Recent content by natclanwy

Your flowrate is going to be pretty low with 5' of head, according to your flow chart it will be about 138gph. As long as you are good with that flowrate it won't matter whether you drill the tank or plumb the returns over the top the flow rate will be the same within 1-2gph.

I think I would go over the top with your returns, the difference between drilling and running over the top is only going to be about 1-1.5" of head pressure which is next to nothing. If you drill your tank it won't make any difference where you put the return the head pressure will be the same...

I run carbon in my tank 24/7, there really is very little in the way of cons in doing this as long as you are diligent in performing water changes and regularly changing out the carbon. Carbon does absorb some of the trace minerals out of the water but they are easily replaced if you are doing...

With a drilled tank as long as your pump is rated at the same flowrate as your overflow or less you will be okay. I couldn't find a flow chart on your pump so I couldn't calculate the flowrate with 5' of head.

These filters are notorius for spraying bubbles, generally its the o-ring that seals the top of the canister. Usually if I take the top off and put it back on making sure the o-ring isn't rolled or pinched it will stop. Try the vasoline like meowzer suggested as it will help to keep the o-ring...

Then you would check for excess CO2 and excess nutrients and if they are normal you would leave it alone. A Ph of 7.7 is not ideal but its not bad either, but dosing buffer daily to increase is very hard on your livestock. The swings caused by constantly adjusting the Ph are worse on your...

Testing your Ph is purely a diagnostic tool the actual number is only a diagnostic indicator of other parameters, you should never try and adjust your Ph based on a Ph test. You need to test your Magnesium, Alkalinity, and Calcium and adjust them to the proper levels which in turn will balance...

Another issue with dosing large amounts of kalk is it has a tendancy to preicipitate your magnesium out of your tank. I was using kalk on my 55g and I had plenty of evaporation, about 5g every 3 days. So was dosing about 7g of kalk each week to try and maintain my consumption. It kept up with my...

I think I would just go with a battery operated air pump and air stone, they are inexpensive but are very effective at circulating the water in your tank. It can make a mess if you don't have a glass top on your tank due to the salt spray from the air bubbles popping at the surface but that can...

I built a closed loop for a 120g tank and I used a Reeflo dart for the CL pump. The dart is rated for 3600gph at 0' of head and in a closed loop your only losses are from friction so if you size your plumbing correctly the flow rate will be relatively close to this value. To give you an idea of...

Capacitors generally are used to clean up a power supply and remove any spikes or valleys so that you have a very clean power supply. They do store a charge but it wouldn't power your vortechs for more than a few seconds unless you had a bank of very high voltage capacitors. If I did my math...

The link to the chemistry calculator I posted above has some of the best information about keeping your Mag, Alk, and Cal in order.

From SeaChems Website: Reef Buffer™ will also raise carbonate alkalinity; however, it is intended primarily for use as a buffer in a reef system where the maintenance of a pH of 8.3 is often difficult. When pH is not an issue, Reef Builder™ or Reef Carbonate™ should be your first choice for a...

You might try a feed store also, not exactly sure what they use lime for besides covering animal carcasses but I was able to find a 50lb bag of lime for $11. Another note: You are not trying to cover the aiptasia with the lime you want it to eat it. If the aiptasia does not eat the lime paste...

Coralife salt does not disolve as easily as other brands of salt, one of the reasons I stopped using it several years ago. I used the same method of warming the water first otherwise it would take forever to get all of the salt to disolve. Since I have used both Reef Crystals and currently...