madsalt Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 The doser actually dispensed a little over 107 so I know it worked. I am not going to increase the dosing amount tonight, I am going to let it run again at 107ml to see what I have in the morning. If I get the same result, I will increase the amount. I may have found a small error that I have been making. A pulled the reagent for my all test and realized I might have been using the wrong line on the syringe (on the plunger) while this can make a difference, I don't think it would be huge. I tested this evening any talk was 7.3. So at this number, to get to 8.3 I need to let another 107ml run in tonight. I mixed the alk solution per the instructions. I am having another problem right now and that is my apex/wxm dropping my lights and pumps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Have you ran two tests using the same water but with the different amount of reagent to see what the offset is? Since it is a colorimeter, the amount of liquid is important as the amount of color change via the reagent to the original sample is what determines the result. I would run it as a check. That's great that it dosed the correct amount of alk last night. The programming skills are strong with this one! [emoji6] I was just asking about the alk mixing instructions so that you'd double-check yourself just to be sure you didn't accidentally miss a step or measured incorrectly. I'm trying to think of potential sources of error to troubleshoot. Sadly, I can't offer much help with the wireless modules as I don't have any equipment that currently uses them. I find the Apex forums to be of great help though so I'd look there first for answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 So my apex/radion/mp40 issue continues. I woke up this morning and all 5 items were listed as missing on fusion. So instead of testing my alk this morning I tried to make sure I had adequate circulation for the tank. I was able to clear my pumps and get them running but only one light back on. On a side note I saw a fair amount of white stuff floating around the tank, stuff I have not seen before. I am wondering if the alk precipitated out for some reason. The only reason I could think of this is if the alk and calc dosed together but I have them set hours apart so they wont mix together. The alk stops dosing at 5am and the calc does not start until 7am. As a matter of fact my calcium should be finishing its cycle right about now. I only have like one test left for my alk reagent until my shipment gets here, the good thing is that it has shipped so I should have it any day now. My API test kit has been pretty close to the hanna numbers so I can still test to make sure I am not seeing crazy big swings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Hmmm, maybe it did precipitate out. That would explain your lack of ability to increase the alk. Were you able to gain some ground on the WXM connectivity issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I am home and the tank does not look as bad as this morning. It was weird but it look like it is back to normal. Alk is at 7.7 so I have adjusted to get me to 8.5. I am hoping that by tomorrow morning I am where I want to be then one more correction and I test for usage and then adjust to maintain. Calc went in using the dose, I was at 420 and wanted to hit 440, it was spot on. So I will turn that dose off for 24 hours and se what my usage is and then adjust for maintenance I was able to get my lights reconnected so we will see if they stay on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Sounds like you're back in business! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I am so far lol. I wonder if I am underestimating my tank volume and that is why it is taking a lot longer to get my alk up. I am estimating about 150 gallons with the sump water minus the sand and rocks. We will see what tomorrow morning holds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Perhaps so. Maybe your rock is really porous as well so they would impact the displacement even less. If I ever go wireless, I guess you can show me the ropes. You should be a pro by then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Oh i don't know about that haha, everything is trial and error. So far my lights have been good since I fixed them but who knows what will happen throughout the night. I really hope that when I get up my all will be where I want it. That way I can use Sunday into Monday to determine my daily usage. Like I said earlier my calc is right on so tomorrow I will determine my usage and hopefully i can set that on a maintenance drip. I will begin my magnesium testing tomorrow as well. I will not set that on a dose for quite sometime, I do not imagine my mag usage is that high Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 I honestly wouldn't bother putting Mg on a doser. You can dose it monthly to top it off to your preferred concentration of it. It doesn't really irritate anything if the levels fluctuate a bit, just as long as it's around 1280 ppm, you're set. If you bought a 3rd doser for Mg, I'd use it to dose something else, like amino acids or something else fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 After a long walk battle, I finally got it 2 a 9, 9.2 actually. Tonight I am going to check the alk as that will be 24 hours since my last check with no additional alk being added. I hope I am now able to set my maintenance dosing to keep the tank at a level of 9. My calc seems to be holding pretty good. I hope I can finally get things on track so I can get some solid LPS and SPS pieces growing. The SPS pieces I picked up as testers haver not done well. While I do not condone letting pieces or coral die out, it is better than buying a whole bunch and then losing all of them. My biggest thing now is to figure out my lighting and flow in the tank. With what I have, I should have the flow part and lighting covered. I run my mp40s in reefcrest, I will allow my APEX to control them once I know my lights are rock solid and won't go missing. I am running my lights at no greater than 50% in an effort to not burn up anymore corals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Huzzah! 9 dKh! It's like the holy grail right now! Non-reefers just don't understand! Yeah, I think just cranking down the lights for a bit for everything to adjust should have you rocking and rolling now. Once that maintenance dose is calculated, you can sit back and start enjoying the fruits of your labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 So it looks like I have used .78 over 24 hours, give or take 100th or so. I am going to run .78 for tonight and then test tomorrow night at 10:30 to see if I am on target. With what I have in the tank between the few SPS, LPS and coraline, that amount does not sound too far fetched. By doing .78, that will keep me in at about 9.2 and with each drop, I should not drop too much, wish me luck. Ty, do you have a par meter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 That sounds like a good plan. Good luck! I don't have a par meter but I believe RCA rents one out if you want to get a hold of theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Woke up this morning and tested alk, I was at 9.0 I was expecting a bit higher but there could have been some use since my dosing stopped at 2am and it is 6 hours later. I will see how it looks this evening and determine if I need to make another adjustment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Woohoo! Don't you love it when things work out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I just need to figure out my lights and perhaps get better at placing and acclimating frags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Low and shaded never hurt anything as you acclimate frags to your tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Tested alk and calc this morning and both look good. I used a quick down and dirty API and alk was in the 9 range and calc was at 420. I added a new piece of purple dig and piece of rainbow stylophora. These will start low in the tank and will begin the slow purgation to their new homes. My light is now at no greater than 50% so we will see how that goes. I will be doing a complete test of my parameters when I get home tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Very exciting news to hear you've dialed in your 2-part dosing system! I'd just keep checking it as the weeks go by and as you see it stay very stable, then the frequency of testing can be decreased at that point. It doesn't take too long for your corals to start responding positively to the stable parameters. Perhaps even your not so happy first editions of SPS will make a comeback in a couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I think I lost my pink birdsnest, it is stark white, perhaps too much light. I have not given up hope for my first purple digi, I have moved it down in the tank to see how it does. My red cap seems to be hanging on and my green warp has a spot that looks like it could rebound if stability is in fact what the problem was with it. I have the green warp near the bottom so I know it isn't too much light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Well, when they were first introduced, you had extremely low alk, low Mg, high nitrates, and slightly high phosphates. That's a lot of parameters not in ideal levels to be introduced to during a stressful event as a tank transfer itself. I'm not suprised the birdsnest died. For a good beginner coral, they are just sometimes finicky and will die quickly if not happy. I've seen a colony melt over night when not happy... something I rarely see with acros, as it's more of a slow STN event. I've only had small frags of acros RTN overnight on me, but never a full colony like a birdsnest will do. My guess is they are hardier in the sense of unfavorable water conditions, but more prone to bacterial infections that can wipe a colony. Either case, your frags were probably stressed after introduction to your tank and then during the changes that were occurring to get the parameters in the correct ranges. Most SPS will typically respond to stressor events a week or so after the actual event. It's kind of a delayed negative response sometimes. You'll understand what I'm talking about once you've had old colonies sitting around and then you have an alk spike or drop and nothing happens to your SPS. Then 1-2 weeks later you start getting STN. The remaining montis and SPS you picked up are good tester corals and are super hardy so I'm sure they'll recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Tested parameters and here is what I have Alk - high 8 to low 9. Had to use API because I am out of reagents for my hanna, not sure when my order will be here Calc - 420 Mag - 1220 - dosed to bring it up Sali - 1.025 Phos - 0.11 higher than I wanted to see it so that means it is time to change out my GFO Nit - 0.5 not bad, I am ok with a little nitrate but this is about it. Ph - 8.38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 The numbers look great! Much improved from when we first started! The best part is you have a pretty good regiment to keep them there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 So my parameters continue to look good although I am still not comfortable with how things are looking or progressing Alk is still in the high 8 to low 9 range, still using API until my reagents get here. My original order got messed up Calc 420-440 Mag was a bit low at around 1200, I am starting my BRS mag regime this weekend. The b-ionic does not seem to work well. Sali is 1.025 Pho was a little high at 0.11 but is coming down with a fresh round of GFO in the reactor Nit about 0.05 All fish are doing well but corals seems to be on the blah side. I know that it can take some time for corals to rebound so I am watching them. My two newest ones just don't look good, they seem to be taking a turn for the worse. Right now they are on the sand bed for light acclimation. One of my biggest concerns is that I am not pushing enough light, or maybe I am pushing too much. My highest percentage is 50%, there is no reason that shouldn't be enough light. Perhaps I need to reach my 50% level and maintain it longer than I do or maybe my color spectrum is off. I just don't know. I do know I have all the things I need to have a thriving tank, I just need to get them dialed in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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