|
Hi Asmodeus
Your tank looks pretty good. I am down to 3 drops per week of Bio. One of the key indicators of excess bio use is "how often are you cleaning your glass" Have you tested your tank for potassium and what is the color temp and wattage of lighting on the tank? What are you seeing in terms of changes in your clams. |
:multi:UPDATE:typing:
|
He was in the bush all week doing army things and is now somewhere doing cub scout things. :D Should be back tomm. night.
|
hey i just got back Mike sorry for the delay, i will snap some more pic here and update the tank is looking amazing when i got home and looked at it and said wow the tank is looking colorful and clear.
Im wondering about the bak thou im still at 2 ml per day and my nitrates are still rading around 5 maybe less im going to get doug to pop over with his test kit jsut to see if mine is out of wack.... |
Hiya
I hear you have been ambushing racoons all week :lol: If you can give me your PO4 and Nitrate readings I can then look at your dosing, please remind me what I have quoted for bak and bio. The dosings I gave were the initial ones that were intended to be adjusted so now we can move onto the next level. ;) |
the PO4 is 0 and the nitrates are around 5ppm
for BIO im dosing 1 ml every 3 days and bak every day 2 ml |
You should be dosing 1 drop of bio not 1ml :redface:
If Dougs test comes out the same on the nitrate then adjust as follows Bio 2 drops every 3 days Bak 4ml a day watch closely, if your corals start to go too bright cut the bio down to 1 drop and the bak to 3ml This is now a balancing act we need to find you maintenance dose so please check daily now your nitrate and watch the tank closely. My guess is your permenant dose will be 1 drop of bio and 4ml of bak but we shall see. |
ok man i think that i read that wrong WOW to much stuff going on around work and the house sorry about that MIke, I hope that I just didnt screw my tank.
no wonder that my tank is looking so good im sucking the PO 4 out of the earth and the glass and the house.:lol: so 2 drops of BIO every 3 days bak 4 ML every day. got ya |
well you just got to a low nutrient point a lot sooner than you should of ;)
This is fine providing the inhabitants do not react to sudden change and you have enough Min-S going into the tank. For a system not running full Ultra lith having 5ppm of Nitrate is not a bad thing, but we will try and get that down over time also. So yes please do as instructed 2 DROPS of bio every 3 days 4ml of Bak a day Keep the Min-S as you are We will the re evaluate in 5 days, contact me anytiime if you see a change that you are not sure about. |
so the min S at 1 ml per day then or should I put that over every 2 days
|
Hmmm, I could have borrowed those extra drops. :lol:
|
Doug, go and steal his tank water quick its a live wire right now :mrgreen:
As for Min-S dosing if you are adding it with the clam food then leave the direct min-s dosing to 1ml a day if not increase to 2ml a day. |
hey there mike sorry for the long wait I was out and back now and will snap some pictures will get them on here for ya. What about the Bak my nitrates still haven't dropped.
I'm im still running the bak at 4ml per day im getting low on the bak too from 4 ml per day. tyhe nitrates are still 5-10 PPM should i go to a maint dose. Alk is sitting at 9.6 |
Drop your alk to 7.5, yes you did read me right ;)
In regards to the nitrate your dosing depends on what your other paremters are doing and how any algea you had is dying back or not. I would suggest increasing the Bio and bak to 5ml Drop me a line by pm or email and we can fine tune your dosing. |
latest levels and readings
Temp 77.5 Salinity 1.025 ALK 9.6 DKH CAL 475 NO3 5ppm PO4 0 MAG 1350 dosing 4ml per day of Ultra BAK Clam food/mixed with MIN/s once every 2 days BIO 3 drops every 3 days pictures to follow. |
I am not over worried about the Nitrate at that level, but depends if there are any negative things you are seeing in the tank that you feel maybe associated with it?
You could for one week dose the bio at 1 dop per day and increase the bak to 5ml a day. But keep check on the parameters. However after one week go back to 3 drops every 3 days and you can stay at 5ml of Bak Are you adding any Min-S other than what is in the Clam food? How are the corals and the Clams? |
Quote:
ok 1 drop per day, 5 ml of BAK nope just the clam food with min S corals are looking better and colors are brightening up nicely:mrgreen: |
I am really reluctant to change anything but feel free to give this dosing a go under strict testing, i.e test in 3 days then 5 then 7.
To get nitrates to zero using just the additives and not the Lith rock is quite a challenge and you may have gone as far as you can go with the nutrients, that being said they are at levels that many reefers would love to have. after 7 days and as long as no fading of coral colour or lightening within this time, go back to what you were doing but the bak at 5ml and also add 2ml of min-s directly to the tank a day, but we will get to that next Sunday. if you have room in your sump for a media bag I would look at putting lith rock in there and go full ULNS but thats up to you. |
ok so to go to ulns how much more work is there
|
You have already done the hard work, we would put you on a six week gradual rise in Lith rock quantity, dosing would change a bit but you would get tank stability. You would use way less Bio and bak also.
More tomorrow ;) |
Quote:
|
Hey all, well alot of stuff has happened i have been away and busy as always. trying to get the skimmer thing sorted out i have a dual 62" skimmer powered by a PCX 70 that i dont think is cutting it. may be i had to take one of the extensions off to get the skimmer going... other then that. daily drops and checking the levels
still maintaining Ultra BIO 1 drop every day. Ultra BAK Mike im empty here i have about 2 days left. 5 ml per day. Ultra clam food feeding every second day. Well i can't keep it any longer the color are amazing in the tri color they are alot bright er and lighter to look at . alot of the frags are coloring up so nice i really need to sit down here to snap some pictures ,but so busy with work sorry i will make a effort to night to get some pictures on i promise..... i'm hoping to get some top down picture up if i can figure how to get the glare out of there....... oh ya i will be posting some new levels too Mike to allow you to see what the tank is doing .. |
Bak on its way by Friday, I need your address!
Yes some GOOD pictures would be nice :mrgreen: |
ok thanks again mike, can you send me a double dose of bak since im going thur this at 5 ml per day. i can help with shipping if you want me too let me know since this you coming out of your pocket...
here are the levels for ya temp 77.9 1.025 ALk 10DKH CAL 460 NO3 15 its going up from the lack of bak that i have and being away.. PO 4 0 MAg 1350 still doing the 10 gal Water change hoping that this skimmer is going to rip into the nitrates i hope . pictures to follow other then that been dosing liek crasy here turning off the skimmer after i dose too... pmed you my addy |
You really need to be using Lith rock now so we can get you onto other stuff and also give the tank stability then the nitrates would not ebb and flow so much.
If you did this you would ahve to lower your DKH down to 7.5 max though, even now for using this method its too high. Lith systems call for lower DKH |
"You really need to be using Lith rock now " can you explain--what is lith rock?
thanks |
What is Ultra Lith Rock - Or its actual organic name - Zeolite rock
The name Zeolite goes back to the greek words “Zeo” (boiling) and “lithos” (stone). Upon heating, these minerals appear to be boiling. There are about 40 naturally occurring Zeolites, which can form many more mixed minerals of variable composition. Also huge amounts of Zeolites are produces synthetically every year, for example for laundry detergents. Ultralith is a natural Zeolite. Zeolites are minerals and consist mostly of silica and aluminium plus other elements like Sodium, Potassium, Iron, and Manganese, which determine the physical properties of the mineral. The most interesting feature of Zeolites is their crystal structure. You can think of it as a sponge with many small and large holes. Large and small should be seen in perspective of the scale, the small holes have the size of single molecules, about one billionth of a meter. The size of these holes depends on the chemical composition of the mineral. These pores contain water, which causes the boiling when the minerals are heated. What makes these minerals so special is their ability to absorb specific compounds. Which compound is absorbed depends on the size and shape of the holes in the crystal structure, which is depending on the chemical composition. Therefore, depending on their composition Zeolites preferentially absorb different compounds. Ultralith is specifically chosen to absorb ammonium (NH4+). However, thinking of Zeolites just as absorbers is a bit oversimplified. They are actually ionexchangers. The holes to which a compound binds are not empty but rather filled with sodium or potassium. As soon as a preferred compound is available, another compound, usually sodium and potassium, is given off and the compound will be absorbed. This reaction, the replacement of one ion for another ion, is called ion-exchange. In marine aquaria the liberation of sodium or potassium and therefore the resulting ionic imbalance is negligible as they are major constituents of seawater anyways. The absorption of ammonium is just one half of the story. The other half is where the biology comes in. As already mentioned, zeolites have a very porous structure; under the microscope they look almost like a sponge. The larger holes are much bigger than the small ones, about a thousand times bigger. This porous structure creates a large surface area for bacteria to settle on. As the ammonium is adsorbed by the crystal structure, the bacteria living on the Zeolite get their food delivered to their doorstep. The overall reaction that takes place in a Zeolite filter is the removal of ammonium and its conversion into nitrogen gas, which goes off into the atmosphere. The removal of ammonium takes place in three steps 1) Absorption of ammonium, 2) Oxidation of ammonium, 3) Denitrification. As already explained, the ammonium will be adsorbed onto the surface of the mineral due to an ion-exchange process. At the surface of each mineral grain, oxygen is still available. Here the ammonium is oxidised by autotrophic bacteria to nitrate according to the following formula 2NH4+ + 5O2 = 2NO3 + 4H2O This process consumes oxygen, thereby creating an anoxic environment inside the mineral grains. If this would be the only process that occurs in a Zeolite filter such a system would actually produce nitrate, and its use for aquaria would be rather limited. Deeper inside the mineral grain, heterotrophic bacteria will consume the nitrate that is produced in the outer layer. This process is called denitrification, and occurs in two steps, from nitrate to nitrite, and further to Nitrogen gas which will diffuse out of the water into the atmosphere. The overall formula for both processes is given below 5CH2O + 4 NO32- = 4 HCO3- + CO2 + 3 H20 + 2 N2 Because heterotrophic bacteria carry out this process, they need to be fed with a suitable carbon source such as UltraBak. By addition of suitable bacterial strains, e.g. UltraBio the removal of nutrients can be accelerated. The different bacterial strains work as a team, the products of one strain are food for the next one. The feeding of the bacteria substantially increases the bacterial biomass inside the filter, which again results in a binding of phosphate. These bacterial films have to removed regularly by shaking the filter. The removed material can either be removed by the skimmer or serve as food to some animals, especially filter feeders. In very nutrient poor systems the removed bacterial films can be an important food source for the corals. Eventually the bacteria will clog up the Zeolites and the material has to be exchanged. |
OK Here are some comparsions i hope this is going to look right i tried to get the best angle and keeping the pic at the smae settings.. so I'm not touching up anything.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC01164.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC06389.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC01184.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC01181.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC06381.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...DSC06040-1.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC06386.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC06383.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC06391.jpg |
Next step power traces elements and Ultra Lith rock ;)
|
ok then lets do it what do I need to do then you convinced me.....:lol:
|
You need 1L of Ultra Lith starting with 250ml for the first two weeks dosing 1 drop a day of Ultra Bio, this is to be placed in good flow or a reactor, I have a Lith reactor I can cut a deal on but thats involves a phone call and at 10.15pm we can discuss this tomorrow.
I will need to get Doug clued up on this also as he will be looking after your system when you are off on your next wild turkey shoot. ;) |
I have mega flow in my sump so a reactor isnt needed as of YET..:wink:
|
this pic is of the same Coral that i have, see the colors popped out after adding the BIO and BAK.http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...DSC06040-1.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...L/DSC06386.jpg |
Quote:
|
Yep media bag is good enough in the short term just put in good flow and shake it daily, other than that yes a reactor will do but remember the media needs shaking daily this is why there are dedicated reactors for Lith.
We have one coming to the market in June that will be a competitor for Vertex brand we are just finalising some of the neat features it will have over other brands, prices are expected to be cheaper also depending on what the USD rate does between now and then. If we decide to blow the market open on these and sell direct then they will be 50% cheaper :mrgreen: |
Quote:
Not to mention my own system. :smile: |
Quote:
|
:lol:
And in doing so tell the competition what we are up to. :lol: |
Quote:
|
|
| All times are GMT. The time now is 09:57 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.