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DeFarts' IM 50gal Lagoon Journey

ReyDeFarts said:
I find it difficult to keep this journal updated. I was supposed to do some testing today, and never got around to it. My last tests showed depressed alk, mag, and pH. My Ca was elevated into the 500s. I have been dosing A4R for the past month. So in light of the way Tropic Marin recommends their products, I need to dose other products to balance things out. I have also been adding Mag supplement to get my numbers up slowly.

On top of that, I recently had one of my HyperReef lights die. Not sure if it was the light or the power supply. I haven't made time to troubleshoot it. Moved my single light to the center, raised it up, and increased output. Now my purple stylo is bleaching which absolutely sucks! One of my favorite pieces in that tank. So I turned down the intensity to see if I can get the color back.

Quick shot of the PC Rainbow. Most of the other sticks seem to be happy and growing.
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I know @Kensington Reefer has mentioned the Nicrew lights have power supply issues so it’s probably that. I think I’ve just been lucky with mine so far that I haven’t seen the issue. Hope I didn’t just jinx myself lol
 
MarcosDelgado0 said:
I know @Kensington Reefer has mentioned the Nicrew lights have power supply issues so it’s probably that. I think I’ve just been lucky with mine so far that I haven’t seen the issue. Hope I didn’t just jinx myself lol
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I've had to replace one because I actually lost it lol. It happened when I first got the lights I was playing with them and put the power supply up as not to loose it. Still haven't found it almost going on a year later.
 
How have you been mixing your salt and is your salinity measurement accurate? I find my Mag drops via precipitation if I overshoot my salinity target (like 37-40ppt) and try to bring it back down with fresh water. Keeping the salt airtight helps too since it's pretty hygroscopic.
 
I'm not a big fan of all for reef, although there are larger tanks that seem to be very (!) successful with just running AFR (or ready to reef, the Fauna Marin version). Relatively higher Alk than CA consumption (using an all-in-one product) seems to indicate that the alk is working harder to balance out higher CO2 or other acidity in the tank than the actual coral growth, which is better reflected in the CA uptake. Low MG is a common issue with this product, unfortunately. A two-part product seems better for your case.

Oh, and I have a hyper reef light I am not using.
 
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Darkxerox said:
How have you been mixing your salt and is your salinity measurement accurate? I find my Mag drops via precipitation if I overshoot my salinity target (like 37-40ppt) and try to bring it back down with fresh water. Keeping the salt airtight helps too since it's pretty hygroscopic.
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I mix mine in a 55 gal barrel. It's not air tight and typically stays stored for up to two weeks while I work through it doing water changes on all the tanks. My salinity has been consistent during my mixing. I shoot for 33-34 ppt. I normally stop around 30-32 and wait until the next day to let everything dissolve before adding more, if needed.
Alexander1312 said:
I'm not a big fan of all for reef, although there are larger tanks that seem to be very (!) successful with just running AFR (or ready to reef, the Fauna Marin version). Relatively higher Alk than CA consumption (using an all-in-one product) seems to indicate that the alk is working harder to balance out higher CO2 or other acidity in the tank than the actual coral growth, which is better reflected in the CA uptake. Low MG is a common issue with this product, unfortunately.
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Plus using kalkwasser depresses Mag too I believe. I like the simplicity of the A4R. Helps buy me some time between water changes for replacing some of the traces is what I was after, when I was dealing with the dinos issue. That issue has been dealt with, but I just keep using it. I am fighting CO² issues right now, with windows staying closed more often now. But I am seeing considerable growth with some of my SPS. So I do think I'm dealing with depressed pH and consumption from the corals.

Alexander1312 said:
A two-part product seems better for your case.
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I have 3 additional dosing heads available that I could use. I've been too lazy to set up the A4R on the doser. I haven't even tried to calculate any of the consumption for Ca, Mg, or Alk. I suppose I should get that figured out. Feels like it will be a constantly moving target as things continue to grow.

Alexander1312 said:
Oh, and I have a hyper reef light I am not using.
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Ohhh! Available for sale by chance?
 
ReyDeFarts said:
I mix mine in a 55 gal barrel. It's not air tight and typically stays stored for up to two weeks while I work through it doing water changes on all the tanks. My salinity has been consistent during my mixing. I shoot for 33-34 ppt. I normally stop around 30-32 and wait until the next day to let everything dissolve before adding more, if needed.

Plus using kalkwasser depresses Mag too I believe. I like the simplicity of the A4R. Helps buy me some time between water changes for replacing some of the traces is what I was after, when I was dealing with the dinos issue. That issue has been dealt with, but I just keep using it. I am fighting CO² issues right now, with windows staying closed more often now. But I am seeing considerable growth with some of my SPS. So I do think I'm dealing with depressed pH and consumption from the corals.


I have 3 additional dosing heads available that I could use. I've been too lazy to set up the A4R on the doser. I haven't even tried to calculate any of the consumption for Ca, Mg, or Alk. I suppose I should get that figured out. Feels like it will be a constantly moving target as things continue to grow.


Ohhh! Available for sale by chance?
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What salt are you using? Some have shown to lose alk the longer they sit mixing.
 
Darkxerox said:
What salt are you using? Some have shown to lose alk the longer they sit mixing.
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IO Reef Crystals - my alk on freshly mixed even after a couple weeks of storage was upward of 10. I haven't performed another alk test on it for quite a while. Knowing that is one of the higher ones though, I just haven't worried about it much.

I have also used some alk buffer solutions to increase it and help me supplement between a WC
 
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