melev

After finishing up my cup of coffee, I decided to tackle some needed reef tasks:

Cleaned the skimmer collection cup. It was filled with standing foam, and my tank sitter told me the waste collector and filled to the shut off point during my recent trip to Arizona. I'd imagine the anemones probably spawned one night. The Skimmer Swabbie is such a wonderful device, I don't know how anyone can run a skimmer without one. It keeps the neck completely clean so the skimmer operates at peak efficiency 24 hours a day, day after day after day. I cleaned the cup 10 days ago, and again today.

Cleaned the waste collector. This is super easy. Take off the lid, take the container to the sink, drain it, rinse it, wipe it down, and reinstall it.

Cleaned the needle valve to the calcium reactor. Bobby told me during my trip he noticed how the effluent had ceased a couple of times, usually caused by an obstruction. I disconnected it from the tubing and rinsed it out from both sides to make sure it cleared completely.

Cleaned the top plate of the biopellet reactor. I just reset this reactor about a month ago, but I saw stuff amassing at the top. Since I was already working in that area, the top was unscrewed, the plate extracted with forceps, and the clumped pellets were broken up with a toothbrush. Everything was reassembled and flow was turned on again, as before.

Cleaned and refilled the reactor filled with seven cups of Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC). It was last changed after the water change that followed the RedCyano Rx treatment.

Today's the 5th of the month, so I dosed Bioptim, Biodigest, Iodi+, Stonti+ for a water volume of 450-500g. I do this twice a month.

Testing alkalinity, I saw the measurement was 8 dKH. I added two Pro vials of Alka Reef+ (a new Prodibio product) to boost this element a tad due to the recent calcium reactor issues.

The Vortech pump and sponge screen in the anemone tank was removed and cleaned. That sponge traps up stuff quickly.

When the lights are on later today, I'll clean the glass thoroughly as well as the black acrylic panel at the left end of the tank that hides the overflow. It's looking a tad hairy, and I prefer it be completely devoid of growth.