Why? SPS acclimation

[Aquaman_68]

Eric, What are you using to check salinity? Refractometer or a hydrometer? (hydrometers have been known to be off a bit...)

The alk level is probably what took out the BN...BN's are very sensitive to alk level swings.....I know that those are usually the first to shows signs when your KH shifts in your tank & has gone undetected. (or not checked recently....) On another note...I suggest you lower the KH down a bit...No reason to have it that high...The only benifit for raising it that high is to eliminate nuiscence algae...I wouldn't run it contantly at that range....

HTH...Need any advise..shoot me a pm..
B

PS the only acclimating I do is removing it from the dip container to a tank water rinse cup for a min & then I grab it out of the container & drop it in the tank.... (always want to keep it away from direct lighting or find a shady spot while the lighting is on full light period)

IME most of the above acclimating procedures do work....I just don't find a need in my system....What I do check is how different the parameters are in the new subjects bag to my system.....

Just as a reference....
My system is pretty close to NSW so even if they are way off from mine (parameters) Usually the corals open up within a day or so...

 

[KyleinCT]

So Brian, if you are running at close to NSW, you are running SG at 1.022?

I tend to get alarmed if my SG dips below 1.024 anywhere???

 

[Aquaman_68]

So Brian, if you are running at close to NSW, you are running SG at 1.022?

I tend to get alarmed if my SG dips below 1.024 anywhere???

My reference on running close to NSW was to Alk/KH

On the SPG note:

SPG is varied in different tropic regions... (& they can shift quite a bit in tidal pools as well....)
An SPG at 1.022 is the extreme low for most regions in the wild & not the majority.....If you want to start comparisions there are regions at oppisite ends of the spectrum. The spg in those areas can be in the 1.030 range & possibly higher.......

BTW..... I wouldn't suggest running my tank at either above level......

I run mine at 1026 & have been doing so from the begining of my reef hobby..


FWIW.....Anything lower causes the respiration rate in animals to be raised. Higher Respiratory rate = shorter life expectancy....

HTH with the misunderstnding you acquried from my last post & also helps others from also misunderstanding....
B

 

[chew*]

I run preety much the same, 1.026 SG, 7.7-7.9 KH, 420 CA, 1400-1450 MG, and try to keep my nitrates below 10ppm and phosphates at .01 ppm........I also run low nutrient in all tanks in order to keep my ORP higher and i skim wet to aid ORP also......Food for thought my skimmer can go days without skimming until i do a water change( then it will fill up to 2-3 cups a day for 2-3 days ), thats how clean i run my tank.....

 

[Jacksparrow]

Aloha folks, Ok I will lower my alk slowly and see how it affects the rest of my corals. I never thought BN where that sensitive. The WW I got from you B is doing fantastic and so are the caps and digi. I do testing weekly for everything there is a kit for but that's just my OCD coming out. I am using a Refractometer to check my salinity and I do use Elos test kits (not that the type of test kits make that much of a difference, I think they all are a approximation anyway). I did check the Alk/Kh in the shipping water and the Alk was 2.9 and the Kh was 9. I am having trouble maintaining a rock steady Mag level and haven't been able to figure out why. I drift from 1250 to 1500, I dose with ESV Mag and also use their Calcium and Alk two part system and have had no problems in the past maintaining mag,cal and alk levels. I guess with BN's being so sensitive, how llong should I leave them in the shadows for? I leave my acro's in the lower part of the tank for about 1.5 weeks and then slowly bring them up. Should I do the same with BN?

Mahalo for all the help Eric
(I hate when animals die because of lack of knowledge)

 

[Aquaman_68]

I wouldn't say the BN died from lack of knowledge..Your gonna have loses, always...(with more experience the less you will have..) BTW...experience sometimes comes from loses!!! (don't beat yourself up over it)

As far as the mag...Don't worry so much about it....If your in the range of 1100 to 1200 that's cool.....When you try to be too anal on mag it can sometimes bite you in the

Problem with all mag suppliments out there. (no matter which one you use or prefer due to cost or whatever) They have high levels of phosphates....

Everytime you add that stuff your adding phosphates....So basically your making one level correct & throwing another out of wack!!!

The other problem....
If you try to add too much & your water is already quite saturated you will end up with percipitation...(the sandbed will then be saturated with the suppliment & will add levels of phospahtes to toxic concentrated levels)

It can also harden the sandbed causing a biological bacteria die off from suffocation. (the top level of the sand will harden from the excess suppliment)


BTW...this can happen with Ca suppliments as well!!!!

HTH....BTW...glad the WW & montis are doing well!!! If you have any questions...Shoot me a pm!!

B

 

[smcnally]

If I remember correctly I read that it wasn't quite 100% kill rate at the original recommended dosage (Although I've never seen the 80% number anywhere). But, since the original treatment was discussed, it has also been found that you can give a MUCH higher dose which will kill 100%. I did a double dose once and they never came back.

 

[smcnally]

Problem with all mag suppliments out there. (no matter which one you use or prefer due to cost or whatever) They have high levels of phosphates....

Are you sure about that, Brian? I could swear I read that Mag Flake had very little phosphates

 

[Aquaman_68]

Are you sure about that, Brian? I could swear I read that Mag Flake had very little phosphates

I tested it with liams phosphate meter...Off the charts!!! which is understandable...

 

[smcnally]

Hmmm...I just tried looking up what levels it has in it and came across something else...I'll start a new thread about it though.

 

[chew*]

Brians statement is true actually I was dosing it for coraline.......which can also bite you in the !!! in the form of more than necessary tank maintenance and the need to remove phosphates.........

 

[smcnally]

Brain, which solution did you use? The type I use says this

This is a special High Purity Magnesium Chloride that is specifically made for the aquarium industry. This product does not contain any phosphates or ammonia.

 

[chew*]

Brain, which solution did you use? The type I use says this

Just some FYI on the back of my ESV bottle it says this "B-ionic Magnesium does not contain nitrates,phosphates, organics or chelating agents"

We all know differently however.........I never believe "claims" made by manufacturers.......

 

[lizzardking]

my seachem bottle says nothing about phosphates....just that its ammonia free...

 

[smcnally]

Just some FYI on the back of my ESV bottle it says this "B-ionic Magnesium does not contain nitrates,phosphates, organics or chelating agents"

We all know differently however.........I never believe "claims" made by manufacturers.......

True...But I also know for a fact that my phosphates stay at 0ppm unless my filters need a change.

 

[Aquaman_68]

Brain, which solution did you use? The type I use says this

I tested ESV, TLF & also Randys two part...They were all screaming with P04

 

[smcnally]

I tested ESV, TLF & also Randys two part...They were all screaming with P04

What would "screaming" be? IMO, if you're testing the pure supplement then of coarse it will read high if there is even the tiniest trace of it in there. 1 ppm means there is one mg of phosphate per liter of fluid. Say your reading is 100ppm of phosphates then it is going to get ridiculously diluted when added to gallons of water. Am I wrong thinking of it this way?

 

[Aquaman_68]

What would "screaming" be? IMO, if you're testing the pure supplement then of coarse it will read high if there is even the tiniest trace of it in there. 1 ppm means there is one mg of phosphate per liter of fluid. Say your reading is 100ppm of phosphates then it is going to get ridiculously diluted when added to gallons of water. Am I wrong thinking of it this way?

I think it was like 600 or 800 ppm...It was over a year ago & I didn't bother to jot it down.....I just decided from that point on I wouldn't be using them any longer.....
Dilution is the solution to polution...If I know something I'm putting in my tank has phosphates in it I'm not going to use it!!! Period.....It's not how much phosphates it translates to when your talking water volume versus amount your adding...

Doesn't it make you feel...like...Nah I'm not going there!!! ?
FWIW...don't think of the small amount your adding to the water volume your adding it to.....
It's long term effects as the phosphates build up from prolonged use.....

I'm just not going to use it.....

But.....
Steve, If you feel it isn't a problem than dump away!!

For me...That reading was enough to say nah.

HTH
B

 

[smcnally]

You'd better stop using your salt mix then! I bet if you took a concentrated amount and tested it the same way that you would get a phosphate reading. 600-800 ppm in something that concentrated is nothing. When you add that to your tank you are probably bumping the phosphates up in the parts per billion.

 

[smcnally]

Just to give people an idea of how much you would have to add...Randy's Magnesium mix has somewhere around 47,000 ppm of magnesium. If you want to raise the magnesium up 10 ppm in a 100 gallon tank you would need to add an ounce.