TheWB’s IM Lagoon 50

[TheWB]

Yes it does slow coral growth down with lower ph is what I have read myself, but if u keep ur alk and everything else stable, the coral growth will be fine. It may take longer for the corals to get going in the beginning, but once they are fully acclimated to ur own system u should have no problem growing them with a lowered ph.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the ideal ph range of 8.1.

To help raise ph you can:

1. Run ur skimmer line outside which would help, but ur prob no where near a window or would not want an ugly skimmer line running on ur wall,

2.Leave a window open

3. Run ur system on kalk, when water changes are insufficient enough with coral demand of the added/trace elements needed.

4. Run a algae scrubber or chaeto ball in one of the back chambers, leave the light on the opposite schedule of ur main display lights. When ur lights go out at night, the ph drops. This will help balance that out a little by running ur fuge light at night.

But like I said, me personally I have never put my focus towards ph, and many others have told me the same thing. Focus on the most important thing, keeping Alkalinity stable and po4, no3 at ur systems ideal range. Ur corals will let you know what that may be. Everybody's system is different, you will learn urs on trial and error.


Here Is a ph article with all the answers..

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/

Thanks for the ideas. I did leave the window open yesterday for several hours and there was no real change. Apex started the day at 7.50 and was at 7.55 when I got home. There isn’t any acceptable way to run the Skimmer line outside. I won’t be keeping much if any sps so hopefully water changes will handle replenishment of elements. Can always revisit that as needed. I will be running a Fuge in one of the back chambers, the light is already installed. I’ll be ordering the Chaeto once I’m finished cycling. I’ll be checking out that article later this evening, thanks so much for the link.

 

[TheWB]

Consistency and stability are far more important with this and the elements than trying to chase a number.

Chasing leads to inconsistency and instability with fluctuations.

Thanks, i appreciate the comment and I completely agree. I’m planning on going with whatever perameters the tank settles into with my salt mix. I was just surprised that the ph was as low as it’s been. As long as it won’t hurt the fish I’m not going to worry about it to much, still looking into that aspect, have not had much free time in the last couple of days.

 

[P-Dub]

Apex started the day at 7.50 and was at 7.55 when I got home.

Just out of curiosity... have you thought about re-calibrating your pH probe?

 

[TheWB]

Just out of curiosity... have you thought about re-calibrating your pH probe?

I have thought about that. The Apex only comes with one package each of the 7 and 10 calibration fluids. Same with the salinity cal fluid. I ordered more of the salinity fluid but there wasn’t any Neptune ph fluid available at MD or BRS so I got the Hanna and a Hanna ph tester. I already have the Hanna Salinity tester with the temp compensation and it works great so I’m hoping the ph one is just as good. Having redundancy for checking parameters seems like a good idea. I’m actually quite disappointed in the probe setup instructions in Fusion. For $800.00 a few more detailed instructions doesn’t seem like too much to ask for. I’m sure I did something wrong with the setup of both those probes but it’s hard to know when the instructions are so vague. I read somewhere that the salinity probe first has to be dry to get an accurate calibration. If that’s the case, and I don’t know for sure that it is because it doesn’t reference that in the setup wizard, then why does the probe ship with fluid in the cap? Something telling you to dry it out thoroughly first would have been appreciated if that’s the correct procedure. I’m a little frustrated because it would have been nice to have the Apex all dialed in correctly the first time. Between the probes and the ATO not functioning properly I’m not off to a great start with keeping things stable but it will all get sorted out. On the plus side, this tank is rock solid at 78 degrees so I’ve mastered temp control .

 

[Hella_Reef]

I have thought about that. The Apex only comes with one package each of the 7 and 10 calibration fluids. Same with the salinity cal fluid. I ordered more of the salinity fluid but there wasn’t any Neptune ph fluid available at MD or BRS so I got the Hanna and a Hanna ph tester. I already have the Hanna Salinity tester with the temp compensation and it works great so I’m hoping the ph one is just as good. Having redundancy for checking parameters seems like a good idea. I’m actually quite disappointed in the probe setup instructions in Fusion. For $800.00 a few more detailed instructions doesn’t seem like too much to ask for. I’m sure I did something wrong with the setup of both those probes but it’s hard to know when the instructions are so vague. I read somewhere that the salinity probe first has to be dry to get an accurate calibration. If that’s the case, and I don’t know for sure that it is because it doesn’t reference that in the setup wizard, then why does the probe ship with fluid in the cap? Something telling you to dry it out thoroughly first would have been appreciated if that’s the correct procedure. I’m a little frustrated because it would have been nice to have the Apex all dialed in correctly the first time. Between the probes and the ATO not functioning properly I’m not off to a great start with keeping things stable but it will all get sorted out. On the plus side, this tank is rock solid at 78 degrees so I’ve mastered temp control .

Go on dr foster and Smith. They are closing their website down. U should be able to find some ph calibration for very cheap

 

[TheWB]

Looks like I had a Nitrite Spike so the cycle seems to be progressing. Emailed a support ticket to Tunze to see if I can get my ATO operating properly. Hopefully it can just be reset somehow without having to replace any parts. We’ll see.

 

[P-Dub]

Emailed a support ticket to Tunze to see if I can get my ATO operating properly. Hopefully it can just be reset somehow without having to replace any parts. We’ll see.

That sucks that you are having a problem with the Tunze. Can you describe in detail what is happening exactly so maybe we can troubleshoot it with you? Also, I would hook the AT up to the Apex as that is indispensable to have control over top-off should the return pump fail when you are not there...

 

[TheWB]

That sucks that you are having a problem with the Tunze. Can you describe in detail what is happening exactly so maybe we can troubleshoot it with you? Also, I would hook the AT up to the Apex as that is indispensable to have control over top-off should the return pump fail when you are not there...

The problem with the ATO is that when it’s turned on it will fill to the sensor and then turn off. Then what happens is 5-10 minutes later it would just turn back on and start filling past the sensor and not stop as it should. I let it run to see if the float switch would turn it off like it’s supposed to and it didn’t, I had to kill the power. So that’s what was going on. However, as I sit here writing this the ATO just functioned normally. When I got home tonight I turned it on to replenish today’s evaporation. Since I’m sitting next to it I left it on to see if it would fail again. It’s been about 30 minutes since I first turned it on and filled up to the sensor. Just now it activated, ran for about 10 seconds and shut off again when it reached the sensor, like it’s supposed to. Maybe it has worked itself out. Not sure I can totally trust it but this is a step in the right direction. Will be monitoring for the next couple of hours to see if the good behavior repeats itself. Thanks for offering to help troubleshoot, hopefully there won’t be anything more to troubleshoot with the ATO. We’ll see.

 

[P-Dub]

Dang. After that, I would never trust it... ever. Hopefully, Tunze will swap out you a new one. Keep us posted on their response.

 

[TheWB]

I doubt they will replace it but I’m happy to be proven wrong on that. No respouse from Tunze so far on my support ticket but it’s only been a day. Not sure what the turn around time is on this type of thing. Considering how long ago I bought it I’m not holding out any hopes of a replacement even if it’s technically brand new. What I was really hoping for was maybe a way to do some sort of reset. It just functioned normally again for the second time tonight so maybe it’s resolved itself. Time will tell.

 

[P-Dub]

Do you have or can you place on the effluent of the ATO a mechanical float valve just for a little piece of mind and insurance?

 

[P-Dub]

Acrylic or glass sump? Acrylic would be a snap to install one. I have a glass sump that was not a snap but doable never the less.

 

[TheWB]

Do you have or can you place on the effluent of the ATO a mechanical float valve just for a little piece of mind and insurance?

Can’t do that right now. I’m going to turn it off again overnight and then monitor it all weekend. Eventually it will be plugged into the Apex and I can get a breakout box and run another high float switch as a backup.

 

[TheWB]

Acrylic or glass sump? Acrylic would be a snap to install one. I have a glass sump that was not a snap but doable never the less.

It’s an AIO glass tank. Sensors are in the middle return section.

 

[P-Dub]

Can’t do that right now. I’m going to turn it off again overnight and then monitor it all weekend. Eventually it will be plugged into the Apex and I can get a breakout box and run another high float switch as a backup.

Best solution yet... sans a replacement from Tunze.

 

[TheWB]

No problems with the ATO since I turned it back in yesterday morning. It stayed on all night and is working as it’s supposed to now. I’m still not trusting it 100% so the resevoir is not going to have more than a gallon or two in it for a while just to be safe.

I’m continuing to dose ammonium chloride at a rate of about 2.0 ml every other day and letting it drop to zero. I’ll keep doing this until nitrites are also undetectable and then do a water change to lower the Nitrates. After that I’ll order some Chaeto and get the Fuge going. I’m also waiting on an order of more calibration fluids so the salinity and ph probes can be recalibrated. Slow and steady progress.

 

[P-Dub]

Slow and steady wins the race every time.

 

[Meat locker]

I've been searching for some chaeto online and most places are sold out. I really want to go through algae barn. If you order some online let me know what ya find.

 

[TheWB]

Algae barn is where I was going to go. Never really considered that they might be out. I’m probably a couple weeks out from ordering, I’ll keep you posted and let me know if you get yours. Thanks

 

[Meat locker]

Will do. They've been out of stock for the last week or 2.