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wbradenpt
Guest
both positive and negative, don't be holding back. let me know what you think. appreciate any suggestions.
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wbradenpt
Guest
both positive and negative, don't be holding back. let me know what you think. appreciate any suggestions.
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wbradenpt
Guest
a few more pics of setup
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wbradenpt
Guest
in particular, i'm new to using kalkwasser and calcium reactors. bought geo versions of both. currently have aquamedic dosing pump hooked up to kalkwasser reactor and ran tubing all the way to my big 44g bucket. have timer set to dose for 15 minutes every 2 hours and it seems to be just about right for keeping the level in the sump constant.
kind of worried though what might happen if timer were to fail in the on position. might have a bit of a flood. i have a tunze level controller that i haven't opened yet since the water level already seems to be under control. but thinking that maybe i should hook it up and maybe cut the kalkwasser dosing in half?
pH is at 8.2 and all water parameters are where they should be.
the kalkwasser pump has timer set to stir for 30 minutes every 6 hours. even so, the powder seems to be accumulating on the bottom of the reactor. not sure if this is normal or not. thinking that maybe it is normal and that when powder is gone that is when it is time to add more powder?
any help would be appreciated.
kind of worried though what might happen if timer were to fail in the on position. might have a bit of a flood. i have a tunze level controller that i haven't opened yet since the water level already seems to be under control. but thinking that maybe i should hook it up and maybe cut the kalkwasser dosing in half?
pH is at 8.2 and all water parameters are where they should be.
the kalkwasser pump has timer set to stir for 30 minutes every 6 hours. even so, the powder seems to be accumulating on the bottom of the reactor. not sure if this is normal or not. thinking that maybe it is normal and that when powder is gone that is when it is time to add more powder?
any help would be appreciated.
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wbradenpt
Guest
by the way, the livestock was transferred from previous 140g oceanic setup.
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wbradenpt
Guest
probably about 180-200 pounds of live rock
assorted mushrooms near the bottom
several zoos from midway up towards the top
1 green acropora top left
1 blue millipora top middle
1 soft coral on the right side
1 pretty big frogspawn on the left that probably needs to be fragged. bought the fragging tool and will attempt that pretty soon.
1 hammer coral
1 small green brain that is still very small despite having it for a couple of years. probably need to manually feed it, or maybe now that i am using kalkwasser and calcium reactors that may help.
1 red and blue ricordea that just split off an offspring
2 orange linkia starfish
a few brittlestars
probably a hundred or so snails and hermit crabs
1 tuxedo urchin
1 spiky urchin that came out of the live rock and is pretty big now.
8 or so peppermint shrimp
2 or 3 fire shrimp
1 blue hippo
1 yellow tang
2 blue/green chromis
1 six line wrasse
and 1 clown fish
i think that's about it.
have various frags of zoos, yellow polyps, star polyps, and mushrooms in refugium that i have listed in classified section. need to make room in there for some macro algae.
also selling old 140g oceanic tank that used to be home to this livestock.
assorted mushrooms near the bottom
several zoos from midway up towards the top
1 green acropora top left
1 blue millipora top middle
1 soft coral on the right side
1 pretty big frogspawn on the left that probably needs to be fragged. bought the fragging tool and will attempt that pretty soon.
1 hammer coral
1 small green brain that is still very small despite having it for a couple of years. probably need to manually feed it, or maybe now that i am using kalkwasser and calcium reactors that may help.
1 red and blue ricordea that just split off an offspring
2 orange linkia starfish
a few brittlestars
probably a hundred or so snails and hermit crabs
1 tuxedo urchin
1 spiky urchin that came out of the live rock and is pretty big now.
8 or so peppermint shrimp
2 or 3 fire shrimp
1 blue hippo
1 yellow tang
2 blue/green chromis
1 six line wrasse
and 1 clown fish
i think that's about it.
have various frags of zoos, yellow polyps, star polyps, and mushrooms in refugium that i have listed in classified section. need to make room in there for some macro algae.
also selling old 140g oceanic tank that used to be home to this livestock.
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wbradenpt
Guest
here's visual version of livestock inventory
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wbradenpt
Guest
pics of livestock
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wbradenpt
Guest
pics of livestock
also pic of refugium with frags for sale or trade
also pic of refugium with frags for sale or trade
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wbradenpt
Guest
used to have deep sand bed in old tank, but am considering not using any sand at all in this setup. the current is pretty decent with the tunze wavemaker setup, and don't really want to risk a sandstorm. plus, since i want acropora on the top part of display, i may need to increase the flow even more than it already is. i've never had nitrates that were undetectable until now. may just be coincidence. either way, thinking about selling the live sand that i had in the old tank. any opinions?
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wbradenpt
Guest
Originally Posted by wbradenpt
in particular, i'm new to using kalkwasser and calcium reactors. bought geo versions of both. currently have aquamedic dosing pump hooked up to kalkwasser reactor and ran tubing all the way to my big 44g bucket. have timer set to dose for 15 minutes every 2 hours and it seems to be just about right for keeping the level in the sump constant.
kind of worried though what might happen if timer were to fail in the on position. might have a bit of a flood. i have a tunze level controller that i haven't opened yet since the water level already seems to be under control. but thinking that maybe i should hook it up and maybe cut the kalkwasser dosing in half?
pH is at 8.2 and all water parameters are where they should be.
the kalkwasser pump has timer set to stir for 30 minutes every 6 hours. even so, the powder seems to be accumulating on the bottom of the reactor. not sure if this is normal or not. thinking that maybe it is normal and that when powder is gone that is when it is time to add more powder?
any help would be appreciated.
seems that kalkwasser tends to make pH rise. i had to stop the kalkwasser as the pH eventually increased as high as 8.4. now that it is turned off it varies between 8.2 and 8.3. maybe the pH will eventually begin to drop again, then i'll probably restart at a less frequent dosage.
does this sound familiar to anyone?
in particular, i'm new to using kalkwasser and calcium reactors. bought geo versions of both. currently have aquamedic dosing pump hooked up to kalkwasser reactor and ran tubing all the way to my big 44g bucket. have timer set to dose for 15 minutes every 2 hours and it seems to be just about right for keeping the level in the sump constant.
kind of worried though what might happen if timer were to fail in the on position. might have a bit of a flood. i have a tunze level controller that i haven't opened yet since the water level already seems to be under control. but thinking that maybe i should hook it up and maybe cut the kalkwasser dosing in half?
pH is at 8.2 and all water parameters are where they should be.
the kalkwasser pump has timer set to stir for 30 minutes every 6 hours. even so, the powder seems to be accumulating on the bottom of the reactor. not sure if this is normal or not. thinking that maybe it is normal and that when powder is gone that is when it is time to add more powder?
any help would be appreciated.
seems that kalkwasser tends to make pH rise. i had to stop the kalkwasser as the pH eventually increased as high as 8.4. now that it is turned off it varies between 8.2 and 8.3. maybe the pH will eventually begin to drop again, then i'll probably restart at a less frequent dosage.
does this sound familiar to anyone?
tinmanny
Member
just read your response to ick and I think that is a very good methood of dealing with the problem in nature there is no
[hr]
and no qt area for fish to go but they survive by natural cure
Some things are better off left to themselves for repair
by the way very nice setup I am hoping to convince my wife to get a 300 dt I am very anxious about this
Good luck
Manny
[hr]
and no qt area for fish to go but they survive by natural cure
Some things are better off left to themselves for repair
by the way very nice setup I am hoping to convince my wife to get a 300 dt I am very anxious about this
Good luck
Manny
k8eydid
Member
Hi,
Nice set up! We are in the process of upgrading from our 55 gal reef to a 220 gal. Main pump for the sump retun is 1000 gph and we are planning 2 returns split to 4 directions. We want to add more flow for the corals but Hubby does not want anything hanging in the display tank (power heads). Perhaps another pump on timers (wavemaker) set up just to circulate? Any recomendations for how much GPH we will need for a 220? (72L X 30H X 24D)?
Thanks~
Nice set up! We are in the process of upgrading from our 55 gal reef to a 220 gal. Main pump for the sump retun is 1000 gph and we are planning 2 returns split to 4 directions. We want to add more flow for the corals but Hubby does not want anything hanging in the display tank (power heads). Perhaps another pump on timers (wavemaker) set up just to circulate? Any recomendations for how much GPH we will need for a 220? (72L X 30H X 24D)?
chilwil84
Active Member
sweet setup. the only thoughts i have on the setup is maybe lose some rock in the refugium and put some macro algae in it. the other thing is you dont have a massive sps population at this time in the tank and your reactor should be more than enough to keep up with your calcium demand you could easil ditch the kalk reactor until you have a tank the looks like murphs than you might need both
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wbradenpt
Guest
Originally Posted by tinmanny
just read your response to ick and I think that is a very good methood of dealing with the problem in nature there is no
[hr]
and no qt area for fish to go but they survive by natural cure
Some things are better off left to themselves for repair
by the way very nice setup I am hoping to convince my wife to get a 300 dt I am very anxious about this
Good luck
Manny
seems that i had to hijack another thread with some controversy to get some replies. the person with the ich problem seemed to be looking for some alternative to tearing apart the tank to catch the fish. just thought i'd share my experience, but i seemed to have ruffled a teacher's textbook solution. i agree about the lack of a qt in nature (yet i don't remember tangs covered with ich when i was diving in hawaii), but was hesitant to say that in the other thread since i thought i might cause someone to blow a gasket. i figure that i'm trying to create a mini reef that replicates nature, and since i already tried and failed with the "treatment" technique, i figured i'd give the natural approach a try. working for me so far.
as far as the 300 display tank is concerned, the only anxiety is probably in the bank account. the larger my tank gets, the easier it is to maintain.
just read your response to ick and I think that is a very good methood of dealing with the problem in nature there is no
[hr]
and no qt area for fish to go but they survive by natural cure
Some things are better off left to themselves for repair
by the way very nice setup I am hoping to convince my wife to get a 300 dt I am very anxious about this
Good luck
Manny
seems that i had to hijack another thread with some controversy to get some replies. the person with the ich problem seemed to be looking for some alternative to tearing apart the tank to catch the fish. just thought i'd share my experience, but i seemed to have ruffled a teacher's textbook solution. i agree about the lack of a qt in nature (yet i don't remember tangs covered with ich when i was diving in hawaii), but was hesitant to say that in the other thread since i thought i might cause someone to blow a gasket. i figure that i'm trying to create a mini reef that replicates nature, and since i already tried and failed with the "treatment" technique, i figured i'd give the natural approach a try. working for me so far.
as far as the 300 display tank is concerned, the only anxiety is probably in the bank account. the larger my tank gets, the easier it is to maintain.
W
wbradenpt
Guest
Originally Posted by k8eydid
Hi,
Nice set up! We are in the process of upgrading from our 55 gal reef to a 220 gal. Main pump for the sump retun is 1000 gph and we are planning 2 returns split to 4 directions. We want to add more flow for the corals but Hubby does not want anything hanging in the display tank (power heads). Perhaps another pump on timers (wavemaker) set up just to circulate? Any recomendations for how much GPH we will need for a 220? (72L X 30H X 24D)?
Thanks~
i guess it all depends on what type of corals you plan on maintaining. from what i understand, the acroporas need quite a bit of flow, which is why i bought the tunze wavemaker. my return pump is an external panworld pump model 100PX-X (1270 gph) which is split as described, but would not be nearly enough flow for my acroporas. i am actually considering purchasing 2 additional tunze pumps to put on the back wall. i guess you'd have to do the math, but i have the 4 tunze powerheads (Includes four Turbelle® stream 6101 pumps with max flow of 3,170 gph each) and the panworld pump and still don't feel my flow is sufficient for the 180 gallon tank that i have. on the tunzes i don't have them on max output, they vary between 30 and 80 percent through the multicontroller. i may experiment with increasing the output before purchasing additional powerheads. but i have mushrooms on the bottom that don't like too much flow, so i have to give and take a little.
Hi,
Nice set up! We are in the process of upgrading from our 55 gal reef to a 220 gal. Main pump for the sump retun is 1000 gph and we are planning 2 returns split to 4 directions. We want to add more flow for the corals but Hubby does not want anything hanging in the display tank (power heads). Perhaps another pump on timers (wavemaker) set up just to circulate? Any recomendations for how much GPH we will need for a 220? (72L X 30H X 24D)?
i guess it all depends on what type of corals you plan on maintaining. from what i understand, the acroporas need quite a bit of flow, which is why i bought the tunze wavemaker. my return pump is an external panworld pump model 100PX-X (1270 gph) which is split as described, but would not be nearly enough flow for my acroporas. i am actually considering purchasing 2 additional tunze pumps to put on the back wall. i guess you'd have to do the math, but i have the 4 tunze powerheads (Includes four Turbelle® stream 6101 pumps with max flow of 3,170 gph each) and the panworld pump and still don't feel my flow is sufficient for the 180 gallon tank that i have. on the tunzes i don't have them on max output, they vary between 30 and 80 percent through the multicontroller. i may experiment with increasing the output before purchasing additional powerheads. but i have mushrooms on the bottom that don't like too much flow, so i have to give and take a little.
W
wbradenpt
Guest
Originally Posted by chilwil84
sweet setup. the only thoughts i have on the setup is maybe lose some rock in the refugium and put some macro algae in it. the other thing is you dont have a massive sps population at this time in the tank and your reactor should be more than enough to keep up with your calcium demand you could easil ditch the kalk reactor until you have a tank the looks like murphs than you might need both
that's funny. i see you've noticed by massive collection of 2 frags of sps!
yeah, i'm not even sure why i have both (the calcium and kalkwasser reactor)! it does seem kind of redundant. the only thing that i've observed is that once i added the kalk reactor that the pH increased from approx 7.8 up to 8.2. there was no change when i installed the calcium reactor, but the change occurred very soon after adding the kalk reactor, so i assume that it affects the pH. if that's the case then i'm glad i have it, since on my old setup i always had low pH. it seemed to continue to rise as more kalk was dosed, as it was connected to a dosing pump and was being used to top off tank. so once it reached 8.4 after having the lights on all day i greatly reduced the dosing to one 15 minute interval per day. the pH seems to have stabilized at 8.2 for the low and 8.4 max by the end of the day.
so then i added a level controller to automatically top off the water. as a safety measure, i have the pump inside of a 5 gallon bucket which is then inside of a huge 44 gallon trash can brute bucket. so if there were to be a failure, the most that would add to the tank is 5 gallons. every day or so i just push the inside bucket down a bit to refill. beats carrying water all over the place.
and thanks for input regarding macro algae. i think i'll take you up on that advice.
the refugium is a very interesting part of the tank. always seem to be finding something new crawling around in there that i didn't buy.
so far i've seen what looks to be a baby chocolate chip starfish, a pointy urchin that came out of nowhere, and tons of copepods, amphipods, and feather dusters.
by the way, who's murph?
sweet setup. the only thoughts i have on the setup is maybe lose some rock in the refugium and put some macro algae in it. the other thing is you dont have a massive sps population at this time in the tank and your reactor should be more than enough to keep up with your calcium demand you could easil ditch the kalk reactor until you have a tank the looks like murphs than you might need both
that's funny. i see you've noticed by massive collection of 2 frags of sps!
yeah, i'm not even sure why i have both (the calcium and kalkwasser reactor)! it does seem kind of redundant. the only thing that i've observed is that once i added the kalk reactor that the pH increased from approx 7.8 up to 8.2. there was no change when i installed the calcium reactor, but the change occurred very soon after adding the kalk reactor, so i assume that it affects the pH. if that's the case then i'm glad i have it, since on my old setup i always had low pH. it seemed to continue to rise as more kalk was dosed, as it was connected to a dosing pump and was being used to top off tank. so once it reached 8.4 after having the lights on all day i greatly reduced the dosing to one 15 minute interval per day. the pH seems to have stabilized at 8.2 for the low and 8.4 max by the end of the day.
so then i added a level controller to automatically top off the water. as a safety measure, i have the pump inside of a 5 gallon bucket which is then inside of a huge 44 gallon trash can brute bucket. so if there were to be a failure, the most that would add to the tank is 5 gallons. every day or so i just push the inside bucket down a bit to refill. beats carrying water all over the place.
and thanks for input regarding macro algae. i think i'll take you up on that advice.
the refugium is a very interesting part of the tank. always seem to be finding something new crawling around in there that i didn't buy.
so far i've seen what looks to be a baby chocolate chip starfish, a pointy urchin that came out of nowhere, and tons of copepods, amphipods, and feather dusters.
by the way, who's murph?
lilchris
Member
Originally Posted by wbradenpt
that's funny. i see you've noticed by massive collection of 2 frags of sps!
yeah, i'm not even sure why i have both (the calcium and kalkwasser reactor)! it does seem kind of redundant. the only thing that i've observed is that once i added the kalk reactor that the pH increased from approx 7.8 up to 8.2. there was no change when i installed the calcium reactor, but the change occurred very soon after adding the kalk reactor, so i assume that it affects the pH. if that's the case then i'm glad i have it, since on my old setup i always had low pH. it seemed to continue to rise as more kalk was dosed, as it was connected to a dosing pump and was being used to top off tank. so once it reached 8.4 after having the lights on all day i greatly reduced the dosing to one 15 minute interval per day. the pH seems to have stabilized at 8.2 for the low and 8.4 max by the end of the day.
so then i added a level controller to automatically top off the water. as a safety measure, i have the pump inside of a 5 gallon bucket which is then inside of a huge 44 gallon trash can brute bucket. so if there were to be a failure, the most that would add to the tank is 5 gallons. every day or so i just push the inside bucket down a bit to refill. beats carrying water all over the place.
and thanks for input regarding macro algae. i think i'll take you up on that advice.
the refugium is a very interesting part of the tank. always seem to be finding something new crawling around in there that i didn't buy.
so far i've seen what looks to be a baby chocolate chip starfish, a pointy urchin that came out of nowhere, and tons of copepods, amphipods, and feather dusters.
by the way, who's murph?
Kalkwasser will have an impact on the PH of your tank. I dose my Kalkwasser (limewater) at night to help it stabalize at night since it drops at night. I have my reactor connected to a 5 gallon reservoir. To answer your question about mixing the kalkwasser, you don't need to mix the kalkwasser. When you add it to your reactor, you can mix it for a few minutes, preferably 30 secs. and leave it. Once the water is saturated the stuff that flow to the bottom is like inorganics. I only mix mine when the ph level inside the reactor drops from 12.0. Then the next weekend I will add new kalkwasser. Good luck and your tank looks really good.
that's funny. i see you've noticed by massive collection of 2 frags of sps!
yeah, i'm not even sure why i have both (the calcium and kalkwasser reactor)! it does seem kind of redundant. the only thing that i've observed is that once i added the kalk reactor that the pH increased from approx 7.8 up to 8.2. there was no change when i installed the calcium reactor, but the change occurred very soon after adding the kalk reactor, so i assume that it affects the pH. if that's the case then i'm glad i have it, since on my old setup i always had low pH. it seemed to continue to rise as more kalk was dosed, as it was connected to a dosing pump and was being used to top off tank. so once it reached 8.4 after having the lights on all day i greatly reduced the dosing to one 15 minute interval per day. the pH seems to have stabilized at 8.2 for the low and 8.4 max by the end of the day.
so then i added a level controller to automatically top off the water. as a safety measure, i have the pump inside of a 5 gallon bucket which is then inside of a huge 44 gallon trash can brute bucket. so if there were to be a failure, the most that would add to the tank is 5 gallons. every day or so i just push the inside bucket down a bit to refill. beats carrying water all over the place.
and thanks for input regarding macro algae. i think i'll take you up on that advice.
the refugium is a very interesting part of the tank. always seem to be finding something new crawling around in there that i didn't buy.
so far i've seen what looks to be a baby chocolate chip starfish, a pointy urchin that came out of nowhere, and tons of copepods, amphipods, and feather dusters.
by the way, who's murph?
Kalkwasser will have an impact on the PH of your tank. I dose my Kalkwasser (limewater) at night to help it stabalize at night since it drops at night. I have my reactor connected to a 5 gallon reservoir. To answer your question about mixing the kalkwasser, you don't need to mix the kalkwasser. When you add it to your reactor, you can mix it for a few minutes, preferably 30 secs. and leave it. Once the water is saturated the stuff that flow to the bottom is like inorganics. I only mix mine when the ph level inside the reactor drops from 12.0. Then the next weekend I will add new kalkwasser. Good luck and your tank looks really good.