KrazyKuch's & Michika's 180Gal Tank Build - Page 70

michika · #**691** 08-08-2009, 05:56 PM

The cap is glued to an old koralia base. Works great now that its solid. Although it was a huge PITA to get the green cap to glue to the base at first.

michika · #**692** 08-08-2009, 06:25 PM

Updated FTS from today

How to kill aiptasia

1) Locate your target

2) Inject with a poison of your choosing, in this case, lemon juice

3) Watch it swell, shrivel, turn purple, and die

4) Celebrate your victory

michika · #**693** 08-18-2009, 08:03 PM

My tank isn't happy this past week, so I'm frustrated.

Friday I came home to find one of my ultra croceas cleaned out of its shell. It was find Friday morning at 6am, and then at 6pm it was gone. Never showed any signs of anything. I immediately broke my personal rule about placing clams on rocks and moved all my remaining clams up high. I was and still am absolutely devistated. I adore my clams, and for something like this to happen so quickly and without warning is hard to swallow.

The nice thing about Friday though is that I moved a Powder Blue tang into the tank. This is my last attempt at this beautiful fish. It eats voraciously and fits right in already after just a few hours using the mirror trick. It picks at the rocks, and seems highly sociable.

The other downside is that I have two SPS mini-colonies that just aren't thriving. In the last week or so I've seen a distinct downwards slide, which includes STN. Neither of these colonies have ever had any polyp extension so to speak of. So I've dipped both in ReVive for the time being. I will be heading out to pick up more Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure, aka the bottle that without fail leaks and stains your hands.

I also pressed to do a water change, which was completed yesterday. I'm hoping it will turn things around.

I need to get my Calcium reactor back in-line this week. Its been offline for maintenance, and because I wanted to place it somewhere different, but never got around to it. Its time to fire that puppy back up. I also need to pick up a new dKH test kit as mine seems to have grown little test kit legs and walked off. I'll also be picking up another new set of membranes for the RO/DI as its due for a change.

I also ordered myself a gift, a photobox from Melev's reef so I can try and take a few topdown photos and learn to better use my camera to my and my tanks' advantages.

Quite a few people have been asking me what we intend to do with this system once Tibet is up and running. I'll be selling this system, the tank, sump, skimmer, plumbing, and stand will be up for sale. I will however be keeping the lighting system and the livestock. I hope to have this up for sale by the end of the year!

michika · #**694** 09-01-2009, 03:44 AM

We've now started to struggle with keeping our parameters in check. Honestly, if its not one thing, its another. We haven't been dosing anything, just topping up and doing regular water changes.

So August 19th - 7 dKH, 540ppm Ca
August 31st - 7 dKH, 480ppm Ca

Bleh, I'm now just working on pulling down the Ca a touch more, and then I'll be happy.

michika · #**695** 09-06-2009, 07:54 PM

This morning's parameters - 9dKH, and 450ppm Ca. I also ran out of salt, I'm two cups short of what I require, so its possible that I need to make a salt run today, or just leave it for a few more days.

Skimmerking · #**696** 09-06-2009, 07:55 PM

leave it 2 cups isnt going to matter Catherine, i do it all the time if im under in salt i just add a couple more cups or over i leave it out.

michika · #**697** 09-06-2009, 07:58 PM

Good plan. I'll just let it go and see what happens. Its still mixing up now, so now I'm just waiting to see.

Skimmerking · #**698** 09-06-2009, 08:31 PM

ya in your tank 180 gal 1-2 cups isnt going to matter, i would do it all the time then you are going to be low and have to drip concentrated salt water to bring it up.

michika · #**699** 09-07-2009, 05:49 PM

Those extra two cups definitely did something...

When we mix up our water we do so using 30g of RO/DI and 25 cups of salt. This time though 23 cups of salt yielded 1.042 SG. We're both confused how this happened, but I'm thankful that I re-test everything before we use the water.

New MHs are ordered and we're just waiting on delivery. I'm sticking with my favorites, 250w XM 15K moguls.

Skimmerking · #**700** 09-07-2009, 06:00 PM

that dont make sense when I make salt water and i do a 5 gal change i will check my salt in the main display. If the Salt content is high i will take out of cup only making it 1.5 cups of salt. when its lower i will add a extra cup to the 5 gal change.