36" SPS reef (I need a better camera)

[jball1125]

This makes me want a long shallow tank. Nice scores btw.

[Weasel Baron]

1st bonehead mistake logged, resulted in one of the new SPS frags going RTN on me, and pissed the hell out of the recently fragged montipora pieces. Im hopeful they'll recover, but if I lose them I have a couple pieces left over in the 50gal that I can transfer at a later time. At the very least I can say it wasnt the frag I liked the most, and all the other coral isnt showing any tissue recession.

I buy natural SW from my LFS and forgot to check the SG before doing a small water change, so the tank's SG dropped from 1.026 to 1.023. Oddly enough I DID check the alkalinity and made sure it was a match...why I forgot to check the SG is beyond me. Ill have to remember how sensitive these nanos are to idiot mistakes.

In other news, Ive decided to reduce the photoperiod to 8hrs and only run the two blue+ lights for the time being. I would rather have browned out corals than dead ones, and Im hoping two 36" bulbs 10" over the tank should be enough for now. The salinity mistake scared me, so Im probably a bit paranoid, but a couple pieces look a bit lighter than when I put them in the tank

perams are as follows, please chime in if something looks off. I realize pH is a little low, but im not sure I want to bother chasing numbers considering I dont have a pH probe. I can say I have checked pH multiple times throughout the day (morning before lights, mid day, evening before lights go off) and pH seems to remain stable at the high 7 range

Temp: 79-80
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm
Phosphates: 0-50ppb
Ca: 450ppm
Alk: 8.5 - 9dkh
pH: 7.8 - 8.0

SG: 1.026 (most of the time )

 

 

new frags come in on thursday. Im hoping Ill have everything stable by then.

[Weasel Baron]

no further deaths from the salinity mistake, but the new frags came in today. will continue to monitor levels, the low pH thing is bugging me but I just gotta stop fiddling

 

 

 

 

 

[Reefkid88]

New pieces look awesome man. When all this grow out,it's going to be awesome. I honestly think sps are more resilient than most people think.

 

In my 2 gallon,I've had at most 15-20 frags of sps at one time. And never had a problem. I haven't tasted in 5-6 months at least lol. And only lost pieces when I went full retard and went almost full Zeo and my tank got blasted with 4 days of light. That being said,keep on trucking lol. Which pieces did you have RTN on you ? Were they Maricultiered or Aquacultured ?!

[gulfsurfer101]

Blasting a tank with light for four days just goes past full retard right into potato! This is a very sleek looking tank though, it does catch my eye.

[Weasel Baron]

thanks guys! It's ironic (maybe? I dont know how to use that word most of the time), most of the previous SPS tanks Ive had I havent given two sh*ts about whether my alk was high or low, I just focused on keeping my pH in the low 8s and my alk would generally fall in line... so with this tank and the previous 50, being super uptight about my parameters have just led to stress, and im super tempted to just stick to hot-salt mixes and have a 10-12dkh tank instead of trying to chase a low dkh situation

 

regardless, will keep an eye on the frags and any changes will be gradual

[Weasel Baron]

Which pieces did you have RTN on you ? Were they Maricultiered or Aquacultured ?!

 

just one of the new ebay frags, not sure what they were initially, but 2 of the 3 are doing well so far.

[Reefkid88]

Oh okay. That's always good to hear. Idk if you've checked out ReefPets eBay account,but damn they have some killer sps !!!

[Mr. Microscope]

Fun tank! Great gifs. Love your acros.

[Reefkid88]

Blasting a tank with light for four days just goes past full retard right into potato! This is a very sleek looking tank though, it does catch my eye.

I was saying testing almost full Zeo in a pico was full retard lol. The lighting thing was a accident with my time -__- hahaha.

[gulfsurfer101]

Potato, patah toe! Whatever kid! I'm interested in following this thread as I'm looking to get a few sps going in my 75g and like to keep my contacts open to trade in the future. I find out a whole lot more practical to trade between hobbyist. Your collection can grow much faster this way than buying individual pieces from the supplier at retail price.

[Red_Blenny]

Beautiful tank.

 

Though, I think it's better if you stick to alk, Ca, and Mg... not pH.

[Weasel Baron]

thanks all, will definitely keep you updated on how things are moving along. I wont be chasing pH numbers, but I will be a little more consistent w/ my SW sources, and I think ill stay away from natural SW... in fact Ill likely start mixing my own. My alk remains in the high 8s low 9s, with Ca in the mid 400s and mg near 1400 (1380 as of the last check). Ill probably do small (1-2gal) water changes several times a week to get the tank transitioned to the new SW mix.

 

Ive heard good things about reef crystals, anyone care to weigh in on a favorite brand?

[Reefkid88]

Ph is significant,but as you add more sps (I'm sure you know this) the main 3 will deplete RAPIDLY. I can't say much on RC because I use SeaChem Salinity,but when I used RSCP and I mix to 1.026 so Alk is high (in the 10-12 range),I've been lucky and haven't had any problems. But when I did start using SeaChem Salinity awhile back I did noticed a good amount of growth and color in my LPS and Zoa's.

 

But what can be said is,each batch is different when it comes to elemental differences. Which can be good and bad. And what sucks about Salinity is,not every LFS carries it. The only one near me,is WWC which is a good hour from me now.. And that sucks.

[Weasel Baron]

update:

 

frags continue to do their thing, no further RTN, although Ive moved some stuff back into the 50gal for the extra space. The parameters have more or less stabilized, although Im keeping an eye out because new tanks do weird things.

 

Ive switched over to reef crystals and started mixing/using my own SW. Even if i buy it through petco it's about as cheap as I could get it premade/natural SW at my LFS, so ill probably just stick to buying it off amazon in bulk. The extra control over my parameters is worth it

 

I have a neon green sarcophyton sitting in the 50 I was considering transferring over, but have read mixed opinions about keeping them in a SPS heavy reef. I will likely wait a bit before I decide either way, but from what Ive read as long as they dont melt and as long as its not a recent frag things seem to be ok. Running carbon may also help. still undecided

 

there's a bit less PE, but no significant damage (things might be a bit lighter, so Ill look into reducing photoperiod or raising the light further if it progresses)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Halo_003]

Wow, looks amazing so far.

[Weasel Baron]

I saw that dirty little mantis shrimp, smeagol, darting in and out of the chunk of live rock. He's gotten bigger, and turned a dark red (similar to the macro thats now growing on the rock), which leads me to think it IS a P. ciliata... Im not aware of other species that can change their color after a couple molts. I dont have a picture, but Im going to get a skewer and some silverside and see if I can coax him out tomorrow

 

also he probably ate the smaller goby cant find him. At least one of them was smart enough not to hide around that rock

 

 

 

perams remain in the decent range

 

alk: 9

Ca: 460

Mg: 1450

 

Im thinking sticking to one source of SW and making it myself is the best option. No significant coralline growth yet, but its still early. Halimeda is growing and putting out little buds

 

 

green goni doing well, managed to somehow choke down an entire mysid

 

[Weasel Baron]

One of the frags is going STN, another looks to be bleaching will attempt to superglue the STN frag

 

dkh: 8.5

Mg: 1450

Ca: 460

 

also tested for copper, none to be found. Running 2 of the 4 bulbs for 6hrs a day, 20" off the sandbed

 

 

Im really thinking its pH swings... So I conducted a mini-experiment last night. I was concerned that it was mostly due to excessive CO2 buildup in the house, so I opened the window partially in my room (luckily it was cool enough last night, miami has been brutal the last few days). pH was in the low 8s this morning vs mid 7s, which is enough of a confirmation for me to try and run a line from my protein skimmer to outside.

 

If that isnt enough, there are a number of DIY CO2 scrubbers you can make using soda lime and an old canister

 

[gus6464]

Are you trying to keep your Alk higher or lower?

[Weasel Baron]

Id like to keep it around 9. Im not doing any carbon dosing or anything

[gus6464]

Id like to keep it around 9. Im not doing any carbon dosing or anything

 

Out of curiosity why so high when you got that many SPS? I find SPS to be happier in the 7 to 8 range with it closer to 7.

[Weasel Baron]

 

Out of curiosity why so high when you got that many SPS? I find SPS to be happier in the 7 to 8 range with it closer to 7.

 

just found it easier to keep it stable around 9 (especially considering the reef crystals mix to an alk of 10 or 11 when the SG is 1.026) the higher alk might also be due to the elevated CO2. If I can keep it stable around 7.5 Ill make the switch

[Weasel Baron]

so I ran about 20 or so feet of 1/4" tubing my protein skimmer through an old hole in the wall from a internet/cable installation, and the results are already positive. Its only been a few hours, but the pH has risen from mid 7s to low 8s with the lights off. I will monitor and keep you updated, but im hopeful this will solve the problem.

 

 

in other news, I got a small vid of the mantis that Ive converted to a gif

 

 

looks like it isnt a p. ciliata after all... maybe a smithii or wennerae, will have to check where the LFS got its LR

 

after feeding smeagol, I used the rest for the coral and got some more shots

 

 

 

poor SPS frag. Hopefully this works...

 

 

limping along. in retrospect, I added too much SPS too soon. hopefully I've got things figured out w/ the pH fix

 

 

little margaritas GOT BUSAY

 

 

[neuwave]

 

 

If that isnt enough, there are a number of DIY CO2 scrubbers you can make using soda lime and an old canister

 

Diy CO2 scrubber is easily made. My scrubber is still in use today.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/277199-co2-scrubber-ph-goes-up/

[Weasel Baron]

mini update:

 

pH seems to have stabilized at 8.2-8.3 during the day. Alk remains at 8.5

 

Im happy with the change, and everything else seems to be happy too. Im considering doing the same thing w/ the 50gal, but the ritteri seems content as is. Im also considering buying a powerhead w/ a venturi/air pipe and hooking it up to a scrubber, but ill give the setup a few days as is and see how things go.

 

Ive also decided not to buy anything new for the time being Im burnt out on losing frags, so lets give it a while before I try again. Besides, I still have some frags over in the 50 I can transfer over if I want to test it out