Neptune Salinity + Red Sea ABCD

[AustinJT]

Hi guys, a couple question.

How do you dose an Average Red Sea ABCD (Color Program) with other supplement? I can only have access to TLF products for KH, Mg & Ca.

So for trace, only Red Sea is available. But Red Sea dosage is based on daily consumption of its Calcium. So I don't know how to average that? Or just dose the same?

I don't exactly know how much calcium is consumed in my tank either because it run on Calcium Reactor and every now & then, Trident will adjust Calcium, targeting 380.

Another question, anyone have issue with Neptune Salt probe? I think mine is faulty one? It's a Lab Grade. Newly purchase, it keep on bouncing on & off. Sometime, read ZERO. And everytime after calibration, it stable for like a week.. then it would gradually dropped. Mine dropped from 35ppt to now just 30ppt and both Hanna & a very expensive $200 Refractometer read at exactly 35ppt but Neptune Lab Grade Salt Probe is reading at 30ppt and even freshly calibrate, it was never fully 35ppt, it peaked at 34 or so.

And yes, I used Probe Stabilizer from that V company. Poor quality, the green thing keep breaking & get everywhere in my tank. I am thinking of a DIY version for myself. I already came up with Design using Acrylic, a bit bulky in design due lack of tool need to process for a compact version but hey, at least, this one is sure to last a lifetime.

 

[Formulator]

Here is a neat calculator to determine how much calcium your reactor is contributing per day to your tank: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/CaRxContribution.php

Once you have that, you should be able to determine the consumption in your tank and calculate the dose for Red Sea trace.

Regarding the neptune salinity probe, and really any salinity probe, they are notoriously unreliable. I wouldn’t suggest using them…

 

[AustinJT]

Here is a neat calculator to determine how much calcium your reactor is contributing per day to your tank: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/CaRxContribution.php

Once you have that, you should be able to determine the consumption in your tank and calculate the dose for Red Sea trace.

Regarding the Neptune salinity probe, and really any salinity probe, they are notoriously unreliable. I wouldn’t suggest using them…

Thanks for the Link... I thought we're doing Aquarium for Fun... who knew it would involve Math? :-D

I can't even read the formula on website but I'll figure something out.

However, I guessed I wasn't phrase my question properly... I mean to ask... Red Sea said to base their dosage on Calcium Consumption... Is it any Calcium Consumption or specifically Red Sea's consumption rate? I supposed each Calcium Consumption are different from Brand to Brand? Some like Brightwell are very concentrated and some like Fauna Marin is very diluted while TLF is somewhere in between.

In Regarding to Probe, the old one works wonderfully, it never had any issue for years... Then it became a bit unstable and someone recommended me to change it as it was supposed to change every 2yrs, so I did. And this new one is very bad... My old one were like 5yrs.

I supposed the instability cause by some form of build up debris? My tank have slimey-browny-thingy that usually cling to Skimmer, Reactor, Sump... any walls actually. Especially on Roller Filter and it's this Clay/Mud, not to mention Sponge, as well tiny curly snail, they everywhere in my tank. So I supposed it could cause this issue as it blocking or clogging Probe?

My question is... Do you know if Salt Probe, is sensitive to any bleaching chemical?

I have this household plain bleach chemical that I use to clean wavemakers. I have "Waterproof Quick Connector" to all my devices, so for wave, I can quick remove powerhead, put the spare one in and for old one, I put in this bleach for a day, then just turn it on while in RODI water, let it run for a couple days, will flush out all dirt on its own. After that, I dried it and it became a "Spare" until the current one need to be clean.

I've been using this bleach for ages, there's never been issue. But I'm worry chemical could react to mental part of the Probe?

I used to have this Hand-made expensive set of Kitchen Knives and it rusted so badly, it was made some kind rare mental for sharpness but unlike steel, it was prone to rust and I used this bleach to clean it, work extremely well, rust falls like snowflake. But one time, I left it too long and forgot about it... and all Knives, turned Dark Purple/Gray-ish, that's when I knew this bleach can reactor to mental.

So I am hesitant to use it to bleach the probe. But if it could work, it would be amazing, I could just stir it for a mins and all dirt/snail/sponge would fall off.

 

[Formulator]

For the ABCD dosing it does not matter the calcium supplement because you will dose based on ppm consumption. From the Red Sea website, the recommendation is 1 mL of colors per 20 ppm Calcium per 25 gallons. So to figure out the dose of colors the formula would be: (daily calcium consumed in your tank, ppm) / 20 * [(your tank volume, gallons) / 25] = dose of colors, mL.

The probe is based on conductivity measured across metallic electrodes, so bleach will likely oxidize and ruin the probe.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I might not go based on calcium, despite the Red Sea suggestion. There’s no perfect way to dose trace element mixes, but if it were me, I’d try to customize the dose.

I can suggest how one might do that if you post a tank picture, and I’d add extra if you grow macroalgae or dose organic carbon.

 

[AustinJT]

I might not go based on calcium, despite the Red Sea suggestion. There’s no perfect way to dose trace element mixes, but if it were me, I’d try to customize the dose.

I can suggest how one might do that if you post a tank picture, and I’d add extra if you grow macroalgae or dose organic carbon.

I do not have access the ICP Test.

Best I can do is to manually testing everything using Salifert.

 

[AustinJT]

For the ABCD dosing it does not matter the calcium supplement because you will dose based on ppm consumption. From the Red Sea website, the recommendation is 1 mL of colors per 20 ppm Calcium per 25 gallons. So to figure out the dose of colors the formula would be: (daily calcium consumed in your tank, ppm) / 20 * [(your tank volume, gallons) / 25] = dose of colors, mL.

The probe is based on conductivity measured across metallic electrodes, so bleach will likely oxidize and ruin the probe.

I couldn't take it ANYMORE....... but since I have a spare probe... I decided to risk it and bleach the probe with Thermal Cup Cleaner.

Guess what???



Also, one of the reason why I am so afraid of Salinity dropped, it's because I have space behind my tank and it has 90mm PVC that ran in a Maze Form but in "Drop Down U-shape". Kind of an imitation of Ant Nest. Inside the Maze-like PVC, have a series of custom made "Static Mixer" with larger hole to prevent clogging.

It was a created to house this tiny little shrimp, I don't know what it is... but came with Fauna Marin food. I supposed in Egg Form? They do have shrimp logo on their label.

After feeding Fauna, my tank have tiny little shrimp, an actual little shrimp that my fishes enjoy very much but their shape is not like food shrimp, closest I could find a picture relate to it, was Mysid Shrimp but i am not sure if truly Mysid. They were in my Frag Tank.

So when I build my big display tank, after I cycled it... I move the entire Water from Frag Tank into it, including live rock, every last pcs of sand/substrate. Hoping the shrimp will go with it and survive, in deed, it was success.

They breed in the Maze-like pvc, I think, I hoped. And would come out to main tank from time to time. My Flavo Anthias & Red Mandarin went insane with them, whenever they came out. Usually when light is dim. Late in the evening.

What I am afraid of... I found Tiny Little Rats inside that space. So I am worry they could be eating through PVC and cause a small leak to which I will never know, because tank surrounded by drainage system. Where I live, have an insane condensation issue from time to time, it's like somebody shower my tank. So drainage were build for that.

So if the tank leaks, I will never know.

Plus, the space with seal by resin to combat rat. I just close the space and pour in resin. But I'm still scare, whenever I see salt drop, it's like a heart attack to me.

If rats ate through PVC and cause leak, nothing can be done except an absolute tear down.

 

[AustinJT]

So far... Stabled, with 0.5 fluctuation due to bubble trap, I believe. As my sump water level is very low, so sometime, the pump sucked in some air.

Thanks everyone. I've done some research and found it best to clean probe once a month and calibrate every 3-6mth.

I actually, never clean the probe years, I thought you just calibrate 6mth and change probe every 2yrs for all probe with Salt Probe change every 3yrs.