Mattgsa 315 gallon build

mattgsa · Dec 29, 2022

I have been thinking about the tank a lot . I have been looking for ways to get corals to grow faster. Thus, ways of keeping PH up, but in so doing, the tank lost stability. I think I'm going back to simplicity with just the calcium reactor. I'm not going to worry about PH; my new goal is just stability. The only thing I might do is run a fresh air intake from the outdoors to the skimmer. Let me know what you think.

GBRsouth · Dec 30, 2022

I think that is a good idea Matt. Why speed coral growth up now to then try to slow it down later when the tank is becoming overgrown? As long as your pH reading is ok, it would be better than having it bounce around.

cmaxwell39 · Dec 31, 2022

I agree with GBR. Stability is the key. Before you know it, you will be worrying about the tank being overgrown. Enjoy the process and tge journey. The destination has its own sets of problems.

mattgsa · Jan 3, 2023

It's incredible how much more stable the parameters of the tank are. I don't know if I'm ever going to chase PH again, but right now, there are no plans. I will admit the corals did grow fast under the Higher PH, but at the same time, I was losing corals due to large swings. I can't say it enough how much I love the simplicity of a calcium reactor. I'm going to try and take some pictures tomorrow. I have several new corals.

mattgsa · Jan 5, 2023

Sorry for the blue pictures. I'm in the process of figuring out tank photography.

Lava Lamp Goniopora

Farmerty Blue Cotton Candy

Left Goni is a Teal Goniopora, and the one on the right is the UC Red Velvet; I also have UC Green tip but didn't get a picture of it.
I believe the Montipora on the right is the WWC Kung Pao Monti, the bottom middle is the JF Vino Monti, and the right one is the JF Altered Ego. The monti are mad at me for dipping them. Hopefully, they will cheer up soon.

Palleta Tricolor

ORA Bollina

Grafted Bonsi

Sorry I don't remember the name of this coral

mattgsa · Jan 5, 2023

Running a PH experiment, I’m still not chasing ph, I just thought if it works it would be a simpler solution that shouldn’t affect other parameters.

mattgsa · Jan 6, 2023

Home wrecker

Bill Murray

mattgsa · Jan 8, 2023

Some lite reading

mattgsa · Jan 24, 2023

You may remember that I had a problem with my Anions quickly depleting. I was only getting a couple hundred gallons of water with the large bag of Anions from BRS. So I switch to Buckeye hydros Anions. I have already put several hundred gallons through, and the resin has only started to change slightly at the bottom. I will keep testing and wait to see when my TDS meter comes up with something greater than zero. However, I now think I have found a solution to the problem. I found it strange that the support team at Buckeye was telling me I should get thousands of gallons of water before replacing the resin. I hope he is correct about the new resin. It was a little more than BRS; however, if it corrects the problem, it will save me a lot of money.

mattgsa · Jan 25, 2023

PH update, running the tub outside made no noticeable difference in PH. As you can see below, my PH sucks.

So I have followed @dca22anderson build almost from the beginning, and I saw the other day he purchased a Deltec Kalk stir for his system. I have heard many good things about Deltec reactors and figured I would follow suit. So I have ordered my first piece of Deltec equipment.

I hope it is better than the last two reactors I bought. I would really hate to throw this in the trash like I did the others.

mattgsa · Feb 3, 2023

mattgsa said:
PH update, running the tub outside made no noticeable difference in PH. As you can see below, my PH sucks.

So I have followed @dca22anderson build almost from the beginning, and I saw the other day he purchased a Deltec Kalk stir for his system. I have heard many good things about Deltec reactors and figured I would follow suit. So I have ordered my first piece of Deltec equipment.

I hope it is better than the last two reactors I bought. I would really hate to throw this in the trash like I did the others.

Well, it's all hooked up. I connected it directly to the ATO. I know that is not recommended however if the control sense too much of an elevation in PH it will cut off the power to the ATO.

GBRsouth · Feb 4, 2023

mattgsa said:
Well, it's all hooked up. I connected it directly to the ATO. I know that is not recommended however if the control sense too much of an elevation in PH it will cut off the power to the ATO.

Can you feed your reactor with your display tank water via a doser that can control the feed? It would reduce issues with turning off your ato as well as making the reactor output more controllable.

mrbh22 · Feb 4, 2023

im curious to see how the kalk reactor works for you! keep us informed. admittedly i didnt read all the recent pages but have you calibrated the PH probe? maybe its not as low as you think

mattgsa · Feb 6, 2023

GBRsouth said:
Can you feed your reactor with your display tank water via a doser that can control the feed? It would reduce issues with turning off your ato as well as making the reactor output more controllable.

I thought you were not supposed to feed a kalk reactor with salt water. Is that not true?

mattgsa · Feb 6, 2023

mrbh22 said:
im curious to see how the kalk reactor works for you! keep us informed. admittedly i didnt read all the recent pages but have you calibrated the PH probe? maybe its not as low as you think

Yes, I recently calibrated it; however, it could probably be done again. It's not going as well as I hoped it would

GBRsouth · Feb 6, 2023

mattgsa said:
I thought you were not supposed to feed a kalk reactor with salt water. Is that not true?

Good point. I don't know the answer, so it would definitely be experimental if you tried it.

mrbh22 · Feb 7, 2023

honestly i have never chased PH. i just try to do little things to keep it as high as possible without doing anything drastic.

mattgsa · Feb 7, 2023

mrbh22 said:
honestly i have never chased PH. i just try to do little things to keep it as high as possible without doing anything drastic.

I've tried not focusing on it. However, if I do nothing it gets down to almost 6.9, which can't be good for the corals.

mattgsa · Feb 7, 2023

GBRsouth said:
Good point. I don't know the answer, so it would definitely be experimental if you tried it.

I'm going to do some more research and see what I can come up with.

mattgsa · Mar 3, 2023

I know it has been a while since I posted an update on the tank. It is still here and is just cruising for now. Things have been crazy with work, and I want to share what I consider a fantastic story that just played out over the last week.
Last week I got wind that the company was in financial trouble and was going to start laying people off the following week. I thought I was safe because I was the primary POC for IT. But I have four kids and a mortgage, and can't afford to rely on hopes and dreams. So on Thursday I worked on my resume and applied for some jobs; I also applied for some on Friday. By the end of the day Monday, I had three interviews scheduled for IT management positions. I was super excited about that.
On Wednesday I had two phone interviews scheduled in the afternoon after lunch. Well around 12:30, HR came in and told me that I was redundant since there were others in IT (None with my qualifications) and said that I was getting laid off. I think you know how I felt. They said I could work the rest of the week or take PTO, so I left.
The interview at 2 went great despite what happened a couple of hours prior. He scheduled me to come in the next day for an interview with the CEO. The CEO and I hit it off and said they had interviewed many people, but I would be a great fit, and they offered me the job on the spot. I had the offer letter before lunch. I start my new management position on Tuesday next week. I still can not believe how things turned out. I was laid off and offered a new position with a different company within 24 hours. I have been laid off before, and it didn't go like that.