[quote=“ClownfishSushi, post:198, topic:7613”]
[quote=“icecool2, post:197, topic:7613”]
Bristle worms are friends, don’t worry about them. :-)###
Looks like you’re going pretty strong. How are your levels?[/quote]
I’m pretty sure bristle worms killed two of my last three clams. Or at least they ate it from the inside out while it was still alive…
Holding the tank at 78.5 degrees and 1.025 sg. I don’t trust my test kits and I need to buy new ones.
I have a Hanna calcium tester that I got as a gift and haven’t even opened yet. Going to get a kit for Alk, Nitrates this weekend. I suppose I could test for Ammonia but to be honest, I’d be seeing issues with the fish and corals immediately.
Might test for magnesium in this tank too.
I plan on starting a 2 part dosing regiment but not until I test. Will probably use baking soda too once I figure out where the Alk is.[/quote]
Bristle worm would not of killed your clams Jason, even fireworms would pass them by. Bristleworms at least in all of my clam experience come when a clam is dieing or dead.
Pollyclad flat worms are the only real worms to worry about eating mollusks. Clams can even survive through bad water conditions, lack of enough light is there worst enemy.
First round of water testing done and some parameters definitely need some tweeking.
Temp 78.8
Salinity 1.022
Calcium 600
DKH 7
PH 8.0
Nitrate, Nitrite and Phosphate all present. Lower quantities but definitely changing the colors on both of my test kits.
I wasn’t expecting the salinity to have dropped that much. The skimmer is pulling more salt water out of the system than I realized. The reef crystals are also adding a ton of calcium to the water. I don’t think that 600 will necessarily hurt anything but I won’t be able to start adding a 2 part buffer with the calcium that high. I’d like to see the alkalinity a little higher so I’m going to pick up a fresh box of baking soda to help with that. I’m not really surprised that I’m seeing nitrates, nitrites and phosphates in the tank. There is still some visible organics coming off the dry rock and I think that will work itself out with frequent water changes.
Jason calcium a little high but shouldnt be a issue, ive tested mine and has been higher and no bad results.
But does it kill their eggs?
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure flatworms multiply by division. Aka, they split off a section to grow another. No eggs to worry about. (What came 1st, the Planaria, or the “Tail”?) 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planarian
In asexual reproduction, the planarian detaches its tail end and each half regrows the lost parts by regeneration, allowing neoblasts (adult stem cells) to divide and differentiate, thus resulting in two worms. Some species of planaria are exclusively asexual, whereas some can reproduce both sexually and asexually.
Nevermind…apparently the little bastages do both!! /shakes fist
Thanks anyway. However they reproduce, they reproduce. And they keep coming back after treating with flatworm exit so I’m guessing it’s eggs or a super-resiliant strain.
I goofed when adjusting my parameters the other day.
I added about 5 scoops of dissolved Reef Crystals to the sump hoping to begin increasing the salinity over the next week. It took the tank from 1.022 to 1.024 a day later.
I also added a few tablespoons of dissolved Baking Soda to the sump. It took the tank from 7 DKh to 12 DKh!?!
There is no way that the Baking Soda alone took the DKh up that high. Something in the Reef Crystals must have also contributed to the Alk in the tank. The corals are not happy. But nothing looks like it won’t recover after a few days. Just way more of a shock to the sytem than I ever would have intentionally done.
Don’t know if you have ever used this calculator before, but it really comes in handy. :
:
http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html
What ever method you use to treat the tank for planaria. Just remember to overfill the system. get the sump level way above normal, to be sure no straglers are clinging above the normal water line. its still wet there by capilary effect, . got to make sure all parts of the water transport system are covered. .
[quote=“kaptken, post:208, topic:7613”]
What ever method you use to treat the tank for planaria. Just remember to overfill the system. get the sump level way above normal, to be sure no straglers are clinging above the normal water line. its still wet there by capilary effect, . got to make sure all parts of the water transport system are covered. . [/quote]
Thanks, Ken.
I went ahead and emptied the tank and used a razor blade on every surface. I overfilled it and let it sit for 24 hours with just tap water. Now I’ve added bleach to the tank and I’m going to let it soak for another 8 hours before I empty the tank and repeat the process with just tap water. After a good air dry I think I should have solved the planeria problem.
Hopefully I’m going to be able to drill the tank over the next few days and get it plumbed into my new system.
With a little help from Bill we managed to get the 90 gallon drilled this weekend. It’s about halfway filled now and I’m hoping to have it up and running in a day or two.
I’ve ordered a 4" sock holder and a couple 200 micron poly socks for the 90 since it will be accepting the main drain line from the display.
I’m going to move the heaters to the 90 where I think they’ll do a much better job of regulating the overall system’s temperature. In order to have enough water flow, I’ll have to add at least one powerhead to circulate the water in that tank and I’ll direct the flow directly across the heaters.
I also did my 2nd weekly scraping of the algae scrubber. Some really thick brown sludge came off the screen and to my surprise there was some left over small green hair algae underneath that mess. Definitely a step in the right direction.
Who has got two thumbs and 50% more water volume in his system? This guy right here. :BEER
Water cleared up and came to temperature in the 90 overnight so I attached it to my system this morning. I’m guessing the entire system contains between 275-300 gallons now.
Going to play with the PAR meter this evening and post some results.
Here are my initial results playing with the PAR meter. I took readings at 50% white only, 50% blue only, 50% white and blue, 100% white only, 100% blue only, 100% white and blue and the 30% white / 60% blue ratio that several folks recommended as a good starting point.
50% White LED
50% Blue LED
50% White / 50% Blue
100% White LED
100% Blue LED
100% White / 100% Blue
30% White / 60% Blue
Based on these readings is the 30% White / 60% Blue ratio going to have enough PAR to support a clam on the sandbed? It looks like I might need to try adding a little more white to the mix?
I’m impressed by the consistency of your results. Almost perfect combination of PAR values. That’s hard to get the PAR meter at the same angle each time. Well done!
170 at the sand seems fine to me for a clam. If memory serves that’s right around where mine was in my old 75g and it grew very fast.
The 50/50 mix gives your tank good par readings and I like the color it projects in the tank. Just IMO. Of course you will need a starting point and then adjust accordingly. Back in Sept, 2011, I took par readings on a DIY LED fixture I just bought and the reading at the bottom of my 180 gal was 170, and had no problems.
Did you borrow the par meter from BILL? Was it easy to use? Thanks
Thanks for the immediate feedback guys, I appreciate it.
The Par Meter was the Seneye that Bill lent me. For the most part, it was easy to use. Here’s my thoughts.
When I first installed the software, I was required to create an account with seneye, no big deal.
Once it was up and running, it tried to get me to purchase a $78 addon to access the PAR meter. However, after syncing with the server for a few minutes the feature unlocked on it’s own. There may be a free version of the meter and a paid upgrade that gives more info.
The wire was a little stiff and there was absolutely no way the unit would aim directly upwards without some help. I used a fiberglass rod to align the unit and apply minimal pressure to make sure that it faced upwards.
At the end of the day, I’d definitely consider buying one.
As far as which setting to use, I’m also in favor of the 50/50. The 30/60 is a little on the blue side in this tank, especially when the whites drop out and it’s just in the blue mode. 60 Blue by itself isn’t pleasing to the eyes.
I guess my question is if I do run 50/50, the middle of the tank is getting hit with between 225 and 250 PAR. Is that too much for SPS?
Here are the readings I took back in September of 2011. Since then I have switched to 3 cheapo LED fixtures and don’t know what my par readings look like. It looks to me that your readings should be fine.
Ok, great. I think my corals are just in the acclimating stages. It’s good to know in the future I can crank up the PAR a little bit without bleaching everything.
Jason 170 on the sand should be fine for a clam on the sand just make sure the whole part is 170 not just a small section where the focusing spot of your led is .
Not sure if anybody asked this but did you turn power heads off? Water movement changes the readings
[quote=“beadlocked450r, post:219, topic:7613”]
Not sure if anybody asked this but did you turn power heads off? Water movement changes the readings[/quote]
I turned the MP40’s off but for a different reason. I was having trouble getting the meter to stay put with the water movement. The return pump was still running when I took the readings. I hope it didn’t skew the results too much.
I recalibrated my refractometer with RODI water last night because the salinity solution I have is a couple of years old now and I’m not sure that I can trust it’s accuracy. After calibration, my salnity was still only 1.022. I raised it to 1.024 overnight and I’m going to increase it again in a few days.
