SBB- 700 New year’s Auctions! Live sale weekend!

[Brisk]

Morning all

 

[BasementBox]

Someone just had a post @robanister about how vinegar is harder on pumps than citric acid or muriatic acid. Worth a read.

I had gotten from an lfs a 125 for $150, thought it was a steal - got it, the top frame was damaged but no big deal.... figured i'd be good to go regardless. Was a turtle tank, it had some hard core stains. I'm telling you, I tried everything including full dose muriatic acid. sat the solution and the tank outside for legit 5-6 days. Didnt even make a dent, apparently turtle urine etches the glass. Woof. figured no problem, tank will look good filled with water, cant really tell...... bring the tank down, install into the wall, all good. I shift it, plumb it, begin to refill. Stupid thing busted open at the top seam, found a legit 40 gallons of water on the floor. (notice a theme of water on my floor... thank god this basement is already "wet").


Sigh. Off track TLDR - muriatic acid man was scary never used it before but even the slightest whiff had me gasping outside.

 

[BasementBox]

Also - quick question guys new good problem I guess. my torches looked a little off, figured lets look at my calcium. Tried the hanna tester again, read 200... wasnt sure so I used Aquaforest manual tester which the test put it around 235 calcium.

I do have red sea calcium concentrated sol on hand. is a big calcium swing a big deal, or just dose to get it up? I've not played with calcium yet and could use advice.

 

[Kasrift]

I had gotten from an lfs a 125 for $150, thought it was a steal - got it, the top frame was damaged but no big deal.... figured i'd be good to go regardless. Was a turtle tank, it had some hard core stains. I'm telling you, I tried everything including full dose muriatic acid. sat the solution and the tank outside for legit 5-6 days. Didnt even make a dent, apparently turtle urine etches the glass. Woof. figured no problem, tank will look good filled with water, cant really tell...... bring the tank down, install into the wall, all good. I shift it, plumb it, begin to refill. Stupid thing busted open at the top seam, found a legit 40 gallons of water on the floor. (notice a theme of water on my floor... thank god this basement is already "wet").


Sigh. Off track TLDR - muriatic acid man was scary never used it before but even the slightest whiff had me gasping outside.

TLDR, you are good at mopping up floors.

 

[Kasrift]

Also - quick question guys new good problem I guess. my torches looked a little off, figured lets look at my calcium. Tried the hanna tester again, read 200... wasnt sure so I used Aquaforest manual tester which the test put it around 235 calcium.

I do have red sea calcium concentrated sol on hand. is a big calcium swing a big deal, or just dose to get it up? I've not played with calcium yet and could use advice.

Magnesium doesn't mind larger swings, I'd be slower with Calcium. Also remember that calcium and magnesium have an inverse relationship, so dosing calcium up will slightly lower mag. Lps like torches need mag to thrive, so a huge dump of calcium will make a swing in mag which will tick off torches and euphyllia.

 

[SaltySqueeble]

Also - quick question guys new good problem I guess. my torches looked a little off, figured lets look at my calcium. Tried the hanna tester again, read 200... wasnt sure so I used Aquaforest manual tester which the test put it around 235 calcium.

I do have red sea calcium concentrated sol on hand. is a big calcium swing a big deal, or just dose to get it up? I've not played with calcium yet and could use advice.

I’d go slow. Dose maybe 30 ppm a day for 4 days. And don’t dose it at the same time as baking soda.

 

[BasementBox]

TLDR, you are good at mopping up floors.

Actually, truth be told - good at wet shop vaccuming. This basement has been flooded so many times and the floor is so porous its not even something I worry about. During construction my contractor didnt install the roof on time he had three weeks or so before this major storm had dumped like 2 inches of measurable rain, basement flooded with close to a foot of water, evaporated and drained out within 6 days, theres no french drain or sump. During remodeling the basement before I sealed the walls I used a pressure washer to remove latex paint off the walls.... had a good inch of water and it was gone in about that same time.... Also had brought in a few cubic yards of soil for my kids playground and the soil redirected the rain right into my basement another 5 inches of water in there... that was rough... plus the amount of water from the tanks. Theres a reason I put pressure treated lumber 10" and lower on the floors and mold resistant sheetrock.

 

[BasementBox]

I’d go slow. Dose maybe 30 ppm a day for 4 days. And don’t dose it at the same time as baking soda.

my man. thank you. and @Kasrift - my magnesium I just tested is sitting pretty at 1350.

 

[Thuan]

my man. thank you. and @Kasrift - my magnesium I just tested is sitting pretty at 1350.

I keep mine a bit higher

 

[BasementBox]

How often do you guys test mag and calcium? Also what do you use for your magnesium dosing?

 

[billyocean]

@billyocean have you been mariner of the month yet?

I dont want to be mariner of the month. Just want to live in my corner of the hobby..lol

 

[Thuan]

How often do you guys test mag and calcium? Also what do you use for your magnesium dosing?

I don't test cal or mag as often as I do the big 3 (alk, po4 and no3). I use ESV mag

 

[BasementBox]

I don't test cal or mag as often as I do the big 3 (alk, po4 and no3). I use ESV mag

how often are those things being dosed, and how do you typically measure their consumption, same thing as i've been doing with the alk? watch 24 hours, see whats consumed add as seen.

 

[Kasrift]

I keep mine a bit higher

 

[Thuan]

how often are those things being dosed, and how do you typically measure their consumption, same thing as i've been doing with the alk? watch 24 hours, see whats consumed add as seen.

I use ESV 2-part alk/cal. I dose equal parts. I don't test cal as often. When I do, I made adj as needed. I just test my cal which is 480 , so I left my dosage as is. As long it's stable, I don't go chasing numbers. BTW. I keep my mag at around 1450+

 

[BasementBox]

I use ESV 2-part alk/cal. I dose equal parts. I don't test cal as often. When I do, I made adj as needed. I just test my cal which is 480 , so I left my dosage as is. As long it's stable, I don't go chasing numbers. BTW. I keep my mag at around 1450+

Okay.. how quickly do those things get consumed typically? like is it something I need to hound?

 

[SaltySqueeble]

How often do you guys test mag and calcium? Also what do you use for your magnesium dosing?

You’d probably be good testing and adjusting once a week. I used the Red Sea for a while till it ran out, now I have BRS gallon solution which is much more affordable. Water changes will also add some if your doing those.

 

[BasementBox]

You’d probably be good testing and adjusting once a week. I used the Red Sea for a while till it ran out, now I have BRS gallon solution which is much more affordable. Water changes will also add some if your doing those.

Haven’t been doing wc due to Dino’s unfortunately.

Small fish photo dump. Scooty still kicking! He’s so small. That’s my pinkie for measurement. No bananas.

 

[Thuan]

Okay.. how quickly do those things get consumed typically? like is it something I need to hound?

I really never measure how fast mag and cal get consume like I do my alk. As long they're at the level I need, I just leave the dosing amount as is.

 

[SaltySqueeble]

Haven’t been doing wc due to Dino’s unfortunately.

Small fish photo dump. Scooty still kicking! He’s so small. That’s my pinkie for measurement. No bananas.

That guy is adorable