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Clean White Stage - 70G Mixed Reef


R_MC

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Worth a shot!

 

Small update:

 

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Leptoseris - grew this from a little pinky nails worth. Slow grower for me.

 

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Orange Chalice (unsure of specific ID) (new)

 

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Superman Rhodactis (Split from 1 to 3 over 2 years).

 

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Red hornets

 

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New acro frag - no ID

 

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Another new acro - no ID

 

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New Chalice

 

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Purple Hornet

 

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Cyphastrea

 

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Caulastrea echinulata

 

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A new favorite - Rock flower anemone

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Montipora Digitata

 

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A new acropora (Pink/Green)

 

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New Acropora (no ID)

 

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Rainbow montipora

 

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A chalice and rock anemone

 

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Montipora Spongodes

 

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Scroll Coral or Pagoda Cup

 

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Ricordea

 

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A coral I've had for a while and finally put in a nice spot. Sold as "frog skin" acropora. The growth pattern has changed dramatically in the new tank. Much more pokey. Originally it had very smooth skin - Possibly from being kept in low flow.

 

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FIRE AND ICE

 

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Rainbow Palythoa

 

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Gobstoppers

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  • 2 weeks later...

After my initial excitement I feel like am obligated to update on Vibrant aquariums. There was an initial kill, and my GHA is now Brown HA, but there was no sustained reduction in green hair algae. I have kept the same parameters and same husbandry practices. Certainly not the miracle purported by the hype train.

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Ora birdsnest - regrowth after a major trim

 

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Red planet - super slow grower for me. I've had this frag for a year.

 

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Baby sps mountain growing up

 

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Tort, getting chunky

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

January update:

 

I've been lazy - algae is getting out of control and colors aren't super vibrant. Growth is steady. I need to replace my RODI filters (tap water is 400ppm so they don't last very long.)

 

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Thanks, pretty sure I will always keep a BB tank until some magical sand comes along that is both dense and easy for bacteria to colonize or consume.

 

And that has a hardness much lower than glass... X_X

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jedimasterben

Thanks, pretty sure I will always keep a BB tank until some magical sand comes along that is both dense and easy for bacteria to colonize or consume.

And that has a hardness much lower than glass... X_X

What I did was two layers of sand - a powder sand topped with a 2.5-5.5mm particle size that can't get blown around, even by a Gyre in a 36 gallon tank. I no longer have the alkalinity plummeting effect of BB.
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I haven't noticed alkalinity swings - how long will the sand help stabilize your alk? This is from the release of alkalinity through the sand dissolving due to aerobic bacteria waste? Or it helps buffer the PH? PH goes down - sand dissolves - PH goes up?

 

Curious how something like powdered limestone would help if used in a low flow area of the sump: http://www.makeyourown.buzz/calcium-carbonate-ground-limestone/?gclid=CPe5qILrv9ECFdCCswodQOwLlg

 

I dose Kalk with my top-off which runs for 10 seconds every 5 minutes. Maybe this is why I haven't had PH / alk issues.

 

In other news... I just discovered that my RO filters are totally shot and that I'm using 200 PPM top-off water X_X.... Better than the 400 PPM I get from the tap I suppose. Crazy...my filters only last ~6 months.

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jedimasterben

I haven't noticed alkalinity swings - how long will the sand help stabilize your alk? This is from the release of alkalinity through the sand dissolving due to aerobic bacteria waste? Or it helps buffer the PH? PH goes down - sand dissolves - PH goes up?

 

Curious how something like powdered limestone would help if used in a low flow area of the sump: http://www.makeyourown.buzz/calcium-carbonate-ground-limestone/?gclid=CPe5qILrv9ECFdCCswodQOwLlg

 

I dose Kalk with my top-off which runs for 10 seconds every 5 minutes. Maybe this is why I haven't had PH / alk issues.

 

In other news... I just discovered that my RO filters are totally shot and that I'm using 200 PPM top-off water X_X.... Better than the 400 PPM I get from the tap I suppose. Crazy...my filters only last ~6 months.

In the nitrogen cycle, one carbonate molecule is used in the process converting from nitrite to nitrate. if that nitrate is not reduced bacterially to nitrogen gas, that carbonate molecule is locked up and will not be released back into the water. My alkalinity in a barebottom tank with zero stony corals and zero coralline stabilized between 4.5 and 5dKH. I had to dose immense amounts of sodium carbonate to keep it up. My other filtration was removing the nitrate, so I never had a buildup, but that alkalinity never made it back into the tank water. I added about 25lbs of sand into my sump and within two weeks I no longer had the issue.

Here is an article by Randy Holmes-Farley that talks about it. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rhf/index.php

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jedimasterben

Thanks Jedi - I may try adding some limestone powder to my sump.

I dont think that will help you as much as a larger sand would, powder will likely compact. And by larger I mean something like oolite, which is 0.1-0.2mm grain size.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Starting the slow process of restocking the tank.

 

Picked up two beautiful DaVinci clowns from a LFS - they are gorgeous.

Also giving the Kole Tang another shot.

 

Used the "AccliMate" when adding the new fish and a 3 hour acclimation time. I also used stress coat during the acclimation process. Fish were added just before lights out.

 

Tank is running very clean right now. Replaced all RODI filters and Completed a 30% water change prior to adding the new fish. Turkey Blasted all rocks. Cleaned out my macro-algae stage in the sump (which was totally overgrown).

 

Pics to come.

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Awesome setup, and beautiful photos. I love the new clowns!

 

I have the same sump as you, and I removed some baffles to combine the two middle sections into one large refugium section. I know you're trying to add a sand-bed (of some kind or another) into your sump so you can stay BB in the display. This might give you a little more room and surface area for a sand-bed.

 

 

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