brown diatoms to green algae question

Boomer wrote, On 6/30/2006 8:20 AM:
Just to add you can not measure the pH of RO or RO/DI water. These are usually false pH
readings. pH readings need ions in the water to give a accurate reading, especially RO/DI.
If it is just RO and you have a high tap water TDS then yes, often you can. Once the water
is exposed to ambient air it will pick-up CO2 and yield a pH usually lower than 7 often
around the 6 areas

Kim, Steve and Boomer, thank you! You guys are better than Google any
day...

Cindy

Actually you are correct Steve, I haven't done any water changes as my water
is only a few weeks old and I just added most of my rock 1 week ago. I did
not want to change water until the mini-cycle was completed. I do water
tests every other day. None of my test results warranted a water change.
That's not to say I don't know I should change water anyway. I'm very
aware.

As a matter of fact this weekend will be my first water change as my water
parameters look good so my cycle is done and I'm about to add livestock
later in the week. (shrimp, lawnmower blenny, maybe a fiji yellow leather)

I've know several aquariums that have been going for a long time with no
protein skimmers or sumps. I used Seachem Prime when I started the aquarium
with tap (remember not to pick on me), during the cycle and even when adding
new Ro/Di water. However, I don't think I'll need it as often now. I also
use Red Sea's Calcium +3. Lastnight I used my first phosphate killer.
Those are it. I do a large amount of water filtering for the 90g (2 -
emperor 400's). The protein skimmer isn't ruled out, but I'm going to try
it without at first.

Weird thing is salinity now. I have a floating thermometer that tells me my
salt is perfect but the marineland tester says my salinity is too high (not
caused by bubbles in the tester). I need to figure out what to do there...
I might take some water to the store for testing. Any problem can be fixed
through the upcoming water change.

Thanks for the help. Sometimes putting thoughts into type is hard, I'm
already too wordy. I hope I'm clear. Feel free to ask me questions. I
don't want to kill anything; looking forward to a beautiful, happy tank.

B

"Steve" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:42:13 GMT, Wayne Sallee
wrote:

I am a *big* fan of kalk, but it's *not* the only way.


Fair comment I'm sure. I have never tried to do things any other way
myself, though I have heard dealers mentioning other proprietary
products instead. In fact I get mutterings about this every time I
mention kalk to one local guy... I always wondered if that was sales
talk though, kalk is cheap and doesn't earn anybody much after all. So
how well do other things work then? Any advantages over using kalk,
given that Ca and OH seem to be the main things you need to add long
term? Interested in your views. My main point to the OP here though
was that he seems to be doing nothing much other than adding fresh
topup to this tank, and has said nothing about water changes either,
which is a worry. And my own tanks have always seemed to go backwards
as soon as I've had skimmer problems, as has occured in the past, so
I'm a big believer in those.

Steve

On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 03:46:02 GMT, "Bryan" wrote:

I've know several aquariums that have been going for a long time with no
protein skimmers or sumps. I used Seachem Prime when I started the aquarium
with tap (remember not to pick on me), during the cycle and even when adding
new Ro/Di water. However, I don't think I'll need it as often now. I also
use Red Sea's Calcium +3. Lastnight I used my first phosphate killer.
Those are it. I do a large amount of water filtering for the 90g (2 -
emperor 400's). The protein skimmer isn't ruled out, but I'm going to try
it without at first.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no believer in sacred cow type things. I
think Eng was doing things with just an airstone and no skimmer
decades ago :-). I'm sure you can run a tank without a skimmer. I
just have a feeling things may be better with a skimmer, can't see
much of a reason *not* to use one really. I've never really felt my
tank looked good at times when the skimmer was broke, each to their
own though.

I can't see that one fill with tapwater is an issue at all, in fact
whether you need RO at all depends on your water supply, here we have
30+ ppm nitrate in raw water which is grim, some areas in the UK have
near zero, wouldn't bother with RO myself if I lived back up north
where the water was pretty mineral and fertilizer free. Also can't see
any logical reason for DI at all, quantitatively the solutes in RO are
surely not significant.

The main issue from now on is that your livestock is going to produce
waste, and there needs to be a strategy in place for removing it, or
they won't thrive. You talk about test kits quite a bit and have got a
pretty full set, and yet mostly they are not very helpful. I've just
set up a tank that's doing OK and have only a Ca and nitrate kit,
period. Don't use them much now. Doing water tests and finding them
normal tells you not a lot. That is because many of the things you
need to measure can't be measured with basic kits. With respect to
your algae growth none of us really have a clue why it's growing, if
tests were the definitive answer then you wouldn't have any algae, as
you say your water is officially "good" . So I'd take the experience
so far as a clear indication of how little basic tests actually tell
you. You need to know about organics in reality, and we can't measure
those at home. Those are what the skimmer gets rid of. Or water
changes if you do it that way.



Weird thing is salinity now. I have a floating thermometer that tells me my
salt is perfect but the marineland tester says my salinity is too high (not
caused by bubbles in the tester). I need to figure out what to do there...
I might take some water to the store for testing. Any problem can be fixed
through the upcoming water change.

I'm sure plenty of water changing will help if you think there is any
problem happening in there. Though obviously there are slight stresses
on the livestock if you overdo that, salinity, composition, whatever
differs slightly whenever you make up new water.


Thanks for the help. Sometimes putting thoughts into type is hard, I'm
already too wordy. I hope I'm clear. Feel free to ask me questions. I
don't want to kill anything; looking forward to a beautiful, happy tank.


I think it's very hard online to get a picture of what someone already
does and does not know. It's easy to jump to conclusions is it not.
Hope that tank does well anyway

Steve

An experienced reefer can tell a lot by looking at the
tank, but I sure would not want to be without the test kits.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



Steve wrote on 7/1/2006 5:45 AM:
You talk about test kits quite a bit and have got a
pretty full set, and yet mostly they are not very helpful. I've just
set up a tank that's doing OK and have only a Ca and nitrate kit,
period. Don't use them much now. Doing water tests and finding them
normal tells you not a lot. That is because many of the things you
need to measure can't be measured with basic kits. With respect to
your algae growth none of us really have a clue why it's growing, if
tests were the definitive answer then you wouldn't have any algae, as
you say your water is officially "good" . So I'd take the experience
so far as a clear indication of how little basic tests actually tell
you. You need to know about organics in reality, and we can't measure
those at home. Those are what the skimmer gets rid of. Or water
changes if you do it that way.