wilson Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Willis ??? :evil: from what ive seen some people over skim there tank this seems to pop into my head when i think over skimming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I guess he's trying to get the diatoms off that coffee cup in the bottom right hand corner? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Willis ??? :evil: from what ive seen some people over skim there tank Willis... :lol: That was funny. :lol: I still see no problem with this. I thought that this was GREAT! 8) If it weren't for the cost of electricity, I would hook up my second 902 to my 500L. I feed my tank heavily and I want to get the nutrients that aren't being consumed OUT! We don't know what other aspects of this person's husbandry entail. Therefore, I don't think we can make the statement that this is "overskimming"... whatever that means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted November 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Well i've just tested Auckland tap water for phosphate using a Hanna colorimeter, and it comes out with 0.02 mg/l, an incredibly low reading. I don't believe this could be typical so I'll do another one in a few days! Agree with you Joe Blogg, if your tank is as good as you say the water you are using must be pretty good. Probably as Zhacque said there are different quality water in different areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 wilson wrote, alot of people who over skim there tanks. JMO I doubt many people overskim in nz and have super clean tanks, what do you class as overskimmed and super clean? got ant pics of them? the photo you showed is from a tank that has only just had the skimmer put on , so you cant say that tank is over skimmed. Yes reefs are not super clean but most nutrient gets used up really quick by corals,. You cant compare a reef with a aquarium full of corals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 WOW!! I ran my TDS meter under the tap this evening and it read 49! I have no idea what that number means, but it appears to be significantly larger than ZERO! Maybe I will be hooking up my RO/DI unit this weekend. I stand corrected. :oops: It appears that ChCh water (at least in my neighborhood) may suck as bad as Aucklands. The P04 test still read zero though. Small consolation. Does anyone know where to get parts (water lines, connectors, etc...) for RO/DI units in ChCh? The good news is that I'm stoked with the way my tank looks now. So, I can't wait to see what happens when I start with the clean water. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 TDs of 49 does not mean your water is bad, Just mean that you have minerals etc in the water, No water is pure as they all will contains some sort of minerals. Rain water has a tds of over 20. Actually just did a test on my tank with my po4 hanna meter. it was .01. lowest it has ever been. I quess it should be that low after putting in 5 Litres of rowaphos Does anyone know where to get parts (water lines, connectors, etc...) for RO/DI units in ChCh? Try Water Purifiers in the yellow pages, I found about 12 places that sell RO units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Talked to my friend last night but doesn't look like she has access to a TDS meter in her department, so if you're keen to know some results i might talk to you wasp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I have been pleasantly suprised - we had a new Street-to-house main fitted a few months ago (Butyl cf the old Galv pipe), and I now have PH 7, KH6, and NO PHOSPHATE (or anything else I can test for). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 How do you get phosphate from a galvanised iron pipe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 How do you get phosphate from a galvanised iron pipe? I assume the water was contaminated via the rusty / stuffed bits of the pipe (tree roots and soil etc. maybe)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 we got a new pipe to at the start of the year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I assume the water was contaminated via the rusty I doubt it, rust removes po4. Maybe the tests you did was contaiminated as a po4 of 5ppm seems to high. or maybe they added somethingto teh water that month etc. Not normal for po4 to be that high in tap water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I would question the test as there would be no reason to add phosphate that I am aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 some info http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-11/nftt/index.php Highlighted in article I strongly recommend using RO/DI water for your tank, rather than tap or well water. The best way to avoid nuisance algae is to use the purest water you can obtain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I would question the test as there would be no reason to add phosphate that I am aware of. I doubt they would add it, but if a pipe was leaking it is highly likely it could be contaminated with phosphate from the soil, as any average soil will have phosphate in it. Also, tap water can read zero phosphate when tested with a hobby test kit, but this may well be because hobby test kits are not very sensitive at the lower end and will often show zero when there is phosphate present in low levels. However I'll have to say i've always been pretty skeptical of the claim that Chch water contains zero phosphate and has a TDS near zero, but after what a lot of you guys have said I'm starting to think there may be something in it. I'm wondering if in certain areas, this may be the case. Pity I'm not down there I'd love to drive around & do a few TDS tests, plus test phosphate levels with a digital colorimeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Also, tap water can read zero phosphate when tested with a hobby test kit, but this may well be because hobby test kits are not very sensitive at the lower end and will often show zero when there is phosphate present in low levels. IF it is close to zero i would think that it would be ok for soft coral tanks. However i would be more concerned with other things in the water we cant test for or don’t have the test kits. Adding additional trace elements from tap water will also cause problems. I think for only a few of us who want very colorful SPS and want the little bit extra from our corals would want almost zero phostphates. keep in mind that aquarium test kits only test one type of po4 as we have organic and inorganic phostphates. I think the test kits only test for organic po4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 If a leak exists in a water pipe it will be out rather than in. Phosphates are not related to the Governor of California and would have some problems swimming against 60psi. It would be about as likely as an artesian water supply being contaminated. I still suspect the testing method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 If a leak exists in a water pipe it will be out rather than in. Phosphates are not related to the Governor of California and would have some problems swimming against 60psi. It would be about as likely as an artesian water supply being contaminated. I still suspect the testing method. I think it was probably localised contamination - there were several mains lying next to each other and the old water supply was lucky to be 6psi - that was the reason they replaced everyone's mains along with the street main (which was broken by a row of huge tress - I live opposite a park). Either way, I'm happy that the phosphate is gone, wherever it was coming from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhacque Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 If a leak exists in a water pipe it will be out rather than in. Phosphates are not related to the Governor of California and would have some problems swimming against 60psi. It would be about as likely as an artesian water supply being contaminated. I still suspect the testing method. If it was a decent crack, the eddy currents would drag some of the soil in, surely.. But I agree, I don't think there would be enough to seriously affect readings. However, I'm not a plumber or drainlayer...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 i tested my tap water for phosphate today with a salifert phosphate test kit, reading was zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 Out of interest: If a galvanized pipe is 9/10ths full of rust and gunge the flow will be restricted but the pressure will be the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted November 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 Not if everybody downstream of it flushed their toilet at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 The only person downstream of the road to dwelling connection is you. How many bogs you got? The pressure is the same regardless of the pipe size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted November 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 How many "bogs" I got? Four. But why we talking about how many bogs I got? The pipe you seem to be concerned about is in Christchurch. I am in Auckland. Point is, I think we get the jist of what you are saying. You think the water could not have been contaminated. Others think it may have been, specially if it had a tree root in it. Hard to prove on way or another though. I would see this as a pointless argument, and an aside from the larger issue of the quality of Chch water in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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