dtransReefs West Coast "Simple" - A Fluval Evo 13.5 Journal

[dtransReefs]

-UPDATE

 

• Fish have arrived and currently are acclimating
• Tested Coral Pro Salt again with just RO water
  • Sg - 1.025
  • Alk - 12
  • Ca - 460
• I now understand that it's probably my coral consuming the Alk and not a bad batch. I didn't realize softies consume so much carbonates. Does this make sense?
• I've now glued the GSP to the back wall with a rock and it looks bomb
• Moved corals around according to PAR requirements
• Lights are still at 50% intensity. Used the phone app to record PAR levels again and the highest coral (montis) are getting 40 PAR for now. Will ramp up to 60% intensity next week.
• Thinking of starting up a phytoplankton culture in the garage. Would be interested in seeing what others have done for nano setups.

 

Thanks for reading as always.

[seabass]

2 hours ago, dtransReefs said:

Thinking of starting up a phytoplankton culture in the garage. Would be interested in seeing what others have done for nano setups.

https://www.nano-reef.com/articles/advanced/culturing-phytoplankton-for-reef-aquarium-food/

 

[mcarroll]

5 hours ago, dtransReefs said:

-UPDATE

 

• Fish have arrived and currently are acclimating

Don't overdo it on acclimation.  (Link Link)  Best for the fish to get into either the display or QT tank "right away" in most cases.   A quick freshwater dip (up to 5-15min) on their way to the tank can reduce "tagging along" pathogens by up to 100%.

 

5 hours ago, dtransReefs said:

• Tested Coral Pro Salt again with just RO water
  • Sg - 1.025
  • Alk - 12
  • Ca - 460
• I now understand that it's probably my coral consuming the Alk and not a bad batch. I didn't realize softies consume so much carbonates. Does this make sense?

Lots of things use a little carbonate.  Nitrate production, for example.

 

Check out: When Do Calcium and Alkalinity Demand Not Exactly Balance?

 

 

[dtransReefs]

-UPDATE

 

Hey everyone, back for another update of the good ol' aquarium!

 

So I'm officially obsessed with saltwater aquariums. I find myself staying up till 2am reading on forums on topics like "how to begin dosing", "What is too much alk?", "Why are my corals not happy". I don't know how I got here but I can literally see my money running away from my.

 

I'm coming close to finishing my Red Sea Coral Pro Salt and I have a massive box of the Blue bin Red Sea Salt. My hopes for more "normal" and consistent parameters instead of Alk being 12. 

 

I've been testing to see how much consumption is going on in the tank and here are the values:

Alk	0.1333333333
Ca	26.66666667
pH	0.1333333333

 

I do not have a mag test but will pick up a salifert sometime soon.

These values are the consumption over 24 hours and it would explain why my alk and Ca were so much lower than my base saltwater mix or even the values from the bucket.

I don't dose and perhaps I think I should. Any suggestions on brand or product? I was thinking Tropic Marin CarboCalcium or All for Reef.

 

Also looking for reliable dosing pumps.

 

What the heck is kalk, why would one choose this route and why not?

 

Coral and fish update.

Most corals are honestly looking okay. The candy cane corals are tad bit more plump but still a long way to go, the toadstool coral is still not big like it use to be but the polyps are out, everything just seems "okay".

 

Danny,
 

[seabass]

21 minutes ago, dtransReefs said:

I'm coming close to finishing my Red Sea Coral Pro Salt and I have a massive box of the Blue bin Red Sea Salt. My hopes for more "normal" and consistent parameters instead of Alk being 12.

Hmm... that's a pretty big alkalinity swing.

 

28 minutes ago, dtransReefs said:

I don't dose and perhaps I think I should.

I find Kalkwasser harder to achieve targets.  Personally, if dosing, I'd recommend a two part system (of your choice).

[dtransReefs]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

Hmm... that's a pretty big alkalinity swing.

 

I find Kalkwasser harder to achieve targets.  Personally, if dosing, I'd recommend a two part system (of your choice).

Thank you seabass

 

The Alk swing is prooooobably from the 4-5 months without a water change. I'm only now starting to do weekly 1 Gallon water changes.

 

As for the doing, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you

[mcarroll]

On 1/23/2023 at 5:33 PM, dtransReefs said:

Also looking for reliable dosing pumps.

Any peristaltic pump ought to be pretty reliable.

 

Jebao is the only one I've use so far.  Doesn't get high marks on the ease-of-use front.  But it has been reliable for the years I've had it so far.  There have been a couple periods of time where the pumps were slipping a little (makes a squeak noise) but it almost seemed like it was just from dust.  Since I put it in a cabinet where it has a little shielding, I have not heard it slip.   Can't really beat these dosers for the price.

 

On 1/23/2023 at 5:33 PM, dtransReefs said:

What the heck is kalk, why would one choose this route and why not?

"kalk" is an abbreviation of the German term kalkwasser, which is what we technically call "slaked lime", or lime with water added.

 

As for what it is, Wikipedia gives a nice description:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_(material)

 

Most folks who choose NOT to use it, do so because of how it affects system pH AND because of the special handling it requires to mix properly.  (It's not that hard to do, but other dosing methods don't require any special handling.)

 

As for how to use it, it's best when mixed with vinegar....it becomes an easy-to-use One Part system.  None of the issues you find (many) with using kalk directly.

 

Some mandatory reading:

• What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
• KALKWASSER | IN DEPTH (best vinegar+lime guide)
• The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented

Start with those, and then make sure you've read everything by Dr. Craig Bingman and Dr Randy Holmes-Farley on the topic that you can find.

 

IMO, I'm with seabass on thinking that two-part is easier.  Whether that's "better" is dependent on what your priority is....for some folks it's "cheap", for some it's "easy", but it could be something else.  

 

There are LOTS of perfectly acceptable ways to dose.  There's even dry dosing....check out Tropic Marin's Bio-calcium, which I've also used before.  As long as you use your test kits to verify the results of your dosing (which I always recommend when you're starting a new dosing method), there's no open question as to whether any of the methods work or not.

 

 

[dtransReefs]

5 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Any peristaltic pump ought to be pretty reliable.

 

Jebao is the only one I've use so far.  Doesn't get high marks on the ease-of-use front.  But it has been reliable for the years I've had it so far.  There have been a couple periods of time where the pumps were slipping a little (makes a squeak noise) but it almost seemed like it was just from dust.  Since I put it in a cabinet where it has a little shielding, I have not heard it slip.   Can't really beat these dosers for the price.

 

"kalk" is an abbreviation of the German term kalkwasser, which is what we technically call "slaked lime", or lime with water added.

 

As for what it is, Wikipedia gives a nice description:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_(material)

 

Most folks who choose NOT to use it, do so because of how it affects system pH AND because of the special handling it requires to mix properly.  (It's not that hard to do, but other dosing methods don't require any special handling.)

 

As for how to use it, it's best when mixed with vinegar....it becomes an easy-to-use One Part system.  None of the issues you find (many) with using kalk directly.

 

Some mandatory reading:

• What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
• KALKWASSER | IN DEPTH (best vinegar+lime guide)
• The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented

Start with those, and then make sure you've read everything by Dr. Craig Bingman and Dr Randy Holmes-Farley on the topic that you can find.

 

IMO, I'm with seabass on thinking that two-part is easier.  Whether that's "better" is dependent on what your priority is....for some folks it's "cheap", for some it's "easy", but it could be something else.  

 

There are LOTS of perfectly acceptable ways to dose.  There's even dry dosing....check out Tropic Marin's Bio-calcium, which I've also used before.  As long as you use your test kits to verify the results of your dosing (which I always recommend when you're starting a new dosing method), there's no open question as to whether any of the methods work or not.

 

 

Thank you for this INCREDIBLE reply. I'm going to take the time to read those articles and educate myself before I make a mistake with dosing.. I really appreciate it mcarroll!

[growsomething]

Never heard of kalk w vinegar.  I'm going to read up on that even though I don't dose due to using nsw.

[dtransReefs]

PHOTO UPDATE

 

[kssquared]

How is the tank going now ? I would be keen to see how you wired up the 2 blue reef bars as I am researching getting this tank and making the light mod.  Assume you are happy with it ?