Bluemoon Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) In both videos I was holding a wiggly baby so try to ignore the shakiness. Wow! Could have fooled me. The tank looks a-mazing Kim! The light shimmer you've got going on is one of the best I've ever seen. Mind if I ask what you shot the videos with? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited October 23, 2015 by Bluemoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 In both videos I was holding a wiggly baby so try to ignore the shakiness. Wow! Could have fooled me. The tank looks a-mazing Kim! The light shimmer you've got going on is one of the best I've ever seen. Mind if I ask what you shot the videos with? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Thank you! I just used my phone. It's a nexus. I did clean the glass inside and out first though. I'm sure that helped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Looks great Kim! Those videos are AWESOME! Thank you for posting those! Another trick I found too is making sure the lens of the camera is nice and clean... especially if its a camera phone. My pictures are like night/day with a clean/unclean lens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 Looks great Kim! Those videos are AWESOME! Thank you for posting those! Another trick I found too is making sure the lens of the camera is nice and clean... especially if its a camera phone. My pictures are like night/day with a clean/unclean lens. I didn't even think of that! Thanks for the reminder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 Finally got a backup air pump on the sump. I've had all the parts it just took me forever to get around to gathering them all. The water level in my sump is currently too high, but usually when the power cuts off the baffle you can see there in the picture creates 2 sections of water that both need aeration. So I took a gang valve and connected air stones and put one in each section. So now in the event of a power failure, the display and all sections of the sump have aeration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pabloescolar Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 This is such an epic thread. I seriously spent the last hour plowing through the whole thing (and texting my girlfriend back, I'm not THAT slow of a reader) +1000 Aspirations have been leveled up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 This is such an epic thread. I seriously spent the last hour plowing through the whole thing (and texting my girlfriend back, I'm not THAT slow of a reader) +1000 Aspirations have been leveled up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Wow, thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 I just tested my alk and it's my first low reading in many months. It's usually right around 147 but it's 135 tonight. I'm pretty happy because I've started seeing growth on some sps in my tank. Yay! So I dosed some extra alk, then bumped up the doser a bit. Now I'll have to watch it closer, which is a good tradeoff for coral growth. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 31, 2015 Author Share Posted October 31, 2015 Yikes, alk was down to 121 tonight. I'm surprised it's dipping so low. I added quite a bit of alk again tonight and upped the doser again. I'll probably test in the morning to prevent it from getting any lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Looks like everything is happy enough to start using up all that alk! That's a great problem to have! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 I finally got control of my closed loop with the apex. Had to update the apex then turn the pump all the way down. Now I just need to figure out a program for it [emoji2] 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Some night pics 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Loving that blasto. That'll make quite the show stopping piece when it grows out Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Loving that blasto. That'll make quite the show stopping piece when it grows out Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Thanks! It's one of my favorite corals. Great for brightening up dim spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Last night I started trying out running my closed loop with the apex. Looked up the tides for Galveston just to get times to try. At 0% the pump runs at its lowest speed and 100% is the highest speed. Without shutting off the power, the apex can't turn the pump off, only change the speed, if that makes sense. So at low tide I have it at 0% and high tide at 100%. Low 0600 High 1000 Low 1630 High 2330 And it ramps up and down to each of those points. So far it's working, which makes me so happy. This is one of the last things I've always wanted to do finally falling into place with this build. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 It's always nice when your reef toys actually work as intended! Way to go! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted November 5, 2015 Author Share Posted November 5, 2015 Aaaaand now my calcium is low. Tested 370 ppm. I'm pretty excited because this is the first time I've ever needed to dose calcium and I get to use the empty dosing pump that's been waiting around to be used. Growth is good! I'm wondering though if once things start to take off, if it's going to be possible to get the dosing dialed in and relax a bit, or if I'll be stuck testing and adjusting constantly. Only time will tell, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Your growth will eventually reach an equilibrium at the top end, but you never know when it can get thrown off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 lol I hate to be a putz but 370 ppm is about spot on to what the acro and lobo dominated reefs on the Marshall Islands have Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted November 5, 2015 Author Share Posted November 5, 2015 lol I hate to be a putz but 370 ppm is about spot on to what the acro and lobo dominated reefs on the Marshall Islands have Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk That's good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I find with dosing that I have to adjust alk based on growth and calcium based on any imbalance between alk/CA in the salt mix I use for water changes. Alk has to be adjusted way more frequently in my tank. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Just interesting fact, but for the most part, since I don't do water changes, I think I've dosed Ca maybe just one or two times ever to balance it back out. It's stayed pretty spot on with the CaRX for most of the time as long as I kept my alk in line. Victoly makes a great point... you'll get a stable uptake you can bank on when you reach max growth in your tank. It's the time in between that that keeps you on your toes to match the alk/Ca uptake demand of your tank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I'll interject that I also respect that we all keep elevated calcium in our tanks as compared to natural seawater parameters. Just pointing out a fun fact. Was reading a thread on RC by a guy living on the Marshall Islands, 2 minute drive to the spot where he enters the water, and he tested the parameters and alk was something in the mid 6.0 range., high 300's for ca, just over 1000 for mg, 84 degrees warm, and 1.028 salinity Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Just to be the natural skeptic as that's how I was trained all those years in consulting, that's just one location, on one reef, and we're basing that off of an unknown test kits. Was his sample taken within the reef system, or along the edge of the water where he could reach it easier? I'm sure he took a viable sample but just wanted to pose the questions. Also, test kits, which one's did he use? We're talking API or something of higher quality? There are natural variations in parameters amongst all natural reef systems. We keep corals from highly different areas and hope they like the conditions we keep them in. The best we can do is aim for a middle ground that still is tolerable to the many different corals we have in our systems and the varying parameters they come from. We also have to keep it in balance to have a safety cushioning effect. Alk generally can be in the lower ranges of 6-7.0 dKh on a natural reef system but that's skirting on the low end of a tank crash, so most keep it at 8dKh, higher than most natural systems but gives us enough of a buffer to react in our own manmade versions of a reef system. I'd imagine the same for calcium levels and magnesium levels. We're doing the best we can to replicate nature but at the same time, keep levels a tad higher than natural levels so it gives us a little buffer room to work with. Sorry for the traveling off subject there but just wanted to add some perspective to natural sea water levels and what we try to do in our versions of "nature" in our tanks. Believe it or not, my setosa and hawkins echinata looked the best they ever looked when my salinity was accidentally set at 1.031... unfortunately, the rest of my corals were dying at the same time. So I find a happy compromise keeping them all at 1.026. I also felt like I had slightly higher growth rates with a higher alk at 9-10 dKh, but some of my other corals were suffering in that range and never looked as good so I keep it at 8 dKh now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Ty, I agree 100% with you. Just adding some info for thought. The poster took the sample on a dive at the very end. From the reef itself. And tested fairly quickly using salifert tests, fresh, and a refractometer. He actually had been unable to sustain his tank using NSW even though it was so close by, due to insane fluctuations and crashed his tank often until he switched to artificial salt blends. Imagine that Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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