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  1. C

    Ca/Alk imbalance vs. pH....

    Nice Article Nikki. I have added it to my collection. Thanks...C
  2. C

    Ca/Alk imbalance vs. pH....

    Cougra, you are absolutely right. I grossly oversimplified. Here is an article that applies the appropriate mathematics. It states something to the effect that doubling CO2 from 350 to 700 ppm will give rise to a 0.4 change in pH. I was just trying to make a point. You are correct. Please...
  3. C

    Ca/Alk imbalance vs. pH....

    wrong! In a pure combustion reaction, the only products are H20 and CO2. CO only comes from imperfect combustion. This is also incorrect. Oxygen can be wherever it wants as can any of the gases that make up our atmosphere. It tends to average around this level globally in this century but...
  4. C

    DIY Refugiums, any help?

    For herbivores in my 75, I have one yellow tang and about 10 hermits, 2 emerald crabs (they are great IMHO) 15 turbos, 7 narsius, 3 lettuce nudi's, 2 fighting conchs. I use either distilled or RO/DI water only and dose with Kalk as needed. The cleanup crew takes care of the alea in the main...
  5. C

    DIY Refugiums, any help?

    I haven't seen any negetives so far. I think most of the problem is you have to rotate your mud so that the bed does not become oversaturated with bacteria and phosphates etc. This is where the bowls come in. In a deep bed, H2S bubbles can be problematic. If you just take out a bowl and dump...
  6. C

    DIY Refugiums, any help?

    I have culerpa in my refugium. I have no problems with it. The main thing I take out thout is hair algea, which grows much faster. I have none in my main tank but it grows fast in my fuge. I don't doubt that it releases some sort of toxins. However, I have never had problems with it. I'm...
  7. C

    Ca/Alk imbalance vs. pH....

    Well, lets think about it. CO2 distributes itself between ambient air and water according to its equilibrium constant. So if we write this in terms of partial pressures we get something like: p(CO2)water=K*p(CO2)air this says that the partial pressue of CO2 in water is proportional to the...
  8. C

    Ca/Alk imbalance vs. pH....

    MDMAquatic. The carbonate, bicarbonate equilibrium in water is very sensitive to CO2 levels. Small increases in ambient CO2 can cause downward presssure on pH. There are hundreds of cases of people who have had this problem in winter. They run thier venturi intake to the skimmer out the...
  9. C

    DIY Refugiums, any help?

    You are right...it's less! No real supplements, no real feeding corals, very little testing except Ca and Alk, very few water changes. Just keep topped off with RO/DI water and pull algea out about once/month or so. Then rotate mud about every quarter or so. Feeding and scraping glass etc...
  10. C

    DIY Refugiums, any help?

    My understanding is that the primary purpose of the refugium is not to spill macrofauna into the main tank, but to produce zooplankton and phytoplankton, which is mainly too small to see. This largely comes from the eggs and sperm and larvae produced by the species "crammed" into your fuge. If...
  11. C

    DIY Refugiums, any help?

    I have no filtration, except the refugium....C
  12. C

    Ca/Alk imbalance vs. pH....

    Also, if your salt has a buffer system at pH 7.8, your tank will always trend in that direction. You can boost it with alk booster but when it gets used by your corals, it will tend to fall back down. Collin
  13. C

    Ca/Alk imbalance vs. pH....

    Have you calibrated your pH meter lately? You should calibrate it at low and high pH standards if it can take a two point curve. Elsewise calibrate it near pH 8-8.5. I doubt the temperature compensation is the cause. I don't think this would account for a 0.5 unit shift as you are...
  14. C

    DIY Refugiums, any help?

    If you go with Miracle mud, I suggest keeping your mud in 4 tupperware pans or bowls or something that lie closely together to match size and shape with the bottom of your refugium, including some small rocks for pod houses. This will make it easy to change out your substrate in the remote...
  15. C

    Ca/Alk imbalance vs. pH....

    In my mind you have one of three problems or a combination of them all. 1.) Too high of CO2 in your house. Check this by putting a water sample outside for 24 hours and watching the pH. If it rises then this is at least part of your problem. 2.) You are really out of balance in water...
  16. C

    DIY Refugiums, any help?

    I disagree. I think you should go with MM (only about 30 lbs maybe for a 220) and no skimmer. I run a skimmerless reef with MM and am very happy with it. I think you will be happy too. My corals are thriving, even the dendronephthya (although it might be a scleronepthya, I can't identify it...
  17. C

    Ozone in a Marine Tank

    I don't think ozone is necessary. I can see a reason to use it in a very large tank (maybe greater than 500 gallons). Ozone will chew up any organics in there if it gets too high. Its like chlorine. It will kill bacteria, micro algea fish etc if not controlled. As far as its interaction...
  18. C

    RODI system

    I think for most units you need a pressure of at least 40 psi or so for them to work well. If you are not getting this, then you might need to consider a booster pump in front of your unit. As someone else pointed out, temperature is a big factor also. Too hot or too cold is not good. Around...
  19. C

    RO/DI and algea blooms

    Yes, RO water is better than DI water. Even better is RO/DI. This is the most pure other than distilled. Distilled has the potential to be problematical though if it is distilled with copper coils. RO/DI water will keep the phosphate and silicate levels going into your tank from water...
  20. C

    Low CA in IO salt

    Sorry Guys. I've been out of town. As for the Chloride ion. It stays. Chloride ions are non-volatile. It will stay in your tank until the universe fades...well, maybe not that long...but you get my point. It is there to stay, for the most part. These sorts of things affect the balance of...
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