Turtle's Fairy Tale

mta_morrow · Nov 21, 2018

Brew12 said:
It is normally recommended to keep them separate. The GFO is harder and if it rubs against the carbon it will grind it down and release carbon dust into your tank. Your GFO should also tumble in the flow and the carbon should be tightly packed. Next time you reload it, I would run the carbon between the sponges packed tight and put the GFO above the top sponge so it can tumble. Well, as long as the plastic end strainer will keep your GFO in. I know mine does. I run my GFO reactor without sponges.

Agreed on light tumble for GFO and pack the carbon.

SashimiTurtle · Nov 21, 2018

Brew12 said:
It is normally recommended to keep them separate. The GFO is harder and if it rubs against the carbon it will grind it down and release carbon dust into your tank. Your GFO should also tumble in the flow and the carbon should be tightly packed. Next time you reload it, I would run the carbon between the sponges packed tight and put the GFO above the top sponge so it can tumble. Well, as long as the plastic end strainer will keep your GFO in. I know mine does. I run my GFO reactor without sponges.

I read where if you mix them and pack it tightly the carbon will keep the GFO from forming a brick, and being packed will keep the carbon from grinding itself. If I did them separately I would put the GFO in the bottom of the reactor under the carbon. I have an empty space there with the way I loaded it. If I put it above the only thing that would keep the GFO in the reactor is the strainer on the end of the hose.

SashimiTurtle · Nov 21, 2018

So tempting... yet worried it'll get a taste for wrasse. I love the way these guys look.

najer · Nov 21, 2018

Robin Haselden said:
Alright, I wanted to test water really quick before work... since I'm trying to get dosing dialed in and my calcium seems really high compared to alk consumption.

So lets do a bit of math. When we started our calcium was 400ppm, I have my pump set up to dose 13ml of calcium chloride 6 times a day. It dosed all six times yesterday and has dosed three times so far today for 9 total doses.
16ml x 9 = 117ml of calcium chloride suppliment which should have raised my calcium by 11ppm IF there is no consumption. My test results today, 400ppm.

For alkalinity, we have dosed 1ml 6 times a day for a total of 9 doses. Test before dosing was 8.5 and 8.6dKH, test today was 8.6 and8.7dKH. Up 0.1dKH but within error range of the test.

I'm still perplexed at how I have 13 times the calcium dose as my alk dose.... but we are a day and a half in. I'll check again in a few days.

I know, grab a beer or coffee, the token Englishman is about to ramble!
I hope your extra dose goes ok, I think you are very close to being balanced, I would suggest one tweak to your dosing, remove one kh dose from the 6 doses, something is using calcium.
Think of a tank full of jelly beans, calcium is white, kh ones are green.
Your tank is being topped up daily so your levels will be a bit off target, you will be going slowly greener, test daily even doing it your way, even corals could be using that much if they have come from a depleted tank and are just becoming healthier?!

SashimiTurtle · Nov 21, 2018

najer said:
I know, grab a beer or coffee, the token Englishman is about to ramble!
I hope your extra dose goes ok, I think you are very close to being balanced, I would suggest one tweak to your dosing, remove one kh dose from the 6 doses, something is using calcium.
Think of a tank full of jelly beans, calcium is white, kh ones are green.
Your tank is being topped up daily so your levels will be a bit off target, you will be going slowly greener, test daily even doing it your way, even corals could be using that much if they have come from a depleted tank and are just becoming healthier?!

I'll test here in a little while and see what we have. Then if I'm close to balance, I'll just focus on keeping alk at 8.0 and dose calcium equally. Gonna take a page out of @najer's book and take a step back and observe. Too much micro managing, not enough letting the tank balance itself out.

najer · Nov 21, 2018

Cool, let it stabilise, I think you are close but listen to others also, you know I don't really test!

Fudsey · Nov 21, 2018

I mix my GFO and ROX gac together completely, 1/2 cup of each. I mix it using 2 solo cups till it is completely mixed and pack it tightly in my reactor. This is how BRS shows it in their video. and I never have any problems with the ROX getting ground up.

Scurvy · Nov 21, 2018

The few times I used GFO i did the same as you guys. Measured both and put into an old 1/2 liter carbon container. Shook it up and crammed between two sponges in the reactor. May not be the “best” way but worked well enough for me.

SashimiTurtle · Nov 21, 2018

Well I got my calcium up. Now I'll just wait a few days and test again.

Brew12 · Nov 21, 2018

Robin Haselden said:
I read where if you mix them and pack it tightly the carbon will keep the GFO from forming a brick, and being packed will keep the carbon from grinding itself. If I did them separately I would put the GFO in the bottom of the reactor under the carbon. I have an empty space there with the way I loaded it. If I put it above the only thing that would keep the GFO in the reactor is the strainer on the end of the hose.

Interesting! I've never heard of doing it that way before, but I think it makes sense. I'm curious to see how well you feel it works!

SashimiTurtle · Nov 21, 2018

Brew12 said:
Interesting! I've never heard of doing it that way before, but I think it makes sense. I'm curious to see how well you feel it works!

The only issue I've heard is one usually exhausts itself before the other. I'm not sure which way tho. With how fast my PO4 fell, I'm expecting to have to run it only periodically to keep from completely stripping the water.

Fudsey · Nov 21, 2018

I usually run mine at 1/3 turn of the ball valve on the line until I see numbers climbing. Then I move it up a little more each time. I usually get a month out of the 1/2 cup of each. Not really sure which runs out 1st as how do you tell when rox is exhausted? I know the GFO is exhausted when flow is slowed and numbers start to climb at full. Although that could be just that it is clogged.

SashimiTurtle · Nov 21, 2018

Fudsey said:
I usually run mine at 1/3 turn of the ball valve on the line until I see numbers climbing. Then I move it up a little more each time. I usually get a month out of the 1/2 cup of each. Not really sure which runs out 1st as how do you tell when rox is exhausted? I know the GFO is exhausted when flow is slowed and numbers start to climb at full. Although that could be just that it is clogged.

I was wondering the exact thing... I'm out of the BRS ROX, the stuff I have is some kind of hard, large pellet carbon I got from a friend that she got for free. It works tho, the day after I replaced it I could tell my tank looked clearer. Might have been cleaner glass from less phosphates too.

I have been told to put tank water in a white bucket and if it doesn't have a light blue tint you need to replace your carbon.

Fudsey · Nov 21, 2018

Hmmm interesting

SashimiTurtle · Nov 21, 2018

So... I wont name the LFS but one of them near me got this in this week. It's not for sale yet, and I've been told if it would go up for sale the price would be "4 digits plus."

This is the most amazing piece of coral I've ever seen... SPS, eat your heart out. Meet the most colorful scoly probably ever.

NY_Caveman · Nov 22, 2018

Robin Haselden said:

Wowie Zowie!

SashimiTurtle · Nov 22, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Don't forget to carbon dose!

mta_morrow · Nov 22, 2018

Robin Haselden said:
So... I wont name the LFS but one of them near me got this in this week. It's not for sale yet, and I've been told if it would go up for sale the price would be "4 digits plus."

This is the most amazing piece of coral I've ever seen... SPS, eat your heart out. Meet the most colorful scoly probably ever.