JoeBlog

I'm downloading, but it's going to take anouther 30 minutes.

http://d27.yousendit.com/E/06LN1AY9WY1U91ONCB40EGQY9E/Picture.mov This is a shortcut from the download link. Let me know if I've done this right. Steve

Reef, I thought you were going to give me heaps of sh!t for my zero nitrates comment. Don't you shoot for very low, but still positive?

I've been doing about 20% per week, but that's only because I'm cooking my rock at the moment. I normally do ~10% weekly. As for nitrate, I don't want any reading on my Salifert kit, i.e. perfectly clear. As for NSW storage, I have no clue since I use ASW. Cheers, Steve

Sweet. I've already sent you a PM with my address. :bounce:

Can they all be removed at once or do you have to do it slowly to avoid shocking the tank? When I finally removed my trickle system, I believe someone (LFS??) told me to take out the bioballs in fourths, or something like that.

I see only one stream in the tank and it is pointed towards the surface. Probably an attempt to reduce sand storms.

I agree that this tank is a real stunner. However, one aspect that I find interesting is that quite a few of the SPS corals appear to be on the pastel side. They look similar to the BB tanks that complain of fading of color, which they quite often (guessed to be) attributed to very low nutrient levels. Are there other examples of “famous†Prodibio tanks and is this a common trait? I just think that the tank would be even better if the colors were a bit richer in color.

I use Red Sea. Used to use IO, but changed over since RS is now cheaper.

I have mine fed off a tee from the return line. I think there's a bit of pressure since I tried to make a second chamber to eat up any excess C02 out of various plastic containers with screw tops and it kept blowing the tops off. I'm also using the next size up Eheim pump on it for circulation since I ordered it from overseas without the pump and it's the only small Eheim that I had lying around. Don't know if that causes any more internal pressure or not though. The guys at Korallin said that it would actually work better with the bigger circulating pump.

very nice! What camera did you get?

My Alk dropped pretty damn fast when the C02 ran out of my reactor. In a couple days it went from ~8.5 to ~6.5.

I actually thought I read somewhere on this forum that someone was using it in their reactor for Mg maintenance, so I thought I would give it a try. Unfortunately, I got it from a guy (store) that I vowed to never spend another cent with. :evil: I'm sure you can guess which one. This stuff isn't powdery like Ira's. I actually had no idea what it looked like when I went to buy some, but they look like regular rocks to me and seem to be doing the trick. I will keep people posted on the progress.

Your tank is considerably bigger than mine and may be the consequence. However, it seems to be working fine for me so far. As Randy said, my Alk levels started to take off since I had too much in the reactor. My Mg and Ca also raised slightly. Once I get the Ca media and dolomite ratio right as well as the drip and bubble count, I think it's going to be pretty smooth sailing. 8)

For those interested (possibly not many), dolomite is apparently fine to use in Ca reactors in order to maintain Mg levels according to Randy Holmes-Farley. The problem comes in when trying to use it to "raise" Mg levels. Did a quick search on RC and thought I would share: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=695795&highlight=dolomite

I presume this is an answer to my question and providing a reason not to use it? What is MgO? Are you implying that the other 65% comprises bad stuff for the tank or that it simply doesn't address the Mg issue?

Does anyone use dolomite? Are there any issues with using this in our reactors to increase mag levels?

Interesting. You wouldn't still happen to have a copy of that table would you. If so, could you PM or e-mail me a copy? I would like to give it a try. Cheers, Steve

I can't recall the specifics of my reactor's instructions (Korallin C3001, possibly the same as Chim), but I thought it stated something about getting your levels set to where you want them and then set the reactor to hold it there. You others use the reactor to "adjust" your CA and ALK levels?

Nice picture. Typically, you buy one and never see it again until you tear your tank down.

Wasp, I've been using Salifert (always totally clear). I'm a bit curious about this test kit. May I ask where you get them from, how much it is and how many tests you can get out of it? Cheers, Steve

I don't think that there is really anything about having a FOWLR. The reasons for coming to that result are a downer, but this could be an opportunity to finally get a chance to enjoy some really AMAZING fish that we just can't keep in our reefs. Personally, I would be totally stoked if you decided to go that route since it would add some diversity to this forum. Plus, you still have all your mates reef tanks that you can still enjoy.

You're the one that brought up the money aspect: Given this statement, I was just curious as to how much "cheaper" (alluded to in $$ by you and assumed in quality by others) it is (in terms of $$)?