The House of Orange

[Williamson’s Reef]

RSCP and it has been mixing at 8.5 and dropping to the high 7's after a week of storage. Not too big of a deal though, as the kalk brings it into my target zone of between 10 -11. So far, so good. I've considered lowering it, but it stays pretty reliably in that range.

Hm…That should be mixing much higher. Makes me wonder if your salinity tester is off. Have you always run 10-11 Alk?

 

[Fish Styx]

Hm…That should be mixing much higher. Makes me wonder if your salinity tester is off. Have you always run 10-11 Alk?

Since the beginning, yup. I use a Hanna Salinity pen. It is calibrated and accounts for temp. Spot on. I mix to 35 ppt and both 60 gallon batches that I've made have measured 8.5 and 8.6. Alkalinity tested using Hanna- also spot on.

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

Since the beginning, yup. I use a Hanna Salinity pen. It is calibrated and accounts for temp. Spot on. I mix to 35 ppt and both 60 gallon batches that I've made have measured 8.5 and 8.6. Alkalinity tested using Hanna- also spot on.

So I have the Hanna Salinity pen also. It shows 35 ppt but my Milwaukee digital shows 33 ppt when testing the same water. I get monthly ICP test. The Milwaukee is correct. My Hanna reads higher salinity than what it is. That’s my personal experience. The Hanna has been sitting on the self every since. I believe your Hana Alk tester is correct. It is 8.5-8.6 Alk. But I’m guessing your salinity might actually be lower. Red Sea coral pro salt mixes much higher Alk at 35 ppt. It would be worth using another checker like this one. I have it also… careful they do break easy. I’m on my second one…lol. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/high...=10466&indexName=brs_prod_m2_default_products

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

Not that the Alk number matters to you. But I’ve seen a lot of tanks have issues that ended up being low salinity in the end. And the tester was the issue. Often refractors even calibrated can be way off.

 

[Fish Styx]

Not that the Alk number matters to you. But I’ve seen a lot of tanks have issues that ended up being low salinity in the end. And the tester was the issue. Typically refractors even calibrated can be way off.

I monitor my system with with the Apex probe, which I find reads .3 lower than the actual salinity. I have a Milwaukee digital refractometer, but honestly haven't used it in awhile. I'll break it out tomorrow and take measurements.

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

I monitor my system with with the Apex probe, which I find reads .3 lower than the actual salinity. I have a Milwaukee digital refractometer, but honestly haven't used it in awhile. I'll break it out tomorrow and take measurements.

Yes the Apex probe is junk. I gave up on mine. Perfect! I’m curious what it’ll be.

 

[Fish Styx]

Yes the Apex probe is junk. I gave up on mine. Perfect! I’m curious what it’ll be.

At this point, so am I.

 

[rmorris_14]

I monitor my system with with the Apex probe, which I find reads .3 lower than the actual salinity. I have a Milwaukee digital refractometer, but honestly haven't used it in awhile. I'll break it out tomorrow and take measurements.

yo! have you had any issues with your apex probe calibration before. mine just read 2. I bought the apex solution to calibrate and just keep getting the error message.

 

[Fish Styx]

yo! have you had any issues with your apex probe calibration before. mine just read 2. I bought the apex solution to calibrate and just keep getting the error message.

I haven't, no, and I recalibrate the probes every 3 months.

Which probe, in particular, and did I understand that correctly? It is reading just "2"?

 

[rmorris_14]

I haven't, no, and I recalibrate the probes every 3 months.

Which probe, in particular, and did I understand that correctly? It is reading just "2"?

yup

The probes and Apex came when I bought the tank from my LFS. He was breaking down the system. It’s never read any different in fresh or saltwater. In fact it says 2 even when it isn’t hooked up to the apex. Maybe I need to remove it from the apex and add it back?

 

[Fish Styx]

yup

The probes and Apex came when I bought the tank from my LFS. He was breaking down the system. It’s never read any different in fresh or saltwater. In fact it says 2 even when it isn’t hooked up to the apex. Maybe I need to remove it from the apex and add it back?

Yeah, that is more than likely a bad probe, especially if purchased used. I would disconnect the probe, clean the electrode, and try to recalibrate it. If it is still jacked up, it needs to be replaced.

 

[rmorris_14]

Yeah, that is more than likely a bad probe, especially if purchased used. I would disconnect the probe, clean the electrode, and try to recalibrate it. If it is still jacked up, it needs to be replaced.

Bummer sauce. I looked up a replacement probe and was like "nope" when I saw the price tag.

 

[Fish Styx]

Bummer sauce. I looked up a replacement probe and was like "nope" when I saw the price tag.

Yeah, they are spendy, for sure. Do you have a fallback method for testing?

 

[rmorris_14]

Yeah, they are spendy, for sure. Do you have a fallback method for testing?

Just the good ole refractometer.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Just the good ole refractometer.

try storing it in vinegar + RODI upside down for a spell

Should I clean the salinity probe if so how?

Hi I am just recalibrating my salinity probe and its been in the tank around a year. My question is should I soak the probe in some kind of solution to get rid of any deposits that might have accumulated prior to recalibrating? If so is a water vinegar solution ok?

forum.neptunesystems.com

 

[biecacka]

Another gallon batch of Styx's Coral Snow mixed up for a cost of ~ $20, compared to an equivalent volume of KZ @ ~ $420. Not too shabby.

Do you add the other 2 smaller containers to your coral snow? I make up the DIY batch with just the CaCO3 but don’t add anything else.
what benefits do they provide? How often are you dosing?


corey

 

[tbrown]

Do you add the other 2 smaller containers to your coral snow? I make up the DIY batch with just the CaCO3 but don’t add anything else.
what benefits do they provide? How often are you dosing?


corey

I add 2 to 3 teaspoons of Calcium Carbonate to 10 ounces of water, shake well, and then dump it in the tank (100 gallons of water in a 125+sump system). You can do it daily or weekly or every other day. I do occasionally add some Mictobacter to the mix - 5 or 10 ml.

Typically I like to broadcast feed, then scrape the glass, then blow off the rocks, then DIY snow the tank.

The only negative that I've seen is an occasional slight drop in alkalinity afterwards.

 

[biecacka]

Yeah I do mine more like once a week. Because I usually forget……I also only do about 25ml in my tank. 240 gallon cube. I don’t know why I do so little, but I thought I once read that was the dosing amount. I use SunnyX recipe.

corey

 

[Fish Styx]

Do you add the other 2 smaller containers to your coral snow? I make up the DIY batch with just the CaCO3 but don’t add anything else.
what benefits do they provide? How often are you dosing?


corey

I do, yes, with the addition of tablespoon of each, per half gallon. It saves me from having to dose them seperately, and while the CaCo3 is an excellent flocculent, it also serves as a food source for polyps to catch after it binds to organics. My thought process was that, since I am technically feeding anyway, I might as well kill two birds with one stone; or, as is the case here, three.

I dose the concoction nightly at 10 PM, one hour before my automated dosing regimen kicks on. To be fair, I do not have any imperical evidence to show that it is more effective than dosing alone, but I can say, anecdotally, that my corals are happy, pod populations are booming, and, most importantly, it hasn't caused any deleterious effects on my system that I am aware of.

Edit:

It should be noted that I tweaked my recipe to lower the amount of CaCo3 in solution from 2 cups per 1/2 gallon to 1.5 cups, and have been dosing 100ml daily instead of 50. My operating volume is roughly 250 gallons.

 

[biecacka]

Did you follow sunnyx’s recipe for making the coral snow to begin with?
I might consider adding the others in like you have, already feeding them-why not make it easier.

corey