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I'm curious, when you guys calculate your lighting "watts" are you counting everything or just the bulbs themselves? I've been trying to determine the efficiency of several different types of "fixtures" as well as the PAR given off by the lights. I'm trying to determine the PAR given per...

More of a weekly check thing with people usually getting to zero in 4 to 10 weeks. The flow through the reactor is "slow" but it removes the nitrates faster then they can accumulate so in the end all will be good. Carlo

I myself wouldn't up the drip rate unless the effluent is ZERO without question coming out of the reactor UNTIL the tank itself also registers ZERO on the nitrate test. With that said you very well may be able to up the drip Phyl but I just like to make sure the reactor has FULLY caught up to...

I'm still in need of a ride for Saturday. If I can car pool with anyone I'd appreciate it. Obviously I'll chip in for gas and stuff. I'm less then 1 mile off Exit 7 on the NJTP and exit 57 off 295. Carlo

Re: To MH or not to MH? The "burn" people see with the Solaris isn't because of "more" light output at all. The corals are getting exposed to different wave lengths of light then they previously were getting. Like any type of light change a drastic shift if Kelvin needs to be done gradually...

Re: To MH or not to MH? Because he's looking to "upgrade", not "downgrade" :)

You got the tuning method down just fine Phyl. Just keep doing what you are doing. Once you hit the spot where you can't get ZERO out of the reactor just back it down the drip or two and leave it be until nitrates in the tank are down to ZERO. Once the tank is down to zero you will want to...

I wouldn't think your electric bills would go up. You probably replaced 250 watts of electric usage with an LED array that draws 75 watts in it's place. Way less electrical usage. I'm not the one saying LEDs are energy "pigs". The LED manufacture has already supplied this information for us in...

Guys, the Windex near the tank thing is a little bit "Myth & Legend" type thing. It's based on real knowledge but has gotten blown out of proportion. Windex and other blue window cleaners use Ammonia (3rd) as one of the main ingredients. This is the same Ammonia in the Nitrogen Cycle we all...

Once the reactor has been tuned into the sweet spot of -170mV (or best drip guess) that gives us the proper O2 (or lack of) in the reactor. Then it's a matter of time for the bacteria to populate the media in the reactor. The rate at which the reactor can "eat" up nitrates depends a lot on the...

I love/hate my 350 canister filter. I find it to be one of the best "filters" on the market (cost/value) for micron filtering your water (especially after playing with a sand bed! I have always had problems with the two units I have getting the pumps cleaned out good enough that over time...

Phyl, I bet you made the BNC crossover cable just fine. I remember hitting the same problem when I made the switch from Pinpoint ORP to Neptune. The Neptune would only go to 000 running either normal probe or probe with crossover while the Pinpoint functioned correctly with the crossover. I've...

I wasn't "measuring" at all but just using common sense, some math & the manufactures specs to arrive at the amount of light. I'm mentioned a couple different things during the thread that could be interpreted as "amount of light" so: 1) Manufactures quoted lumen output. It's very easy to...

I was wondering if you would show up Jazz :) Granted they are easy to use but they are actually one of the worst types of bulbs for energy usage. Only incandescent and halogen types are worse then LEDs from an energy standpoint. For the same wattage (IE 75w or 100w per 12") every type of known...

A company called me a few days ago with a 820g tank with very close specs to what I was previously looking for at a really, really good price. When they sent me pics it have a frame on it so I asked if it was for transportation or part of the tank. It was part of the tank. That made me pass...

Once done with the probe cleaning and calibration put the probe back in the reactor. KICK START LOWER ORP VALUES Now to get the ORP value moving down into the negative as quick as possible: 1) Add a shotglass full of unflavored vodka to the reactor (you can poor it down the ORP probe hole if...

Can take from a day to a week but I'll help you "jump start". But First: Your probe is probably pretty dirty so let's do a couple of things while your still way up in the positive ORP readings and it's not a big deal to mess with the reactor. CLEAN PROBE We want to do this because any algae on...

Generally speaking, you want to try and not disturb the reactor as much as possible once it's flushed of air bubbles. Couple questions for you. What do your nitrates test now? Is the ORP probe new or an established probe? If you haven't been running it for 10 days or more I wouldn't even...

Doesn't sound like fun. I've never done it that way as I don't like dealing with the braided wire. I've always purchased a male and female plug and then wired it up myself. One way you could do it would be to solder the braided "shield" wire to a longer solid wire and then use this new solid...

Did you pick up sulfur media also? If so get a good flow running through it tonight to flush out any bubbles in the reactor. On day 2 totally stop the flow until you see the ORP reading (since you're using this) hitting -170 then start to open it up drop by drop to get it to stay at -170. A...