Alkalinity and Calcium Not Rising

GoVols · Mar 27, 2017

revhtree said:
Honestly I think I need to go that route in the future so maybe start looking now!

Rev,

The calcium reactor hunt is over.

http://uniquecorals.com/dry-goods/dastaco.html

revhtree · Mar 28, 2017

Been testing everyday around the same time.

I know I'm doing something right now because my pink monti cap and pink digitata testers are turning a really nice red!

ALK is stable around 9.0 - 9.5
Calcium still going up about 10-15ppm per day due to the extra hand dosing and is now around 425. Gonna get it up to about 450 and stop dosing the extra.

Oh and I'm actually dosing 375ml via the DOS system. Not 400.

Feels good!

GoVols · Mar 28, 2017

revhtree said:
Feels good!

revhtree · Mar 28, 2017

I actually had a bit more coral than what I Was thinking so I counted.

12 LPS (small to medium colonies)
23 LPS Frags
5 Soft (small to medium colonies)
11 Shroom Frags (26 Heads)
22 SPS Frags
1 Medium Cap
27 Zoa Frags

375ml a day in about 425g of water.

GoVols · Mar 28, 2017

revhtree said:
I actually had a bit more coral than what I Was thinking so I counted.

12 LPS (small to medium colonies)
23 LPS Frags
5 Soft (small to medium colonies)
11 Shroom Frags (26 Heads)
22 SPS Frags
1 Medium Cap
27 Zoa Frags

375ml a day in about 425g of water.

lol
Now, I see why your looking to go with a cal reactor for the long haul.

Rev, We're happy for you and thanks for starting this thread.

Regards, GoVols

Ocelaris · Mar 28, 2017

revhtree said:
Yes it will be drawing from the outside tank room wall which is outside.

Consider a balanced air ventilation system that both exhausts and intakes at the same time. Panasonic makes an erv (energy recovery ventilator) that is better suited than randomly pulling air in from holes in the house. Plus negatively pressurizing the house can be an issue with modern tightly sealed homes with combustion equipment.

Depending on your climate an erv or hrv (heat recovery ventilator) is the right way to do fresh air. Panasonic makes an affordable one. I have the Panasonic one in our basement and I love the fresh air in our otherwise well sealed basement.

aashley · Mar 28, 2017

Day 3:

dKh: 7.2 Added 194mL of BRS sodium bicarbonate. Tested 15 minutes later and dKh 8.3. I was shooting for 8. Decreased my tank volume to 170 as part of the calculation since I overshot a little yesterday. I guess this is close enough anyway.

Calcium: 460!!! I don't understand this at all. I added the suggested amount of BRS calcium solution to reach 420ppm. I don't get this at all. I tested twice to make sure I measured the drops accurately. I am obviously not going to add any calcium today. Just not sure how it overshot so far. The solution is really easy to mix, just 2 cups per gallon of RODI and it dissolves completely. I know you (GoVols) don't use the 2-part BRS system and I haven't heard from Randy. Although this is not detrimental, it is very FRUSTRATING and why I got frustrated the first time I tried to get my numbers right.

GoVols · Mar 28, 2017

Ocelaris said:
Consider a balanced air ventilation system that both exhausts and intakes at the same time. Panasonic makes an erv (energy recovery ventilator) that is better suited than randomly pulling air in from holes in the house. Plus negatively pressurizing the house can be an issue with modern tightly sealed homes with combustion equipment.

Depending on your climate an erv or hrv (heat recovery ventilator) is the right way to do fresh air. Panasonic makes an affordable one. I have the Panasonic one in our basement and I love the fresh air in our otherwise well sealed basement.

Is it a stand alone unit or does it tie into you homes duct work?

Ocelaris · Mar 28, 2017

GoVols said:
Is it a stand alone unit or does it tie into you homes duct work?

You can do either, the cheaper Panasonic one looks just like a big bathroom fan. The fancier ones tie into your ductwork t distribute fresh air throughout the home. They can get pricey, but the Panasonic uses a single 5" hole to run two 4" ducts outside. It can be a bit confusing for the wiring, but it's about 10 feet from the tank and works great, almost silent too.

GoVols · Mar 28, 2017

aashley said:
Day 3:

dKh: 7.2 Added 194mL of BRS sodium bicarbonate. Tested 15 minutes later and dKh 8.3. I was shooting for 8. Decreased my tank volume to 170 as part of the calculation since I overshot a little yesterday. I guess this is close enough anyway.

Calcium: 460!!! I don't understand this at all. I added the suggested amount of BRS calcium solution to reach 420ppm. I don't get this at all. I tested twice to make sure I measured the drops accurately. I am obviously not going to add any calcium today. Just not sure how it overshot so far. The solution is really easy to mix, just 2 cups per gallon of RODI and it dissolves completely. I know you (GoVols) don't use the 2-part BRS system and I haven't heard from Randy. Although this is not detrimental, it is very FRUSTRATING and why I got frustrated the first time I tried to get my numbers right.

No, I've never used the BRS but your #'s are going up and that's a good thing.

I think you just have to find how many gallons that your really holding and then you'll be all good.

You dosed cal and alk and they both over shot your goal.

Please don't get frustrated. It's just going to take (a little) time to find out how many gallons your holding.

Right now a 460 cal and 8.3 alk is great.

I don't know about the BRS stuff but a lot of two parts act like this below.
When you dose up cal your mag. may raise and if you dose up your mag your cal may come up too.

The next time your alk/cal drops then dose to 150 gallons and see if your getting closer.

Your perfect gallons could be 160ish...

Regards, GoVols

GoVols · Mar 28, 2017

Ocelaris said:
You can do either, the cheaper Panasonic one looks just like a big bathroom fan. The fancier ones tie into your ductwork t distribute fresh air throughout the home. They can get pricey, but the Panasonic uses a single 5" hole to run two 4" ducts outside. It can be a bit confusing for the wiring, but it's about 10 feet from the tank and works great, almost silent too.

If you don't mind...
Do you know the dimensions of your unit and is it 110 or 220 volt?

Also can the fancy ones work with a split central heat and air, heat pump unit?

lol,
Can you tell I raise our homes windows a lot?

Ocelaris · Mar 28, 2017

It's 110 and about 18x26" and fits between two joists. The fancy ones do work with any type of duct work. Drop me a pm if you want more details, I don't want to side track the OP's thread.

aashley · Mar 28, 2017

GoVols said:
No, I've never used the BRS but your #'s are going up and that's a good thing.

I think you just have to find how many gallons that your really holding and then you'll be all good.

You dosed cal and alk and they both over shot your goal.

Please don't get frustrated. It's just going to take (a little) time to find out how many gallons your holding.

Right now a 460 cal and 8.3 alk is great.

I don't know about the BRS stuff but a lot of two parts act like this below.
When you dose up cal your mag. may raise and if you dose up your mag your cal may come up too.

The next time your alk/cal drops then dose to 150 gallons and see if your getting closer.

Your perfect gallons could be 160ish...

Regards, GoVols

I will try that. And thanks for the encouragement. I can hardly wait for the numbers to level out. What do you use for your alk/calcium/magnesium? Do you dose trace elements or just do water changes?

GoVols · Mar 28, 2017

Ocelaris said:
It's 110 and about 18x26" and fits between two joists. The fancy ones do work with any type of duct work. Drop me a pm if you want more details, I don't want to side track the OP's thread.

That's awesome!!!!!!
Thank you so much for taking the time.

GoVols · Mar 28, 2017

aashley said:
I will try that. And thanks for the encouragement. I can hardly wait for the numbers to level out. What do you use for your alk/calcium/magnesium? Do you dose trace elements or just do water changes?

First off. Next time you bump up wait about an hour to test. 15min. is really quick to test your results.

revhtree · Mar 28, 2017

Ocelaris said:
It's 110 and about 18x26" and fits between two joists. The fancy ones do work with any type of duct work. Drop me a pm if you want more details, I don't want to side track the OP's thread.

Hey it's all good! I want to know as well!