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  1. chipmunkofdoom2

    Emergency Battery Backup 2.0 - New and Improved!

    That's great. If you have a UPS with a few thousand watts of capacity and a decent inverter, I'd definitely use it. It sounds like a great piece of gear. This, however, is not typical of most consumer UPSs.
  2. chipmunkofdoom2

    Confusing Parameters

    +1 to Dave's advice. I would just leave things alone. This isn't something simple like dosing calcium or carbonate (alkalinity) to exact levels. Keeping nitrate and phosphate levels low is difficult enough.. keeping them at specific levels is going to be so impractical that it borders on...
  3. chipmunkofdoom2

    Vinegar, Kalk and Argonite.

    Also, sorry I think I missed it, what is the specific concern with regard to pH? You're absolutely right. Calcium additives are very cheap and very simple. I actually am not a huge fan of calcium reactors or kalkwasser in general because of the issues you raise. Both calcium reactors and...
  4. chipmunkofdoom2

    Ordering live stuff through the net

    If you can find Canadian shippers that will guarantee overnight delivery, I would definitely order online. The only livestock I have which was locally purchased are my three snails. There are pros and cons to each method. At a fish store, you can actually see the specimen you're buying. As...
  5. chipmunkofdoom2

    Chipmunk's 10g Office Tank

    Thanks @Florida Sunshine and @Pat24601 :) My only regret is that I didn't do a fine finish sand after I painted.. the paint is rough, and whenever I wipe down the stand I get a ton of fibers stuck in the burrs. At any rate, I still need to build a door eventually.. maybe I'll give it a finish...
  6. chipmunkofdoom2

    HELP! Perimeters are to high

    No trouble at all. That wasn't meant to be a personal attack at all. It's just a complex issue because as hobbyists we don't discuss the details. We like to boil things down to "rules of thumb" and "it worked for me so it's likely fine." I was just hoping to introduce a bit more information into...
  7. chipmunkofdoom2

    HELP! Perimeters are to high

    In some cases, RO/DI or distilled water will be just as good, but that isn't necessarily the case. I think that is why this is still such a debated topic. For some reefers, this method is accurate, but for others it isn't. It really depends on the refractometer: calibrating with freshwater...
  8. chipmunkofdoom2

    The 5g pico that broke into a 17g nano!

    Looking great Bob. Let us know how you like the WP-10. I have a 40g breeder burning a hole in my pocket from Petco's last dollar per gallon sale and have been considering Jebao WP pumps because of the pricepoint.
  9. chipmunkofdoom2

    Consider calibrating Your refractometer !

    Yeah that solution is designed to calibrate a conductivity salinity meter, the American Marine PINPOINT Salinity Monitor. It's a lot easier to make a solution read 35ppt on a refractometer, why fluid for refractometer calibration is a bit cheaper. For a refractometer, just throw enough salt in...
  10. chipmunkofdoom2

    Vinegar, Kalk and Argonite.

    It's interesting you mention vinegar and crushed coral. In essence, this is how a calcium reactor works. The reactor mixes CO2 with crushed coral and water. The result is a very low pH because of the CO2, which dissolves the crushed coral. The water then leaves the calcium reactor, now with the...
  11. chipmunkofdoom2

    Consider calibrating Your refractometer !

    @Pat24601 calibration fluid isn't that expensive. I'd recommend the one that BRS carries, it only costs $7 with free shipping. That may seem like a lot for a few fluid ounces of saltwater, but it lasts a while. You only use a few drops each time you test. I've actually started using Randy...
  12. chipmunkofdoom2

    Chipmunk's 10g Office Tank

    Well I'm down to go whenever anyone in the area would like. I actually don't get free tickets until way late in my volunteering tenure.. also, I don't get to take people into the backup areas without express written consent of the management, which is hard to get (lame). But I'm down to meet up...
  13. chipmunkofdoom2

    Chipmunk's 10g Office Tank

    @BEELZEBOB! Welcome back! It has been a while, how are things? @Florida Sunshine that sounds great, I don't know how many RS members we have in the area, but we should do that some time. I'm only about 45 minutes away from the city
  14. chipmunkofdoom2

    Chipmunk's 10g Office Tank

    It’s funny you mention the puffers @Oxylebius , we actually have two in this community tank and they have some trouble competing for food as well. I usually hand-feed them a few pieces as well if they’ll come up to the surface. I think they’re starting to learn that behavior just like the...
  15. chipmunkofdoom2

    Oxy's RSM250

    Things are looking great Oxy. Are you using the stock lighting in your RSM? What T5 bulbs are you using?
  16. chipmunkofdoom2

    Chipmunk's 10g Office Tank

    I snapped a few pictures of the filefish at the National Aquarium during my shift this morning: I had never considered filefish in a reef before, but these two have a ton of personality. They're orange filefish and they're about 2 feet long. They're in a tank with some fairly aggressive...
  17. chipmunkofdoom2

    HELP! Question on my tank

    That sounds like mg/L. If so, this chart (from the link above) probably applies: If you're at 143 mg/L, that's around 8.3 dKh, which is a perfectly acceptable level of alkalinity. Though it is not a guarantee, the 8.0 pH and the 480 ppm calcium that the test strip showed now make more sense...
  18. chipmunkofdoom2

    HELP! Question on my tank

    I think I found the manual for the strips you're using: http://www.apifishcare.com/pdf/Testing_Chart_1_16_14-1.pdf According to this chart, a reading of 80 for Kh is roughly equivalent to 4.5 dKh (degrees carbonate hardness), which is very far outside the range of normal for reefs. I would...
  19. chipmunkofdoom2

    Where are all the reefers

    I have a local "acquaintance" who is in the hobby. The one friend I had who was in the hobby doesn't live near me any longer. And isn't in the hobby. I do live in the middle of nowhere, so that's partially on me, however, I live near a larger city and about an hour from DC, and it's still tough...
  20. chipmunkofdoom2

    Bare bottom VS sand bed

    I'm probably throwing off the average, I'm running bare bottom in my 20g long. Personally I like the look of sand better than BB, and when I get my 40b up and running, I might use sand. But there are definite advantages of bare bottom. First, no worrying about flow blowing sand around when...
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