Day 788: Partying hard is bad for your tank too!

partying is bad for your tank!

So the other day I noticed that my “canary in the well” coral, my aptly colored Yellow Leather Fiji – was telling me something was wrong.  He was looking all scrunchy-sour-faced, no really, he gets all scrunched up and withdraws his polyps and looks like a dried up tan Sham-Wow in my tank.

Anyway I checked my controller data (I’m sold on these devices for nearly any stage of tank now) and found that my pH had hit 7.79!!!  Yikes!  What happened?  the valley was at 2:30am – an odd time for my cycle since the valley is usually somewhere closer to 9am-11am for my light cycle.  That’s when it hit me.  I went to bed at 2:30am that night!  It was my monthly poker (no – stakes, home game – relax everyone) and several spouses and friends had come over to boot.  In all we had about 14 people in the home not counting dogs and cats.  That’s a lot of extra CO2 blowing!  Apparently with the house closed up and all those extra bodies – the tank wasn’t able to vent off the CO2 adequately and the pH started to drop – a lot.

Lesson learned – on party nights – crack a window near the tank in order to let the good times roll.

Day 737: Two years old!!!

PRP is two years old!  Pretty excited as it continues to develop and stabilize.  The regulator on the CO2 has been replaced and is working now.  The pH was set initially to 6.8 but would drop to 6.4 when the CO2 came on and the calcium and alkalinity both tested high. I turned the pH meter solenoid to trip at closer to 7.0 and the calcium and alkalinity are stabilizing but still pretty high so I’m guessing – I’ll be turning down the flow or the pH trips that govern that outlet.

The pH itself has stabilized at 8.0-8.2 which is good. After a couple of weeks of stability I should be able to look at getting a starfish and the clam!!  Also thinking about some photosynthetic gorgonians to add in some vertical height.

Yesterday I took back the Hoeven’s Wrasse in preparation to get some cleaner shrimp.

So what is in store for year 3?  Mostly using the newly stabilized tank to grow out the frags I have. Between the Apex regulating things and the calcium reactor getting calcium and alk up and the improved testing Hanna Checkers I’m hoping to be able to get that “packed in” look in year 3.  Also need to keep working to automate some more to manage a week or more vacation – which means automating feedings.  Also I want to be get some more acros – we’ll see. I’m kinda tapped out on anemones –  so no more there.  Of course algae management is going to be ongoing, but manageable at this point.

I’ve thought about getting a larger tank – which would be really cool – but on the whole I’m pretty happy with the 75 (except having tank maintenance bet so difficult). I guess while I’ve been looking at starting a larger build, I’m not in much hurry to do so.  So for now – the PRP 75 is rocking a long and getting out of the terrible twos and into the toddler 3’s.  Here’s to a growth spurt in the coming months!

Day 715: Catching up – Calcium Reactor

Been a long time since I’ve posted – no apologies – these things happen.  Lets see.  Since the last post I’ve done several things.

1. Got the calcium reactor on line – sort of…. explain more in a second.
2. To get the reactor dialed in, I got some more accurate testing sets, Hanna Checkers. Love them!  More in a second there too.
3. Related, but specifically I got a Salifert Mg test to see if Mg was why my alkalinity was always bumping the bottom of the range – sure enough – Mg was low.  While I did dump in a whole bottle of Mg from Red Sea – it wasn’t until I got he Calcium reactor going that things started to look better.
4. Replaced the filter cartridges in the RODI – again, sort of, the company didn’t bring the right sized DI cartridge, but they did add another tank, so I have about 20 gallons of RODI on hand at any given time.
5. I also made an adaptor to the Bucket Head vacuum to be able to clean the sump easier.  I can now vacuum it out and do a 5 gallon or so replacement pretty easily – which has been nice.

Regarding the Calcium Reactor – I did get that set up, but the regulator was blow, so the only way I can make the whole thing work is blast the medium down to about 6.3 and then left the feed pump push in tank water until the pH hits about 7.0 – not ideal since it is supposed to be “set and forget” but now I have the new regulator head and once I get that installed (hopefully this weekend) I’ll do a quick video to show how that whole system works.

I also need to move the effluent drip line into the skimmer. That way the air the skimmer is pulling in will drive off the excess CO2 from the system which will hopefully keep pH up.  The pH has been fine, but I’ve kinda been managing it with Kalkwasser drips.  I have the calcium reactor set up to turn on when pH hits 8.5 and shut off when the pH drops to 8.15.    I’m hoping to get away from the whole Kalkwasser system all together, but at worst I’ll add it to the ATO and set the ATO to only run set bursts between set hours overnight so that it maintains a better pH.  I think my toadstool was none too happy with pH being in the 7.9’s at one point – everything else seems pretty happy with it.

Calcium Reactor

The water tests after having the calcium reactor “set” or should I say, running, for the week is that Calcium is at 550ppm (possibly as high at 590 since I ran the test twice) and alkalinity is at 9.8 dKh (3.5meq)..  Magnesium is at a beautiful 1320ppm.  Not the calcium is a bit high, but I think once I can regulate the pH in the tank it should help since I can slow the rate of dissolving the media and increase the drip rate (more higher pH water into the reactor).

Hanna Checkers

Lets see – fish are looking great.  Still have the ornery wrasse… but once I get the reactor set his days are looking limited in PRP.  I want to get a clam and I would love to get a cleaner shrimp or two.  So… that means the Wrasse has got to go.  He decimated my peppermint shrimp population quite nicely and while they are supposed to be clam friendly – I’m having a hard time trusting it with what I assume will be a $200 purchase.

I saw that AI has come out with the “Hydra” as an upgrade to the “Vega” lights.  I have the “Sol” so I’m two versions behind, but I’m pretty happy with them.  Instead of adding any upgrade lights, I think I might add a T5HO bulb or two for color and softening the “curves” of the LEDS (sometimes called the disco-ball effect).

That’s about it, coming up on two years with the PRP in a couple of weeks here.  Happy birthday 1 year was a bubble tip anemone I’m glad to say is still kicking. This year perhaps a clam?

Day 681: Large Maintenance and BTA walk-about

Well last night my BTA went for a walk about and ended up right back where he was in the first place… just weird after not having moved, ever, since the day after I got him.  Hummmmm….

Today I did a major maintenance on the tank.  Vacuumed the sump out (but it doesn’t even look like it – LOL – may need to do that a little more often.  Also removed and cleaned the skimmer. It’s looking a lot more efficient now (lots of bubbles).  Next time I’ll increase the temperature of the top off water to avoid a drop – wasn’t a huge deal since I had the main pump turned off so the sump water had a half hour to come up to temp.  The main tank however dropped a little more than I expected in that time.

I didn’t re-arrange the sump.  All the tubing is just sorta “stuck” in the various places.  I’ll try to just move the effluent from the calcium reactor as far to the skimmer as I can and I’ll move the salt mixing station over farther since that tube is plenty long to reach.

Day 675: Prepping the RODI top off container

No much to report today. Washed the new RODI top off with vinegar to remove any oils from production.  Drilled a hole in the back of the lid for the tubing.  By the way, I found out the plastic is stamped with a 5 PP label.  While it isn’t “food grade” because it is post industrial waste material – it is a food grade, heat resistant plastic that shouldn’t leach into the water.

Other than that – noticed that at 9:00 or so my tank pH starts to drop. So I’ll start kalk at that time and dose overnight to see what happens with my pH.  2 gallon water change today.

Day 674: Progress on Calcium Reactor

I did the PRP water tests today.  Calcium at 400 despite adding 4 gallons of kalk over the last week.  Alkalinity was the surprise as it still is sitting at 8 despite the kalk additions and probably 3-4 teaspoons of baking soda.  Magnesium is still on the low end of normal sea water at 1215.  I’ll keep adding a cap of Mag supplement daily till Friday to help stabilize the Alk/Calc.  Despite some heavy feeding for the new fish, Nitrate is still zero – which is good, daily water changes and the skimmer are keeping up.

I calibrated the pH probes for the Apex and the temperature probes yesterday.  It was a pretty easy process. I also made it temp adjusted.  The instructions threw me for a second since they say that you can’t enable, calibrate or temp adjust the pH probe with the web interface (i.e., only with the Neptune display).   Perhaps it is referring to the old web-interface because it seemed to work just fine.  Looks like the probe for the calcium reactor is up by almost .2 – which doesn’t surprise me since it was probably calibrated for the 6ish range. Speaking of, I didn’t calibrate this probe since I didn’t realize I would need pH 4 solution.  I also hung, but didn’t plug in or run the airline tubing for the peristaltic pump for the ATO.  I put in cleaning the probes as a monthly task and recalibrating at a every 3 month task.  I think I’ll also put a every 1 year task of replacing the pH probe.

Other than that – didn’t really do much on the PRP end of things this weekend.  I’m giving up on scanning fish for spots every day.  Too much anxiety and not enough ability to do anything about it.  I’ll just monitor for when a fish seems “sick” and then I’ll know I’ve got a mess on my hands.

Next I’ll wash out the new RODI container with vinegar and start that filling.  I’ll need to drill a hole in it for the tubing and set up the lines for the peristaltic pump.  I also need to harvest some cheato and rearrange the sump.

Day 671: Doser Pump and PM1

Day 671: Received the doser pump today.  Looks like it was going to be good. I spent the day rerouting wires and plugs with drip loops.  I put in the PM1 but didn’t calibrate the probe yet.

Didn’t get a water change done today.  The spot that was on the clown appears to have just been a piece of food.  No spots on any fish at this point – I think 🙂

Thats about it for today

Day 670: Bulk Reef Supply vs Marine Depot

These two companies are neck and neck on prices, but there is one major difference.  Bulk Reef supply ships from MN so I get the package in ONE business day from BRS versus 7 days from the California based Marine Depot.  Need to remember that.  I cancelled my backordered purchase from Marine Depot and ordered from BRS – I’ll have the PM1 module and ATO pump Thursday!

Still a spot on the Wrasse… still feeding the tank heavy.  The yellow tang is getting spunky with the Kole tang – guess they are setting in and disputing some territory.  The Yellow Tang is eating well, but still looks skinny – I’m hoping we aren’t seeing some kind of internal parasite there.  The Kole is strong and still pecking at the glass – swimming confidently about the tank now.

So I had to switch from a impeller based pump to a peristaltic pump to manage the head height on the new water container.  I couldn’t use a small pump to move it to the sump because it would form a siphon.  I also couldn’t use a huge pump because it would blast water at the system.  I got a 50ml per min pump which should be able to dump in a nice steady dose of water when called on by the water sensor.  I also thought up that I could dose kalk at night by putting a switch on the line for the pump that I could move to go to a DIY kalk reactor at night… not automated, but if needed to off set the calcium reactor – it is totally do-able.

I’m also going to take the 1.5 mag off the Apex (not really needing to control it) as well as the ATO.  I’ll also take the main off the Apex as well since I can’t put it in feed mode without having to also re-start my siphon overflow which is a PITA and defeats the purpose of and “automated” system. Thought about getting rid of the siphon, but it is SO LOUD without it – it sounds like a constantly flushing toilet basically.

One gallon water change tonight on PRP.  Need to find some zoas for the BC14! Installed the new bulbs from Marine Depot – 10k and Actinic flat 4 pin compact fluorescents.  Gotta get that thing colored up a little bit 🙂

Day 695: Mg and Spots, again.

Well, I knew it was too good to be true – the wrasse has a spot on his side.  I’ll watch him carefully (as the other inhabitants as well) and hope they all continue to kick the trophont’s @sses.  2 Gallon water changes.  Feeding as heavily as I dare at this point.  Pins and needles…

Also tested Mg++ with Salifert’s test and found at 1185 I’m 8% below natural sea water and 13% below optimal.  This means basically dosing the entire bottle… which I’ll of course do gradually over the next week or so.  Irritating that it seems my salt isn’t quite up to par.  Regardless, I’ll add Red Sea Foundation “C” over the next week and see where I am next Sunday.

Testing the container for the RODI for possible phosphate leaching… once that is determined to be nil, I’ll get a Mag 1.5-1.9 to move the RODI all the way up to the main display overflow and set up the JBJ Auto top off.  The only remaining problem (I just realized) is if the JBJ cord to the float valve is too short to reach to the bottom of the new ATO container… sigh… again.

BC14 update is that all is well.  The new green star polyp has adjusted and is out.

Day 694: Planning Stages

Well – it’s been a while since I’ve posted. The new tangs are settling in nicely. They are starting to feel at home and not racing around or hiding.  I’ve been feeding a sheet of algae each day and the yellow has started nipping at it.  The Kole appears to be content with cleaning glass at the moment – so I”m letting algae build on the ends of the tank. Neither have shown any spots for at least 3 days now so I think a little R and R and good nutrition has helped them kick anything they may have had.  I also have been watching the other inhabitants too and so far so good.  I’ll not be breathing easy until a month after adding them and no spots.  Still doing two gallons a day water changes – just to be safe while the tangs settle in.

Did water tests today – no nitrates which is good for having added two large fish.  I was worried about having a mini-cycle, but all appears well.  I’ve also got higher calcium at 400 and alkalinity went up from a very low 6 to a 7 dKH.  Not great – but not bad either.  I’m going to drip in 1.5 teaspoons of baking soda in a gallon of RODI today at lights on to try to get that raised a bit more.  Putting in baking soda rather than washing soda as washing soda will bump up the pH and mine is already pretty high with kalkwasser additives. Other than that – salinity is solid, temp has been rock solid on the Apex.

Planning on putting the CO2 reactor under the tank and moving the RODI top off out. Putting it in bin on the side of the tank hidden in a plastic faux-wicker trash can.  I just have to write the company and make sure the liner they have in there doesn’t have any anti-bacterial or anti-mold additives.  Then I won’t be able to drip into the sump anymore since that would cause a siphon.  I’ll have to pump up to the display.  If I pump straight down the overflow it will give plenty of time for it to mix before re-entering the display.  I’ll likely employ a Tom’s aqua-lifter for that project.  I’ll need to find a place to put the Kalk top off since that will be pumped in through the RODI and into the tank – maybe sitting behind the RODI. This will also require moving the Vortec controller module and re-routing the cord for the AI sol units.  At the same time, I’ll move the return pump onto the Apex so that I can make a comprehensive “feed” setting that shuts down the return pump and skimmer for 20 minutes after feeding.  At that point I’ll clean the return outlets and dip them in some hydrogen peroxide to kill off the algae on them. Sigh – this could take a while.

Once I have the RODI top off out from under the tank – I’ll re-arrange the sump by cutting back the tubing on the Carbon/GFO reactor so the mag 3 sits directly under it, move the skimmer to the side where the Ca+ reactor will be so that I can drip effluent directly into the skimmer intake.  I’ll move the filter sock holder to the back of the sump for added access when vacuuming out the sump bottom.  I’ll move the cheato basket to the right hand side just over the intake.  that way it will be easy to access to remove when it is time to vacuum.  I’ll need to get a filter for the intake on the Ca+ pump and get it all set up on the Apex.  Sigh…. this could take a while too.