imisky's 30g custom tank

[imisky]

with a small tank like that doing a 5-10 gal water change will make a huge impact on your CAL and Alk levels. but if you are really wanting a Reactor. you need to get your chamber down to about 6.5- 6.7 unless you ahve a second chamber then the first chamber will be 6.5 and the second chamber will be having a ph of 7.0. first thing you need to do is see how much you are demanding for CAL and ALk from 1 day to the second day. then what you need to do is start off with a slow drip like its almost at a stream but not a stream. then have your bubbles coming out if the counter for about 30 bubble per minute. the best way is to run the bubbles at 20-25 per min and then test the Ph then if its not enough turn up the bubbles. HTH

slow is good remember other then that well done on the build love the way it looks

you could alway use 2 part for your tank since its not alot of water volume. you wouldnt use very much 2 part either. or Try dripping kalk at night that could be another way to supplement your CAL and ALk needs

thanks for the help, i'll try to up the bubble count as it is at 1bubble/ second at the moment and i'll turn down the flow on my output. i have some C-Balance on my hand in for 2 part but im not home much these days and i want to minimize the fluctuation in the tank.

Awsome tank!

not sure if anyone asked but who built your tank?

i got it built at petzoo they had someone they know build it but im not sure the actual person. the build quality is very nice IMO for only $100.00

[LeeR]

wow that sounds like a great deal

[LeeR]

you're tank has inspired me to start a new tank... haha good job


do you have any pictures of the tank and the lights?

[imisky]

i'll try and grab a picture of the full setup today as ive been cleaning up my room from the mess for the last like week since the move haha...IT WAS THAT MESSY!! but now its all cleaned and i only have this 30g running.

I tested my water for to see the Ca consumption rate through a day. It dropped from 400ppm to 380ppm in a day. That is with my Ca reactor running too, should i test for a few more days to see if it is a constant 20ppm drop and then increase the bubble rate inside my CA reactor to compensate for the 20ppm drop?

[Skimmerking]

What i would do is bring it back up to 400 and test again in another day. if the CAl is downing that fast then youwill to get the reactor pumping more CAl Im not a Reactor expert may be Steveo,Tony, Doug, Snappy, Niloc, can explain it betterIm not that great at it...good work otherwise

try this out its takes you through a reactor set up . HTH

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/reactor.html

[imisky]

heres an update on the tank, i tried to set the white balance of my camera to represent the real thing as close as possible but in person the tank is actually a little more blue then white.

here you go enjoy

equipment



right hand side



left hand side



side shot

[LeeR]

that looks sweet! I love that stand.

Your clam dosnt look to happy with all that flow. haha

[imisky]

i have 4 clams in total 3 of which are fully open while one got stun by an SPS roughly a week or 2 before the move (the one in the right hand side photo) haha... but i would say that one clam is actually slowly recovering then dying soo so hopefully it'll be good

[imisky]

heres a little updates
i recently added 3 new fish to the tank

2 chalk bass
1 cleaning wrasse

the tanks been doing extremely well..the skimmer is pulling out some crazy colored skimmate and every parameter seems to be stable

Ca: 380ppm
Mg: 1350ppm
NH3:undetectable on salifert kits
NO3: undetectable on salifert kits
PO4: undetectable on salifert kits

colors of the SPS has improved tremendously and the growth rate is unbelievable..on my millipora colony it has grown a good 1/8"+ on every tip...heres some pictures of the tank.

[imisky]

heres an update:

The tank has been running without a problem other then some on my end...(like not washing the GFO for long enough) Everything is coloring up fast and some of my corals in the 2 months its been running now has grown a good 1/2"+ But all parameters stay steady Ca at 380~400, Mg at 1350~1400, Alk now at 10.5 instead of 13 which it was at about 2 weeks ago. The only parameter which swings is the temp as right now its cooled by fans from 76~ sometimes 80 if the fans dont turn on for some reason. Im looking into a chiller now..im looking at the JBJ 1/15HP or 1/20HP, but i wonder how i can run that chiller without another powerhead in my tank. Last night i took out about 10lbs worth of LR..now none of the rocks are touching the 4 sides of the glass i like it more for maintance now!.

heres some photos enjoy guys

a front tank shot:


L-side:


R-side: