siskiou Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 in my 120G! Both switches didn't work. SG went from 1.026/7ish to 1.025. Top off has Kalk, so pH was at 8.44 this morning (normally 8.15 in the am). I've taken out all the extra water, and have some saltier than usual water mixing up right now. Any recommendations on how to proceed? Should I do a large waterchange, replacing with the saltier water now, or give it a little extra time to mix? Should I bring down the pH some with vinegar or soda water, since it will go up with the lights on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Relax. I don't think that is a huge change. Let everything reach equilibrium. It could make it worse to try to change it back. The pH will normalize, the salinity will be fine. I run my tank at 1.024-5, and things do just fine. pH 0f 8.44 is a little high, but it is within "OK" range. If you try to add too much acid, it will shift the other way and then think of the change that you will be forcing your animals to deal with then. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Thanks! I'm just po'd at the recent equipment failures! And the 120G was doing so well! I hope this won't start a round of cyano, or something else! Stability is the key, in my opinion. So far, fish and corals look happy enough, but sometimes the reaction comes a few days later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Thanks! I'm just po'd at the recent equipment failures! And the 120G was doing so well! I hope this won't start a round of cyano, or something else! Stability is the key, in my opinion. So far, fish and corals look happy enough, but sometimes the reaction comes a few days later. I think you will be just fine Not enough of a change to really harm anything or send things too far out of wack. Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason7504 Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 yeah you will be fine..thats not that bad of a change..ive had bigger SG drops and had stuff survive..im going to put my ATO on a timer to help prevent overflows though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Would you believe I had mine on a timer until recently, but one of the little pins fell out and got lost, and I hadn't replaced the timer yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Imagine a salinty drop from 1.026 to 1.012... then add a temperature drop from 78.2 to 64.5... Then imagine what the PH level was at. Even with those drastic numbers, alot of corals survived! Fish nearly all survived and only the most sensitive of inverts parished. Even the dreaded Sea Apple lived and did well after things stabalized and returned to normal. I was without power for 3 days and my ATO unit failed. I will likely never use an ATO on a larger system again. I will always have some way of keeping at leas powerheads going and and will soon buy a generator for the heaters and main circulation. I think your animals should all be fine. I would imagine that you will not see one problem and likely not even a simple algae bloom. You were proactive enough to not let things slip into the danger zone so I think you have some good tank karhma going on right now (laugh) Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason7504 Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Would you believe I had mine on a timer until recently' date=' but one of the little pins fell out and got lost, and I hadn't replaced the timer yet![/quote'] oh man that sucks! what are the odds that it happens after you lost a pin..(scratch) well im glad you caught it in time before it did flood though..but next time make sure your timers ready Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Imagine a salinty drop from 1.026 to 1.012... then add a temperature drop from 78.2 to 64.5... Then imagine what the PH level was at. Compared to *that*, I have nothing to complain about!(scary) You were proactive enough to not let things slip into the danger zone so I think you have some good tank karhma going on right now (laugh) I'd say it's lucky that I don't sleep in on the weekend, and that I look under the stand first thing in the morning! A half hour later, and I'd still be mopping up the floor!DOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 but next time make sure your timers ready Talk about saving at the wrong end!(nono) Will try to get the priorities straightened out! For now, it's backing to topping up by hand on that tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Alternately you could use a smaller top off reservoir to minimize the impact of a failure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 After a soak in vinegar, the ATO switches are working again. I'll definitely do a combination of ATO, timer and limiting the reservoir (it's currently refilling automatically as it empties, so supply is unlimited) from now on. I also think I have to add another baffle to my sump, to keep the water level stable for the skimmer (which seems to be really sensitive to water level). Is there an easy way to add one without emptying the sump? It's an acrylic one. Edited to add: I just read the article about pressure locking baffles at wetwebmedia and will probably give this a try! Has anyone here used this idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.