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NanoTopia's ZEOvit 80L [ ]


NanoTopia

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RIP mr fairy wrasse. :tears:

 

Wrasses are characters, easily some of the best personalities in fish. It may not be a rare fancy schmancy fish but the mcCosker flasher wrasse is another fun one. Grammaphone's mystery wrasse looks awesome too.

Awe thanks Deb,

 

They do have a lot of personality, very active and good for the reef. I will miss him. Not sure what I will put in next but my nutrients are dropping and I have had to supplement with more coral feedings to keep the tank in balance. I will have to add another fish :)

 

Hey topia!

Is it hard to replace your zeovit media?

No, just empty the inner canister and dump out the Zeolites, then put the new ones in, piece of cake :)

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BRADYBUNCH7

thanks topia

 

Awe thanks Deb,

 

They do have a lot of personality, very active and good for the reef. I will miss him. Not sure what I will put in next but my nutrients are dropping and I have had to supplement with more coral feedings to keep the tank in balance. I will have to add another fish :)



No, just empty the inner canister and dump out the Zeolites, then put the new ones in, piece of cake :)

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Hi Christine, I wanted to update you on the STN situation. Thank you for all the detailed conversation we had over PM. The STN has stopped. And I'm hoping it stays that way. I am seeing growth edges on the flesh that didn't STN. Not sure if it grows over it's own skeleton or makes new skeleton.

 

What stopped it was dosing magnesium by hand and small water changes, although not too frequently. My salinity is off and that is because of the added magnesium salts. I am hesitant to correct it too rapidly though, incase the STN begins again. It is also possible that I am reading a high salinity in my refractometer but in fact I was running low. The RedSea refractometer is eagerly awaited.

 

Also, what is the green staghorn looking coral you have and also the larger purple branched one that is at the very top of this tank?



I'm sorry to read about your wrasse. They do have a great personality, even my 6 line does. He does not bully anybody and is gentle even with Sam the Mandarin (while stealing his food literally from his mouth). :lol:

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Hi Christine, I wanted to update you on the STN situation. Thank you for all the detailed conversation we had over PM. The STN has stopped. And I'm hoping it stays that way. I am seeing growth edges on the flesh that didn't STN. Not sure if it grows over it's own skeleton or makes new skeleton.

 

What stopped it was dosing magnesium by hand and small water changes, although not too frequently. My salinity is off and that is because of the added magnesium salts. I am hesitant to correct it too rapidly though, incase the STN begins again. It is also possible that I am reading a high salinity in my refractometer but in fact I was running low. The RedSea refractometer is eagerly awaited.

 

Also, what is the green staghorn looking coral you have and also the larger purple branched one that is at the very top of this tank?

 

I'm sorry to read about your wrasse. They do have a great personality, even my 6 line does. He does not bully anybody and is gentle even with Sam the Mandarin (while stealing his food literally from his mouth). :lol:

Hi Kat,

 

Good to hear the STN has stopped. You do have to be careful when increasing Mg, it will affect the overall salinity reading quite a bit from my experience. It is a good example how refractometer readings can be skewed easily by the addition of Mg, not to mention Ca and Alk. The refractometer cannot distinguish between various salts and gives a more general reading. I am not sure the RedSea refractometer will be able to distinguish between salts, I think it's main advantages are the calibration at 25 degrees celsius and it being easier to read. The only way I know how to keep everything in balance is to do WC's on a regular basis with a good quality and balanced salt. In your case you can correct the imbalance simply by performing 5 x 20% water changes over the next 10-14 days, then continue with 20% weekly after that. Be sure to feed a little extra during this process. If you were trying to rid your tank of bryopsis with increased Mg levels I can tell you it only leads to STN and other issues down the road. It may help with bryopsis but from my experience the cost is too great when keeping SPS.

 

The stags as far as I know are A.formosa and A.striata, although I have given up ID'ing SPS these days, some are just impossible to distinguish between in aquaria. Common corals take on different shapes and colours in our aquariums, so much different from in the wild in many cases. I have removed some of the A.striata just yesterday as it was growing over other corals and creating shadows over the lower corals, mainly my Red Planet and Cali Tort. I may remove more in a month or two.

 

Thank you for the sentiments on the wrasse, these things happen, I have not had a lot of luck with fish in the last few years. I think the nano tanks are the problem, too small maybe for most fish. I do better with corals :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Christine, I was wondering how your Red Planet was doing? I bought a frag and I'm trying to figure out the best spot to put it. I heard they don't need the brightest light or high flow. I was wondering what your thoughts were.

 

Eric

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Hi Eric,

 

My RP is doing quite well, thanks for asking. This species (Acropora anthocercis) is naturally found high up on the reef and is used to heavily wave action and high light. Probably more warm spectrum is best for this coral when considering it's occurrence in the wild. Lower light will bring out more green but I have found will also slow growth considerably and make it base more than anything. If you want it to table it needs higher light IMO. I get better PE at night than in the day with this coral.

 

ORA says this:

 

Description:The ORA Red Planet is one of our most popular corals. It is a tabling Acropora with red and pink corallites and a metallic green base. Polyp coloration on this coral is a deep red and the new growth is light pink to white. Under intense lighting the coral may lose the attractive green coloration, it will return if the coral is moved to a lower light area.

Placement: All Levels

Lighting: Medium – High

Flow: Moderate – Strong

 

I agree.

 

This is mine a couple of months ago, it's grown about ½"-1" since then.

 

12446607744_46fcc75f99_c.jpg

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That RP looks nice Christine. Mine is starting to throw up a branch and grow a bit. RP will always be one of my favorites.

 

How about an update? :) You've been a bit reclusive lately.

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Nano sapiens

Hi Eric,

 

My RP is doing quite well, thanks for asking. This species (Acropora anthocercis) is naturally found high up on the reef and is used to heavily wave action and high light. Probably more warm spectrum is best for this coral when considering it's occurrence in the wild. Lower light will bring out more green but I have found will also slow growth considerably and make it base more than anything. If you want it to table it needs higher light IMO. I get better PE at night than in the day with this coral.

 

ORA says this:

 

Description:The ORA Red Planet is one of our most popular corals. It is a tabling Acropora with red and pink corallites and a metallic green base. Polyp coloration on this coral is a deep red and the new growth is light pink to white. Under intense lighting the coral may lose the attractive green coloration, it will return if the coral is moved to a lower light area.

Placement: All Levels

Lighting: Medium – High

Flow: Moderate – Strong

 

I agree.

 

This is mine a couple of months ago, it's grown about ½"-1" since then.

 

12446607744_46fcc75f99_c.jpg

 

Very nice RP, indeed!

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That RP looks nice Christine. Mine is starting to throw up a branch and grow a bit. RP will always be one of my favorites.

 

How about an update? :) You've been a bit reclusive lately.

Thanks Indy, RP is slow to take off but when it dies it grows pretty good. I am sure it will grow well in your tank Indy, look forward to seeing it progress in your tank. :)

 

Yes, I have been a bit under the weather these days and busy putting my new sum together for the 20g. Nothing special just a bit bigger so I have more room for things. Updates sooooon :)

 

Sorry to hear about your wrasse. It was a beauty. Nice frags though.

Thanks Mr.M, I have run out of room on my frag rack and had to use a spare Vertex probe holder to hold 3 more LOL, make shift but it works. :D

 

Very nice RP, indeed!

Thanks Nano-S, I have had it for quite a while, very slow to take off, encrusted 5 inch in diameter before it started to grow outward. I think it just needed more light PAR really, lost some green but much better growth now.

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Nano sapiens

Thanks Nano-S, I have had it for quite a while, very slow to take off, encrusted 5 inch in diameter before it started to grow outward. I think it just needed more light PAR really, lost some green but much better growth now.

 

I still have my minty-green 'Faux RP' in my nano. I pay it no attention in a lower light and flow location and it has grown slowly from 1/4" to 2" diameter over the last year. It'll run out of space soon, so it is unlikely that it will branch in it's current location.

 

Sounds like a good excuse for a new SPS dominated tank, doesn't it :)

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TheKleinReef

I have run out of room on my frag rack and had to use a spare Vertex probe holder to hold 3 more LOL, make shift but it works. :D

 

annnnnnnd we're back to "You need a frag tank!"

 

;)

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Polarcollision

god. The yellow one is sooooo unique and pretty. It must glow from across the room for you.

 

Christine, I went back to page 1 to see how you maintain Alk/Ca/Mg. About how much of the Alk and Ca do you dose per day?

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god. The yellow one is sooooo unique and pretty. It must glow from across the room for you.

 

Christine, I went back to page 1 to see how you maintain Alk/Ca/Mg. About how much of the Alk and Ca do you dose per day?

Thanks Deborah, It is pretty bright, I just wish I had some room to move it off the sand bed. Currently I am dosing ~55mL of ALK and Ca each daily, this is mixed as per Brightwell directions to make a stock solution using RODI water.

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SouthFlorida_Tron

Christine, do you have any recent videos of typical reef life in this tank? Im curious to see how much movement is going on for the way those acros are growing...

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Christine, do you have any recent videos of typical reef life in this tank? Im curious to see how much movement is going on for the way those acros are growing...

This should give you a pretty good idea, I don't think my flow is high, I would say medium at best.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORc-Sx1TK48

 

 

I would say polyps should be moving but not ripped apart by flow. This is detrimental to coral feeding. Flow too high and corals can't catch POM from the water.

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Looks great, epic PE, this tank inspires me to get my nutrients down, ugh.

 

What do you use for a camera?

Thanks Jstn, I actually get better PE when my nutrients are a little higher and I feed more food. But there is a zone for PO4 and NO3 that's best to stay in, not too high and not too low.

 

I use a Nikon DSLR D3000 with a Nikkor Macro 40mm lens most of the time. I shoot in RAW mode.

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Polarcollision

Thanks Deborah, It is pretty bright, I just wish I had some room to move it off the sand bed. Currently I am dosing ~55mL of ALK and Ca each daily, this is mixed as per Brightwell directions to make a stock solution using RODI water.

 

Cool - thanks! Suddenly 3 mL/day isn't enough. It jumped up to ~14 mL/day which seemed awfully abrupt. Mg checks out perfect and I'm not seeing evidence of crashing out, so I guess the new SPS has decided to thrive.

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Put a slightly larger sump (20x20x12) in today so I could get the Vertex Reactor to fit. The new sump adds about ~5 gallons net to my system.


13572959895_0ac06e64aa_c.jpg


I call this the rack of insanity, but it all serves a purpose, just need to clean up some wires, LOL.


13572966185_f9ab7a76bd_c.jpg

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Miguel Burguete

Amazing Hardware area!!

 

Do you believe that part of the success of your reef comes from the amount of controllers, reactors, dosing pumps.. or it just helps and the main reason is your maintenance schedule?

 

Once again, very nice tank and an inspiration for me.

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Amazing Hardware area!!

 

Do you believe that part of the success of your reef comes from the amount of controllers, reactors, dosing pumps.. or it just helps and the main reason is your maintenance schedule?

 

Once again, very nice tank and an inspiration for me.

Hi MB, Thank you for your compliments :)

 

All the equipment has a function for me to make it easier and more reliable to run my system. It may not be necessary but yes I do attribute it to part of my success. My reef is going on 3 years old, the only hiccup was early on with bio-pellets and AEFW, that was before I implemented much of what you see in the pictures. I like to cover my ground A-Z (Apex to Zeovit) :D

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Today (April 3) marks the 1 year anniversary since I showed the growth sequence of a A.millepora. This millepora came back from pretty much "dead" as it was ravaged by AEFW and overuse of biopellets. After correcting the biopellet issue and considerable dips on the corals, this coral sat idol for months. Thinking it would surely die, I looked one day (April 3 2013) and saw this, new beginnings...

 

8662828821_29e40ed1ab_z.jpg

 

 

 

By the end of May 2013 I knew this coral was serious about becoming something better...

 

8836295935_9de62c2ee5_c.jpg

 

 

Exactly one year later, it followed through with it's promise and became a small colony...

 

13527847954_f9c910ac05_c.jpg

 

 

Happy birthday Mr. A. millepora :)

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