NEEDED: Large amount of carbon

[DeMarcusR]

Anyone know where I can buy a large amount of carbon?
I've already gone through two containers of the kent carbon in the phosban reactor.. I'm thinking I need about 5 times that much....


What causes water to turn to milk? I have no cheato or calupra (sp) or any other macro that could have died off. PH is waaaaay out of wack but that about the only thing I can find...

 

[melev]

A powerhead blasting the sandbed could do it. Walmart sells the cheapest carbon you can buy, and it is the same as Black Diamond (they house label their carbon).

While you are there, get some of the poly stuffing they sell for making your own pillows. A huge amount is like $2, and you can use that floss to help trap blowing sediment via the sump.

 

[crash519]

What is your pH that you consider way outta whack? What is your calcium level at? Milky with crazy pH #'s sounds like calcium precipitating out.

 

[DeMarcusR]

@crash519 wrote:

ph @ 7.4 as of 10am

@crash519 wrote:

CA is off the scale.. I normally run it at ~480-500. The test kit I have only reads 520.. It's far over 500. I dont dose very often, maybe once a month to maintain that level since I dont have a huge number of sps. mostly monti caps (which have been doing exceptionally well.)

@crash519 wrote:

That very well could be it.. What should my next step be? I did a 50g water change, which IMHO isn't nearly enough for ~350g of water. All I have available to me is a 50g drum and a 50gpd ro unit....

 

[hitillidie]

calcium precipitating out IS PROBABLY EXACTLY WHAT IT IS (sorry for cap) If that's the case it'll be back to normal in three or four hours. You'll have white dust looking stuff on your rocks.

 

[Guest]

with your calcium so high just slowly raise you alkalinity either by water changes or a buffer. One of the workers at Saltwater Paradise said my my calcium was over 500 and my alkalinity was really low. The snowy effect was from the calcium being so high and any alkalinity put in their was making the calcium in the water percipitate which is just sand what they told me.

Also check your magnesium level too see if it is in range

what brand of salt are you using...i know there is one brand that is consistently over 500 ppm on calcium... i cant think of the name..

 

[DeMarcusR]

@hitillidie wrote:

3-4 hours total or 3-4 hours from now? It's been cloudy all day and seemed to have gotten worse after I turned the lights on and a water change didn't seem to phase it.

@kuyatwo wrote:

I added some alk buffer about an hour ago after dredging through the rambling on RC...I dont have a MG test kit. Dang I wish they made an electronic test kit, I'd be able to test for everything... Those test tubes are such a PITA...... I use the red sea pro coral - I'm not sure what the ca level is of the fresh made salt water.

 

[melev]

Tell us how and what you are dosing specifically, in the past 3 days. What do you top off with? What is the tank's temperature? And did your tank suffer from a power outage for a few hours last night? Are you running a calcium reactor now?

 

[DeMarcusR]

@Marc wrote:

I dose the kent turbo calc every 2-3 weeks. I last dosed on this past friday. I'll dose the alk in the morning before the lights come on about every 2-3 weeks also. I dont dose it much because I dont have a test kit for alk. I top off with straight R/O water - no additives anymore.
Tank's temp has been at 83 all day - occasionally it'll swing up to 83.5-84.
The computer shows the power was off for roughly 1 hour, 53 minutes to be exact. During the outage, I know the mag 24 ran for at least 20 minutes on battery power (at least thats the most I've gotten out of it when testing it with the battery) The tunze should have run throughout the outtage. I've tested the tunze at about 6 hours on battery and the seio on 12 hours......

Nope. I dont have a calcium reactor just yet - still waiting until I get all grow'd up like the big dawgs 8)

 

[melev]

Nothing you've posted explains the event you've described today. Either a powerhead blasted the sandbed into a sand storm, or something got into the tank accidentally. If you had a calcium reactor that went nuts, or non-stop kalkwasser was added, either of these could have the effect of a white cloudy tank. Lack of oxygen can cause it, but not 1.5 hours worth. A pump burning up would do it. Are the Seios working as they should?

 

[DeMarcusR]

@Marc wrote:

It's definately not a sand storm.. It's a ghostly, smoke, milky looking substance... The seio was one of the first things I checked this morning, it was the first suspect due to the whole rio problems.. Its working. The maxijet in the corner was seized from calcium deposits. Soaked it in vinnegar and replaced.
I think I have an idea now.. I just finished speaking with my mom.. When she was watching my daughter sunday evening - she said the little one dumped some of the mrs wages into the drum that i use to make my water change water. I DID do a water change sunday before I went to bed but, why would it take this long to show any effects...??..
Would a lime overdose cause the skimmer to go nuttttts? I wasn't sure the skimmer could pull calcium/lime in such a large number. I've got a cheap coralife skimmer under rated for this tank but I've had to dump the collection cup twice today - I hooked the drain up to a 5g bucket and that bucket is half full. Skimmate is white and sometimes pretty thick.. Occasionally I'll check on the tank and there is a whitish/yellow film floating... Any ideas?