SPS Equipment.

[Reef69]

Ok, tired of stupid threads, so..this might be fun.

I was checking out the November TOTM at reefcentral (Wetherson's)..and he has a website showing his tank, which is amazing. Anyways, i started to think what kind of equipment the MAAST SPS-maniacs have to keep these corals. Im in the process if setting my Ca. reactor, like i mentioned i just got my gauges today (UPS sucks!). they are the GenX gauges w/selenoid and the whole thing, also got a Milwakee PH controller... so im getting closer to having more equipment, so the question is..what kind of equipment do yall have? :)

[LoneStar]

Good thread! This along with the sister thread of SPS Discussion should be a pleasant change. I'd like to hear how your calcium reactor comes along on here Reef69. I'm slowly starting to get into SPS as well. Some success and some failure.

[gjuarez]

Sorry double post

[gjuarez]

Okay, i will return the favor.

2 x Ice cap MH ballast, 10k xm
Ice Cap Vho ballast, still havent setup
PFO magnetic ballast for my 29, 10k xm
Sealife systems protein skimmer for my 29
Precision Marine Bullet 2 for my soon to be setup 75, debating cause I want to make my own skimmer
No Calcium Reactor yet, rely on religious water changes and B Ionic to adjust, looking at Pete's tank convinced that it was not needed
Starboard
DIY Kalk Doser when needed
Ultra Life Float Switch for top off
Mag 5 Return for 29
Tunze 6060 for 29

I think thats it.

I will get back to you on the rest

[Reef69]

Other than a Ca. reactor, what do you think Joshua is the next best investment..(keeping in mind that water movement is a key component for success)..Meaning gadgets. Anybody wants to chime in about Ozone?

[hobogato]

i just have to point out what jerry already mentioned, pete has lots of success with no gadgets besides the normal filtration. he is very dedicated to dripping calcuim and water changes and just good ole maintenance. he is really good at it. i think the gadgets can make the maintence a little easier, and maybe keep us from making as many mistakes when adding things like calcium or B ionic, etc. im really just thinking aloud here, because i have no gadgets other than the standard sump, fuge, and skimmer. i am also using B ionic and water changes to try to keep things on the right track.

[Reef69]

"hobogato"he is very dedicated to dripping calcuim and water changes and just good ole maintenance. i think the gadgets can make the maintence a little easier, and maybe keep us from making as many mistakes when adding things like calcium or B ionic, etc. .

Well, Ive always had problems keeping a steady dose of B-Ionic, it gets thrown off balance..so, i want to make the process easier.

Speaking of ozone, Ive heard tons of downfalls..any of them true?

[gjuarez]

Hobo, very true. Gadgets make it easier to maintain a tank and make less errors. A c.reactor is in my wishlist, unfortunately with the holidays that will have to wait. I will be doing some traveling, so a c.reactor will be a must. I am trying to make my tank as much automated as possible. One thing I will say though is that I really like doing water changes, keeps the water cleaner and it also replaces trace elements. That is what I will keep doing for my 29, but definately reactor for the 75.

[Reef69]

..Speaking of Ca. reactors, i need the media to make it work..anybody know where i can score some locally?..lol..

Ok, stay on topic!!..LOL

[hobogato]

traveling is definitely the worst thing that happens with a tank that isnt automated with gadgets. i have had more problems after short trips where the tanksitter just didn't know what to look for than from anything else. maybe we should start a tank sitting committee where people could volunteer and then use volunteers as needed.

[Reef69]

Well, i was in europe for a month this past summer, and my gf took care of my 3 tanks, and she did an amazing job..so, i nominate her for committee president, LOL.. (Krystynn's gonna kick my butt when she reads this)..

[gjuarez]

I learned the hard way. I had my 10 gallon nano thriving and I left for a training for 3 days. I left and my corals were happier than ever, I came back to find cloudy water and coral skeletons. THe AC broke while I was gone and my house temperature rose to 93 degrees. Having said that, I am saving money for a CHILLER so I can have it setup as insurance for my corals.

[hobogato]

^^good point.

[Reef69]

..What other gadgets is everybody using?

[gjuarez]

What about ultralife float switch or other types of auto topp off systems? I feel a topoff is a great gadget to have. Topping off water manually in large increments rather than having an auto topoff to topoff in small increments is better to maintain salinity levels. This is more important for smaller tanks like mine.

[hobogato]

i did make a phosban reactor out of 3 inch PVC. after gary showed me his acrylic one, and gave me the idea to mix the phosban with active carbon so it didn't turn into such a solid mass. just tube with two caps, an inlet spout on one end coming from a poerhead and holes drilled in the cap at the other end to let the water out. fillter media between the carbon/phosban mix and the holes. my tank was showing lots of cyano on the sand because of the move, but now it is going away.

[RobertG]

Flow Flow Flow, Reactor Reactor Reactor , Auto topoff. I had all the gadgets. It was automated to the max. I loved it. W/O the equipment I never kept anything alive. Of course when you have the volume of water I had its all easier. IME the SPS grew best with those things in place. I also ran a uv sterilizer. It helped the tank overall.

Josh it was the chiller that doomed minh's tank. The cable guy unplugged it as I remember it.

Robert

[gjuarez]

Let me guess, they over did the kalk and it caused a big change in Ph. It happened to me before when I accidently dropped a full cup of kalk in my tank.

[RobertG]

No that was minh too. He had bad luck for about year before he broke it down. As I remember.

[Ram_Puppy]

in regards to Minh, he got nailed twice right? I believe the second time it was his chiller, he had some guy working in his back yard and he didn't like the noise the chiller made, so he turned it off. poof - gorgeous tank dead.

[ReefOne]

here is what I have on my 40 gallon SPS (over 80 different kinds last time I counted)

400w PFO Standard Ballast w/ 20k Hami
250w Coralvue E-Ballast w/ 10k XM
2x75w VHO Super R's
Little Giant 4mdsq-x for Closed Loop
Gen-X PC55 Return Pump
Ocean Motions Super Squirt v.3
35 gallon Sump/Fuge
Single Chamber Reef One Calcium Reactor
10 Gallon ATO Resorvoir controlled by Kent Float Valve
Pacific Coast CL-650 1/4 HP Chilller

Had I not had the tank crash of my 29 gallon due to my little sister not turning off my halides when I was out of town I would have over 180 different SPS frags/colonies, including the real purple monster. But you learn, I learned that a chiller is a must. Especially if you have intense lighting on a smaller tank like I do. Still need to hook up my Nielson Reactor also.

[Reef69]

..Well, im setting up my ca. reactor this weekend (hopefully)..so i will be looking for more gadgets so, keep 'um coming!

[::pete::]

Ok ... funny thing those gadgets!! I keep saying Im going to add one maybe two and I go build a batch and sell them ALL !!!

If it aint broke why fix it?

I am a carpenter and when I need something sanded down and it has to be as smooth as a baby's ... yea that word :P I use my hand. Why because I can feel the wood and tell when its right. I feel the same about my tank ... hands on I dont guess I know.

I have seen success with gadgets and have seen and heard the horror stories as well as watching people get lazy and lazier with all the gadgets on.

In my opinion the simpliest and most reliable way it a steady routine and definitely water quality more than anything else. I dose nothing except some trace elements and do frequent smaller water changes.

"If its all in the salt" why do we add and dose? Why not just freshen the water with a little change kind of like opening the windows to get fresh air. :innocent

[LoneStar]

Gadgets, Gadgets, more Gadgets, I'm working on a pipeline to run to the Carribean and back for my tank :innocent :skeezy

[fishypets]

Here is what I use on my 125

dual 400W HQI PFO 14K Hamilltons
Korallin 3002 CA reactor (rated for 800 gal doesn't keep up with my 125) controlled by pinpoint marine PH
Custom built KA reactor (aquadok)
Kent Marine skimmer (need to upgrade)
Tunze top off
Tunze wave box
Tunze stream 6100
Tunze stream 6000
Tunze multicontroller
Mag drive 12 for return

[::pete::]

Heres mine (http://offthereef.org/the%20build.htm) and I add a little essentil elements and drip kalk.

[scuba_steveo]

I am equipment rich but the one thing I would not do without is my B-ionic auto-doser. I actually had this thing for about a year before I started using it. I do not know what is the special ingredient in B-Ionic that makes it do what it does but the stuff is awesome. When Paletta was at my hose we all (Paletta, Todd, and Gary P) had this discussion. B-ionic has something in it that is unlike all other supplements. It is like SPS crack. Meaning, once you start using it you cannot stop. And the stuff gets expensive. Seriously though, you cannot stop. If you do the corals will lose color. This happen to me and I did not even know the lack of B-Ionic was the cause. I was dosing daily and everything was super colorful. Then I ran out and did not buy more for about 2 months. The corals started to fade in color and I though it was just because I needed to do a big water change. I bought some more and in days the color was super bright. I did not think anything of it until Mike Paletta said that everyone he knows who uses it has had the same thing happen. Now I drop $35 about every 3 weeks on the stuff. Honestly, IMO, it way out performs my calcium reactor and kalk top-off. Those can be off line and I do not notice a change at all. I started using B-Ionic years ago after seeing what Jim Norris tank looked like. If you remember, all Jim added was B-Ionic part 1 and 2 and B-Ionic Magnesium, and he toped off with kalk. He did not have a calcium reactor as far as I remember. I think he tried one but took it off line. I could be wrong here. Anyway, I add about 75-100 ml of B-Ionic part 1 and 2 daily using an auto-doser. Then I add B-Ionic Magnesium about every 3 days. I also add Strontium & Molybdenum a little iodine weekly. None of that is really equipment though. Other equipment I use is my Tunze kalk top-off (hooks up to osmolator) and Matt’s calcium reactor.

[Reef69]

..What B-ionic doser are you talking about?..lol..i was wondering if they exist..LOL

[::pete::]

http://www.esvco.com/doser.gif

or look at their site www.esvco.com

[scuba_steveo]

That's the one.

[Reef69]

Hmmm, i think thats too much..plus its gonna add up to the monthly expense of supplies.. .. the tank sucking up B-Ionic weekly..

[gjuarez]

thats all I use, and from waht I say my tank loved it. I had not heard of the doser though, I might decide to check it out.
jerry

[Reef69]

I have tons of B-Ionic..but im gonna give my ca. reactor a go. Is anybody using ozone?

[LoneStar]

Ok here is a question for the calcium reactor owners. What kinda monitoring probe/device do you have hooked up to the reactor? Are you using a controller to dose? Or is it setup to slowly dose automatically? They seem not too difficult to build (the reactor part) but if someone could post the rest of the gadgets needed to run one (ie gages, CO2 canistor, and so on)

[Reef69]

Well, i have a Milwakee PH controller and Gen X gauges w/selenoid to run it. Also a 10 lb CO2 tank and a Mag 2.

[ReefOne]

I have just a pH monitor, 20lb. CO2, Small Blueline Pressure Rated Pump for my spray bar and milwaukee Gauges w/solenoid. Once you get it tuned you really dont need a controller.

[scuba_steveo]

Ok here is a question for the calcium reactor owners. What kinda monitoring probe/device do you have hooked up to the reactor? Are you using a controller to dose?

Maybe we can get Matt to chime in here. He told be not to use a controller on my Calcium Reactor. I have the capability because of my Aquacontroller but I do not use it. It just stays on 24/7. I forget what Matt's point or reason was but I think it was that it just is not needed.

[::pete::]

Ok here is a question for the calcium reactor owners. What kinda monitoring probe/device do you have hooked up to the reactor? Are you using a controller to dose?

Maybe we can get Matt to chime in here. He told be not to use a controller on my Calcium Reactor. I have the capability because of my Aquacontroller but I do not use it. It just stays on 24/7. I forget what Matt's point or reason was but I think it was that it just is not needed.

You have the capabilities and the equipment however dont use them and have no idea why you dont or why you were told not to ... :D :huh

[scuba_steveo]

Exactly!!!
But there must be a reason............

[::pete::]

Exactly!!!
But there must be a reason............

Why do you have it then? :huh

[LoneStar]

15lb tank, controlled by a pinpoint ph monitor. reactor is feed with a maxi-jet 1200 and is pumped into a small blueline pump for recirculation the water coming out is controlled by a valve whcih is at 100ml/min right now. My gauges are reef fanatic w/soleniod control. If your not going to use a controller you can get some cheaper gauges that don't have a soleniod and just run it all the time but I would start out very low on the CO2 and work your way up over weeks to get to the level you need or want.

Well Brian we all know your a great photo nut, can you take some pictures of your calcium reactor setup? (ie where lines run and whatnot). And anyone else please do too, because that will help some people visualize how to set it up (at least the equipment part, not the dialing in part). :)

[JeffCo]

Your not supposed to use it because you should try to set it up so the co2 is entering the reactor at a consistant rate and keeping the effluent at a consistent ph level. If you set it up and the co2 is constantly coming off and on, then the ph level in the reactor is constantly going up and down. You want to keep the ph consistent so it is dosing the same amount. I use a milwaukee ph controller as well, but I tweaked it until I got the ph level I wanted without the controller turning off the co2. But, I still keep the controller, just in case of Murphy's law and something screws up.

[TexasTodd]

I don't use a controller on my CA reactor either.....never have and never had a problem.

I'd add a good fast RO/DI unit helps with sps. From a sudden problem that you need to do a water change, to when you get the Red Bugs and will have to make up a ton of salt water; you don't want to be waiting for days to make water.

I love my ReefFiller auto top off pump from Champion Lighting. Variable constant drip rate...no float valves.

Eductors for flow.

On my 215 I have the following pumps: Sequence 5800, Iwaki 70RLT, Pan World 150pxx and three, soon to be four, eductors.

Todd

[Richard]

I don't use a controller either.

The only problem I ever had was when my regulator freaked out and start pumping CO2 full blast into my tank. Luckily I was home and feeding my tank at the time it happened but my ph probe was reading 6.2 by the time I figured out WTF was going on. Fish and corals didn't seem affected and the regulator has worked fine since then...knock on wood.

[Pacman]

I've got a 45 gallon mostly LPS tank, so I decided to use B-Ionic for alk/Ca balance. It really does seem to work well, everything is just about always balanced. I did just bump up my dosing from 15ml per day to 20ml because the dKH was down to 8.4 and Ca at 390. I guess as the corals get bigger they are starting to consume more elements.

Yeah, it is a bit expensive but fortunately only having a 45 gallon means a little B-Ionic goes a long way!

[TexasTodd]

I could have sent a kid to college with my B-Ionic budget when I finally got a reverse flow dual cyclinder CA reactor! :sick

LOVE having one.

Still have to dose: Mg, Stontium, Iodine. Was also full strength Kalkwasser until I went Bare Bottom....now just a tiny amount to help skimming etc.

Todd

[scuba_steveo]

Your not supposed to use it because you should try to set it up so the co2 is entering the reactor at a consistant rate and keeping the effluent at a consistent ph level. If you set it up and the co2 is constantly coming off and on, then the ph level in the reactor is constantly going up and down. You want to keep the ph consistent so it is dosing the same amount. I use a milwaukee ph controller as well, but I tweaked it until I got the ph level I wanted without the controller turning off the co2. But, I still keep the controller, just in case of Murphy's law and something screws up.

That was the reason. Thanks Jeff

[scuba_steveo]

Why do you have it then? :huh

What? The pH Controller? It is part of the Aquacontroller II. Even though I do not use it as a controller I do like to use it as a monitor. Same for the ORP. I do not controll ozone but I like to monitor the ORP. Actually I do not add ozone right now but I am looking into it.

[gjuarez]

Brian, we never got the pics.

[Reef69]

..He has a big project for school due soon, so he has been VERY busy working on it. Im sure he'll post them as soon as he has time.

[gjuarez]

Oh yeah, its finals week for college students.

[LoneStar]

Thanks Brian! That really helps in figuring it out :)

[LoneStar]

Ok heres a few questions Brian. How far away is the reactor located from the pump? What is the flow rate of the maxijett 1200 going into the reactor? And what model is that blueline pump for the recirculation?

Plus this thread needed a little boost to the top ;)

[jason]

For the B-Ionic users: 1)How many ml do you dose each day 2)what size is your tank 3)How populated is the tank 4)what are your Ca and Alk levels?

[Reef69]

1) First start with the dosage the containters tells you. Then set up your own dose depending of where the parameters stand after you do the instruction's dose.

2)125 gal. + 50 gal. sump =175 total wv.

3)LOTS of live rock, some SPSs..10 fish (All reef fish, tangs, anthias, clowns..)..sponges, clams,zoas..and im sure i forgot something :P

4)Ca. 490 (..and coming dowm..Im dosing less and less Part 2 B-Ionic. I want to get it to 450 or so) and Alk is 4.5 meq/L.

You have to pretty much play with it, its tricky at first, but you have to tweak your dosing to get it just right...Hope this helps.

[NaCl_H2O]

Just thinking about folks new to the Ca, Alk, PH game watching this thread and getting ready to jump in and "fix" their tank.

Not mentioned much here so far, but the most important equipment you need before jumping into this is test equipment! I use Salifert Ca and Alk test kits, and a handheld Hanna PH meter. If you use a PH meter, or any other "Probe" based test equipment, make sure you calibrate it correctly & often.

The reaction and interaction of everything mentioned above isn't always intuitive. So make gradual changes until you get the hang of it and learn to trust your testing techniques.

Also, in the case of Ca and Alk, "more" isn't always better. I have seen much better growth and color with Ca=400 & Alk=9, than with Ca=500 & Alk=12.

[jason]

Thanks Reef69 and NaClH2O. The reason behind my questions are because I recently switched from Kent Reactor to B-Ionic. With Kent It was very easy to find the proper dosage and my levels were great: Ca=420 Alk=9.8 Ph=8.3. I switched products because of the great things I hear about B-Ionic. I am testing every day and I'm sure I will find my proper dosage. I thought there might be a common factor between tank size and population with the B users and give us a good starting point.

[LoneStar]

Ok heres a few questions Brian. How far away is the reactor located from the pump? What is the flow rate of the maxijett 1200 going into the reactor? And what model is that blueline pump for the recirculation?

Plus this thread needed a little boost to the top ;)

the reactor is about 3' or less from the maxijet. flow rate I don't know exactly there is like maybe a foot of head so who knows its not a ton thou.

blueline 20HD (http://www.bluelineaquatics.com/products/water_pump/hd.html)

Is more flow better through the reactor? Thats a nice pump and looks like the turn over rate is really high through the reactor.

[LoneStar]

Gotcha! You only want enough water coming from the tank to keep the reactor topped off.

[Richard]

Gotcha! You only want enough water coming from the tank to keep the reactor topped off.


I don't understand. The water is always flowing slowly. Too much flow will put CO2 into the tank.

[LoneStar]

Gotcha! You only want enough water coming from the tank to keep the reactor topped off.


I don't understand. The water is always flowing slowly. Too much flow will put CO2 into the tank.

I may have not been clear the maxijet is pumping water from the sump into the reactor the blueline pump is recirculating the water and the C02 inside the reactor and the effluent is controlled by a valve which can be dialed in to what I want the drip rate to be.

Yeah I figured there would have to be some sort of control on the end of the effluent and its in my plans. 8)

[LoneStar]

Ok Brian, from your maxijet 1200 taking water from the sump to the reactor, do you have a check valve inline? Is there a worry that the water will back flow from the reactor through line coming from the sump(like overdosing in the event that the feeding pump fails?)?? I guess this would happen if you are not using a controller (just a needle valve and bubble counter) and the CO2 would keeping dosing the reactor and spilling into the tank prematurely before it mixes properly with the media. If that makes any sense... :unsure

[LoneStar]

I guess it would be a safe guard if someone does not use a controller....