RSM (Red Sea Max) Owners Club

Arreola

Arreola

Member
Hi all.
I've been looking for some way to increase the Alkalinity without increaseing the PH on the RSM.
The only buffers I find on the LHS they increase the PH also.
Is there a way to increase the Alkalinity with some home made ingredients?

I've heard thet with some baking soda, but did not find any information on the amount that you have to use.
Or should I just make a water change?

Thank you
Arreola
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
Arreola - try this website calculator. Put in the tank volume (go a bit lower than 34 g as the rock takes up some water room), then pick a product you want to adjust with, and your current water parameter and the value that you want to end up with. Note the effect on pH and the warnings. You don't want to make too quick of any adjustment so that you don't shock the life in the tank:

Reef Chemistry Calculator

This is a very valuable website to save.

DontXtripNfall PICTURES!!! :)
 
Arreola

Arreola

Member
Reefmack - Thank you for the link. Very useful!!
I will add 1/2 TBSP of Baking Soda in 1 Liter and start dosing a little every day.
I will post the results tomorrow.

Arreola
 
L

LaurentSeattle

Member
Latest efforts on my RSM...

- Rearrange a bit some rocks to improve the water flow inside the tank.
- Syphoned out three dead zones of grey sand
- Cleaned canister filter - again.
- Added a small pump to bring some extra flow.
- More water changes...

Visible changes tonight:

- Less cyano patches !
- Receding pest algae! Yay!!!
- Finally... My blue stripped mushrooms are showing some signs of improvement: They do expand much better but still far from their original "glory".
- The Sarcophyton and the R. Yuma colony both look very "happy".
- Candy canes still looking very bad, almost not opening at all.

I am leaving Seattle early tomorrow morning for a long weekend in NYC and I hope everything will be fine on Monday night when I will be back...

See you all on Tuesday!
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
Arreola - keep us posted on your progress with the baking soda.

Laurent - it sounds like you're making good progress on the tank! Maybe the candy canes are just "upset" more than other corals by all of the cleaning and in-tank activity that you've been doing. Send us an update after you get back.
 
Arreola

Arreola

Member
Results: - NONE!!
last night added 1/2 table spoon of baking soda desolved in 1 liter of RO water to the RSM and the Alkalinity still low and the PH did not move.

Alkalinity 6 dHK
PH: 8.2

:stars:

I will do the same thing ad see if I can increase the levels.

Arreola
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
Everyone - This Owner's Club thread is getting very "lengthy", and I'm sure that in the future it's going be difficult to find good information that's buried in here - information that would be helpful to others. There are some really good issues being addressed in here that might be invaluable to other owners (me included) in the future, but too hard to find once buried somewhere in this long thread.

I can only suggest that we all try to use new posts in the Red Sea Max forum that we now have, whenever possible, for issues, mods, tank problems, tank "chronicles", etc. to help us organize things better, and make them easier to direct others to. I'm hoping we can avoid the huge "run-on forever" thread we had in another forum. When we had that it was near impossible to find a good piece of information buried in a thread that had 18 splits of 40 pages each.

I hope that makes sense to you as much as it does to me? Maybe we can use this thread for things that don't involve solving problems or issues - for information that won't need to be located in the future?

This thread might be a good place to mention off-topic things also. Such as the weather or the fact that I'm stuck at home today because Charlotte, NC has such a severe gasoline shortage right now that I don't have enough gas to get to work and back, plus be able to sit in 1/4 mile long lines at the very few gas stations that get a load of gas in. Grrrrrrrr! :(

Thanks,
Terry
 
Mister Chips

Mister Chips

New Member
Reefmack, I really like the look of the lighting upgrade you did. Any issues with jumpers? Or do you have a screen of some sort?

I have been shopping on Marine Depot and I think I found the same lighting you have. But the description varies a bit from yours. Maybe Current has a newer model? I assume it is the 24 inch Current USA Outer Orbit 1x150W 10K HQI-MH w/ 2x65W Dual Actinic & 4 Lunar Lights?

Has anyone else here tried a topless RSM?
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
Mister Chips - I got the 24" Current Outer Orbit Pro (model 1070 I think?) - 150W HQI with 4 x 24W T5 (2x 24W at 420nm, and 2 x 24W at 460nm. The one you mentioned is also a nice one & maybe a bit lower priced than the T5 version. The ballast on the 150W versions is internal in the hood, but I can rest my hand on the hood and it's only just warm - a great cooling fan in the hood. It comes with 2 timers - I ended up getting a 3 way timer and have the HQI on one timer & the T5s on another, and the blue LEDs on all night, with the white LEDs on another timer, and only on an hour before and an hour after the T5s are on/off. I also have the T5s on about 2 hours before & after the HQI comes on. I try to simulate a moonlit night with the blue LEDs on all night, then dawn with the white LEDs coning on, followed by the T5s, and later the HQI, and then the reverse after the HQI shuts off. Confusing? It is to me too when something gets messed up and I have to reset all my timers! :cursin:
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
Mister Chips said:
Thanks for the valuable info!

How do you fish stay safe without a top? No jumpers?
Click to expand...

Nope - no jumpers and I've had the hood about a year now. But, I don't have any firefish or known jumpers - a pair of ocellaris clowns, yellowtail damsel, foxface, diadema dottyback, blackfinned shrimp goby, and a pajama cardinal. Believe it or not the only thing that's ended up on the floor (dried up) was a smaller peppermint shrimp not long ago (chased out by one one my fish I'm guessing). The hood really covers the whole display section (but not the back filter section), but of course it's on legs that raise it up a few inches. I doubt I'd have been so lucky if I had firefish, jawfish, or other known jumpers.
 
Mister Chips

Mister Chips

New Member
Cool. Good to know.
I just ordered the 1070 model (same as yours). I am looking forward to the new lighting. I just really like the look of a topless tank. I don't plan on a ton of fish so hopefully I will have some good luck also with jumpers.

I'll have some pictures up soon.
 
Arreola

Arreola

Member
GOOD NEWS!!
I do not have any idea what cause the popeye on one of the Clownsfihs but this morning the swelling is much better.
Its not completley recovered but it does not look as bad as it did yesterday.
Also the fish is eating well and there is no sign of permanent injury.
Thank all for the help.

On the other hand, the darn Algae Blenie don't let the gobie get out, I talked to the LFS and they will get more fish tomorrow, and he has agreed to excange the blenie for a same species. (no charge for that)
Do you think this is a good idea? It has become pretty agressive with not just the gobie but the other fish as well.

Arreola
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
Arreola - good news on the clown! I'm not sure the "same species" will work though unless you get opposite sexes. Did you mean a new fish of the same type or ? A totally different species may be better - one that doesn't need to share the same space as a goby or blenny.
 
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