have to shop for a smaller diameter siphon. Problem is, I wanted it to be long enough to reach the sand bed without me having to stick my hand in the water and make a big splashy mess on the glass while doing the siphoning, and evidently a 24in siphon can only be found in fat baseball bat sized diameter.

Try Lowe's, they have all sizes of hose and varying lengths. That is usually were I end up.

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14 hours ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Try Lowe's, they have all sizes of hose and varying lengths. That is usually were I end up.

So if I tried Lowes, which section would I look in?

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So today cleaned out the Nopox chamber and put in RF 2 instead. No more Nopox for either tank. Started the phos reactor and will test again tonight to see what it does to the levels. As I said yesterday there's only 1 cup of phosguard in it, so hopefully not too much. Dosed RF 2 to try and get the KH levels back toward the level it comes out of mixing with, which is usually 11. I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt, so it's usually on the higher side.Β 

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Testing day today, but after seeing the results I opted to hold off on the water change. I'm going to try and make it until Friday for all tanks and see how it goes.

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IMG_4122.thumb.jpeg.54864e006656c2090dc493fb7d3072b1.jpeg

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So first graph is the parameters only, for July and August.

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IMG_4123.thumb.jpeg.af8fff82f1e884580d909cbc7a10ba59.jpeg

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Second graph is parameters, dosing and water changes.

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
6 minutes ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

So if I tried Lowes, which section would I look in?

I usually find hose in bathroom section... where the faucets are. Or in the kitchen sink section withΒ all the parts.Β They usually have clear vinyl tubing. Β 

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1 minute ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

try plumbing -- pipe and fitting section

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EASTMAN-1-2-in-x-10-ft-PVC-Clear-Vinyl-Tubing/1000365031

It's super cheap too

Oh wait I dont need the tubing just the pipe you use to actually siphon. I have a 2x2x24 inch one I think, and its ginormous. I'd like to replace that one with a smaller diameter pipe I guess, if I can find the clear pipe. Have you ever seen that before at Lowes?

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
7 minutes ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

Oh wait I dont need the tubing just the pipe you use to actually siphon. I have a 2x2x24 inch one I think, and its ginormous. I'd like to replace that one with a smaller diameter pipe I guess, if I can find the clear pipe. Have you ever seen that before at Lowes?

Ahh gotcha, no but i'll see if I can find something

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2 hours ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

Oh wait I dont need the tubing just the pipe you use to actually siphon. I have a 2x2x24 inch one I think, and its ginormous. I'd like to replace that one with a smaller diameter pipe I guess, if I can find the clear pipe. Have you ever seen that before at Lowes?

You'll have to order the clear PVC online, I order it off eBay.

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3 hours ago, DirtΓ© Sanchez said:

So today cleaned out the Nopox chamber and put in RF 2 instead. No more Nopox for either tank. Started the phos reactor and will test again tonight to see what it does to the levels. As I said yesterday there's only 1 cup of phosguard in it, so hopefully not too much. Dosed RF 2 to try and get the KH levels back toward the level it comes out of mixing with, which is usually 11. I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt, so it's usually on the higher side.Β 

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Testing day today, but after seeing the results I opted to hold off on the water change. I'm going to try and make it until Friday for all tanks and see how it goes.

Β 

IMG_4122.thumb.jpeg.54864e006656c2090dc493fb7d3072b1.jpeg

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So first graph is the parameters only, for July and August.

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IMG_4123.thumb.jpeg.af8fff82f1e884580d909cbc7a10ba59.jpeg

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Second graph is parameters, dosing and water changes.

That's a lot ...... I just do a water change every so oftenΒ fingerscrossed

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  • ECLS Reefer changed the title to The Fire Swamp's 50g SCA Starfire Cube- πŸ”₯🐊. Upgrade Coming Soon

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