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So I'm Building Stuff Again. 150g Plus Fish Room. (2 Viewers)

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Yep my ph is 8.3 at 10:50 PM because it's in the garage. I have a handheld ph probe that confirms it. Just getting lots of fresh air.
Yeah but it’s saying my tank is going over 8.7 during the day. That’s basically impossible without dosing something like kalk or a ph booster. Plus, I run a calcium reactor.
 

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I use Milwaukee calibration packets. They have one that is 7.0 and I drop it in to confirm the ph drops to 7.0. If not then it is recalibrate time. I do NOT trust the neptune packets and dont really trust their probes. I have a Milwaukee probe in the box but the last time I tested it was correct by the packet and left the old one in. Screw that changing out a $100 probe every 6 months.
BTW, my salinity probe has been off since day one. After the move I thought it was accurate for about 3 weeks and now it says I have 37.7...and my refractometer and hanna tester both read 1.025 to 1.026. Dont get me started on Neptune WAV pumps...while I really like my Apex, I am not a fan of other neptune products.
 

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Tip from Neptune: Once you remove the caps off your probes. Leave them soaking in RODI water for a few hours, then install and calibrate.
Also, before you re-calibrate, do the same. Soak in RODI water, air dry, then calibrate.
I’ve read that you should never use RO water to clean, soak or store your ph probe?! 🤷🏻‍♂️ Now I’m confused.

Here is just one example from Hanna:
“Using pure water (such as deionized, distilled, or reverse osmosis) is also a major mistake when storing your pH electrode. This happens most often when someone runs out of storage solution but wants to keep the electrode hydrated. This, however, creates a bigger problem.

Deionized water contains virtually no ions. The pH electrode is full of ions, both in the filling solution and in the hydrated portion of the pH sensing glass. So when an electrode is submerged in a solution that has no ions, the ions in the electrode will want to move out into the solution in an attempt to establish an equilibrium. Over time, most of the ions will leave the electrode, rendering it useless. The glass will also degrade much faster, leading to shorter electrode lifespans.”
 
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So I recalibrated the ph probe. Seems to be in a more normal range now but I’m still sketchy about the results.
After the calibration and put back in the 10 calibration fluid
472DE08B-FA61-43CA-AEC1-0EC216993F98.png

After calibration and put back into the 7 calibration solution.
C130A9A2-2221-4061-84D0-FD45698C4210.png

Put it into the tank, then back into the calibration fluids. It was pretty accurate with the calibration fluid once put back in.
 
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Also, I built a kalk reactor for my secondary system. Up until now, it hasn’t been getting any dosing other than a weekly water change. A BRS doser will be hooked up to suck from the chamber. New water will be drawn into the the chamber (via the top-off line), forces through the kalk, and exit through the top to dose the tank. That way, I don’t need to mix it and the water coming out should be pretty well saturated.
5B3AC400-53C5-4723-BF29-B16BB22AB944.jpeg
 
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Just took my Milwaukee ph controller that I use on my calcium reactor and plunged it into my sump. It’s showing 8.1. Looks like the apex one is off.

Yeah I figured that. Nobody runs 8.5 with a calcium reactor.

That’s why I constantly cleaned my probes and calibrate about every 8 weeks. I also kept my Milwaukee running as a back up.

For anybody wondering, Milwaukee’s out perform Pinpoints. I’ve had several Pinpoints and Milwaukee’s. The Pinpoints drift too much and don’t calibrate well. Milwaukee is slow to drift and calibrates like a dream.

I won’t comment too much on the Apex’s pH monitoring ability. Let’s just say the probes are decent, but...the apex unit itself is not a good monitor IMO. They don’t calibrate well and they drift.
 
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Yeah I figured that. Nobody runs 8.5 with a calcium reactor.

That’s why I constantly cleaned my probes and calibrate about every 8 weeks. I also kept my Milwaukee running as a back up.

For anybody wondering, Milwaukee’s out perform Pinpoints. I’ve had several Pinpoints and Milwaukee’s. The Pinpoints drift too much and don’t calibrate well. Milwaukee is slow to drift and calibrates like a dream.

I won’t comment too much on the Apex’s pH monitoring ability. Let’s just say the probes are decent, but...the apex unit itself is not a good monitor IMO. They don’t calibrate well and they drift.
I have my apex ph probe recalibrated but I don’t trust it. I love my milwaukee ph controller for my calcium reactor though. It seems very consistent.
 
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Kalk reactor is up and running. I’m testing my first hand at running apex code to run it, so the output will be put into a container and not the tank. I want to make sure my code is on point for a 24 hour cycle then it will start dosing the tank itself and not a bucket haha

7871894A-3D7F-4EA3-A4D5-71B5B9CFF5E1.jpeg
 
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Also, a new Stenner pump should arrive tomorrow. This will be hooked up to my secondary system. Between daily 2-3% water changes and the kalk reactor, I think parameters should be on point. We will see though.
 
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That Carbon Doser is set to 3 seconds per bubble. Is that a softie tank or SPS? :unsure::D
About 250-300 gallons of SPS and LPS thirsty corals. It's controlled by my Milwaukee pH controller. I need to tone it down though. It spends about 30/70% on/off, respectively.
 
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I was jokingly saying that 3 seconds per bubble is very low demand.

Set it with a 1.0 to 1.5 Variance. That will keep your Carbon Doser from shutting on/off/on/off.
Well, in theory, you don't want the pH controller doing more heavy lifting than necessary. However, it's working fine for now so we will see. The less amount of on and off periods the better, considering it works the controller more. However, the quicker it gets back on point (pH within the chamber), the more consistent it will be.
 
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Well, in theory, you don't want the pH controller doing more heavy lifting than necessary. However, it's working fine for now so we will see. The less amount of on and off periods the better, considering it works the controller more. However, the quicker it gets back on point (pH within the chamber), the more consistent it will be.

Mine never cut on and off until I started selling all the corals. I’d run with a 1.0 variant most of the time and it was usually within 0.5-.08.
 
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Look what papa bear got in the mail today. Time to go sweat my butt off in the attic running tube!

F0368F49-5CB0-483E-A562-B6CA73F01759.jpeg
 
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Alright, I waited for the sun to go down. It was too hot earlier, even with the overcast. Secondary Stenner installed and I can now control each system independently. I originally wanted to run all new tubing for each system, but I ended up tapping into the existing tube that pulls from the saltwater vat and the one that goes down my laundry room drain. In theory, it shouldn’t make a difference, but I’m still not sure about it. The couplings make extra back pressure and could potentially slow down the effectiveness of the pump.

I got another container but it doesn’t fit the same way that the previous did. Oh well. I put the pumps in tubs to catch water if they leak. I also put in the $10 water leak detectors in both containers. If water gets in the tub, it sets off a LOUD siren.
8F75C9D2-39B9-4A51-84A7-C61C92AFDD79.jpeg

The taps I made into the existing saltwater vat and discharge water lines.
219E61C5-653E-4CC4-B6FC-9EF4025E6319.jpeg

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I also bought these recently. I’m using them to control the Stenner pumps now. They seem fairly reasonable for my application. They have a +/-30 variance from the schedule, which is more than ok for running the Stenner pumps. Plus, I can adjust them without going into the attic. I also set them up to run the lights in my fish room that aren’t hooked up to my apex.
0DC62AB5-2C1B-4A7D-B4B5-7AFC37DE7FA2.png
 
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