aquageek Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Current lighting schedule looks like this: Fuge light turns off at 12:00 PM Sunrise at 12:00 PM Ramp 2 hours Peak light reached at 2 PM (White 35% Blue 40% Royal Blue 40%) Sunset at 10 PM Ramp 2 hours Dark at 12:00 AM (Lunar light Royal Blue 2%) Fuge light turns on at 12:00 AM Link to comment
aquageek Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Purchases 2 frags on my lunch break. Intended on just getting a jar of Chemi-Pure Blue, however the frag tanks sucked me in. I was jut going to get 1 frag I told myself, and then they told me if I buy 1 frag ($30) I can get a second frag for $10. Well damn... Picked up a frag of Green Star Polyps, and Frogspawn. Pictures when I get home, and they open up. Link to comment
michaelrzachmann Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Purchases 2 frags on my lunch break. Intended on just getting a jar of Chemi-Pure Blue, however the frag tanks sucked me in. I was jut going to get 1 frag I told myself, and then they told me if I buy 1 frag ($30) I can get a second frag for $10. Well damn... Picked up a frag of Green Star Polyps, and Frogspawn. Pictures when I get home, and they open up. not once has my coral budget for the day ever stayed at or below the allotted amount Link to comment
Wjcastiglione Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Current lighting schedule looks like this: Fuge light turns off at 12:00 PM Sunrise at 12:00 PM Ramp 2 hours Peak light reached at 2 PM (White 35% Blue 40% Royal Blue 40%) Sunset at 10 PM Ramp 2 hours Dark at 12:00 AM (Lunar light Royal Blue 2%) Fuge light turns on at 12:00 AM What kind of controller are you using? Link to comment
aquageek Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Im using the AI controller for my Sol Nano. And just an old school analog timer for my fuge light. Lol I know... I always fail when I get to the store - so much stuff! Link to comment
aquageek Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 I did my first water change on Sunday (approx' 5 gallons). Turkey basted the rocks and vaccuumed the sand (I need a solid method for this so I don't suck up as much sand, maybe there isn't one). Every since I dropped the Frogspawn and the Green Star Polyps in my tank, the GSP has been closed up. Last night I got home, and my water looked AMAZING. I couldn't believe how clear it was, not that it looked bad before. To my delight my GSP was opened up completely and looked amazing with the neon green under the light. I then took a peak at my sump and to my amazement the skimmer looked like it was making coffee! Very dark skimmate, I was very impressed. In all of the nano skimmers I have ran previously it seemed like it was a struggle to get "tea" skimmate. Very happy with the tanks progress so far. Now I just need to find a nice spot for the GSP to live permanently so it can start doing it's thing. http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141125_055908_426_zpsmubtj0fr.jpg.html'> Link to comment
Wjcastiglione Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I did my first water change on Sunday (approx' 5 gallons). Turkey basted the rocks and vaccuumed the sand (I need a solid method for this so I don't suck up as much sand, maybe there isn't one). Every since I dropped the Frogspawn and the Green Star Polyps in my tank, the GSP has been closed up. Last night I got home, and my water looked AMAZING. I couldn't believe how clear it was, not that it looked bad before. To my delight my GSP was opened up completely and looked amazing with the neon green under the light. I then took a peak at my sump and to my amazement the skimmer looked like it was making coffee! Very dark skimmate, I was very impressed. In all of the nano skimmers I have ran previously it seemed like it was a struggle to get "tea" skimmate. Very happy with the tanks progress so far. Now I just need to find a nice spot for the GSP to live permanently so it can start doing it's thing. Wowwwwww, that's dark. damn. What light filter are you using for your iphone? Every picture I get comes out blue. Link to comment
aquageek Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Yeah, I am very impressed with this skimmer. I am glad my reef club convinced me to get this instead of the Bubble Magus 3.5. This was about $100 cheaper and essentially the same thing. I am actually using an Android phone (Motorola Razor HD) and just downloaded a "white balance" app. You can try just searching the app store for "white balance". Although, I think Apple used to have the APIs for some of the finer camera controls locked until iOS 8 - so if you aren't running 8 yet you may not be able to control everything. Getting a new phone next month, on the fence between the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Note 4. I loved my iPhone 4 back in the day. Going to be a tough decision as they are both great phones. Link to comment
Wjcastiglione Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Yeah, I am very impressed with this skimmer. I am glad my reef club convinced me to get this instead of the Bubble Magus 3.5. This was about $100 cheaper and essentially the same thing. I am actually using an Android phone (Motorola Razor HD) and just downloaded a "white balance" app. You can try just searching the app store for "white balance". Although, I think Apple used to have the APIs for some of the finer camera controls locked until iOS 8 - so if you aren't running 8 yet you may not be able to control everything. Getting a new phone next month, on the fence between the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Note 4. I loved my iPhone 4 back in the day. Going to be a tough decision as they are both great phones. I have to tell you - I have the iphone 6 - and I am not impressed. It's the same exact thing as my iphone 4s was - just faster and bigger. go with the note. Do me a favor - check my tank's thread - I have a question. Link to comment
michaelrzachmann Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Yeah, I am very impressed with this skimmer. I am glad my reef club convinced me to get this instead of the Bubble Magus 3.5. This was about $100 cheaper and essentially the same thing. I am actually using an Android phone (Motorola Razor HD) and just downloaded a "white balance" app. You can try just searching the app store for "white balance". Although, I think Apple used to have the APIs for some of the finer camera controls locked until iOS 8 - so if you aren't running 8 yet you may not be able to control everything. Getting a new phone next month, on the fence between the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Note 4. I loved my iPhone 4 back in the day. Going to be a tough decision as they are both great phones. wooooo thats some nice skimmm, my skimmer sucks ass lol glad to see the upgrades turning out well jealous you runnin a sump! Link to comment
aquageek Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 Lol thanks man. I've wanted a sump for a really long time. Finally I decided to pull the trigger when I wanted better lighting. I didn't want to mess with a retro kit for the hood, plus the hood traps too much heat in the summer. I figured if I am taking the hood off for a nice light, might as well go all out and drill the tank for the sump I always wanted lol. Sump was super easy to build too. I say don't waste money on those pre-built sumps. Just buy some acrylic or glass and design the thing exactly how you want it. Link to comment
aquageek Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Been a while since my last update. Here are some pics. http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141223_193022_zpsax6ou58e.jpg.html'> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141220_142132_zpsmrim26ol.jpg.html'> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141220_142451_zpsys25d4lr.jpg.html'> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141220_142103_zpsr7z5jgnm.jpg.html'> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141220_142002_zpsjbvslad5.jpg.html'> Link to comment
aquageek Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Still floating around. Not a lot of changes in the tank. Been busy with life the past several months. I lost the pretty orange palys... I was cleaning the tank and moved them and a couple of the heads broke off, so I attached them some rock and they didn't hold and I ended up losing the whole thing. Other then that everything is still in tact. The only other addition is a long tentacle anemone for my clowns. I got sad watching them nest under a rock at night so I decided to try another anemone (lost my last one a year ago or so). Due to life catching up I am also currently experiencing an algae bloom. Today I decided to pull the trigger on a BRS media reactor to run GFO and carbon. Hopefully that will get the green hair algae cleaned up and get my corals growing better. My nitrates look good so I am assuming it's a phosphate problem but I don't actually have a test kit for phosphate. What is curious is I am not sure what is causing the high phosphates. I definitely do not over feed as I typically feed every other day and not more than my fish can eat. I am wondering if my rock and sand are leaching the phosphate. In either case, hopefully the reactor will get that cleaned up. I will post some pictures soon but in all honesty things still look pretty much the same other then the algae and slow coral growth (again, I will blame the phosphates). Link to comment
vlangel Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 It's good to see you back and hear that you still have the tank, and that you have not experienced any serious set backs! Link to comment
aquageek Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Thanks, vlangel. I've been staying on my water changes and quick maintenance and that is about it, so I am also pleased that for the most part the tank is still doing ok. I feel like if i can get this phosphate issue knocked out I will be back in business. Almost don't want to upload any pictures, lol, it doesn't look nearly as good. Link to comment
aquageek Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 Should have some pics tonight. Took my skimmer out of the sump last night and broke it down for some maintenance. First time I've cleaned the skimmer body since I bought it lol. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Read through a little bit and I know the feeling of trying to get a tank back into shape! Haha. Usually I just use lots of manual labor scrubbing rocks, etc... But just recall that if your nitrates and phosphates are testing low it's probably because the algae is consuming them so your results aren't accurate. If your algae problem is fairly persistent you might want to look into an algae turf scrubber. You can buy them, but If you're handy at DIY you could also make one, which is what I may do. I typically have issues with algae as well, however, I bulked up my skimmer and I added some filter sponges which I've been changing out frequently. So I haven't started building the scrubber yet, but at least I have the plans ready to start and the budget is probably about $60-70 depending on which pump I use. The interesting thing about algae scrubbers is that you're trying to keep the nutrients away from the nuisance algae in your tank, but you're also trying to grow algae in the scrubber - so it sort of changes how you think of things. http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/359164-diy-algae-scrubber-plans-how-do-they-look/ You could probably design one for your tank setup... Link to comment
aquageek Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Thanks for commenting, ajmckay. I've read about algae scrubbers in the past. They do seem like an interesting solution. However, I still want to try to battle this by exporting the nutrients completely. This tank in it's current state is still pretty new. I've added a filter sock that I plan to clean out with each water change where previously I was running nothing to catch larger particles. I've also added a media reactor where previously I was running no carbon or GFO. I'm going to let the reactor run for a few more days, and then I am going to attack my rocks with a tooth brush and try to scrub as much of the green hair algae out as possible. I've already noticed the algae in the tank starting to change in color since I've made the above changes. If all else fails, maybe I'll try a scrubber. In other news, I failed at pictures again last night and crashed early lol. I did purchase a millepora frag yesterday as well. Pictures coming /soon/! Link to comment
aquageek Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Dropped off the radar again for a while. Tank is still up and running. The good news is I got my algae problem under control, I am down to just a little bit left on my rock. Nothing new is growing, and the stuff that is left comes off the rock very easily. I've got a re-scape planned for this week and am going to start adding additional live stock soon. Very exciting. Look for pictures later this week. Link to comment
aquageek Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Ok, so I promised pictures... but I made a video instead. I apologize for the quality, I don't have a real camera (iPhone) but you'll get the idea. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Bummer - ended up with the iPhone did ya Hehehe Anyways, cool vid - it was a nice way to give an overview of the tank. Could have been a bit shorter but I tend to make long videos as well and it's a pain to try to re-shoot or edit it ! So an idea - have you thought about using some opaque material (maybe something as simple as egg crate/thicker plastic mesh material) to separate the skimmer/return chambers from the lighted refugium chambers. If there were less light in the return chamber it would keep the red slime from growing over the ceramic media (which may possibly be hampering their effectiveness to a degree). Overall though I like the tank a lot - looks sharp with your modifications and you did a clean de-rimming the glass. Also good job on the DIY sump! Link to comment
aquageek Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 Bummer - ended up with the iPhone did ya Hehehe Anyways, cool vid - it was a nice way to give an overview of the tank. Could have been a bit shorter but I tend to make long videos as well and it's a pain to try to re-shoot or edit it ! So an idea - have you thought about using some opaque material (maybe something as simple as egg crate/thicker plastic mesh material) to separate the skimmer/return chambers from the lighted refugium chambers. If there were less light in the return chamber it would keep the red slime from growing over the ceramic media (which may possibly be hampering their effectiveness to a degree). Overall though I like the tank a lot - looks sharp with your modifications and you did a clean de-rimming the glass. Also good job on the DIY sump! Thanks Aj! Yeah, I didn't intend for the video to be that long lol. I plan to do monthly videos, so the next one should be much shorter since it won't be a full overview. Thats actually a pretty good idea with the egg crate. Maybe even if I cut some acrylic, paint it white, and set it over the return chamber as a lid of sorts. Quick update. I added some more coral over the last week; a green hammer and a stylo frag. They are both looking better every day! My angelfish is now swimming in the big aquarium in the sky. I am not sure what happened, params are solid and everything else seems to be flourishing. The LFS did say that they had just received the fish and had had him for less than 24 hours... so maybe he was sick? Either way, am going to hold off for a month or so before replacing him. Also, as I noted in my overview video, 1 of the LEDs on my AI Nano has burned out. I have decided to bite the bullet and replace the fixture. I am hoping to put in an order for a Kessil a360w-e with gooseneck and controller later this week. So I am pretty excited about that. Will also post some pictures later this week. Hopefully with my new light! Link to comment
aquageek Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Quick update. Still no pictures - but soon. New frags are doing great. I may end up moving my zoas though, they are right under my vortech and I am concerned it's just too much flow threre... not sure where else to put them.. and this is why I hate doing hard scapes lol. I've appropriated funds and will be ordering my Kessil A360W-E tomorrow morning so I should have it on Wednesday. Maximum excitement right now. Link to comment
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