EricTheRed
No, I'm not a communist..
I'm trying to pinpoint why my sps have gradually lost their vibrance over the last few months. (They're not brown, just not as richly colored as they once were.) One of the things I'm trying to rule out is if vinegar may be the culprit...here's why I ask:
Last fall as the temps in the house dropped my tank evaporated less, which meant the kalk in my ATO was not getting into the tank as readliy as it used to. My Ca and Alk levels were dropping so I started supersaturating the kalk by adding 15ml of vinegar per tsp of kalk. In my 5G ATO resevior I was adding 5 tbsp of kalk : 245ml of vinegar and all was right in the world again. (My levels stablized.) So basically at my rate of evaporation I go through 5G every 5 days, which means the tank is being dosed 49ml of vinegar/day. I estimate ~ 75G of total water volume.
I've heard anecdotal claims that this has happened to others and now I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this....?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
P.S. I run biopellets and my NO3's are undetectable and my PO4 usually registers 0.01 on my Hanna Checker. I had been running an older 8-Bulb T5 fixture (no individual reflectors) so PAR at 6" was only 260 and at 12" it was only 235. I did get good growth from the T5's but decided this week to go with 2x250 HQI MH's. I have a MP40 and my tank is a standard dimension 90G.
Last fall as the temps in the house dropped my tank evaporated less, which meant the kalk in my ATO was not getting into the tank as readliy as it used to. My Ca and Alk levels were dropping so I started supersaturating the kalk by adding 15ml of vinegar per tsp of kalk. In my 5G ATO resevior I was adding 5 tbsp of kalk : 245ml of vinegar and all was right in the world again. (My levels stablized.) So basically at my rate of evaporation I go through 5G every 5 days, which means the tank is being dosed 49ml of vinegar/day. I estimate ~ 75G of total water volume.
I've heard anecdotal claims that this has happened to others and now I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this....?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
P.S. I run biopellets and my NO3's are undetectable and my PO4 usually registers 0.01 on my Hanna Checker. I had been running an older 8-Bulb T5 fixture (no individual reflectors) so PAR at 6" was only 260 and at 12" it was only 235. I did get good growth from the T5's but decided this week to go with 2x250 HQI MH's. I have a MP40 and my tank is a standard dimension 90G.
