Jump to content

Noob questions about Testing water and other things


Atomic

Recommended Posts

I am really looking forward to the upcoming fragswap. Before it gets here I want to get my tank under control so i can reduce the possibility of loosing any livestock. I have a 90g with a 30g sump/refugium. I run a ASM G-3 In-Sump Skimmer, a My Reef Creation Ca Reactor, 2 250w MH lights and 3 48" VHO actinics. I dont do a lot of testing on my tank other than salinity / nitrates / nitrites. I do a 30g water change about once a month. I introduced SPS to the tank about 5 months back and have had troubles, especially with all the blue sps. I have lost 4-5 frags of blue sps for various reasons and the blue ones i can keep start to turn brown after a month or so. Everything else seems to be doing well. I dont get a lot of growth but I can see a little and I have not lost any fish or easier corals. I have a few questions so here they go:

 

1.

What should I be testing for?

What are the ranges I should be getting for these test?

What should I do to raise and lower these?

How often should i be testing?

 

2.

Is there some way to brighten up my corals? Someone told me to add iodine/vodka dosing/etc...?

I would not begin to think about starting to add anything to my tank until after i get my other problems worked out, but i thought I would ask.

 

3.

My protein skimmer isnt working as well as i think it should. I can go a month and not empty it. I can raise the side tube to adjust the height, but right now its as high as it can go in the sump. If i raise it any higher it starts to spash over the sides and Im left with a wet floor in the morning. Would it hurt anything to cut down the main cylinder of the sump so that it would be easier for me to adjust?

 

4.

I have a Coralife Turbo-Twist 6X - 18 Watt UV Sterilizer sitting in my basement collecting dust. Would it be worth hooking up to my tank? Ive heard good and bad things about them in reef tanks. Right now i must clean my glass every 2 days or i get algae the is too much for my mag scraper to handle. Would the UV sterilizer help this?

 

5.

where can i get my C02 filled up at, i ran out last week

 

Thanks for the help and I hope to see you all at the frag swap

Ross

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll address some of these in part. I'm sure there's more that others can add.

 

1.

What should I be testing for?

What are the ranges I should be getting for these test?

What should I do to raise and lower these?

How often should i be testing?

 

If you're running a Ca reactor and trying to grow sps you should be testing for Ca, alk and mag. You can't get the reactor dialed in or grow sps without getting this chemistry right. These links under Reef Chemistry in the general Reefkeeping Forum will answer most of your questions:

 

Reef Chemistry Links

 

3.

My protein skimmer isnt working as well as i think it should. I can go a month and not empty it. I can raise the side tube to adjust the height, but right now its as high as it can go in the sump. If i raise it any higher it starts to spash over the sides and Im left with a wet floor in the morning. Would it hurt anything to cut down the main cylinder of the sump so that it would be easier for me to adjust?

 

Not sure what you mean by cutting the sump, but the ASM G3 skimmer should pull out tons of gunk on a 90 -- I used to have the same combo and got thick disgusting skimmate in it.

 

2.

Is there some way to brighten up my corals? Someone told me to add iodine/vodka dosing/etc...?

I would not begin to think about starting to add anything to my tank until after i get my other problems worked out, but i thought I would ask.

 

I think if you get 1 and 3 under control this will take care of itself.

 

 

4.

I have a Coralife Turbo-Twist 6X - 18 Watt UV Sterilizer sitting in my basement collecting dust. Would it be worth hooking up to my tank? Ive heard good and bad things about them in reef tanks. Right now i must clean my glass every 2 days or i get algae the is too much for my mag scraper to handle. Would the UV sterilizer help this?

 

I'd get your skimmer and chemistry dialed in first.

 

5.

where can i get my C02 filled up at, i ran out last week

 

Here's a link that discusses several options:

 

cylinder refills

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Willy
3.

My protein skimmer isnt working as well as i think it should. I can go a month and not empty it. I can raise the side tube to adjust the height, but right now its as high as it can go in the sump. If i raise it any higher it starts to spash over the sides and Im left with a wet floor in the morning. Would it hurt anything to cut down the main cylinder of the sump so that it would be easier for me to adjust?

 

Make sure that the air inlet and airline are not clogged with salt. Got a picture to shower how your skimmer is set up in your sump? Also what depth of water is your skimmer sitting in?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll address some of these in part. I'm sure there's more that others can add.

 

 

 

If you're running a Ca reactor and trying to grow sps you should be testing for Ca, alk and mag. You can't get the reactor dialed in or grow sps without getting this chemistry right. These links under Reef Chemistry in the general Reefkeeping Forum will answer most of your questions:

 

Reef Chemistry Links

 

 

 

Not sure what you mean by cutting the sump, but the ASM G3 skimmer should pull out tons of gunk on a 90 -- I used to have the same combo and got thick disgusting skimmate in it.

 

 

 

I think if you get 1 and 3 under control this will take care of itself.

 

 

 

 

I'd get your skimmer and chemistry dialed in first.

 

 

 

Here's a link that discusses several options:

 

cylinder refills

 

 

Thanks for the quick response Hooked!!! Ill take a look at the reef chemistry page.

 

as far as the skimmer goes. The tube to adjust the skimmer goes up and down. Im guessing from trial and error that the higher the tube, the higher the water volume in the skimmer. Well if i raise the tube any further it will splash over the sump. So instead of bringing the tube up to raise the water level, im going to bring the collection cup down to the tube. The only way i can think of acomplishing it would be to cut the large cylinder down maybe a inch or two, thus making the adjustment tube the right height.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd first check the nipple on the venturi--that design has a tendency to clog up, even more so when you're running a Ca reactor. Pull the airline off and clean the nipple out with a nail or drill bit. You'll have to do that as a part of your regular maint.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Willy
Thanks for the quick response Hooked!!! Ill take a look at the reef chemistry page.

 

as far as the skimmer goes. The tube to adjust the skimmer goes up and down. Im guessing from trial and error that the higher the tube, the higher the water volume in the skimmer. Well if i raise the tube any further it will splash over the sump. So instead of bringing the tube up to raise the water level, im going to bring the collection cup down to the tube. The only way i can think of acomplishing it would be to cut the large cylinder down maybe a inch or two, thus making the adjustment tube the right height.

Do not cut the skimmer down. Skimmers can be very finicky at times to get adjusted just right. Make sure the skimmer is in approx. 8" of water, if you have it sitting in too much water it will not work as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Make sure that the air inlet and airline are not clogged with salt. Got a picture to shower how your skimmer is set up in your sump? Also what depth of water is your skimmer sitting in?

 

Willy and Katrina gave you good advice. The vodka dosing is mainly for older tanks, 2+ years that have problems with phosphates and nitrates and can not get them under control. If you are not showing either when you test for them and do not have a major algae problem, vodka dosing will not do you any good and can hurt.

 

Allen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

So i know its been a while but i finally got all my kits in this week and i did the gate valve mod. For you ASM G3 owners, Does water come out of the seal when your water line rises above the top of the cylinder? I think a new Seal would help fix my problems and really get the nastiness out of the tank.

 

Here are my params. Let me know if anything looks out of wack or if i need to test for something else.

 

Calcium: 450 ppm

Alkalinity: Total:6 meg/L Borate:2 MEg/L

PH: 8.2

Magnesium: 1050ppm

Phosphate: 0

Ammonia: 0

Nitrate 0

Salinity 1.025

Temp 82

 

 

I cant figure out why my blues dont stay blue.

thanks in advance

Ross

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I assume based on your Alk readings you are using a Seachem test kit. When measuring Alk in meq/l your carbonate Alkalinity should be between 3-4meq/l. So if you subtract your borate Alkalinity from your total Alk of 6 meq/l you have a Carbonate Alkalinity of 4 meq/l or ~ 11.25 dKH so your Alk is fine, but on the higher end of the safe side. Your Mag is low and should around 1250-1350. All your other parmeters look to be fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For you ASM G3 owners, Does water come out of the seal when your water line rises above the top of the cylinder? I think a new Seal would help fix my problems and really get the nastiness out of the tank.

 

Is it leaking from where the cone connects, or where the collection cup connects to the cone? I usually don't run the water level high enough to worry about the collection cup seal, but I would replace the body seal if its leaking there. We have them at Premium, but I don't think they are on the website, you'd have to call in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it leaking from where the cone connects, or where the collection cup connects to the cone? I usually don't run the water level high enough to worry about the collection cup seal, but I would replace the body seal if its leaking there. We have them at Premium, but I don't think they are on the website, you'd have to call in.

 

Its the seal to the main body. I think this was my major problem all along. I kept adjusting it and as soon as the water level would get up it would start leaking, so i would adjust it back down.

 

 

Anyone know what else could cause my corals to not keep there color? Im going to try to raise my magnesium to see if that helps and ill soon have my calcium reactor working again. I hope that these things will help. Could my lighting be too much and im bleaching the corals? 2 250w about 12" off the surface of the tank. I have been putting most of my SPS toward the top.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sorry for the miss information on the alk. The weird thing is my parents tank is almost doing the same thing. They have birds nest and montis that will keep, but when an acro goes in, within a couple of days it is STNing. We've tested the water and everything is in check. so I dont know what the deal is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...