Jestersix

100g TruVu, SPS, LPS

Just picked up some corals today at Neptune Aquatic, One Super Rainbow Chalice and a Blue Tort Frag. I am going to have my friend come over so I can get some good pics of them, my camera is too old to filter out the Blue 20k MH. I also finished staining the canopy with two coats of Red Mahogany stain, and it looks great. Thanks again for everyones help getting me started on an SPS system.
 
Here is a quick update.... I finally got tired of my Hydor Koralia power heads, they only left dead spots and irritated my corals, so i dug deep in my pocket and purchased a Vortech MP40w ES and should be at my house in the next couple of days. I am going to keep two of the koralia's to help kill the remaining dead spots from the Vortech. Sorry for the lousy pictures, I have talked with my friend who has a professional underwater camera and I'm going to trade him my BBQ for some nice underwater pics.

Attached files /attachments/sites/default/files/Acan Picuture.jpg /attachments/sites/default/files/Acropora Picture.jpg /attachments/sites/default/files/Forrest Fire Pic.jpg
 
"Effects on Alkalinity

Directions for use of the PhosBan Reactor state that alkalinity will drop when 5x the recommended amount of PhosBan is used. Under the conditions of this experiment, alkalinity dropped by about 19% when PhosBan was applied at about twice the recommended amount. At face value, this may seem negative until we consider that the presence of both phosphorus and silica lend to alkalinity (Standard Methods, 1998). Therefore, a portion of alkalinity drop could be attributable to their removal, and results generated by alkalinity testing in this situation could be partially attributed to removal of 'false' alkalinity and not a drop in carbonate content."

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/6/review

The key study shows that the removal of phosphorus and silica, (a contributor to a "false" alkalinity) can cause a slight drop in your tank. I have a little more than 2X the recommended dose and I noticed that I add more supplements than I did in the past. This could also be do to my water quality in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Right now our water reservoir is under construction and maintenance; so we are getting our water from San Jose. This water is very hard and full of minerals. To combat this I am in the process of getting a water filter for the house, which will lower the PH but it will also pull out most of the excess minerals out of the water; some of which are silica. So my problem might be unique based on my base water quality.
 
Here is an update with my levels, I haven't added to much, just a couple of acropora's.

Elos Test Kits:
Ca: 550ppm
Mg: 1350ppm
PO3: 0 ppm

API Test Kit:
dKH: 8
NO3: 0

I am going to go and replace the two API kits with something more accurate, but I am completely puzzled about my dKH. With my calcium levels so high I would think that the dKH would be around 9 at least. Does anyone have any ideas?
 
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