# My new 72 gal bowfront



## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Here is what I switched my 90 gal too-
I'm happier-Hopefully my corals will be also....









Acouple random macro shots-


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

very nice, i hope mine turns out like that


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Thanks Sir for the kind words.....It's starting to shape up a bit more now.....


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i just could never get my live rock to look good in my tank, no matter what i did, it just didn't turn out how i wanted it to


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

joedizzlempls said:


> i just could never get my live rock to look good in my tank, no matter what i did, it just didn't turn out how i wanted it to


What do you mean-
Stacking wise?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Looking great man... out of curiosity what is the large red bush in the center left, xenia of some sorts?


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Skunkbudfour20 said:


> Looking great man... out of curiosity what is the large red bush in the center left, *xenia* of some sorts?


Thats what I have been told-It's quite a big bunch of it though.....


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

AKSkirmish said:


> Looking great man... out of curiosity what is the large red bush in the center left, *xenia* of some sorts?


Thats what I have been told-It's quite a big bunch of it though.....
[/quote]
I made the same switch from a 90 reef to a 72 bow, although I did a fersh for money reasons.. You just switch for asthetic reasons? Or was there other reasons behind it...
just curious otherwise it looks good


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

redbellyman21 said:


> Looking great man... out of curiosity what is the large red bush in the center left, *xenia* of some sorts?


Thats what I have been told-It's quite a big bunch of it though.....
[/quote]
I made the same switch from a 90 reef to a 72 bow, although I did a fersh for money reasons.. You just switch for asthetic reasons? Or was there other reasons behind it...
just curious otherwise it looks good
[/quote]

Because of the built inoverflow-
I had a overflow box on the 90 gal...It was loud-I am picky,this would not work......Hence the 72 with built in overflow-

That and I use to run a emp 400 and a rena xp 3 for filtration-It was time for a change and to get things setup right...


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

got ya, my next project is to swap out the 75 fowlr with a stand that supports a sump and then sump that baby.... 
but thats cool I was just curious!


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

redbellyman21 said:


> got ya, my next project is to swap out the 75 fowlr with a stand that supports a sump and then sump that baby....
> but thats cool I was just curious!


Sounds like quite the project ahead of ya.....You should make a thread on it and document the move for everyone(if ya have the time that is)....

I got to do the same-Just with a fresh setup not a salty.....


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Update I guess-
Added a few things to the setup-
Added some hairy mushrooms,leather patch,And some weird red frag...Also managed to hook up a phosphate reator also----What a huge improvement that was.....

I'm haveing a bit of a PH problem-What would cause this------I added a product by seachem last night called "balance" by Aquavito a premium lineup from seachem-Anyone had much experience with it......Seems to bring my ph back up.....But my alkalinity was right and so was calcium....Just can't figure out what cause it.....


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

do u have a refuge with a 24hr light?

a lot of additivies that add kalk and ca reduce ph from the chemicals required to break down the aragonite to add calcium in tanks. the whole reason reactors are nesc so that the break down happens in a controlled enviroment. so to get your ph up, get a refuge witha 24/light and that shld help counter the addidtives plus keep ur ph stable 24 hours a day


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

AKSkirmish said:


> Update I guess-
> Added a few things to the setup-
> Added some hairy mushrooms,leather patch,And some weird red frag...Also managed to hook up a phosphate reator also----What a huge improvement that was.....
> 
> I'm haveing a bit of a PH problem-What would cause this------I added a product by seachem last night called "balance" by Aquavito a premium lineup from seachem-Anyone had much experience with it......Seems to bring my ph back up.....But my alkalinity was right and so was calcium....Just can't figure out what cause it.....


what do you consider a ph problem? cahnges of +/- 1.0 above or below 8 or is it a smaller change?

what is the ph and what was the light cycle when you tested?

you alk and calcium are ok? what are those readings? what is your magnesium?

there are so many cuases for ph fluctuation it very difficult to resolve and using products tends to lead towards more complicated problems. it could be something as simple as opening a window in the room the tank is in to get fresh air. (some people route teh airintake hose for their skimmer to a window or even a vent through a wall.

best thing to do is make sure your calcium alk and magnesium are good and that your corals look happy.


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

nismo driver said:


> *do u have a refuge with a 24hr light?*
> 
> a lot of additivies that add kalk and ca reduce ph from the chemicals required to break down the aragonite to add calcium in tanks. the whole reason reactors are nesc so that the break down happens in a controlled enviroment. so to get your ph up, get a refuge witha 24/light and that shld help counter the addidtives plus keep ur ph stable 24 hours a day


I have a sump/refugium that I am useing...No 24 hour light as of right now-But should one on their later today.........

The product I used doesn't alter cal and alk-Only ph...

Thanks for the info..


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

redbellyman21 said:


> do u have a refuge with a 24hr light?
> 
> a lot of additivies that add kalk and ca reduce ph from the chemicals required to break down the aragonite to add calcium in tanks. the whole reason reactors are nesc so that the break down happens in a controlled enviroment. so to get your ph up, get a refuge witha 24/light and that shld help counter the addidtives plus keep ur ph stable 24 hours a day


close,

calcium reactors work by using co2 to create an acidic environment to dissolve the aragonite. it is necessary to drip the resulting effluent into the tank in low doses so it does not cause a large drop in PH, in tanks with very high calcium demands this becomes a careful balancing act.

kalkwasser when dissolved in water at max saturation levels (aka lime water) creates a very high PH 
and should also be dosed by dripping into the tank. most commonly done to by adding with top off water from a gravity feed or auto top off system. as a substitute for expesive prodcts marketed for reef tanks you can use food grade pickling lime and get the same results as something like kent kalkwasser but at less then 1/4 the cost.

kalk should never be added directly into tank or sump. it should always be disolved in RO/DI water and allowed to sit until the mixture is no longer cloudy. there will be a film on the surface between the surface film and the sediment on thebottom is the concetrated lime water taht should be added to the tank. this mixture should not be aireated, this would cause the ph to drop and reduce the saturation level.

magnesium is a very important often overlooked element in this whole equation. it is very imporatnt to test for and maintian a level of atleast 1200 ppm up to 1300 ppm. this can be supplimented with a liquid suppliment in small doses directly in the sump never raising more then 20ppm.

kalk has a much lower limit of the amount of calcium it can provide to tanks with high demand or low evaporation rates. you can add too much kalk and cause a ph spike but if used properly its a safe way to supplement calcium. calcium reactors on the other hand can cause some problems if they are not properly set up. many people that use calcium reactors for tanks with high calcium needs also drip or top off with limewater to bring their PH up from the effects of the calcium reactor effluent


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

AKSkirmish said:


> Not sure what ya mean by light cycle-
> My light are on for darn near 14 hours a day.....But I cut it back to different watts throguhout the day as well-I'm not running full powered-Running full powered light wise for only around the 8 hour mark...


the light ccyle directly effects PH this is a natural swing, i think lights off the ph lowers lights in it comes back up.

you should always test with the lights on, after they have been on for awhile.

what redbelly was saying with the 24/7 fuge light good common practice to reduce or balance the swing.


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

thanx for the corrections, I had it right in my head just didnt relay it as well as [email protected]! SHow [email protected]







I just was referring to a lot of "liquid reactors" adiditives. In the past I noticed fluctuations in the ph after using the liquid reactor. But minor, had I not had a refuge with 24/hr light I feel the drop and then spike would been higher..


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