Parameters

[tthemadd1]

Check these parameters.
Ca 400+
Kh 125~
salinity 1.24
Phos 0-.25
Nitrates 0.0
I have mainly softies and a 75+fuge tank with tons of old rock. Just got through a green algae bloom, now cycling through cyano. Got the phos under control, macro algae growing very very slow in the fuge so I feel the phos and nitrates are easily under control. Good turnover of the tank protein skimmer runs but pulls little each week. Maybe half a cup or less.
Thought is should my Kh be higher, not going to hard corals. Would like to introduce more softies in the near future.
Let me know your thoughts or if you need more params.
A few more notes running pcs with 460nm blues and 12k whites. Good power heads as well as temp constant at 78-80.

 

[tthemadd1]

Bump

 

[flower]

Hi,
Just a note, the skimmer should be puling more then a mere half a cup or or less in an entire week. Is what it's pulling out at least dark tea color?
I would put some macroalgae in the sump to starve out the hair algae. HA releases spores, and the sump would just be seeding it into the display. As time goes on and we get used to our tanks, and the tank matures, the best indicator of how your tank is doing, is how happy the corals are. We usually do our tests to find out why the corals don't look so chipper. New tanks require a little more watchfulness, then the established ones.

 

[tthemadd1]

Thanks Flower.
I have macro in the fuge. Didn't define that in the first note. It is growing very slow so I see this as a good sign. Just caulerpa not bubble so it is doing fine. I have barber brushes but they didn't survive. Also was going to put a mangrove or two but not sure on their care or needs so left those at the store.
The skimmer seems to not get the skimate to top into the cup my neck fills up with heavy green sludge that I pullout weekly and some liquid in the cup. It was a homemade project from years back so it may be outdated or time for a new model.
Ill post a pic of the sludge later.
My corals are not growing as well under the pc's as they did with the 400w metal halide I used last year. (The wife and neighbors were annoyed by the creation of sun light in the evenings). It was in our front room and lit up the neighborhood.

 

[tthemadd1]

I understand the light changes and coral growth but want the optimal conditions to limit stresses and drop in wattage.
We are moving onto a new property in a year when I plan to build in a tank. My plan is to do a 100 +deep tank maybe 4' by 3' in wall tank. I still have two 400w mh sitting around to put back on along with the guts of my pcs.
Although I may switch over to LEDs if they continue to improve and see more and more hobbyist going to them.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tthemadd1 http:///t/395479/parameters#post_3521094
Thanks Flower.
I have macro in the fuge. Didn't define that in the first note. It is growing very slow so I see this as a good sign. Just caulerpa not bubble so it is doing fine. I have barber brushes but they didn't survive. Also was going to put a mangrove or two but not sure on their care or needs so left those at the store.
The skimmer seems to not get the skimate to top into the cup my neck fills up with heavy green sludge that I pullout weekly and some liquid in the cup. It was a homemade project from years back so it may be outdated or time for a new model.
Ill post a pic of the sludge later.
My corals are not growing as well under the pc's as they did with the 400w metal halide I used last year. (The wife and neighbors were annoyed by the creation of sun light in the evenings). It was in our front room and lit up the neighborhood.
Yep...nothing seems to beat the MH lamps for corals, even the way the color pops under that lighting is awesome. A ton of LEDS seem to be what folks are using now, my only concern with them is that you can't replace a burned bulb (unless you built the unit yourself)...Store bought ones are considered a toss away when the light goes bad, but wow, what an expense.
Don't concern yourself about the skimmer if you have macros. In fact you don't even need a skimmer if you have enough macroalgae. It feeds on the stuff the skimmer draws out. If you had no skimmer at all, the macro would grow faster. On that note...it's possible that between the skimmer and the macroalgae, there is very little food in the water column for the corals to feed on. That would also explain why the corals are not doing as well under PCs. There is more to a corals needs then just strong lighting. I would turn off my skimmer for a day when I added my coral food, I never had macroalgae until I kept seahorses, so I have nothing to compare it to.

 

[tthemadd1]

Makes sense on the skimmer/macro. I keep the bioload minimal at this point. 75+30 fuge and only a clown trigger mimic and lawnmower.
Here is the pic of the skimmate I clean out of the neck weekly.

 

[tthemadd1]

 

[tthemadd1]

I'm thinking I may shutdown the skimmer for a few days as well to see how the tank works. I also have a carbon/phosorb filter attached which shouldn't affect the micronutrients.
Thinking it really boils down to the lighting since it is a drop in watts by 140 over the past six months.
I still like the contrast in the 460nm range it makes my zoos and star polyps glow.
I think I will have the two 400w 14000k with pc gutted and only 460nm actinics running. That may be the best option. To hell with the electric bill. Ill just keep the tv off more to make up for it.

 

[snakeblitz33]

depending on your TV, you may never make up for it.
I like to keep my calcium around 460ppm and my alkalinity at 10-11dKH or 3.6 to 4.0mEq/L Don't know why you are using karbonate hardness scale rather than degrees of karbonate hardness. Milequivalents per liter is also another good scale to be familiar with when it comes to alkalinity. You do know that there is also a difference between borate alkalinity and total alkalinity, right?