madmac

many ppl in RC have done, complete 100% water change with NSW...making sure pH and temp is the same first before. Think about what happens when the tides comes in on after a low tide.

em... for that to happen, the "melting-point" wud be a pH of somewhere btw 6.5 to 6.9... which can happen if you hv a CC bed thick enough... otherwise its very difficult for aragonite to melt in the maintank. About raising tank pH, you need a constant depletion of CO2 or suppression/take up of CO2 quick enough. So if you have CC, and ur pH is high, it is most definitely because of something else. And if you hv a thick SB, more often than not, you'll experience a lower pH.

Congratulations.!

pretty

cute. it looks like a mushroom

If it is the club I think, then the new GM has proposed that, he wanted to build a new large reeftank... I'm not sure if its underway or not... (but just hinting to those who want the maintenance contract, call them... ) go easy and don't get depress, soon ur wifey will have a good 3 months maternity leave, which will take some of the stress off your back... and best wishes in job search.

Agreed. API, is very good value for money. I've verified their dKH kits with Tropic Marin and found both to be even. I've not tried their other test kits. Does anyone know where/who carries their full range of kits. The new API : http://aquariumpharm.com/ with new logo and new kits. & their kits : http://aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productCate...ryname=TestKits Hopefully some sponsor will carry their product... (*hint only* )

Interesting. Can elaborate more. Most wud use a dosing pump, activated by either a timer or float switch.

You make many assumptions, Ian. While calcification goes there, it doesn't mean your system takes-up the same ratio. Kalk and CRs are truly balanced supplements, and thats perfect if ur take up is exactly the same. There are many processes in there that can take in Ca or CO3 without calcification forming at all. This explains why for alot of reefers using CRs, every couple of days, things get abit skewed off, and a topup of either Ca or alk is necessary. Things are seldom linear in life. It has been discussed many times, by reefers who have removed their SB, the alk demands drop by a large factor, there is far less acids in the system, needed to neutralize the alkalinity, hence the drop. I've always thought of the Balling method as one where a dosing pump coupled with a timer is used for precise measured dosing. I don't do that, jus fyi, my demands isn't so much. Its jus dripped in. While you can lose 4dKH a day, I didn't say that you can reach to 4dKH. Read it again. Can you go from 12 to 8 or 13 to 9 in a day, yes. Can you go from 8 to 4... very difficult... JME, things stop at 5.5. If you can't measure "accurately", where was the fault? Is it in test kit or in ur tests? BTW, whats ur consumption like. ? I've made one myself up there, I should have stated, that it would be best to start dKH at abouts 8 and Ca at 400 before you begin. Its really a stretch difficult if you go lower, esp if u hv lots of SPS.

Oh, while 2.8 dKH gives the 20ppm Ca, you'll never find that ratio in yuor tank. That figure points to what the corals-only need to grow. There are other processes that consume CO3. E.g. bacterial process in the SB consume a great deal of CO3, the acid they make is sucked-up, then converted from one nutrient soup to another, takes up a great deal of carbonates from the system. Each tank will hv their own unique set of consumption rate. Its up to you to determine where it is. I dose alk 2 days, then Ca the next day. oH yes and pls go with Aquaz, you won't go far wrong if you know what ur doing.

You're hypothesizing right? 4 dKH per day? The simple way to test would be to take a marker at a fixed time of day and test once for both Ca and dKH, and do it again the next day at the same time. Subtract the 2nd from the first and you get a simple arithmetic progression. Now you should be able to predict where your 3rd day figure is, so do a third test the next day to confirm. In all the days you're testing, you cannot be dosing anything at all. If your consumption is low then, do a test every alternate day. You'll never get 4dKH,.... it won't be seawater then. No seriously, if you were to lose 2 dKH per half-day, you'll know its really time to start automating the process. I'm sure it can happen, I'm imagining a chocking-ful tank of SPS corals with very little water. and yes without a doubt, they do grow at nite, I think the process is referred to as dark-photosysthesis, and you're right, it when they convert the sugars obtained during to day, to build skeletal mass. I don't know about the CR bit, I'm think subxero got it with the pH thinggy. I thinks some never leave it off too? To each their own.

If you hold Ca at 450 and lose 20 a day, then 5 days away would bring it down to 350... still very safe. Its the alk thats need a close eye on. I usually get a trusted neighbour do the alk topups for me, when the whole family is away; otherwise my wifey does it. The trick is to know how much you lose each day. YOu'll feel a lot more confident once you know that

It is best if you can determine your daily Ca / CO3 consumption first before attempting to maintain. Its gives you a base to move from. You'll also need this info, irrespective of whether you go with a CR or dosing. Dosing can be daily or weekly, depending on your rates of consumption. You'll have to dose two components(parts), Ca and CO3(carbonates). If ur consumption is not high then a balance additive like kalk would suffice.

No its not necessary. ... most definitely not at the start... but pls don't let that stop you from starting. When tuned right, it does wonders... when tuned wrongly, You can maintain Ca/CO3 demands using by dosing as well.

Will PM u soon.... for a visit to ur place.

Not if they burst prematurely... before it reaches the top and out of the neck? No.? ok thank goodness, not. .... seriously joking, that was in jest... the last line, i mean. Good effort and reef on bro!

hiiii Spawns, I luv millies, they're one of the most easiest to keep acros, and after a certain size, they grow real quick. Here are some of mine... blue prostrata frag: red prostrata colony with green polyps: green millie frag: blue millie: I have another red prostrata with white growth tips not shown. Anyone here has one which is red with blue growth-tips, sometimes referred to as raspberry millie. A real stunning piece.

It leads to better gas exchange and tt means more stable pH. If you have a point light source, like mH, it creates glitter lines, high intense focus lighting. This glitter can reach places where a normal straight lighting can't get to. Surface agitation allows you to harvest more lighting into the water, for the same area than compared to a still surface.

It is not difficult to raise. Can be done quite easily. If alk is toohigh, the all the 'spare' space will be alloted to carbonate ions. Its is the nature of seawater to balance them to equilibrium. i.e. Ca = 400, dKH at 7, Mg at 1350 and pH to 8.2. pH values are mostly due to CO2 levels, in water as well as the surrounding air. A high alk prevents the volatile swing(buffers), but it won't prevent pH from going where it wants to eventually. Now if you're getting consistently high kh relative to Ca, then its attributed to your dosing regime and your tank's unique consumption of these ions. I believe it would be better for you to set aside the balance TMCa additive and use a two part one for better control.

Salifert makes them : http://www.reefdepot.com.sg/AddProduct.asp?ProdID=80 http://www.reefdepot.com.sg/Products.asp?O...amp;BrandID=All

1 meq = 2.8 dkh

I would advise against soaking in fresh water. When you speak of 'live rocks', you're talking about bacteria, plants(algae) and inverts. Rocks like these are nutrient loaded. Some you'll want, some not. Soaking in fresh water will kill the things you'll want and not rid of those that most don't want (algae). After a fresh water soak, bacteria and inverts dies, some you'll see come off but most you wont'. They'll die inside the rocks! What happens after you put these loaded rocks into your tank is anyones guess. Now if you do it with one rock, that may also be fine, but imagine doing with with 10s of kgs of rocks. Bristle worms are ok, until they get real big, when they are small, they're more beneficial to the system than not. When they get big, its very difficult to not spot them as they'll have to find a big place to hide themselves, so most times, you'll be easily able to catch them. If its the algae you want out, then soaking in freshwater won't help. It will very likely lead to an algae boom instead. You can consider rook-cooking if you like to preserve the 'live' but rid those that require lighting. It takes about 2 months to do a proper rook-cooking, done in the dark, so that autotrophic animals die, while heterotrophic animals still live.

but,.. but, butttttttttttt, kids aren't a pitfall. If I were you, I'll start on them early.

Does it look slippery or feel slippery? You know its something to do with what you did during the water change/ PURA complete or phosbuster. My guess is the phosbuster. This explains why in some areas, soap is prevented in rivers leading to a water fall... excessive foaming results. If you can look up "surfactant", the additive makes water easily skimmible. If it didn't happen before, it could be an application issue. I'm only guessing that maybe the bottle it comes in wasn't shaken before use, the remaning contents consists of a higher concentration fliud.

Since you say your tank is mature, you can get away without pH kit, dKH, Ca and even a lesser SG for FO. I would get those kits anyway. You can simply test them less frequently and make them go a long way. Alternatively if you're trying to save $$, then IMHO, a Nitrate test kit would suffice. NO3 at levels above 50 would be sensitive for free swimming fishes. But on a day-to-day basis, I'd worry about keeping it well oxygenated. A skimmer tuned to the size of your tank would do wonders. If you are able to export waste fast before it breaks down, you'll be able to keep more fish/sq area... I think thats where the real fun is, in keeping FO. Keep up your husbandry to maintain 'cleanliness' in your tank, don't let uneaten food rot, and remove dead fish/inverts fast. Once NH4 builds up, the whole tank goes.