Recent content by cardinalfanrc

Oops. I meant to say that the phosphates should NOT be the cause of my problems.

I tested the phosphate today and it is 0.4 ppm. While not zero this should be the cause of my problems. I bought a poly-filter which should remove phosphates and also some other toxins. A friend suggested that a powerhead with an exposed wire could be leaching copper into the water. This...

I tested the phosphate today and it is 0.4 ppm. While not zero this should be the cause of my problems. I bought a poly-filter which should remove phosphates and also some other toxins. A friend suggested that a powerhead with an exposed wire could be leaching copper into the water. This...

David, Thanks. In the case that the problem is either phosphate or H2S from an old plenum, what should I do? I can definitely run a phosphate binder but what about the H2S. And and suggestions on a long term solution. Can I take out the plenum without completely crashing the tank? Thanks.

Thanks again for the help. I have definitely considered the possibility of long-term accumulation of detritus in the plenum and fluidized bed. However, I was under the impression that if this was the problem then I should be seeing high levels of nitrates. I can't reason out a scenario where...

Oh yea, circulations is with mag 12 return from the sump split into two returns with each return split with loc-line tubing stuff. In addition there's are 4-5 rios in the tank. Overall circulation is pretty darn good with quite a bit of movement and no obvious dead spots. And again, it has...

Thanks for the replies. I omitted a few details in an attempt to shorten the initial post a little. I though of the lighting also. I run 4 x 65 watt PC's with 2 x 10,000 and 2 x actinic. I changed the bulbs 3-4 months ago. Not sure if I mentioned in the first post, but I have done approx...

I have a 3 year old established reef tank that has been slowly looking worse over the last month. Here's the details: The tank is a 75 gallon reef with smallish fish load, lps, polyps, 100# live rock, and a plenum. There is a 20 gallon sump and 10 gallon refuge, Red Sea Berlin skimmer and a...

Sorry, that was a typo. I meant that the Ph was 8.4 in the morning and 8.5 in the evening. Although now the Ph is close to 8.6 by the late evening after the lights have been on all day. I have stopped dripping kalk for the last 2 days. Over this time period I have dripped in 4 gallons of...

The Ph is 5.0 during the day and approximately 4.5 with lights out. It is measured in the sump with a pinpoint ph meter, recently calibrated. The tank is a 75 gallon reef with a relatively small bio load. I have a 20 gallon sump and ten gallon refugion on reverse light cycle. I'm currently...

Randy - Thanks for the quick reply. The Ph now peaks at 5.0. Since all of my fish and corals look great I'm not too concerned that 5.0 is too high. However, it has been slowly rising and I'm anticipating that it will keep rising. I'm pretty sure that a previous gradual decline in tank health...

After reading Randy's articles on PH/alk/Ca and Craig Gingmans's article on expanding the use of kalkwasser I am considering using white vinegar to lover my ph. I have a 75 gallon reef and use a kalkwasser reactor to maintain my calcium and alkalinity. I usually drip at a rate of 150cc/hr...

Wilson- I had the exact same thing happen to my Berlin several months ago. In my case the cause took a week to figure out but was very simple. There is a small (approx 2 inch by 2 inch) black plastic piece that wedges into the the very beginning of the cylinder where the water should be...

I have a 75 gallon reef with 20 gallon sump and 10 gallon refugium running off sump. My tank does not have a built in overflow so I have a 1 1/2 inch bulkhead drilled into the right corner to drain the water into my sump. The return is a mag 12 split into two return lines, each of which hang on...