a quick Hello from myself and my salty critters

[650-IS350]

Welcome to BAR, cool folks here and lots of knowledge to learn from

 

[HiFidelity]

Hi Charles, and thanks for the welcome

David, you are never going to get rid of me

So I'll start with today's test result post-water change

76 - Temperature
1.025 - Salinity
8.3 - PH
6.75 dKH
460 - CA
10 - No3
0 - Po4

So obviously my problem is KH and it appears to be persistent and unaffected by my water changes.
I am beginning to assume that my salt mix is the culprit (Seachem Reef Salt)
The buffer I have is Aqua Vision Aquatics Precision Integreat
I've dosed per instructions on the bottle for several days in a row only to see a slightl increase dKH but then I stopped because I don't want to raise the calcium any higher, I thought about dosing KH only but the instructions on the bottle as well as articles I've read say it is not recommended to dose one without the other.

Should I switch to baking soda?
Otherwise everything else seems close to perfect, I didn't list ammonia & nitrite because they are 0

 

[Kmooresf]

This stuff works really well for me. Doesn't take very much and doesn't seem to ramp my PH up too much. Just try not to raise the DKH too much too fast.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Brightwell_Aquatics_Alkalin8.3_P_Dry_pH_Buffer_Alkalinity(KH)_Builder_500g_1.1_lbs._Dry_Powder_pH_KH_Buffer_Additives_Supplements-Brightwell_Aquatics-BW01099-FIADPKDP-vi.html

 

[Kmooresf]

Sorry, the link didn't work. Try this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brightwell-Aquatics-Marine-Alkaline8-3-P-KH-Buffer-Powder-/320954299556?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aba5df4a4

 

[HiFidelity]

thanks for the recommendation Kris, it should be ok to use the KH bottle from my 2 part buffer I have shouldn't it? considering I have plenty of calcium in my water I don't see why it's absolutely necessary to dose both parts equally!!

I made an interesting observation today, since I took out the floss from my sump (now running nothing but LR rubble) I noticed my mushrooms have exploded in size and the tank is teaming with copepods, I guess what is said about floss being crap is true (at least in my tank) but the water is not as crystal clear, there's fine debris floating around all the time now nothing alarming but very little can be seen when you look in there, I guess that's the down side to not having mechanical filtration anymore.

 

[BAYMAC]

Sorry, the link didn't work. Try this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brightwell-Aquatics-Marine-Alkaline8-3-P-KH-Buffer-Powder-/320954299556?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aba5df4a4

Why not instead of using Etail and Ebay, actually use the website of the manufacturer?

http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/alkalin83p.php

That way you support local sponsors by not advertising such places.

 

[bondolo]

have one lonely Fish but he is the life of the tank, he is extremely interactive and makes use of every inch of his environment, unfortunately for 3 weeks now I've had no luck locating a similarly sized Ocellaris, everything I've seen at every LFS is about half his size.

Have you found a mate for your female? I wouldn't worry about the size difference. The males are always going to be smaller than the female. If you get a larger fish the chances you'd get another female are increased and they almost certainly wouldn't get along. If you were to get a smaller juvenile it would probably take less than six months for it to reach full size.

I mention this because I added a small 2 cm juvenile (thank you David!) yesterday and my 8 cm female was thrilled. She swam right out to the little fellow and herded him back to her corner. She's been much less shy today with her little satellite constantly following her. The change is quite dramatic. Usually she's only bold around feeding time.

 

[HiFidelity]

Yeah I decided to get a small mate for my clown but put it off because my QT tank is not yet ready, I've been slowly purchasing medications, test kits & misc items that I need to run one but soon I should have it all prepped & ready for a new addition. Of course I want to correct my KH before I add a fish since KH can affect the immune system and such.

Anyone have experience with DIY KH & Calcium buffers? just curious

 

[BAYMAC]

have one lonely Fish but he is the life of the tank, he is extremely interactive and makes use of every inch of his environment, unfortunately for 3 weeks now I've had no luck locating a similarly sized Ocellaris, everything I've seen at every LFS is about half his size.

Have you found a mate for your female? I wouldn't worry about the size difference. The males are always going to be smaller than the female. If you get a larger fish the chances you'd get another female are increased and they almost certainly wouldn't get along. If you were to get a smaller juvenile it would probably take less than six months for it to reach full size.

I mention this because I added a small 2 cm juvenile (thank you David!) yesterday and my 8 cm female was thrilled. She swam right out to the little fellow and herded him back to her corner. She's been much less shy today with her little satellite constantly following her. The change is quite dramatic. Usually she's only bold around feeding time.

You are saying a clownfish will grow 6cm in 6 months?

I think you are way over estimating the time it takes from most to grow. Breeders would kill for such a growth rate.

 

[Kmooresf]

Sorry, the link didn't work. Try this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brightwell-Aquatics-Marine-Alkaline8-3-P-KH-Buffer-Powder-/320954299556?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aba5df4a4

Why not instead of using Etail and Ebay, actually use the website of the manufacturer?

http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/alkalin83p.php

That way you support local sponsors by not advertising such places.

Makes sense, my bad.

 

[lattehiatus]

have one lonely Fish but he is the life of the tank, he is extremely interactive and makes use of every inch of his environment, unfortunately for 3 weeks now I've had no luck locating a similarly sized Ocellaris, everything I've seen at every LFS is about half his size.

Have you found a mate for your female? I wouldn't worry about the size difference. The males are always going to be smaller than the female. If you get a larger fish the chances you'd get another female are increased and they almost certainly wouldn't get along. If you were to get a smaller juvenile it would probably take less than six months for it to reach full size.

I mention this because I added a small 2 cm juvenile (thank you David!) yesterday and my 8 cm female was thrilled. She swam right out to the little fellow and herded him back to her corner. She's been much less shy today with her little satellite constantly following her. The change is quite dramatic. Usually she's only bold around feeding time.

You are saying a clownfish will grow 6cm in 6 months?

I think you are way over estimating the time it takes from most to grow. Breeders would kill for such a growth rate.

I can easily achieve 6cm of growth in 6 months by eating french fries and chocolate bars, but my fish must be health nuts because that stuff just falls to the bottom of their tank. :bigsmile:

I've seen reports of male clownfish spawning by 9 months old, so while they may not be full size it may be more accurate to suggest they can reach sexual maturity within 6 months, assuming that a breeder isn't peddling clowns younger than 3 months old?

 

[lattehiatus]

Back on topic, Fidel - those parameters look pretty good! If you want to start pulling hair out you can try to determine just how accurate those results are. :bigsmile:

I haven't used Aqua Vision Aquatics Precision Integreat but I'm assuming it's a two-part system similar to B-Ionic, which I am not too familiar with these days. While it should theoretically be OK to dose only the alkalinity part of the Aqua Vision system with careful monitoring, I would suggest sodium bicarbonate or sodium carbonate solutions to raise alkalinity. Both will contribute to alkalinity, but while sodium bicarbonate has a temporary lowering effect on pH, sodium carbonate will temporarily increase pH. If you prefer sodium carbonate but your LFS doesn't carry it, you could make your own by placing a batch of baking soda in the oven. I believe bondolo has a recipe for that if you need more details.

Best of luck!

 

[HiFidelity]

Hi David, I have 3 or 4 different test kits so when in doubt I run different brands & compare results to make sure my readings are accurate.

I started dosing the Aqua Vision KH bottle only but more than I used to (from 3 caps a day to 4) for about 3 days and that brought my KH up to 9 and now I'm going to adjust my dosage till I find the perfect amount. What should a sweet spot dKH be? I figured I'd keep it at 9, also my PH was still 8.3 and calcium is 10ppm lower since I stopped dosing it, that's something I'm going to monitor closely in case I need to dose calcium in smaller amounts or less often.

Once I run out of the Aqua Vision stuff I'm going to switch to DIY Sodium Carbonate using the first recipe in this article http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

I have a lot of figuring out to do since I'm going to switch to Instant Ocean Reef Crystals instead of the seachem stuff so my dosing may need to be adjusted yet again after that.

Progress Update: my 10 gal quarantine is setup & ready to go just waiting a week or two more before I pull the filter pad out of my sump & fill the thing up with water. By then I plan to have perfect parameters in both tanks in time for the new fishy.

 

[HiFidelity]

Quick update:

-2 weeks & 3 days no water change (unintentional forgot to re-order salt mix & ran out but 60lbs of reef salts shall arrive tomorrow)
Parramaters currently same as before, 0 on all the bad stuff, 10ppm nitrate which has me quite impressed I thought there should be at least some rise in nitrate after skipping a water change
-Snail got stuck on pump intake & took a day off to recover
-Clown jumped out of tank, hit me in the chest & landed on the floor while I was re-installing my koralia 2 after cleaning
-Quarantine Tank ready to rock fully equipped with all the bells & whistles
-Going to try to pick up a potential mate (Jack) Saturday morning
-Purchased 2nd Koralia 2 for optimum circulation
-Began logging everything including notes on a snazzy spreadsheet with graphs & all sorts of exciting stuffs

That's all for now, spending time figuring out if I want to do kalkwasser or 2 part and begin putting together an ATO.

 

[lattehiatus]

-Clown jumped out of tank, hit me in the chest & landed on the floor while I was re-installing my koralia 2 after cleaning

LMAO! What sound does a clownfish make when it thwacks you in the chest?

Sorry for coming back to this post late, Fidel. What probably happened is I opened up your thread in a new tab, the browser crashed before I had a chance to read it, but it didn't show up as a new thread anymore after recovering the browser. I have a terrible habit of having hundreds of tabs open at any given time. :O

Target alkalinity level is a little subjective. We are all familiar with the range for NSW and most of us try to keep it somewhere within that range. I personally top off with kalkwasser and mostly only supplement calcium chloride, and my water seems to fluctuate slightly around 8.5 dKH with this regimen. It's a comfortable spot for me, since it's a midpoint so I don't worry too much about test kit error.

Any new status on the tank and its inhabitants?

 

[HiFidelity]

Iit made no sound when it hit me but I heard it slap against the hardwood floor which had me a bit concerned (I wondered if the fish could get a concussion haha)
I too have at least a dozen tabs open and ever since I brought the tank home I've had at least 2-6 aquarium related tabs open at any given moment.
I too decided to go with the kalkwasser method as it seems to be the easiest and most economic. I'm going to build an ATO system with infrared sensors and a small peristaltic pump.
Anyone know who sells kalk locally? I tried my local walmart and they had no idea what I was talking about!

I finally did pick up an adolescent clown yesterday morning and he's sitting in my quarantine right now, I've given him a 4 minute freshwater/prazipro bath to take care of any exterior parasites and over the next 6 weeks I shall administer more mild medicating.
This little guy is wild caught and naturally he's feeling estranged and very lost in a glass aquarium, he did not eat or even recognize the food last night, I'm going to try to feed him thawed mysis shrimp in hopes that he would take the more natural looking food (soaked in garlic to appease even more) are there any tricks to teaching a wild fish how to eat in a glass box?

 

[lattehiatus]

In your OP you mentioned that you stopped by Aquatic Collection, IIRC they carry bulk dry kalkwasser and Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime. Most of our local sponsor stores carry kalkwasser, depending on where you are located. Some have found Mrs. Wages at grocery stores - check out this thread: http://www.bareefers.org/home/node/15029
(If you are unable to see it on account of not being an active member please let me know!)

Is your new clown still not eating? If it's still very small most mysis may be too large for it to eat. You could try cyclops, either frozen or freeze-dried (such as Argent's Cyclopeeze) or other copepod foods (such as Reef Nutrition's Tigger-Pods, or frozen San Francisco Bay Brand's Reef Plankton, or even frozen daphnia) to coax it to start eating. It's more challenging with wild caught fish compared to captive bred, and your primary goal is to get Jack to start eating anything. And since it's wild-caught be on guard for disease such as brooklynella.

 

[BAYMAC]

I hate to self promote, but TDO has a feed attractant in it. You can also use R.O.E. - Real Oceanic Eggs or even Oyster-Feast. All those are awesome feed attractants. If you send me an email to gresham AT reedmariculture DOT com with your full shipping address, I'll have some TDO samples shipped to you.

 

[lattehiatus]

Jump on those TDO samples, Fidel! My fish go into a frenzy for the stuff, it's like crack. I didn't suggest it earlier because it's not typically readily available (off the top of my head Diablo Corals is the only place that carries the regular Otohime) and I have no experience in weaning wild-caught fish with it exclusively.

 

[denzil]

The TDO we have is awesome. I'm currently using C1 and the Sustainable Aquatics blend for my clowns. Unfortunately, one of them jumped out of the 10g.