I bought a new BM Curve 7 to replace my aging PM 426 skimmer. Decided to get a new skimmer because the 426 just would hold a water level for more than a couple days. Had to tweak it everyday to keep it skimming correctly. The Curve 7 is an awesome skimmer. I had to raise it up a bit because the water level in my sump is 12 inches. Printed some riser feet out of ABS and installed them. The skimmer has been skimming dark skimmate since I installed it.
At the same time I found that my zeolite reactor had a pump failure. Not sure how long the pump has been out, but when I finally found it, the zeolite rocks had turned black. I pulled the whole reactor so it wouldn't further foul the tank.
Update on discontinuing vodka dosing and lowering alk to 7dKH. I've been running at ~7dKH for a week now. Turned off vodka dosing completely around the same time. NO3 and PO4 are up to about 20ppm and .25ppm respectively. LPS look good. SPS initially looked to be improving, but now they are declining once more. I checked calcium and magnesium and they are at good levels. All the algae is dying in the tank, which I attribute to the rise in NO3 and PO4. But I don't get why SPS continue to get thin flesh in certain areas then slowly perish. They have good color during this time and great PE. But still, slowly die. I wonder if I have a deficiency of some other element, but I would think if that is the case, I'd see improvements initially after a water change. I dose ESV 2 part, so it is supposed to replenish the micro-nutrients to some degree. Maybe I should try holding the alkalinity at 6.8dKH?
