chimera

i did marine blue for my current tank, would opt for a darker blue next time if not black as well. its the depth perspective that is important for me next time as the tank will be almost 3 times bigger front to back and i want it to appear endless... even though blue would probably reflect the light within the tank better than black would?

yeah seems a bit strange

See 'water chemistry calculators' section on the 'sticky' post at the top of the saltwater section for others Anyone know if Medchem deliver? I've already sent an email asking them, save me driving out to St Lukes (mind you, I think Im heading out that way tomorrow :-? )

To continue on with the tests, I did another tonight (previous nights posted again to show changes) Mon night: Mg 1050 (added 1 cup of Mg) kH 5.2 (added 3 heaped tblspoons baking soda diluted in 1 liter water) Ca 380 (increased bubble rate from 1 every 2-3 seconds to 1 per second) Tues night: Mg 1110 (added 1.5 cups of Mg) kH 6.2 (added another 3 heaped tblspoons baking soda diluted in 1 litre water) Ca 380 (nothing) Weds night: Mg 1170 (added 1.5 cups of Mg) kH 6.7 Ca 370 The addition of Mg tonight should push it up to the mid 1200's. Once there, I'll add a bit more baking soda and then test kH. Hopefully this weekend I should also get in a decent water change. I don't see how adding Mg and Alk at the same time could be bad? Considering both are always in the system anyway? Can anyone elaborate on Sharkey's comments?

"Shark without fins at the soil" - gotta love babelfish as above, http://www.korallenriff.de/jvkattack_wedding

jeez don't even know my own skimmer cheers reef, yeah i meant AP902

Couldnt agree more, I gathered there is no absolute magical number for anything - more a "safe range" for each parameter is most important and maintaining within that range with as little deviance is crucial. Since I work with computers, everything is alot more logical. 1 + y + z = 3, where y and z both = 1, or 0 and 2. This is always the case with computer logic. Scientific logic is so different, 1 + y + z = 3 is not always the case. The result maybe 3 if y and z are both 1, but if y is 2 and z is 0, the result maybe 4!!! One parameter can alter the outcome so easily. This is what I aim for too, however when, in my case, kH is so low to increase it is not that simple because it alters Ca,... and Ca is effected by Mg,... etc etc. Just shows acro's still need some form of phosphates to survive

My AP702 is 25mm in, 50mm out Just checked your pic again I was looking at it wrong, the outlet is pretty big so looks like its all good. I also have trouble getting water level right in my Deltec, there is a large change for such a small adjustment.

Is it easy enough to just list out what one should be doing under different levels of Mg, Ca and Alk? If one is high and one is low or visa versa? Or is there too many other variables involved that its just not that easy?

Outside of the 'idiot' comments and pointless arguing (which is much to my own amusement than anyone elses) Im still trying to work out what I should be doing next. I feel like Im on the right track though... Is it easy enough to just list out what one should be doing under different levels of Mg, Ca and Alk? If one is high and one is low or visa versa? Or is there too many other variables involved that its just not that easy?

I thought Mg helps maintaining kH and Ca at correct levels?

hence why im adding with Mg so I dont have to keep adding the same volumes to stop kH from depleting. i do drip Calcium reactor outlet onto a very well aerated area (pipes from fuge/skimmer/chiller into sump)

for 100 skimmers? i dont think so. i wasnt talking about manufacturing thousands and distributing worldwide. i think the outlet pipe seems too small. if it were larger with a larger ball valve, you would have better control. just basing that on the deltec design

very true, but also remember that making 100 of them would mean you would get a nice discount bulk buying parts, bringing overall cost down and pushing profit back up. swings in roundabouts. TM - i am impressed, very nice job. I wanted to make one myself also but was too worried I'd spend the money, make a skimmer and have it perform badly. Just based on the pictures of it, looks like you've done your homework. A definate 10/10. Well done. Question - do you have a ball valve on the skimmer outlet? Quite important if you want to adjust water level in the skimmer and optimising its efficiency. I couldnt see one in the photo?

what lph is that?

Looking great, I assume you have easy access to a lathe too! What lph does the pump do?

will do. i thought the idea was to test pH coming out and get it around 6.7 or so? will do also, as i said earlier i think all Mg chips have been depleted so will get some more shortly. I am adding magnesium separately at the moment to compensate (not chips, its more like 'wet sand' that dissolves when adding to water) Im putting it directly into the overflow chamber which should mix it up well on way down to sump. not possible yet. i still need to add a ball valve to the fuge so i can separate it off if needed! not sure, i dont think my pinpoint is calibrated correctly because it is showing pH low at 7.75. I did a drytab test just to get a rough comparison and that shows closer to 8.2. Will calibrate the pinpoint and try again now (am off work crook today ) no cannot think of anything acidic that would be added to the tank, whether that be deliberately or accidentally (other than fish food!) Heres tests I have done of recent and what I've done to compensate. I figure adding Mg and Sodium bicarbonate at the same time will increase kH plus the Mg will stop it dropping so quick (need to do that water change urgently though! damn weather) Mon night: Mg 1050 (added 1 cup of Mg) kH 5.2 (added 3 heaped tblspoons baking soda diluted in 1 litre water) Ca 380 (increased bubble rate from 1 every 2-3 seconds to 1 per second) Tues night: Mg 1110 (added 1.5 cups of Mg) kH 6.2 (added another 3 heaped tblspoons baking soda diluted in 1 litre water) Ca 380 (nothing) I will test again same time tonight and see what I get. I have read after adjusting your Calcium reactor that you have to wait a good 2-3 days before testing and making any further adjustments because, due to the slow drip rate, it takes time for the changes to take effect. It is a Korallin C3001 reactor - same as JoeBlogs. Pies - I would also be interested in seeing the same chart you got off RC.

Its tricky enough in a big tank too wasp! :lol:

I already have (had?) Mg chips in reactor. Wouldnt be surprised if they're all depleted now though as from first glance i can only see Ca chips in there. I've been manually adding Mg though, about 1/2 a cup at a time then testing. Since I had to go on holiday I havent added much yet (probably 1 1/2 cups total)

Crap, looks like I'll have to buy a sack of the stuff Just tested, kH 5.2, Mg 1050, Ca 380. I know Mg was low so am slowly dosing to increase it. Ca was 480 on Wednesday last week though - only 5 days later and it drops 100? I am still mucking around with the Calcium reactor to get it dosing better (since CO2 ran out) Will test pH out of reactor to see what thats at. I just up'd the CO2 bubble rate though. Is it worth drip feeding some Kalk overnight or just let reactor do it?

Cheers Layton. Ca is good, maybe a little too high. Will grab another kit just to be sure, if its ok will keep dosing baking soda. Already used about 150 grams and only raised kH by 1. Just added another 50 grams. As per this... ...5,300kH sounds like a hell of alot, even when dissolved into 1,000 litres. How much should I need to raise alk from what it is now, 5.4 to about 8? Based on the initial dose, would seem I'd need at least another 400 to 500 grams?

my salifert alk test kit could be stuffed, kH read 4.2 initially, so i dosed baking soda then tested again and it was 6.2, now i test again 5 days later its 5.4. could it drop that much in 5 days? will be testing with another kit to make sure its ok, if it is, is it worth adding more baking soda until its around 7-8? going to do a 20% water change friday. also, is it worth dosing kalkwasser??? if im running a calcium reactor 24x7 and also zeovit, is kalk dosing recommended/useful?

i just came back from my holiday and found the old lady hadnt fed the fish (after 5 days) i wrote instructions to dose baking soda mixed with RODI water then feed fish, she added baking soda but didnt feed fish... ... but they're still alive and happy. just bloody hungry!!! checked alk levels and it was 5.4. still way low, even after adding a reasonable amount of baking soda. might get a new test kit to be sure before dosing anymore.

:lol:

I baked 250grams of baking soda tonight. As an initial test, I added 2 small teaspoons to a small amount of water and added it to the tank. I tested a couple hours later (assume it should have mixed in reasonably well by then) and kH came in at 4.5 (was 4.2 last night) not much of a change. I then added 2 tablespoons to a couple litres of water, mixed it up and added to the tank. Crackers formula is in 'heaped teaspoons', which I misread as 'tablespoons' :oops: however, 5 hours after the initial dose, kH is now at 6.1 so it still worked out exactly as his formula shows (1 heaped teaspoon raise dKh by 2 for 300 litres water) :-? Maybe it might mix in a bit more overnight? Perhaps a bit of a rapid increase, but better to be at a respectable level for the next 5 days than not. Will test again in morning and add more if necessary oh, and interestingly my BTA has split a third time - maybe they dont like low kH?! I want to sell 2 of them off, I know jimmy wanted one, if anyone can get the other out you can have it for $50 BTA's are reasonably easy to keep and if you have clowns they make good hosts. wasp - any tips for getting the BTA out?