jawarden Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Hi all, Been keeping a 29g SW with dead rock for six years with varying degrees of succcess, but I'm a newbie to LR and reef. I'm slowly converting my 29 to a reef - I am gradually exchanging the dead rock for LR, and I'm up to about 20lbs of LR after two months, for a nice easy change with no hurry. I have been on top of water changes (using distilled) and apparently the three additions of LR were all fully cured as it didn't smell and there was no ammonia spike at all. I have been dosing with Bionic and testing for ca, nitrate, nitrite, ammo, and now my Alk test kit finally arrived too. PH test kit due to arrive later this week. ammo=0, nitrite=0, nitrate=0, ca=420, all good, but the alk is 14. I need to get this down - if I let it ride will it come down on it's own or should I do a 10% water change to speed it up? The fish (perc clown and pygmy angel) both seem happy but I don't know how high alk levels would affect them - I don't want them to be uncomfortable. Your $0.02 is appreciated. Question 2 (not a question really, just a dumb story): Just bought a third fish for the 29g, a colorful bar goby, and he will be chillin' in a 10g quarrantine tank for the next 14 days. Here comes the dumb part: while at the lfs I decided to get two more pieces of LR for the goby to hide behind while in quarrantine and give me a chance to watch for hitchhikers on the LR. The pices are small, about the size of your fist, and had just a hint of smell at the lfs. The lfs employee said to check ammo in the morning, but he didn't expect much of a problem as the rock was 95% cured - if ammo found, lightly scrub to remove dead gunk and you'll be aok. Heeding the advice I dumped the goby and LR in the 10g and went to bed. MAJOR ammo spike by morning, so three water changes later and freshly scrubbed LR in the aquarium I'm feeling like an idiot for torturing this poor fish. The water quality is now good and the fish seems fine but damn, I'm never doing this again. When I scrubbed the LR my bucket looked like it fas full of skimmate - 95% my ass. Should have left the LR in a pail over night and checked that water for ammo, not the aquarium. X) Just sharing in case other newbies are planning similar dumb tricks... No wait, there is a question #2: when you scrub LR to remove the dead smellies are you harming any of the live not-smellies? Would it have been better for the rock to just let it cure in a pail and do water changes instead of scrubbing? Link to comment
Physh1 Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Question #1> 14 is ok but a little high. Just don't dose the Buffer from the Bionic until the level comes to 10-12. As you add more and more life to your reef you'll notice you'll need to adjust the base dosage of your Bionic to keep your Calcium and Alk tuned. This is something almost everyone needs to do.....it's normal. Real Question #2> I've never liked scrubbing rocks....I prefer cycling it in a tank/bucket/whatever and doing water changes.....it's a preference thing really but I think scrubbing rock will damage some life. Cameron Link to comment
tonkadawg Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 not to beat a dead horse but I am in a similiar situation. The difference is, I am not dosing any alk buffer, only calc and last night I tested calc at 440 and alk at 14. I understand that as the alk comes down, I will need to buffer this with my calc buffer, but with the alk level so high already, do I need to be worried? Link to comment
Physh1 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 I understand that as the alk comes down, I will need to buffer this with my calc buffer Huh? I don't understand that...can you clarify a little please. Cameron Link to comment
tonkadawg Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 sure. As it has been explained to me, assuming all levels are in the proper range (calc 400-450 and alk 8-12) dosing of calcium alone may require dosing with an alk buffer becuase the calcium additive may drive my alk levels down. So what I was saying was that first, I need my alk levels drop to the target range. Then, while I continue to add calcium, I may need to start adding an alk buffer to prevent that from dropping. But my real problem is that I am unable to get my alk level down while maintaining a proper calcium level. I hope that all makes sense. Link to comment
Physh1 Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 Ah...ok. They will have an effect on eachother but it shouldn't be so bad that you'll need to dose for conpensation. If you use bionic or any of the 2 part systems that battle between ca and alk doesn't come into play...they are designed to work together. If you are using something else (non 2 part systems) you would add your calcium buffers in the early morning when the pH value is at its lowest and your alkalinity buffers in the afternoon or early evening when you pH values are typically at the highest. This avoids chemical conflicts. Now when it comes to your alk level not coming down are you using tap water or what? Usually, tap has high alk levels and top off water may sustain it OR your tank really isn't depleting alk very much yet....... Cameron Link to comment
tonkadawg Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Yeah, right now I am using 2 seperate chemicals - well one anyway (haven't added an alk buffer yet, just calc). I wanted to get things in line first then move to a 2 part like the b-ionic. And I do add the calc supplement first thing in the morning - MAN that SEARCH button works wonders!!! As for my water, I am using RO/DI premixed with salt that I buy from the LFS. But as I am typing this, I realized that I use distilled water purchased from the local grocery store for top off. I will test this stuff just in case. Thanks for all your help Cameron!!! Link to comment
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