SubzeroLT

Yes, the pinpoint probe is working well. I rechecked it a few days later by dipping it in the calibration fluid & the reading was accurate. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks...a 4th (and nicest one) didn't make it. Suspect it was hurt by a shrimp or crab digging into the anemone to pull out a recently fed piece of prawn meat. Could see cut marks on the body.

I suspect your calcium reactor pH probe is out of calibration or seal is breached. 7+ pH to melt CR media sounds a big high. Yeah...the intense regulator are very easy use. I see some white marks on the knurled knob & threads. Did you use some kind of sealant?

This is a good brand of salt. I suspect your salinity is too high...that's why the parameters are reading high, as Vincent mentioned above. What is your salinity? What device are you using to measure your salinity? Specs at 1.026 here ; http://www.theaquariumsolution.com/h2ocean-natural-reef-salt

Some tank updates. Finally got 2 replacement pH probes for the Apex Neptune. The original ones were about 2.5yrs old & time for a change. The Pinpoint probes work great. As with any probes, they must be calibrated before use. Hooked up the DIY kalk stirrer & peristaltic pump to the Apex. My current pH hovers between 7.9-8.1. This setup attempts the following : (1) Stir kalk for 1 minute a couple of times a day (2) Dose kalk at a constant rate slowly throughout the day until pH 8.3 is reached & attempts to maintain at around this level (3) If pH 8.3 is reached then ATO pump takes over & replaces evaporated water with fresh water (no kalk) Got one of these splash proof wire connectors. Especially useful in the sump area. In memory of this Florida Ricordea that detached & floated away....lost Trying to build a collection.

The more popular (or common) filter socks are the 300 micron felt type - a good balance between filtration effectiveness & convenience. However, they are quite troublesome to wash. 200 micron is also popular. The alternative is 300 micron nylon types. Skimz has some nice good quality ones but they they to have smaller 'capacity' then the felt counterparts. If your sump has space, one option is to get the 7" nylon types & place a layer of wool in there. Easy to remove/discard the wool but yet avoid the dirt storm you mentioned when the sock/wool is removed

Shared this in my thread previously. About 2.5yrs old Candy Cane : Hammer

Yeah...not safe to just use double sided tap especially for things that get warm. it makes it hard to remove for cleaning & maintenance too. Ecotech has nice holders for the driver & also power supply brackets. Not expensive. Can contact Reef Depot or LFS to check.

Nice! Curious....do most of the wrasses hide in the sand at night? Which ones do not?

Thanks for sharing. It's not easy for sure (personal experience). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The things we do to keep fishes out & allow the coral a fair chance to feed. Plastic tray covering the rock flower anemone during feeding time

Calcium Reactor last topped up 24th Feb 2017. Top up today - 28th May (93 days). Total drop about 11cm. Weighed the media added (138g)

Some coral pic updates Orange Pavona Maldivensis : Found several baby trochus snail in the tank. Must have spawned recently & some survived the wrasses. Sun corals opening up more after feeding with LRS Frenzy Hosting this for a friend. A bit of growth.

The red tanning lights are in the UV spectrum. The red that cheato & other algae prefer for photosynthesis is a different wavelength. As mentioned above, not suitable.

Wasn't clear after reading conflicting info in various local forums. Thanks for confirming it - DIN standard for SGP.

Which model of the carbon doser did you get? There are 2 fittings in the website. CGA320 & DIN 477. Not sure which is applicable for the typical CO2 tank in SGP.

Nice...top notch quality equipment for peace of mind.

The clown fries photo is interesting. Thanks for sharing

Found some old photos...decided to post some growth comparison pics. Candy Cane. My 1st coral purchase from Pacific Reef when I started hobby. Branching Hammer. Started with 3 heads. Probably in the 40+ heads range now.

I had 2 holes drilled in the return pipe as a siphon break. But the GSP grew over the holes & the siphon break does not work anymore (sump water level is 1" from the edge if the return pump switches off....quite risky if more equipment is added into the sump...risk of overflowing Now I've drilled a new hole above the water line with a luer fitting. Still struggling to get the sun coral to open up Black Sun coral

These 2 are very nice!!

Interesting information & suggestions from Triton ICP testing. Thanks for sharing. What are your plans?

A small attempt to draw fresher air for the skimmer to better aerate the system water. Attached a long hose from the window to the skimmer. Conceptually, this means the skimmer draws 'fresher' air than using air from the sump/cabinet. Did NOT notice a change in tank pH though, so i think its an unnecessary thing to do.

I think the 2nd design is better. I assume inlet is left side. Outlet is right side. Here are some comments. Generally, mechanical filtration comes first - i.e. wool then skimmer. Next comes bio media filtration. This sequence is better as you'd want chunks of dirt be removed else it may clog the bio media pores. The outlet of the biopellet reactor should come before the skimmer. I don't think you need so many bubble trap in between. They take up space. Just one just before the last / right compartment would suffice. For bio media, try to fit them into rigid baskets for easy removal (can buy from Daiso), so dimension it correctly. Try not to use those soft nylon bags or laundry bags for biomedia as it is hard to pull out or cleaning. This is just my 2 cents. There are probably alternative views out there.

It was nice meeting you a couple of months back at one of the LFS. Look forward to your tank build updates.