Reef controller questions

[carey]

Originally Posted by KAhner

I think an aqualifter is 3.5gph with 0 head loss

I think you may be right. That idea isn't sounding so good anymore. ggrrrr.... that would have been a great quick fix. Unless I can convert those gallons and see how many ml it is and how long I "could" have the switch turned on to dispense the dose.

[KAhner]

I was kinda curious so I just did a quick little test. I got 5ml in about 2-3 seconds. Probably closer to two.

[carey]

Thanks for doing that, I appreciate the effort. I guess I will have to go with regular daily dosing for now. I plan on starting to dose 2 part with my next water change.

[KAhner]

A couple feet of head loss reduces it significantly though. So if you dosed directly Ito your tank it would be MUCH slower, or even drip it in the sump from ad high as you can.

[carey]

I'm gonna go do the math. lol there has to be an easy and cheap way to dose, at least for now.

[KAhner]

Honestly I wouldn't even trust the math. Too many variables. Head loss, tube length, filter. I would get as much head loss as u can and time it dripping into a 5ml test tube. Or whatever.

[acolotto]

Thanks guys! Also I wanna get a anemone I've waited a year to show interest and now I really want one and have been researching either a bubble tip or a long tentacle but again don't know which one would be a good beginner one? Any advice? Also I really like carpets but heard to many horror stories should I stay away?

[carey]

The nem will depend on your lighting and water parameters. If you are running close to 0 nitrates and have sufficient light you should be ok.

[acolotto]

I have 4 t5ho 54w so a total of 216 w

[carey]

Do you have good bulbs in it and are the bulbs each indivudally reflected? What light do you have, do you have a link. the lights are so important.

[KAhner]

If you have any hopes of it hosting clowns I would go with the bta it carpet. Still not guaranteed, but it will increase your chances.

[cmor1701d]

ANEMONE RANT
Stepping up on my
My suggestion is 1) unless you know that an anemone is fragged from another already in captivity, or split from one in captivity, don't buy it; 2) unless you know exactly what #1 needs in terms of light, and care, and your tank can provide for it, don't buy it; 3) unless the person selling it knows the answers to #2, don't buy it.

LTA's can get BIG, well over a foot wide given proper conditions. They can live for 30+ years in the ocean. In fact no one knows how long they live in the wild! These creatures do not belong in captive tanks.

I will add to the above that feeding an anemone too much or too often can also hasten its demise. They expend a lot of energy digesting the food that falls into them the in the wild or is offered by their hosting clown fish.

Clown fish will host almost anything. Mine host a frogspawn. I've even seen them host a bubble coral
Stepping off

@Carey, how much Ca and Alk do you need to dose daily to maintain your levels? Or have you not mixed it yet? Did you just buy Ca from BRS or did you buy Mg and Alk too? For Alk I just buy Arm and Hammer baking soda. Check out Randy's An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System article for mixing instructions. My Mg is also always on the high side and I haven't dosed it in a year.

If you're still dosing Kalk (or 2 part), can you dose several times a day in smaller quantities? That may help.

[carey]

I have both the calcium and alkalinity powders. I stopped using the kalk so now I am doing massive water changes twice a week. I lose about .75dkh and about 15ppm calcium daily. My magnesium stays pretty constant at about 1300 give or take 50.

I was dosing daily soda ash and calcium carbonate(?) The calcium one lol

Going with 2 part should also help get my ph up and stable shouldnt it? I think I've read that somewhere. My ph is way way too low, at like 7.8 and its high is generally 8.05.

[KAhner]

I've actually read an anemone can live forever.

[jwalsh]

I just saw one at the lfs that was about 18" tall atleast and probably 12" across when it wasn't open all the way. It was impressive

[cmor1701d]

I had an LTA that took over a quarter of my 125 before it suddenly died in a matter of days. It started out at about 5" when inflated, got happy in the sand in the front corner of my tank and just grew!

I still don't know what caused it's demise, possibly a portion of a store bought shrimp which was the last food I fed it.

Although I loved how the clowns hosted it within days of getting it I will never buy another anemone. My clowns are happy hosting my frogspawn and when that faded they eventually took to the bubble coral. Now that the frogspawn is growing again they move between the two.

@Carey, DON't CHASE pH! I beleive you are using the pH probe connected to the RK. That will show a lower pH than the liquid reagent kits. I also chased low pH and ended up calling American Marine thinking my probe or unit was faulty. I had a very long conversation with the owner who explained why all the liquid kits test higher in marine aquariums. He was quite emphatic that if the unit was calibrated then the electronic reading is the correct reading. He stayed on the phone with me to make sure I was calibrating correctly and then testing.

Bottom line, keep your Alk, Ca and Mg in line and forget about pH.

For some light reading on the subject:
Chemistry And The Aquarium: The Relationship Between Alkalinity And pH
By Randy Holmes-Farley

To take that a bit further back to chemistry class you should also read:
A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH

To sum it up check out:
Chemistry And The Aquarium: Solving Calcium And Alkalinity Problems
By Randy Holmes-Farley

[carey]

@cmor- thanks, I have been just letting it go and not worrying about it but it just seems like it is lower than usual. My fish and corals are all fine so I guess maybe I will let it ride, it's just so hard! lol

Thanks though!

[KAhner]

Ive actually been hearing this lately, to stop worrying so much about ph. It's hard for me too cause I've always had a problem with it no matter what my alk and calcium are (never tested magnesium, but I'm getting ready to start cause I think I might have a deficiency) and it drives me nutz!!!

[cmor1701d]

pH reading are affected by everything from global warming to time of day, how tightly your house is sealed, tank covering, amount of CO2 in the air, amount of CO2 in the tank, how you're testing, etc.

[carey]

I already did the test with the water and an airstone and it turns out I dont get a rise in ph if i let the airstone sit in the water INSIDE the house. But if I do it outside the ph rises. So I think alot has to do with the bad air exchange in my house. I just hate seeing ph at 7.6 in the mornings, it freaks me out a little. lol