lduncan

It's the MUD (mostly) in MIRICLEMUD that makes it work. Some corals fear better than others in a skimmerless tank. SPS don't fear well in phosphate fluxing systems, because of their their different structure to soft coral. There is nothing I like about any "theory" behind running tanks skimmerless. It's just illogical to me. Layton

When you have a festering pit at the bottom of a tank with sps, and no skimmer... is just a matter of time. Heaps going in, virtually nothing coming out. That is gonna cause major problems once the sand bed fills up. Layton

tic toc...

Yip, they are halides. They would be fine for a planted tank. Layton

It can if the right proportion of magnesium carbonate is included (or added) to the media. I've never bothered getting mag over 1200. Layton

But what are you trying to achieve? Layton

Ozone attacks and degrades standard PVC fittings. Acrylic (skimmer plastic) has very good resistance to ozone. I was thinking of something like this http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=AV2313 But I don't know whether they do 240Volt versions. Layton

Around 2Kg of magnesium chloride should raise it from 1100 to 1500 (assuming 1000Litre tank volume). Or around 4Kg of epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) would have the same effect. Either of these are often used to correct mag levels, sometime a mix of both is used to try and add chloride in proportion to sulfate. Layton

My tank is BB, and has been since I moved it. With the new skimmer, i'm seeing the whole "rock cooking" process going on in my tank. The amount of detritus the rock is shedding is amazing. The alkalinity used by the bacterial processes is crazy. It is currently dropping around 1 to 1.5dKH every day. Initially I didn't like the look of BB, but it's growing on me. Still, the new tank won't be BB, it will have a thin layer of regularly vacuumed sand. In short yes. Personally i'd use UV, I wouldn't consider ozone. Layton

Some people run their skimmer pumps on timers to turn off for an hour or so every day, so water can back up the venturi and dissolve any calcium/salt deposits, keeping them clear. Layton

A UV for my tank would run at least $700. What's an ozone worth? $400 - $600 maybe? Layton

No need to waste time with JJ or Kalk paste. For pure pH killing power (and 100% success rate for me) you need Sodium Hydroxide. You can get a lifetime supply for around $8. The draino from the supermarket that comes as a solid form is 100% sodium hydroxide (or so it says so on the container). You mix this with a bit of water, the amount isn't really critical. Be careful to try an not get it on your hand, it can cause chemical burns (dries the skin). If you do get it on your skin you've got several minutes where you can run it under cold water for a while to dilute it, and avoid the burn occurring altogether (the point is it's not an instant burn like a fire burn, it develops slowly over 20 min or so). Then you inject this solution directly into the aiptasia. And no more aiptasia. Here is the chemistry behind what happens when the draino hits the tank: NaOH + HCO3(-) ---> Na(+) + H20 + CO3(2-) So the draino uses up a tiny bit of alkalinity to produce water, a sodium ion, and carbonate, which contributes to alkalinity. So the net effect is that you are adding water and another sodium ion, with no change in alkalinity. It's exactly the same as using Kalk, but you are using Sodium instead of calcium. Sodium is completely soluble, so you don't end up with solids which can be accidentally eaten by stupid fish, or float onto corals. The pH of sodium Hydroxide is higher than that of calcium hydroxide, so the kill success is higher. Layton

Surely you've come across all those threads? I would use UV over ozone. It's a lot less risky, but with virtually all the benifits. I will be using UV when I upgrade the tank. Downside is that a UV is more expensive than ozone initially. UV or ozone doesn't kill all the good bacteria. Just the stuff floating in the water. Bomber really makes you think about why you are doing things and what you are trying to really achieve. His methods for keeping sps, make perfect sense to me. Layton

acros have different requirements to most LPS which tend to prefer to be closer to sandy substrates where phosphate fluxes are higher. Water quality to keep acros and other sps in top shape is different to the quality needed for other corals. I don't think acros need to be feed on top of what already exists in the tank. And that it is more detrimental than benificial to tank conditions you're trying to achieve. However if you have predominately soft corals and LPS, feeding can be benifical, if not necessary. Layton

Not for my tank. It's just adding uncessary nutrients. You should be more concerned with removing this sort of stuff if you're keeping acros. Layton

I used asw, not really a fan of putting tank water in the microwave The key is, it has to be sterile, any sort of prey organism and your phyto culture will crash. I don't like the idea of feeding phyto into a reef tank, i've got a skimmer to try and get rid of that sort of stuff. I had it running to breed banggers. Layton

They need a diet high in HUFA's, so the brineshrimp have to be gut loaded with phyto or other HUFA source. Layton

I have a culture. In terms of maintenance, it is daily / every other day feeding, and removal of a portion, replacing with fresh saltwater. The idea is to make sure the culture container remains uncontaminated, and that the culture does not become so dense that it suffocates. Layton

Do you use natural seawater or salt mix? Talk to "reef" on this board, he is the agent for Tunze in NZ(www.aqua.net.nz). Layton

It is. If you read the text, you'll see why it's there. Layton

My deltec AP902 is amazing. The crap it pulls out is unbelievable. Layton

:lol: , it's not quite that easy. I can't just download a distribution and run it. I've had to download the source code (from www.kernel.org) which is all c , mixed with a bit of assembler, then write all the drivers I need for things like ethernet, the lcd, flash, usb etc. Then compile it myself. So in effect i'm creating my own distribution. Of course there is the issues of actually getting a working compiler in the first place which will create valid binaries for and ARM processor, when actually executing on a PowerPC. That's no walk in the park itself. Some people spend weeks trying different combinations of tools and libraries to get a cross-compiler to actually compile and build good binaries. Layton

yeah, it's going to run a linux kernel 2.6.xx . What do you mean by what "flavour"? I should have all the hardware and casings done before Christmas. As well as some basic software at that time. As you probably know, a software project is never really finished, there's always something to add, or improve on. Knowing virtually nothing about linux a couple of months ago (other than an good knowledge of other *nix systems like OS X), i've definitely learned a lot. Right now my kernel size is sitting at about 1.3 MB. Layton

128 x 64 pixel graphic display USB Host port: for connecting things like cameras, etc MMC Port: Maybe for storing timelapse sequences caught by a webcam. Ethernet: For management / web interface At least 6 BNC ISE analogue inputs. For software selectable probes. This will allow any combination of pH, salinity, or even Mg, Calcium, Alkalinity probes for those wanting to pay. A bus system which will allow a virtually unlimited number of temperature sensors, controlled power sockets, digital io, remote displays, plus any other add on which may be needed. Most importantly, unlike most other controllers around today, it will allow significant expansion though firmware updates, due to the speed of the processor and the (relatively) large amount of memory. The IKS runs off a 8-bit 80535 processor at 12 MHz compared to a 32-bit ARM9 at 180MHz 64kB Flash vs. 8MB Flash 128kB Ram vs. 32MB RAM So there is plenty of scope to add significant functionality in software well after the unit has been built. For the software features... well there are probably too many to list. You'll have to wait until i send a test one up to akl. ;-) I think the important thing is to get the software and configuration as simple a possible, without being limiting. The last thing I want to end up with is what Neptune Systems have done with the Aquacontroller, and make people write a "program" for their controller. It's not exactly an elegant solution. Layton

Yip, I came across that one a several months ago. Looks better than those crappy neptune sys ones, but still doesn't have ALL the features i'm after. Layton