Hypes Archipelago

[akma]

Well give it some thought I went back and forth with it for a few weeks but oddly enough my skimmer pump got clogged and i didnt feel like cleaning it so its been offline ever since... Ive went skimmerless in the past without any negative results but i was a bit ignorant to the advantages/disadvantages at the time,now i have a bit more understanding of water chemistry and feel alot more comfortable with my decision.

 

Anyway on to the battle for sps island..

 

 

damn your tank is nice and clean.

How is your dosing schedule like?

[Rehype]

damn your tank is nice and clean.

How is your dosing schedule like?

 

Thanks alot akma. At the moment im dosing 6ml daily of Brightwell code B for alkalinity. Its all automated from my BRS doser and apex controller.

[Rehype]

My green and purple digi colony

 

[Deleted User 4]

yeahhh make a video!! nice pics

[Zer0]

My green and purple digi colony

 

 

 

Truly beautiful specimens.

 

I think that as long as you use a tripod, the video should come out pretty smooth even if video editing skills are sub-par(not saying that yours are at all, just in general). Alot of videos I see that are in 720p or 1080p still come out pretty ####ty because people were freehanding their camera and trying to move around with the inhabitants of the aquarium. A good tripod should eliminate any trembling at all.

 

Those are just my thoughts on that anyways.. I'm sure you knew that already

[Rehype]

yeahhh make a video!! nice pics

 

Thanks man i definitely plan to.

 

Truly beautiful specimens.

 

I think that as long as you use a tripod, the video should come out pretty smooth even if video editing skills are sub-par(not saying that yours are at all, just in general). Alot of videos I see that are in 720p or 1080p still come out pretty ####ty because people were freehanding their camera and trying to move around with the inhabitants of the aquarium. A good tripod should eliminate any trembling at all.

 

Those are just my thoughts on that anyways.. I'm sure you knew that already

 

Thanks bud.

 

I actually did a video its somewhere buried in this thread although i was pretty lazy and shot it freehanded. But your absolutely right im going to go dig up my tripod and do it right (Well at least try to )

[Jessy-Ray]

Haha I bet it comes out crazy good!! New fts's are sick!

I completely forgot to tell you I got my calendar and it is awesome thank you so much

[Rehype]

Haha I bet it comes out crazy good!! New fts's are sick!

I completely forgot to tell you I got my calendar and it is awesome thank you so much

 

Thanks jessy!Awesome, im glad it arrived safely

[Reef Casa]

i love the purple and green digi next to each other like that

maybe they will intertwine

[Rehype]

i love the purple and green digi next to each other like that

maybe they will intertwine

 

Thanks marc thats what im hoping

[metrokat]

Hey guys i finished testing my dissolved oxygen levels without the skimmer running.

 

Dissolved oxygen levels with skimmer running=8.6-8.7

Dissolved oxygen levels without skimmer running(last 4 days)=8.2-8.3

 

Based on these results my worries about oxygenation without the skimmer are totally discredited. While oxygen levels are slightly lower without the skimmer running they never even fall below 8ppm! So in short the skimmer is staying offline and the chamber will be dedicated to more macroalgae. I also decided to run a mini algae scrubber using an AC30. All credit goes to this guy that gave me the idea. Ive used an algae scrubber in the past but it was taking too much space in my sump....this ones dimensions are perfect. Im just waiting for the algae to grow in...should probably take another week or so.

 

You have such a low bioload i dont see any reason why you cant take it offline....As long as the macroalgae is doing its job. I think we become way too dependent on skimmers in this hobby. Not to say they dont do an excellent job but think about it skimmers remove the organics but they're indiscriminate(removing both good and bad) many of the good organics can be utilized by our corals as food but they're stripped immediately from the water column And even though they remove these organics they are unable to remove the undesirables such as phosphates and nitrates from our aquarium. While macroalgae on the other hand add oxygen,removes excess organics(while leaving some for our corals) and effectively export both nitrates and phosphates. Theres really no good reason why we shouldn't utilize natural filtration. My skimmer is staying offline until i go buy another floodlight and then its coming out to make room for more algae.

 

This is very interesting. I was travelling this past Easter weekend. My tank temperature was already hitting 79-80 so I turned off the skimmer in an effort to not have it contribute the extra degree or two to the temperature while I was away. Came back to a healthy tank, but then I had not fed the tank all weekend either.

 

I'm still feeding heavy and daily so I'm still scared about not using the skimmer, however it has been offline since Friday last week. Oxygen level finding are great though.

 

I really want to add a sump (and I will) and have been thinking for the longest time to add more macro to the back chamber which is currently occupied by a huge skimmer. I have no concrete theory or scientific data to go on, it just seems to me that macros are good for my reef and I've always had an abundance of them. Most people go for a macro tank or a coral tank, I've always wanted to have a balance of both in the same. And I do.

[Zer0]

Thanks bud.

 

I actually did a video its somewhere buried in this thread although i was pretty lazy and shot it freehanded. But your absolutely right im going to go dig up my tripod and do it right (Well at least try to )

 

I'm positive it will come out great, I know it! With the photography skills you've got, I doubt you could really make anything sub-par with a camera ahaha.

[Rehype]

This is very interesting. I was travelling this past Easter weekend. My tank temperature was already hitting 79-80 so I turned off the skimmer in an effort to not have it contribute the extra degree or two to the temperature while I was away. Came back to a healthy tank, but then I had not fed the tank all weekend either.

 

I'm still feeding heavy and daily so I'm still scared about not using the skimmer, however it has been offline since Friday last week. Oxygen level finding are great though.

 

I really want to add a sump (and I will) and have been thinking for the longest time to add more macro to the back chamber which is currently occupied by a huge skimmer. I have no concrete theory or scientific data to go on, it just seems to me that macros are good for my reef and I've always had an abundance of them. Most people go for a macro tank or a coral tank, I've always wanted to have a balance of both in the same. And I do.

 

I dont want to discredit skimmers as an effiecient way to add supplementary oxygen to a system or to export organcics. Im just pointing out im my reef they dont add much as my tank is oxygenated well by other means(large surface area,surface agitation,overflow,etc...) And when it comes to exporting organics my macroalgae is doing a better job while using less energy and adding more stability to my system.

 

But i totally agree with you macroalgae adds stability to any reef system in a host of different ways....some of which we have yet to fully understand.

 

I'm positive it will come out great, I know it! With the photography skills you've got, I doubt you could really make anything sub-par with a camera ahaha.

 

Thanks alot for the faith bro Im going to try to put together something memorable

[Joe Dirt]

Thanks ben.I replaced the giesemann with a nanobox LED and then replaced the nanobox with the ATI. ATI has given me the best overall coral coloration and growth within a very short amount of time.

Damn you SPS god!!! ####, I need a new tank and lighting system.

[Rehype]

Damn you SPS god!!! ####, I need a new tank and lighting system.

 

Ha...Thanks man they've come a long way. T5's FTW

[FlCandy]

What can I say that I haven't already?

 

Just WOW

[Paleoreef103]

My green and purple digi colony

 

Mother of god....

[Rehype]

What can I say that I haven't already?

 

Just WOW

 

Thanks candy

 

Mother of god....

 

They both have taken off...if you look close you can see the green has a bunch of new tip growth.

[TimberC]

 

 

Everything looks so healthy and colorful! You are making me want to switch my 1x150w MH +4x24w T5 fixture for the 5 Bulb Aquactinics that I have in the storage. However, I am not sure that the Aquactinics would cover the whole tank. I might give it a try but I am afarid that I'll miss the shimmer for the MH fixture

 

I also noticed that you ditched the skimmer. My current tank runs skimmerless and sumpless and without any type of macro algae, carbon. All that's in the back chamber is a white filter pad to trap the particles that are suspended in the water column. I feed 3 times a day because I like fat fish Corals and fish look very healthy and growth is pretty good too.

 

Your tank totally rocks man. I am not an SPS person but when I see your SPS I feel tempted to get some for my tank.

[TheNordCelt]

Looking good Hype, have you noticed an increase in micro brittles? My cheato is full of them.

[Rehype]

Everything looks so healthy and colorful! You are making me want to switch my 1x150w MH +4x24w T5 fixture for the 5 Bulb Aquactinics that I have in the storage. However, I am not sure that the Aquactinics would cover the whole tank. I might give it a try but I am afarid that I'll miss the shimmer for the MH fixture

 

I also noticed that you ditched the skimmer. My current tank runs skimmerless and sumpless and without any type of macro algae, carbon. All that's in the back chamber is a white filter pad to trap the particles that are suspended in the water column. I feed 3 times a day because I like fat fish Corals and fish look very healthy and growth is pretty good too.

 

Your tank totally rocks man. I am not an SPS person but when I see your SPS I feel tempted to get some for my tank.

 

Thanks alot timber...your tank already looks phenomenal. although if you a have an extra T5 fixture laying around it wouldn't hurt to give them a try honestly I don't miss the shimmer of halides because I love the overall color of my tank. I could never quite match the overall color I have now with my halides/T5 or LED's

Yea my sps seem to love the extra food in the water column. It's all possible because of the macroalgae.I still run carbon to keep the water clear and remove the toxins released by my sps when fighting.

Thanks again timber....I'll warn you once you buy some sticks its an almost instant addiction.

Looking good Hype, have you noticed an increase in micro brittles? My cheato is full of them.

 

Thanks pat I only have a few micro brittles but I have an ungodly amount of amphipods.

[Deckoz2302]

I bet your sps would a colored up with leds if you ran the same routine your running now ..either way still incredible ;P

[Rehype]

I bet your sps would a colored up with leds if you ran the same routine your running now ..either way still incredible ;P

 

Not to discredit LEDs as most of my coral looked good but particularly certain sps pieces weren't as vibrant and didn't exhibit the same coloration. I have a few wild pieces that colored up immediately(within 3-4 days in some cases) My coral also grew noticeably faster within a much shorter time frame...particularly the SPS.

[Deckoz2302]

With t5s or leds? Could it be from changing your regiment? Just curious

[Rehype]

With t5s or leds? Could it be from changing your regiment? Just curious

 

When changing from LEDs to T5's.... I hadnt made any other changes and a few pieces colors completely changed.