Reef crystals

[BeanAnimal]

It has been a long time... but back in the "fill a cup and dump" dosing days *coughboluscough* I was doing a few dkH at a time and dumped, not once, not twice, but three doses about 3 hours apart.

The first was on purpose. The second was supposed to be Calcium and the third... yet it was supposed to be Mag.

We won't talk about what happened other than to say that I should have labeled my containers. I was mixing in bulk from pelladow, magflake and huge boxes of baked baking soda.

I had a similar outcome, but I think I did lose a few LPS when it was all said and done.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I was using Nyos which is the cleanest clearest salt I have EVER used. But they were out of stock for AGES everywhere and that led me to Aquaforest in the box which is an amazing price if you can handle a box. It's alk 7.1-7.3 cal at 430, and mag at 1250-1330. It is not as clear, just a hint of yellow, but clean. No residue and can be stored which is great.

My point, I swear I had one, is pick a salt that mixes to what you want your tank to be at. This is what I want to keep my tank at so it is what I use.

You haven't seen clear right after mixing until you try ESV - it's instantly clear.

It does come at a price.

 

[Troylee]

It has been a long time... but back in the "fill a cup and dump" dosing days *coughboluscough* I was doing a few dkH at a time and dumped, not once, not twice, but three doses about 3 hours apart.

The first was on purpose. The second was supposed to be Calcium and the third... yet it was supposed to be Mag.

We won't talk about what happened other than to say that I should have labeled my containers. I was mixing in bulk from pelladow, magflake and huge boxes of baked baking soda.

I had a similar outcome, but I think I did lose a few LPS when it was all said and done.

Mine was the stupid optical sensors on these new top offs going whacko! Not once but twice in 2 weeks… I switched to tunze which is nice it has a float to stop it from over filling but…. The optical sensor needs to be cleaned once a week also or it just stops working.. I always loved the old jbj with dual float switches and I never had a problem but they discontinued them. I got the new tunze coming if that one does the same thing I’ll just build myself one.. topping off with kalk is fine if the equipment works right lol,

 

[BeanAnimal]

Mine was the stupid optical sensors on these new top offs going whacko! Not once but twice in 2 weeks… I switched to tunze which is nice it has a float to stop it from over filling but…. The optical sensor needs to be cleaned once a week also or it just stops working.. I always loved the old jbj with dual float switches and I never had a problem but they discontinued them. I got the new tunze coming if that one does the same thing I’ll just build myself one.. topping off with kalk is fine if the equipment works right lol,

I prefer mechanical float valves with a sensor based backup for something like that.

 

[rtparty]

It is! My alk has ran from 4.4 to 13.6 and never skipped a beat lol… the 4.4 was after 2 kalk over doses and my tank snowing for a week! It was nasty but the sps never skipped a beat and I didn’t lose a single piece! I believe it’s a myth! I think keeping it rock solid does more harm than good if you ask me!

When I feel like getting chastised I’ll tell someone alkalinity stability isn’t important

I truly believe it isn’t important or at least not nearly as important as so many think.

 

[Troylee]

When I feel like getting chastised I’ll tell someone alkalinity stability isn’t important

I truly believe it isn’t important or at least not nearly as important as so many think.

Agreed! Everyone thinks

S tability
P romotes
S uccess

Still lol… I would say it doesn’t hurt but now I believe it does! If your tank is super stable then it only takes one goof and it’s all bad! My current tank has been all over the place and is the best growing tank I’ve ever owned!

 

[rtparty]

Agreed! Everyone thinks

S tability
P romotes
S uccess

Still lol… I would say it doesn’t hurt but now I believe it does! If your tank is super stable then it only takes one goof and it’s all bad! My current tank has been all over the place and is the best growing tank I’ve ever owned!

I shoot for stability but don’t go crazy chasing it. I’ve seen far too many “snow filled” tanks lose nothing to believe that alkalinity stability is as crucial as they say.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

It is! My alk has ran from 4.4 to 13.6 and never skipped a beat lol… the 4.4 was after 2 kalk over doses and my tank snowing for a week! It was nasty but the sps never skipped a beat and I didn’t lose a single piece! I believe it’s a myth! I think keeping it rock solid does more harm than good if you ask me!

That's wild because the number one requirement preached for acros, right or wrong, seems to be stability. Mainly alk. So now I'm over hear like

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I can’t ever be bothered to tinker with ALK when mixing water.
I keep my tank at the 7-7.5DKH mark and use TM pro because it matches that perfectly.
Horses for courses.

That's where I'm at. Might start using fritz or Aquaforest as they supposedly mix near my range

 

[Troylee]

That's wild because the number one requirement preached for acros, right or wrong, seems to be stability. Mainly alk. So now I'm over hear like

Back in the day sure! Nowadays I’m not so sure.. I think biome is the important thang! I’ve built a strong one over the last 2 years dosing bacteria “mb7 and zeobak” and I believe that’s what’s kept my tank in top shape! I could be totally wrong but who knows I know it works for me! lol

 

[BeanAnimal]

Agreed! Everyone thinks

S tability
P romotes
S uccess

Still lol… I would say it doesn’t hurt but now I believe it does! If your tank is super stable then it only takes one goof and it’s all bad! My current tank has been all over the place and is the best growing tank I’ve ever owned!

I did not run a heater for years... winter or summer. Large temp swings daily.

I was lazy and dumped a few dkh in once or twice a week.... or when I remembered, etc.

I never tested mag, and am not sure if I ever really gave it a though. Just 2 part for a long time.

I did not have a working ATO (too lazy to fix RODI solenoid) so the sump would drain ~10 gallons or so over the week and I would flip on the RODI and let it fill all at once over a few hours. Huge salinity swings.

Those fish (a Tang and Coral Beauty) are still with me well over a decade later. Many of the corals as well. The tank was likely at its best during that period.

 

[Troylee]

I did not run a heater for years... winter or summer. Large temp swings daily.

I was lazy and dumped a few dkh in once or twice a week.... or when I remembered, etc.

I never tested mag, and am not sure if I ever really gave it a though. Just 2 part for a long time.

I did not have a working ATO (too lazy to fix RODI solenoid) so the sump would drain ~10 gallons or so over the week and I would flip on the RODI and let it fill all at once over a few hours. Huge salinity swings.

Those fish (a Tang and Coral Beauty) are still with me well over a decade later. Many of the corals as well. The tank was likely at its best during that period.

Sounds right! I don’t use a heater either.. my temp runs 74-83 depending on the time of the year as my skimmer pulls air from outside. Currently my temp ranges from 77-81 in a single day lol.. Vegas weather is bi-polar so it effects my tank different each day lol… like today is gonna be 91° and then back down to 66° for a high the next few days.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Back in the day sure! Nowadays I’m not so sure.. I think biome is the important thang! I’ve built a strong one over the last 2 years dosing bacteria “mb7 and zeobak” and I believe that’s what’s kept my tank in top shape! I could be totally wrong but who knows I know it works for me! lol

I'd buy that. I'm sure there's a myriad of causes for tank strength and tank crashes, and we'll likely never have it "unlocked". I'm only just starting to see new growth in my tank, (which is pretty exciting as I've never been able to grow sps before) so I'm not going to even pretend like I have a clue. That said, I haven't done much to address my creeping alk. I'll just keep an eye that it doesn't creep terribly high, and maybe swap salts in the near future. I hate the brown crud enough to accept that as my primary reasoning :face-with-tears-of-joy:

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I did not run a heater for years... winter or summer. Large temp swings daily.

I was lazy and dumped a few dkh in once or twice a week.... or when I remembered, etc.

I never tested mag, and am not sure if I ever really gave it a though. Just 2 part for a long time.

I did not have a working ATO (too lazy to fix RODI solenoid) so the sump would drain ~10 gallons or so over the week and I would flip on the RODI and let it fill all at once over a few hours. Huge salinity swings.

Those fish (a Tang and Coral Beauty) are still with me well over a decade later. Many of the corals as well. The tank was likely at its best during that period.

First: How warm do you keep your house??? Must have been some big hot lights over it?

Second: my pai4 of clowns are about 9 years old. My first tank was basically "oh crap, micro bubbles. I need to fill the tank and then I'd dump a few gallons in to fill it up :grinning-face-with-sweat: granted it was a 3 or 4 gallon return chamber on a 55g display with a 40b sump so no the biggest swing, but enough lol.

 

[tbrown]

First: How warm do you keep your house??? Must have been some big hot lights over it?

Second: my pai4 of clowns are about 9 years old. My first tank was basically "oh crap, micro bubbles. I need to fill the tank and then I'd dump a few gallons in to fill it up :grinning-face-with-sweat: granted it was a 3 or 4 gallon return chamber on a 55g display with a 40b sump so no the biggest swing, but enough lol.

Keep in mind, he's like me and lives in the desert.

 

[BeanAnimal]

First: How warm do you keep your house??? Must have been some big hot lights over it?

Two 150W DE halides at the time.
In-wall tank. Small narrow room behind tank.

In summer, indoor temps were 72, but the tank would creep to 80 or so. I ran evap fans to the tune of 3 or more gallons per day to prevent the tank getting into the mid to upper 80s. At night it would drift back toward 72.

In the winter the basement is cold, the fish room maybe 65 or so. Temps would climb during the day to 78 or so and drop back down to upper 60s over night.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Two 150W DE halides at the time.
In-wall tank. Small narrow room behind tank.

In summer, indoor temps were 72, but the tank would creep to 80 or so. I ran evap fans to the tune of 3 or more gallons per day to prevent the tank getting into the mid to upper 80s. At night it would drift back toward 72.

In the winter the basement is cold, the fish room maybe 65 or so. Temps would climb during the day to 78 or so and drop back down to upper 60s over night.

Keep in mind, he's like me and lives in the desert.

Warmer climate makes a lot more sense lol I forgot some of you guys don't have nights that hit -30°. I have never had to worry about cooling my tank, that just seems strange, but heating a tank is 100% mandatory

 

[Troylee]

Warmer climate makes a lot more sense lol I forgot some of you guys don't have nights that hit -30°. I have never had to worry about cooling my tank, that just seems strange, but heating a tank is 100% mandatory

Yeah exact opposite here.. Vegas ranges 36°-120° depending on the time of the year.. I keep my house at 71 in the winter and summer I try to keep it at 74° but my ac won’t keep up in July and August as we hit 115+

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m hoping that some folks who are pushing the limits on some hobby mantras (such as a tank needs to mature a certain number of months before one should try “X”) will help us determine how much is real and how much is reefer expertise. And if it is real, when can one violate it (such as an ocean rock and sand setup vs dry rock). I believe rtparty was one such person.

FWIW, I do not plan to wait long at all before putting such creatures into my tank. Assuming I can find a good one, first among these is likely to be a magnifica anemone.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Yeah exact opposite here.. Vegas ranges 36°-120° depending on the time of the year.. I keep my house at 71 in the winter and summer I try to keep it at 74° but my ac won’t keep up in July and August as we hit 115+

Meanwhile my ac keeps my house at 68 all summer..... granted mines mostly for humidity. There's days you go outside and your dripping with sweat in minutes and it's 74 out....