Are these parameters ok? - Page 5

tangman99 · #**101** 08/10/2006, 09:46 PM

jdieck,

Man, I feel for you at the airport tomorrow. I used to be a road warrior. On a plane every Monday to some part of the country. I don't miss that at all.

Anyway, yes I have learned a lot. I was not aware that it was something that took some time. I thought after a couple of day of getting it to 10 that I was done and could just maintain with dosing.

So, boost it to 9 instead of 10 and let that level out first?

jdieck · #**102** 08/11/2006, 12:37 AM

Yes. Usually one or two adjustments wont cause issues but man you have made so many that rather than sea water I will call it an ionic soup, so just take it easy for a while.

I let you know how the travel goes, for the time being I ended up on the street this afternoon. Mistake on the reservation with hotel full for the weekend so I ended up looking for another place to stay. The hotel manager promised to find me a room somewhere else and to call me back in an hour.
This was 15 hours ago.

vincent843 · #**103** 08/11/2006, 01:06 AM

Hello everyone,
a little update. Got the Kent turbo cal today, try a 1/16 tsp to see there is any reaction. Looking good.
cal=370 raise from 340
alk= 8.5 lower from 8.8 ( i did not add any )
ph=8.4... will add 1tsp bbs, and 1/8 turbo cal before night night.
Thanks . vincent

jdieck · #**104** 08/11/2006, 01:37 AM

Vince... looking good although I would look for a better way of measuring PH.

vincent843 · #**105** 08/11/2006, 02:01 AM

Jdieck, thanks. I have hard time to use the pH color chartfrom AP. If you know there is a better way, please show me.
A week is really fly fast. isn't it.
Thanks, vincent.

jdieck · #**106** 08/11/2006, 09:37 AM

My recomendation will be to get a PH monitor. Pin Point are reasonably priced and work well.

A week, too short when on vacation, too long on the road.

rigleautomotive · #**107** 08/11/2006, 10:06 AM

what should the target ph be for ro di water.when do i need to add baking soda

rigleautomotive · #**108** 08/11/2006, 10:08 AM

correction i meant dkh

jdieck · #**109** 08/11/2006, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rigleautomotive
what should the target ph be for ro di water.when do i need to add baking soda

If you mean pure RO/DI water should be theoretically zero, remember the idea is to strip it of everything that is not water.
Practically depending on the quality of the RO/DI system and your tap water the range of total dissolved solids (which include some of the components of Alkalinity) shall be between 0 and 5 ppm this is 0 to less than 0.3 dKh if we consider it them to be components of alkalinity.

By the way, because the resistance to PH change depends on the amount of alkalinity present and because RO/DI water basically has no alkalinity, it's PH can change so easily that it might be considered a meaningless measurment in RO/DI.
In any case most RO/DI water might show a PH lower than 7, this is due to the effect of dissolved CO2 from the surounding air. but again even the smallest addition of carbonate ions will make the PH change almost imediately.

Having said that, many salt manufacturers assume you will not be using RO/DI water to prepare your newly mixed salt water so they assume that your tap water will contain some alkalinity and chlorine so they add less alkalinity buffers and potentially dechlorinators. If you use those salts to mix with RO/DI the end result might be lower than desirable alkalinity requiring additional alkalinity supplement before making the water change.
Examples of those salt mixes are Tropic Marin and Oceanic which when mixed with RO/DI end up with low alkalinity.
In this case I would advise to prepare the mix first and let it completelly dissolve and stabilize for 8 to 12 hours then test for alkalinity and dose Baking Soda as required. (You can do the same with Calcium and magnesium)
Typical targets will be:
Alkalinity 2.5 (NSW) to 11 dKh with most usual numbers around 8 to 10 dKh
Calcium from 400 to 450 ppm with most usual around 420 ppm NSW
Magnesium 1250 to 1350 with most targeting 1300 ppm

The chemistry calculator can help you determine how much supplement to add. The FV version contains a very good reference article that guides you on your required corrections toward normal targets depending on your actual parameters.

http://jdieck1.home.comcast.net/chem_calc3.html

Hope this info helps.

rigleautomotive · #**110** 08/11/2006, 10:47 AM

my ph in a 180 heavily stocked reef with cal reactor and kalk drip runs at no higher than 8.15 daily and no lower than 7.9.cal400,alk8.5,sg 1.024.i was under the impression calcifacation stops at this ph.how do corals grow with this ph.do i need to make any change like buffering make up water.my acros grow fast now and animals look great.

vincent843 · #**111** 08/12/2006, 09:54 AM

Hello everyone,

some issue here.
1-Got the Mag test kit yesterday. measured last night and this morning, Mag reading = 1200 ppm. So my LFS' number is not reliable( 1320). Does this caused the balance of calcium?

2-So. in my case, which one I suppose to balance first, Magnestium, alk and cal?

3- I see there is an error on the salifert test kit. what happened was each time I draw fluid to the 1ml syringe, there was an air gap in there. This air gap is vary between .15 ml to .2ml. I wonder this effected the test result.

Thanks for your help.
vincent

jdieck · #**112** 08/12/2006, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rigleautomotive
my ph in a 180 heavily stocked reef with cal reactor and kalk drip runs at no higher than 8.15 daily and no lower than 7.9.cal400,alk8.5,sg 1.024.i was under the impression calcifacation stops at this ph.how do corals grow with this ph.do i need to make any change like buffering make up water.my acros grow fast now and animals look great.

No your parameters are OK. Calcification is not only a function of PH but a combination of PH, Ca and Alkalinity.
Two possible combinations were calcification stops and Carbonate starts to dissolve.

pH = 7.7
Calcium = 410 ppm
Alkalinity = 2.5 meq/L

pH = 8.2
Calcium = 340 ppm
Alkalinity = 1.0 meq/L

As you can see it can happen over a wide range of PH but depends much also on the level of Calcium and Alkalinity

If you like you could ramp up your Calcium a bit to 420 ppm and your alkalinity to 9 or 10 meq/lt

jdieck · #**113** 08/12/2006, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vincent843
Hello everyone,

some issue here.
1-Got the Mag test kit yesterday. measured last night and this morning, Mag reading = 1200 ppm. So my LFS' number is not reliable( 1320). Does this caused the balance of calcium?

No I do not think is low enough to cause Calcium issues but you can increase it a notch.

2-So. in my case, which one I suppose to balance first, Magnestium, alk and cal?
If they are really way out of balance I try to bring up the one if farther from the target, when they are close to target, I would do Magnesium first, then either Calcium or Alkalinity.

3- I see there is an error on the salifert test kit. what happened was each time I draw fluid to the 1ml syringe, there was an air gap in there. This air gap is vary between .15 ml to .2ml. I wonder this effected the test result.

It might if the tip of the syringe was not tight enough and you draw some air or you had some tritrant in the syringe tip before starting to draw. Just insure the tip is firmly inserted and draw slowly. Also insure to empty the syringe completely, pull the plunger up to draw in any tritrant in the tip, then shake the syringe vertical to bring it back to the tip then depress the plunger, that shall completely empty any tritrant that might get trapped in the tip.

Thanks for your help.
vincent

rigleautomotive · #**114** 08/12/2006, 02:40 PM

thank for the info, i have read you and jullians stuff for 15 years and i respect your opinion greatly.i have followed your school of thought and have had a ton of success growing and fragging sps corals.the system i run a cal reactor on has a little light green slime algae growing on bottom half of reef rock.not a real problem but i never had it before the reactor or in any other tanks i am currently running.i run arm media.my parameters are close to perfect and all animals look great.is this related to reactor or co2.the reason i think it is related is because it is the same color as the stuff that grows on the inside of the reactor

jdieck · #**115** 08/12/2006, 02:46 PM

Usually slime algae is not motivated by CO2 but rather by Nitrates, Phosphates and/or Organics. Even with no detectable Nitrates it is able to extract what it needs from dissolved Nitrogen in the water. The algae might be just that your tank has been maturing and might have accumulated some organics or phosphates.
To prevent algae in the reactor try to prevent light reaching it.
If you can't try covering it's sides with some black plastic or board, unfortunately you might not be able to see the media so make it easy to put and remove.
I was getting some algae growth inside by overflow which eventually plugged the drain. I covered the back with a piece of the black film used for aquarium backgrounds and installed a piece of black acrylic on top of it. No more algae.

tangman99 · #**116** 08/13/2006, 08:14 PM

Haven't posted in a couple of days. Still just adding the Baking Soda to go from 9 to 10. Seems to be stabling out so nothing new to report or ask.

What's the scoop jdieck? Are you a famous author? Just noting rigleautmotive's comment. I'm in the dark here.

jdieck · #**117** 08/13/2006, 09:05 PM

No, I am not JDelbeek

Besides the article I wrote about my system for TOTM and some equipment testing and that I think some of my posts might be longer than mag articles , other than that, I think I am better known as the calculator guy.

Good thinks are getting stable.

tangman99 · #**118** 08/13/2006, 10:11 PM

Yeah, I saw you tank of the month article (doing a little research to see if I was basking in the light of greatness) and you have one awesome tank. I'd say you have at least $500.00 in that tank.

jdieck · #**119** 08/13/2006, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tangman99
I'd say you have at least $500.00 in that tank.

There went my Bmr...

Boomer · #**120** 08/14/2006, 12:27 AM

JD you should get a gold star for this thread

Are you going to MACNA ?

jdieck · #**121** 08/14/2006, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Boomer
[B]JD you should get a gold star for this thread

Just having some fun while the boss is away

Are you going to MACNA ?

No can do, five different projects to complete before the end of September.

rigleautomotive · #**122** 08/14/2006, 09:10 AM

you look just like delbeck on my computer.sorry for the mistake.anyway what do you think if anything about the green slime

jdieck · #**123** 08/14/2006, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rigleautomotive
you look just like delbeck on my computer.sorry for the mistake.anyway what do you think if anything about the green slime

No need to be sorry, it was a nice touch

Slime algae is an indication of nutrients accumulating in the system mainly Nitrates, phosphates and some organics we can not usually measure.
It also requires relatively low light (Specially the green one) and low flow, I really do not think CO2 has much effect on it as it can get what it needs even from what dissolves from the surounding air.
Most people try increasing flow and changing bulbs to fight it although in my personal opinion there is no much you can do to light areas under rock same as for having enough flow torughout so the best way is reduce organics and detritus.
Try syphon out as much as you can, revamp your skimmer, if you do not have a macro algae refugium you may try one and use some phosphate removing media (Phosban, Warner Marine PHOsR or Rowaphos).
To try to remove accumulated detritus on the rock, use a powerhead to blow the rock paying special attention to unplug the pores. To make this more effective cut about 3 inches of the tip of a turkey baster and attach it to the powerhead, use your thumb on the powerhead inlet to throthle the flow and insure you have the powerhead connected to a GFCI.

rigleautomotive · #**124** 08/14/2006, 09:42 AM

do you think a ets 600 driven by an iwalki is enough skimmer.i had this same equiptment on a 125 gal reef for 7 years.no worries.switched all over to 180 1 year ago.new bulbs 6 month ago.used XM 10 k instead of my usual ushios.never had alga problems using ets skimmers until now.its not terrible just anoying to me.animals look real good.any thoughts

jdieck · #**125** 08/14/2006, 11:44 AM

A 600 shall be enough if working properly. I found most ETS to be a little tricky to adjust but you mentioned being heavely stocked so that might be a concern.
Have you tested your Nitrates and Phosphates?
What would your readings be?