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lduncan

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Everything posted by lduncan

  1. First off, by the sound of it, you have done a lot of reading already, which is good! A lot of "live" rock comes in dry form (which I prefer, no surprise nasty hitchhiker critters) You can take this dry stuff and chuck it in a bucket of saltwater and give it time, and it will cycle. There's not a lot you can do to speed this up, (bacteria cultures won't help ;-) , seeding with cycled live rock won't help speed things up much either) Where to get it? The Auckland guys will have more idea of where to get it up there. That all depends on the filtration system you have in place. If you go with a small skimmer, then you could have problems. Get a good skimmer, and you shouldn't have many problems. Don't worry about that, it's more or less rubbish. How many fish you have for the most part is determined by how clean you can keep the water. (There are other factors when it comes to certain type of fish, needing a minimium tank size to feel comfortable, but that's not an issue with the fish you are looking at) A couple of T5's - that way you can add a metal halide in the future, and the T5's will still be useful. I'm not a fan of using NSW, but the takapuna boat ramp seems a popular place up there Best to keep the water clean, then you won't have problems with algae, if that's what you're worried about here. Layton
  2. Just realised 25 litres of concentrated CaCl2 would do my tank for almost 2 years without mixing chemicals. I like the sound of that.
  3. If you're using Randy's recipe #2, then the NaHCO3 (baking soda) solution of 297 grams in 4 litres in water is pretty much it's saturation point. You can't dissolve much more than that. The standard calcium chloride solution (250 grams in 4 litres) is nowhere near saturation. Saturation is around 3.8kg (of dihydrate) per 4 litres of water. I use a CaCl2 mix of 500 grams per 4 litres. Then instead of using the two part in a 1:1 ratio, I use it in a 2:1 (alk:calcium) ratio. No reason why you can't go all the way to 14:1 Maybe watch when you're adding higher concentrations of CaCl2 solution it might cause localised precipitation? You'll notice a white cloud if it that happens, you want to avoid that. Layton
  4. So reactors are higher maintenance aren't they.
  5. You really believe that? What do pics show? Why would I have the same problem? Why do you want to see pics of my coral growth? Are you looking for proof of something? Are you looking for proof my tank uses the amount I said it does? Are you looking for proof that 2-part works? Or are you just asking because you've got nothing concrete to add to the discussion on the pros and cons of calcium reactors and 2-part? Layton
  6. Not getting carried away, or trying to discredit reactor. Just being more realistic than "Mines been running for a year, never touched it other than to fill the media once". Don't you think the fact that you have to check it every week to see the tubes aren't blocked, and it's working properly should be factored into the discussion? Don't you think the fact that you also have to mix kalk because you don't like the effect the reactor has on the pH of the tank should be factored in? Just trying to get a more fair comparison of how many people really run their reactors. Layton
  7. Yip, I have a lot of corals, growing pretty quickly though. Most people would only need to do it a couple of times a year if using 25 Litre containers. I mix the alk one maybe 6 times or 7 times year. The calcium one is done with every second alk fill. With 25 litres. Say Pies tank for example, based on the reactor media he's using at the moment, he would only need to fill a 25 litre container once every 80 days or so (4.5 times a year). An that's a considerable sized tank. In between, that, there is no maintenance, cleaning, unblocking etc. I guess the point is, you can chose how convenient or inconvenient you want a 2-part system to be for you. With a reactor, you often don't have a choice, if you don't do the maintenance, it stops working properly.
  8. dunno, exactly. Maybe a hybrid? Hybridisation is relatively common with Acanthurus spp. tangs (like powder browns, white check etc), But I would find it hard to believe an Acanthurus spp. would hybridise with a Naso spp. though.
  9. ... you never said what they were when I asked.
  10. Just looks like a plain blonde naso to me. Typically the blonde Naso's come from the Red Sea and are harder to get (more expensive), while the normal "black" Naso's come from Hawaii. Are you sure that's what they called it - powder blue Naso? Layton
  11. Mixing chemicals a couple of times a year can be a pain... Just like unblocking the calcium reactor tubs, Tuning the reactor, Replacing the reactor media, Refilling the CO2 bottle, Filling the bubble counter, Mixing the kalk to offset the reactor ph thing can be a pain. :lol:
  12. Fair enough. The way that I wrote it, it did come across as an assumption. However assuming something doesn't equate to abusing someone. The assumption was not completely unfounded. However I will fix that mistake. It should read: The fact that he never mentions these abilities of UV, doesn't mean they don't exist, it just means he either doesn't know about them (ignorance) or hasn't written about them. I don't just write off people who disagree's with me. You of all people should know, that I take a lot of time to try and find out from them why they disagree. Sometimes, like in the case of pies post it IS because of ignorance of what's being discussed. Sometimes they have absolutely no reason other than they just think so. Sometimes it's a misunderstanding, and sometimes, i've just completely missed something in my own reasoning. Anyway, here is some solid evidence for UV and the reply: http://www.esf.edu/efb/schulz/Limnology/bacteria.html I'm surprised no ones come up with a potential problem in running UV yet, and how to avoid it? Hint: it's to do with splitting organics. Layton
  13. I get good growth. I do have a lot of acro's too. All depends on how you add the 2-part, as to whether you get any precipitation. You can't just dump both parts in together all at once. I keep calcium lower than most people, which makes precipitation even less likely to happen.
  14. Well first off. I my tank doesn't necessarily use the methods I think would be best, or those which i'd use given the chance to start a tank from scratch. There are a number of reasons for this. At the moment cost is a big factor. The mistakes, I made years ago when I first setup the tank, due to poor advice, an ignorance of other methods, sometimes make using the best ways prohibitive. And i've decided it's not worth spending the money to fix those problems with the existing tank at the moment. I'll wait, till I have $10,000 to $15,000 disposible cash to spend on a new tank to fix them, and do it properly. Having said that, it doesn't mean my tank is full of brown corals either. It's not. It's just an average tank, nothing impressive, and I don't claim it to be. That doesn't affect in anyway the quality of advice I give, or make it wrong. Nor does it mean the methods I prefer don't or can't work. I know people make all sorts of assumptions about my tank. More often than not, they are far from reality. Layton
  15. I supplied all three of those things. I gave reasons, evidence, and facts. They one thing I didn't supply was proof. I didn't call you ignorant and sheeplike. They were possible reasons for some peoples opinions on UV, and were direct and honest answers to questions you asked. They weren't a "volly of abuse" like some would like to think, or make out. I know they do, but often that isn't a reflection of what I actually post, it's more often than not what they imagine i'm saying. A lot of people aren't careful enough when reading what I actually post.
  16. Ok at 10kg a year, that's 27 grams of calcium carbonate used per day (equivalent to 22.7 g of NaHCO3). Using Randy's Recipie #2 that's 300mL per day of the alk part, and 150mL of the Calcium part (if you use double the weight of CaCl2 used from his recipe) My tank uses 500mL a day of the alk part. Layton
  17. So a lot of reactor uses use to use kalk to offset some of the cons of reactors too? - Add that into the equation. When you step back and look at it, it seems an overly convoluted method just to add calcium and alk. Especially when you can just add them directly.
  18. I wasn't calling anyone ignorant in a carte blanche way. I said that one possible reason why Borneman has never written of UV or the effect's i've mentioned, is that he is ignorant of them. I said that your post was written out of ignorance... and it was. From what you wrote, it was obvious that you were ignorant of the content of this thread and the others linked. (note: this is different to you or anyone else disagreeing with what i've written) Everyone has a long list of things they are ignorant of. This is not abusive. If I called someone ignorant in general, sure that would be abusive, but I didn't do that. What volly of abuse? I've got no problem with people disagreeing. What is annoying (and pointless), is when people disagree with absolutely no justifiable reason. That's assuming they have an accurate knowledge of what it does, which is one of the reasons why I started these threads. A lot of people have no idea, as all they hear is that it kills floating bacteria, algae, and parasites. The question of necessity comes down to personal priorities. I consider phosphate remover and carbon completely un-nessessary. Ahh, the old, you don't post pics often so your tank must be absolute crap assumption. Heard that many times from people who don't like what I have to say. Am I to assume the fact that you haven't posted pictures for ages that your methods aren't working, and your tank is full of dull brown corals? I don't make those assumptions on other peoples tanks. But find it funny when people think they know all about mine. Layton
  19. I don't think that's a plus at all. CO2 can slow calcification. One of the sybiotic relationships of the zoox / coral, it that the coral provides CO2 to the zoox from the corals respiration. They don't need to get any extra from the water.
  20. Yes, easy to source MedChem in auckland is the popular supplier. How quickly does your tank go through 1kg of reactor media? I can work out from that roughly how much you'd be adding if you were to use a 2-part. Also, you might be surprised in the difference between a Calcium reactor, and 2-part, especially the differences in CO2 levels, as well as "contaminants" added. For me, the cost thing isn't so much of an issue, as the reliability, simplicity, safety, control, and what i'm actually putting into the tank is.
  21. How much does he mix at once? How much does he go through in a day?
  22. Not really. Those prices are a lot cheaper than I have come across. But anyway. Do you have to adjust it every week? You know there is far more maintenance involved with a calcium reactor than just that ;-) Far more things which can potentially fail, wear and need replacing.
  23. You forgot that you'd be using that same RODI to topup anyway. So you actually don't end up using more RODI that you would with a calcium reactor anyway.
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