Tank Journal Archive

[slin1977]

Yikes!!! I noticed this SPS with a tiny bit of RTN on it on Monday and thought to myself that something has to be going on.
Started with testing salinity - 1.032!!!
Ok so there is problem number one.
Checked the auto top off to find calcium sponge growth had fouled up the sensor floats. OK salinity back on track half hour later.
Moved on to test Alk- holy crap 10.3dKH
Seems as just about time when the CO2 runs out there must be a huge pressure increase in gas flow or some guest has fiddled with the knob over the Xmas break. I'll find out after I change the gas over.

Nothing like a good 150 liter water change to reset the tank to a normal alk of 7.00

No other corals seem affected so I am stoked over the outcome.

Also added a collector urchin to deal with that pesky turf algae. Seems happy covering himself in all kinds of muck!

 

[RobbieMVFC]

Hey mate . I swear CO2 bottles veary in pressure on hot/cold days. So the pressure leading into your reactor (bubble count) will be different from one day to the next..... Living in Melbourne it ends up being a PIA.

 

[Sam Parker]

Pressure most definitely varies. But reg and solenoid should sort that out

 

[slin1977]

Hey mate . I swear CO2 bottles veary in pressure on hot/cold days. So the pressure leading into your reactor (bubble count) will be different from one day to the next..... Living in Melbourne it ends up being a PIA.

I see... now the penny has dropped.
My friend who was house sitting had the chiller cabinet doors shut while we were away for Xmas , upon arrival home I was met with a chiller working overtime and extremely hot cabinet where the CO2 bottle / chiller live. That would explain the over gassing in the reactor. Thanks Rob

 

[slin1977]

Pressure most definitely varies. But reg and solenoid should sort that out

I have yet to get a solenoid hooked up to a ph controller , I should write a list of stuff to do to improve the tank set up.

 

[RobbieMVFC]

Pressure most definitely varies. But reg and solenoid should sort that out

Hey Sam. My bubble count was different noticeable on hot days. Would you assume my reg is stuffed? Sorry for the hijack

 

[Sam Parker]

Hey Sam. My bubble count was different noticeable on hot days. Would you assume my reg is stuffed? Sorry for the hijack

Hey Rob, technically yes - the reg should produce a consistent bubble rate regardless of pressure on the bottle side (as long as it is above the output level). In reality though with the quality of regulators we use, this is not always the truth. Mostly because we are producing such a low output pressure that a bit of a variance can be a big percentage swing.

I would however give the regulator bit of a gentle tap and perhaps vary the pressure up and down just to ensure nothing is stuck.

 

[Rob]

The pressure regulator sets the downstream pressure by the tension applied to an internal spring. Any spring rate does change with temperature however the temperature change we are talking about here is probably only +/- 20 degrees. It is very prevalent when gas bottles are outside and the sun shines on the reg....

A dual stage regulator is better as its not reliant on a single spring/seat combo to reduce the gas pressure in one go. The stability on these cheap regulators is even worse if your downstream pressure you set is set very low. Thus winding up the pressure and reducing the flow rate via the needle valve may provide better stability.

Do you have pressure gauges on your reg ? What do you set your pressure at ?

 

[slin1977]

Mine is set to 1bar although it is reading about 1.5 bar ATM .

I will prob change the bottle over in the next day or so and reset the reg to 1 bar and then fiddle with the needle valve to adjust the bubble count.

I fired up the reactor yesterday for the first time since discovering the RTN.
I have a feeling that my alk will bounce back quickly since I measured 6.00 yesterday.

I can only assume that the knobs might have been touched whilst I was away or saying that the flow rate out of the reactor has changed.
I have left everything the way it was so I don't go changing it all up without having a starting point.
My records will also give me an idea of where to set flow rates of bubbles and effluent should I have to adjust things.
I'll measure the alk when I get home from work.

 

[slin1977]

Alk at 7.00
Reduced regulator pressure to 1 bar.
Just going to monitor.
Suspect some fiddling as the reg needed two turns to reduce the presh to a bar.

Tank is looking great , except that frag with RTN -

 

[slin1977]

Happy days - with the reg set on 1 bar the alk is sitting on a usual 7.00 to 7.3
A day after the previous test

 

[Wrangy]

Aside from the hiccup those pieces are crack-a-lackin! :) glad to hear you got it sorted and back on track mate :)

 

[CodyS]

Could the increase in alk not have been caused by the reduction in growth as a result of the high Salinity?

 

[slin1977]

Could the increase in alk not have been caused by the reduction in growth as a result of the high Salinity?

Good call. Good point Cody.