Tswifty's Custom 40g Rimless Build Thread - Page 35

Tswifty · 09/21/2009, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MADtanks
I am going to pull as much algae today as possible and do a small water change since im sure i will have to siphon out whate ver algeae is floating around. I have a bad feeling that im getting all this green stuff bc of the frozen food, and me not rinsing it before i feed the tank.

I read a few threads where tons and tons of Phos. was found in the water that the cubes of frozen food were thawd in. So im blaming the cubes! lol... that plus my photo period is 12hrs.... not sure that has much to do with it but im going to cut it down to 10hrs, and possibly 8hrs at some point just for testing purposes. I am at work most of the day anyways so maybe 8 - 10hrs isnt so bad.

so are you doing two part now? i just started dosing my tank with one of those reefdosingpumps with a dual hose setup, and opened up a bag of calcium chloride, as well as a box of baking soda i had been wanting to mix up.... i just hope i calculated it correctly lol. Freaking pump is working good so far though no back siphon freaking great!

I think I've always ran my "daytime" photoperiod around 8 hrs. My Actinic T5's were usually on for 12 hrs per day though to allow for longer viewing.

The pumps are great... and actually if I end up sticking with Vodka long term, will probably purchase a pump for that. It literally doses 1 drop at a time, so you could be very accurate dosing small amounts. I plan on taking a short video next time they kick on. It's pretty wild how they work.

Quote:

Originally posted by MADtanks
wow im so slow... i should have looked just a few post above me!!! lmao... i hate my network at work! i can never see any pics! booo.

Tswifty · 09/21/2009, 05:28 PM

Alkalinity seemed to be falling a bit today so I changed up my program a little. Also, I realized that the program statement only works on full minutes, so I have to round up on my dosages.

Here are the new statements:

If Time > 06:00 Then ALK ON
If Time > 06:06 Then ALK OFF

If Time > 12:00 Then ALK ON
If Time > 12:06 Then ALK OFF

If Time > 18:00 Then ALK ON
If Time > 18:06 Then ALK OFF

If Time > 00:00 Then ALK ON
If Time > 00:06 Then ALK OFF

If Time > 08:00 Then CAL ON
If Time > 08:07 Then CAL OFF

If Time > 14:00 Then CAL ON
If Time > 14:07 Then CAL OFF

If Time > 20:00 Then CAL ON
If Time > 20:07 Then CAL OFF

If Time > 02:00 Then CAL ON
If Time > 02:07 Then CAL OFF

With these statements I will be dosing 11.2 ml of Calcium each dosage (44.8 ml per day), and 10.2 ml of Alkalinity each dosage (40.8 ml per day). I'm not as worried about the increased dosages, because the BRS 2-part solution seems to be a little weaker than the ESV 2-part additives according to the different calculators I used.

Stanley-Reefer · 09/21/2009, 06:08 PM

I dose Kent A/B in both tanks once a day. My reading are pretty stable. That seems like a lot of work.

eros · 09/21/2009, 06:12 PM

Once he gets his dosing pumps dialed in dosing once a day seems like a lot of work. It just a matter of determining your demands then once it's set it changes very little.

Tswifty · 09/21/2009, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stanley-Reefer
I dose Kent A/B in both tanks once a day. My reading are pretty stable. That seems like a lot of work.

Nah. Once I figure out the correct dosage, I won't have to ever look at the program, or worry about dosing again... outside of running my usual once per week tests. The pumps will be set, and it'll rock away on its own. If dosage needs adjusted, I just change some numbers in my program. It'll actually be less work than a Ca Reactor IMO.

I was starting to run into problems with manual dosing recently, and was going to have to split it up to twice per day. One 40 ml dosage of Alkalinty was proving to be too much for my pH to handle in one shot.

There's always a good amount of "up front" work when switching to any new type of dosing system, and it will take some time to dial in because you want to start on the conservative side to prevent problems. Also, I pulled my kalk reactor offline the other day, so that affected my Ca & Alk dosing as well.

Quote:

Originally posted by eros
Once he gets his dosing pumps dialed in dosing once a day seems like a lot of work. It just a matter of determining your demands then once it's set it changes very little.

Exactly.

MADtanks · 09/21/2009, 10:47 PM

nice man, yea right now im on day 3 of dosing and will be checking my params tomorrow. the day i started my CA and Alk was at 360ppm and 6.4dkh. I was trying to go with raising my params slowly but we shal see whats goign on lol... i might just do it in a 2 to 3 day span to make sure it gets there, but I dont want to over do the alk. I actually am really interested in the pumps you got

, seems liek i could affix them to the stand a lot easier than the reef dosing pump i have, bulky and takes up a lot of room. What did you use to measure exactly how much your pump is dosing? im speaking of a measuring container that is.

Thanks.

MADtanks · 09/21/2009, 11:02 PM

oh yea BTW ummm im a hater bc your GHA is looking gone! lol...

You also make me want to get an RKE!!! lol i still have my old RK1 that i happen to hook up the other day to control my heater, and fan. So maybe i should use their trade in program since they offer 100 bux off the RKE package if i send in the old RK1. hmmm my bday soon leme go talk to the wife and i will get back to ya lmao.

Looking good man, I just went back and took a look at your timeline pics.

.

Tswifty · 09/22/2009, 03:14 PM

Alk looks to be holding at 8 dKH today. So if it remains stable over the next few days, I'll probably leave it as is until I get back from AZ (I would like it somewhere between 8-9 dKH). Also, I did a quick calculation. With the current dosage, 1 batch of 2-part will last me around 3 months.

I think I can definitely deal with that.

Tswifty · 09/22/2009, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MADtanks
nice man, yea right now im on day 3 of dosing and will be checking my params tomorrow. the day i started my CA and Alk was at 360ppm and 6.4dkh. I was trying to go with raising my params slowly but we shal see whats goign on lol... i might just do it in a 2 to 3 day span to make sure it gets there, but I dont want to over do the alk. I actually am really interested in the pumps you got , seems liek i could affix them to the stand a lot easier than the reef dosing pump i have, bulky and takes up a lot of room. What did you use to measure exactly how much your pump is dosing? im speaking of a measuring container that is.

Thanks.

I would try and move it 1 dKH per day. That should be fine. I also like to use this calculator to take the guess work out of it.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

The pumps are SWEET, plus I saved a lot of money on them vs going with the profilux standalone doser. Keith already had the pieces cut for my little "station" when I talked to him yesterday, I think he's doing his best to get it to me before I leave on Sunday.

Quote:

Originally posted by MADtanks
oh yea BTW ummm im a hater bc your GHA is looking gone! lol...

You also make me want to get an RKE!!! lol i still have my old RK1 that i happen to hook up the other day to control my heater, and fan. So maybe i should use their trade in program since they offer 100 bux off the RKE package if i send in the old RK1. hmmm my bday soon leme go talk to the wife and i will get back to ya lmao.

Looking good man, I just went back and took a look at your timeline pics. .

Thanks, I'm pretty pumped about the improvement. Although, I looked in the tank today, and only like one of the new Mexican Turbo Snails have moved from their spot yesterday.

I better not have 4 out of the 5 kick the bucket.

A controller is definitely nice to have, I still need to fix up my current controller installation a bit, but eventually will have it where I want it. I also REALLY need to re-organize all the cords under the tank. Pretty much all those adhesive cord clamps I used have fallen off.

MADtanks · 09/22/2009, 06:22 PM

your not alone on the cord issue lol thats y i dont really post pics of my sump hahahaha

chrismunn · 09/22/2009, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tswifty

I was starting to run into problems with manual dosing recently, and was going to have to split it up to twice per day. One 40 ml dosage of Alkalinty was proving to be too much for my pH to handle in one shot.

i was having the same problem with alkalinity dosing in my tank as well. it wasnt so much of the affect on ph as was it was just plain making my millies STN. now i does at two seperate times during the day, once in the morning and once in the evening. its a real drag and that exactly why im looking into a few of these dosing pumps. i just want to dial in a timer and let it be, no more trying to remember to dose my freaking tank at the butt crack of dawn before i leave for work!

kudora · 09/22/2009, 10:10 PM

this is why i always check this thread out, i had to up my dose to 40 ml a couple of days ago my alk was running low, i should know better then to do it at once but i did, i had very little PE and one of my poci corals was burned badly

my dosers have sat there for 2 months since i have been wanting to redo the tank, just going to set them up this week now for simplicity sake.

Tswifty · 09/22/2009, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MADtanks
your not alone on the cord issue lol thats y i dont really post pics of my sump hahahaha

Yeah that's one of my projects that has been on the back burner for a while now. Along with redoing my plumbing to BeanAnimal's method.

Quote:

Originally posted by chrismunn
i was having the same problem with alkalinity dosing in my tank as well. it wasnt so much of the affect on ph as was it was just plain making my millies STN. now i does at two seperate times during the day, once in the morning and once in the evening. its a real drag and that exactly why im looking into a few of these dosing pumps. i just want to dial in a timer and let it be, no more trying to remember to dose my freaking tank at the butt crack of dawn before i leave for work!

Yeah in a nano tank it's probably wise to mix it in a cup of tank water prior to adding it so corals don't get hit with a concentrated blast of alk.

Like I said, the dosing pumps are awesome. I'm actually uploading a video as I type.

Tswifty · 09/22/2009, 10:17 PM

Here's a short video clip of the BRS Drew's Doser doing its thing dosing Alkalinity to the tank.

OwNeD162 · 09/22/2009, 10:19 PM

Can't wait to see the video

!

Edit: Posted just to late :P

Tswifty · 09/22/2009, 10:20 PM

IridescentLily · 09/22/2009, 11:46 PM

You got the Dkh in the range you hoped for, that's great!
That video is cool, thanks for making that so we can see how that doser works.

MADtanks · 09/23/2009, 07:01 AM

lol i have to def redo my plumbing too.. its just slopy as heck right now.... but im going to finish making my sump befor i make any plumbing changes.

Tswifty · 09/23/2009, 11:10 AM

Well Alk fell to 7.4 dKH today, so I boosted it back up with ESV and upped my dosing program by adding another 10.2 ml dosage into the mix.

Now the pumps will come on 5 times throughout the day.

Tswifty · 09/23/2009, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by IridescentLily
You got the Dkh in the range you hoped for, that's great!
That video is cool, thanks for making that so we can see how that doser works.

No problem, I think it's pretty cool how they work and am very happy with their performance and ease of adjustment thus far.

I was hoping the alk would hold, but it didn't... as long as I can get it stable somewhere in the 7-9 dKH range before I leave I'll be happy. Then I can tinker with it a bit more when I get back.

Quote:

Originally posted by MADtanks
lol i have to def redo my plumbing too.. its just slopy as heck right now.... but im going to finish making my sump befor i make any plumbing changes.

I hear that... I have a temp fix I think I could implement, but once again... I want to hold off on making any major changes before I leave.

Tswifty · 09/23/2009, 11:46 AM

Some pictures from this morning when only one halide was on. This area is probably going to be the last area to show improvement regarding the GHA. However, it has finally begun receding back from in between the polyps.

IridescentLily · 09/23/2009, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tswifty
Some pictures from this morning when only one halide was on.

Oh my goodness how cute IS he in this pic?!

Tswifty · 09/23/2009, 01:54 PM

He or she has been kind of lost lately. It must be the same sex as my other Yasha Goby, because it was recently chased it out of it's old burrow... so now it seems to be having trouble finding a new spot in the tank. The larger Yasha Goby (from my original 90g tank) actually won't even allow on the right half of the tank.

I'm actually considering dropping like 4 more Yasha Gobies in the tank... in hopes that I'll end up with a few pairs. I think if I added any other type of shrimpgobies I would either end up losing the Yasha's or them... and I like my Yasha's too much to allow that to happen.

Tswifty · 09/23/2009, 02:00 PM

Also, I talked a little with Bulk Reef Supply today via a few emails. I believe I mentioned it early, but I now am seriously considering picking up another Drew's Doser to dose the Vodka to my tank. I just wanted to make sure that the Vodka wouldn't have any effect or degrade the tubing that peristaltic pumps use.

I think besides the benefit of not having to dose the Vodka manually anymore, it will also be nice to have the Vodka dosed drip by drip over the course of a few minutes, rather than dosed all at once (like I currently do). Plus, if I ever move away from Vodka dosing, I can use the pump to dose Strontium or another additive.

I'm waiting for them to get back in stock, but if all goes according to plan I think I'm going to order one when I get back from AZ.

kudora · 09/23/2009, 02:03 PM

thats a great idea, lol i cant wait for the pic with the top of a vodka bottle drilled so you can fit the doser tube in it.

09/21/2009, 05:28 PM	#852
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Alkalinity seemed to be falling a bit today so I changed up my program a little. Also, I realized that the program statement only works on full minutes, so I have to round up on my dosages. Here are the new statements: If Time > 06:00 Then ALK ON If Time > 06:06 Then ALK OFF If Time > 12:00 Then ALK ON If Time > 12:06 Then ALK OFF If Time > 18:00 Then ALK ON If Time > 18:06 Then ALK OFF If Time > 00:00 Then ALK ON If Time > 00:06 Then ALK OFF If Time > 08:00 Then CAL ON If Time > 08:07 Then CAL OFF If Time > 14:00 Then CAL ON If Time > 14:07 Then CAL OFF If Time > 20:00 Then CAL ON If Time > 20:07 Then CAL OFF If Time > 02:00 Then CAL ON If Time > 02:07 Then CAL OFF With these statements I will be dosing 11.2 ml of Calcium each dosage (44.8 ml per day), and 10.2 ml of Alkalinity each dosage (40.8 ml per day). I'm not as worried about the increased dosages, because the BRS 2-part solution seems to be a little weaker than the ESV 2-part additives according to the different calculators I used. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/21/2009, 10:47 PM	#856
MADtanks Stix Anyone? Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: East Coast Posts: 5,392	nice man, yea right now im on day 3 of dosing and will be checking my params tomorrow. the day i started my CA and Alk was at 360ppm and 6.4dkh. I was trying to go with raising my params slowly but we shal see whats goign on lol... i might just do it in a 2 to 3 day span to make sure it gets there, but I dont want to over do the alk. I actually am really interested in the pumps you got , seems liek i could affix them to the stand a lot easier than the reef dosing pump i have, bulky and takes up a lot of room. What did you use to measure exactly how much your pump is dosing? im speaking of a measuring container that is. Thanks. __________________ M.A.D. 75G(36X24X20 E-Overflow) \| DIY - LED/T5 \| Tunze ATO \| Eheim 1260 \| Reef Keeper.... in progress Current Tank Info: 24X24X20 AIO SPS Dom

09/21/2009, 11:02 PM	#857
MADtanks Stix Anyone? Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: East Coast Posts: 5,392	oh yea BTW ummm im a hater bc your GHA is looking gone! lol... You also make me want to get an RKE!!! lol i still have my old RK1 that i happen to hook up the other day to control my heater, and fan. So maybe i should use their trade in program since they offer 100 bux off the RKE package if i send in the old RK1. hmmm my bday soon leme go talk to the wife and i will get back to ya lmao. Looking good man, I just went back and took a look at your timeline pics. . __________________ M.A.D. 75G(36X24X20 E-Overflow) \| DIY - LED/T5 \| Tunze ATO \| Eheim 1260 \| Reef Keeper.... in progress Current Tank Info: 24X24X20 AIO SPS Dom

09/22/2009, 03:14 PM	#858
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Alk looks to be holding at 8 dKH today. So if it remains stable over the next few days, I'll probably leave it as is until I get back from AZ (I would like it somewhere between 8-9 dKH). Also, I did a quick calculation. With the current dosage, 1 batch of 2-part will last me around 3 months. I think I can definitely deal with that. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/22/2009, 06:22 PM	#860
MADtanks Stix Anyone? Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: East Coast Posts: 5,392	your not alone on the cord issue lol thats y i dont really post pics of my sump hahahaha __________________ M.A.D. 75G(36X24X20 E-Overflow) \| DIY - LED/T5 \| Tunze ATO \| Eheim 1260 \| Reef Keeper.... in progress Current Tank Info: 24X24X20 AIO SPS Dom

09/21/2009, 06:08 PM	#853
Stanley-Reefer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stanley, NC Posts: 1,933	I dose Kent A/B in both tanks once a day. My reading are pretty stable. That seems like a lot of work.

09/21/2009, 06:12 PM	#854
eros Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Reno, Nevada Posts: 878	Once he gets his dosing pumps dialed in dosing once a day seems like a lot of work. It just a matter of determining your demands then once it's set it changes very little.

09/22/2009, 10:10 PM	#862
kudora thread reader Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minot, ND Posts: 1,639	this is why i always check this thread out, i had to up my dose to 40 ml a couple of days ago my alk was running low, i should know better then to do it at once but i did, i had very little PE and one of my poci corals was burned badly my dosers have sat there for 2 months since i have been wanting to redo the tank, just going to set them up this week now for simplicity sake. __________________ You must use "Regular Clorox" Any scents like "New Fresh Scent Clorox" will kill all of your animals in a few minutes (don't ask) "Paul b" Current Tank Info: 84 gallon(60x18x18) tank, 40 breeder frag, 30 gallon lps

09/22/2009, 10:17 PM	#864
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Here's a short video clip of the BRS Drew's Doser doing its thing dosing Alkalinity to the tank. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/22/2009, 10:19 PM	#865
OwNeD162 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Brisbane, QLD, Australia Posts: 873	Can't wait to see the video ! Edit: Posted just to late :P __________________ [URL=https://matchnow.info]Womans in your town[/URL] Current Tank Info: 2 x 1 x 1ft + EcoSystem Pro 40 HOB + 1 x 150W DE MH, 2 x 24W Actinic, Hailea HC- 150A 1/10 HP Chiller, Vortech MP20

09/22/2009, 10:20 PM	#866
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	__________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/22/2009, 11:46 PM	#867
IridescentLily Editor-Reefkeeping mag Join Date: May 2008 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Posts: 3,858 Blog Entries: 5	You got the Dkh in the range you hoped for, that's great! That video is cool, thanks for making that so we can see how that doser works. __________________ ~April Editor-Reefkeeping Magazine

09/23/2009, 07:01 AM	#868
MADtanks Stix Anyone? Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: East Coast Posts: 5,392	lol i have to def redo my plumbing too.. its just slopy as heck right now.... but im going to finish making my sump befor i make any plumbing changes. __________________ M.A.D. 75G(36X24X20 E-Overflow) \| DIY - LED/T5 \| Tunze ATO \| Eheim 1260 \| Reef Keeper.... in progress Current Tank Info: 24X24X20 AIO SPS Dom

09/23/2009, 11:10 AM	#869
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Well Alk fell to 7.4 dKH today, so I boosted it back up with ESV and upped my dosing program by adding another 10.2 ml dosage into the mix. Now the pumps will come on 5 times throughout the day. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/23/2009, 11:46 AM	#871
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Some pictures from this morning when only one halide was on. This area is probably going to be the last area to show improvement regarding the GHA. However, it has finally begun receding back from in between the polyps. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/23/2009, 01:54 PM	#873
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	He or she has been kind of lost lately. It must be the same sex as my other Yasha Goby, because it was recently chased it out of it's old burrow... so now it seems to be having trouble finding a new spot in the tank. The larger Yasha Goby (from my original 90g tank) actually won't even allow on the right half of the tank. I'm actually considering dropping like 4 more Yasha Gobies in the tank... in hopes that I'll end up with a few pairs. I think if I added any other type of shrimpgobies I would either end up losing the Yasha's or them... and I like my Yasha's too much to allow that to happen. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/23/2009, 02:00 PM	#874
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Also, I talked a little with Bulk Reef Supply today via a few emails. I believe I mentioned it early, but I now am seriously considering picking up another Drew's Doser to dose the Vodka to my tank. I just wanted to make sure that the Vodka wouldn't have any effect or degrade the tubing that peristaltic pumps use. I think besides the benefit of not having to dose the Vodka manually anymore, it will also be nice to have the Vodka dosed drip by drip over the course of a few minutes, rather than dosed all at once (like I currently do). Plus, if I ever move away from Vodka dosing, I can use the pump to dose Strontium or another additive. I'm waiting for them to get back in stock, but if all goes according to plan I think I'm going to order one when I get back from AZ. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/23/2009, 02:03 PM	#875
kudora thread reader Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minot, ND Posts: 1,639	thats a great idea, lol i cant wait for the pic with the top of a vodka bottle drilled so you can fit the doser tube in it. __________________ You must use "Regular Clorox" Any scents like "New Fresh Scent Clorox" will kill all of your animals in a few minutes (don't ask) "Paul b" Current Tank Info: 84 gallon(60x18x18) tank, 40 breeder frag, 30 gallon lps