Friar's Pico

[friar1]

Yep, I agree Newman.

 

I just filled mine to the brim hehe

 

Friar

[brandon429]

thats really good to know man I don't know where it started on me that a cap was about 2 mils oh well at least it didn't get reversed the other way (add ten!) too less better than too much

 

my angle on dosing is all synthetic salt mixes I have tried had room for 2 part addition without precipitating or breaking critical values such as pH, in fact in my old picos no salt mix could keep up calcification unless I changed it constantly. dosing let me get out a week in a super packed scape that would normally just crash in a similar sized container...most people don't push that much stocking per unit of volume but it still doesn't hurt to purple up any tank and other additives like purple up didnt make it work as well as two parts. I often wondered how those companies deliver two substances (calcium and carbonate) with such a savage attraction such that they must be housed in separate bottles.

 

for kicks, mix the two in a separate container and watch what happens, coral skeleton flake totally insoluble. what I aimed for was a high balance of these two in suspension, just under saturation and abundantly available for tons of coralline, corals, live rock benthics and everything a sterile pico reef wants!

[friar1]

So Brandon,

 

How much were you dosing in capfulls?, each part?

 

Thanks,

Friar

[brandon429]

got lucky with my numbers no edits needed, 4 mils is about right with the standard you clarified. usually between 10-14 mils of each additive weekly per gallon in my vase, and, I was using CLOSE to that in the 1/2 gallon which is my avatar.

 

 

To me that alone shows just how ion hungry a stuffed pico reef will be, and what it will do if you'll feed it some minerals lol

 

when I make guesses on how much to put in a 3 gallon its not just set at volume tripling, its set by the aquascape pictures and the density of corals + the color palette of the tank. color matters in ion diagnostics in my nerd opinion, a non purple reef with a lot of corals doesn't command as much as an actively plating reef + corals, a purple+dense reef is the highest doser command compared to a lightly stocked new tank with spotting coralline. I try not to overdose c balance, rather just meet a predicted demand I can reference by picture detail and relating that to how much my picos used through the various stages of maturation when they looked that way.

 

I like artistic dosing by feel, not by testing, by environmental feedback its just a good vibe.

 

 

its also remarkable when people attain purple dense reefs without dosing, like El Fab's, in that case its just another form of water change diligence and great consistency!

[.Newman.]

and a lot of time

[friar1]

Well....

I think I found another cause for my algae, which was going away and suddenly bloomed again. I just changed my Compact Fluorescent bulbs in the Catalina fixture and they are noticeably brighter. I thought they were to be replaced every 6 months, but it looks like it's going to be every three months or less.

 

So goes the algae wars

 

Friar

[friar1]

Got my Calcium test kit. Tested for Calcium levels today. I have been dosing 2ml each part C-Balance every day. Calcium is at 440ppm. I am going to back down to 1.5ml each part, each day, for a week and then test again.

 

This weekend i am going to take out the rocks, and scrub and burn the algae off where ever i can. I am also going to try to add a 5oz bag of Chemi-Pure Elite to the in tank filter if the bag will fit.

 

C_K, if this disqualifies me from contest let me know.

 

Thanks,

Friar

[friar1]

I took the rocks out and scrubbed with toothbrush, burned where I could. Still didn't get all the algae! That was hard, and then when everything was done, still algae. But I got a lot off.

 

The Chemi_pure elite does not fit in my in-tank filter oh well. So now I have to find some chaeto. But, no LFS anymore, and I don't want to pay 30 dollars shipping for a one inch ball of chaeto. Don't need a lot, so don't wish to order a lot. I will be looking around online...

 

I am going to do another WC tomorrow, and try to get the rest of that algae out.

 

Pics to follow

 

Friar

[.Newman.]

 

you should not back down testing, 440 ppm is just fine calcium level.

try to cut the chemi pure bag and distribute the contents between another bag so that you can wind up with a bag that fits in your filter. make sure you tie the top of the bag well tho so the contents dont spill out into the tank.

if you cannot find any chaeto online, let me know.

[friar1]

Thanks Newman,

Found some chaeto Will be here soon.

 

Friar

[.Newman.]

great

[friar1]

So, I got a lot of algae off the rocks. I took out the rocks, Didn't like doing that, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Took out the rocks and burned algae with a lighter, a grill lighter one of those windproof ones. Then I took a toothbrush and scrubbed where i didn't want to go with the lighter. Put the rocks in a bucket with fresh mixed water and a pump and a heater.

 

Wiped the sides down of the tank, and scrubbed some more with the toothbrush, which works really good on rock but not as good on tank sides. Still much cleaner. Put everything back as best I could. added new mixed water.

 

Then Sunday I took a toothbrush and scrubbed what was left over that I could see without taking the rocks out again. Did another WC. Calcium 430 after two water changes and no dosing. Still algae in the tank, but not nearly as bad. Getting some Chaeto and a cerith snail. Figure the snail will not last Hermie picking at it, but we'll see.

 

Can't get my camera to white balance very good, but such as they are, here are the pics.

 

Side of the tank...

 

 

Front FTS:

 

[friar1]

Ok, so this is weird.

Just now, looking at the tank, I noticed a free-swimming little orange or red worm. Not flat, but tube shaped like a worm, it will twist to swim. It touched some rocks and stayed for a few seconds, but then it was off again, swimming free.

 

I have not added anything to the tank for a few months now, so no idea where it came from. it is fast too.

 

Any Idea what it might be?

 

Also posted in ID forum

 

Friar

[.Newman.]

if you dont have a pic it can either be some nematode or an annelid.

[friar1]

According to the ID Forum, it is: "a bristleworm epitoke, to sum it up that is how they reproduce."

 

 

Friar

[.Newman.]

right so an annelid. probably wont be detrimental to your reef.

[friar1]

right so an annelid. probably wont be detrimental to your reef.

 

Ahhhh, "annelid" don't know what that means Have to look that one up too. epitoke is the reproductive part of a bristleworm, free swimming and likely to burst in order to release gametes or eggs, depending. This little guy has not been seen since last night, so likely epitoke burst. People count their bristle worms in their tanks by the hundreds evidently, so I am wondering if I am in for an invasion, not that I am worried. But I don't think that will happen.

 

WC today, because i just had to feed my animals last night, and I want to keep the algae down.

 

The flow in my tank is much better by the way, so I am hopeful this too will help to prevent algae growth.

 

Friar

[friar1]

posted in coral forum too.

 

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has a technique for removing the bottom of a frag plug, that has a coral frag on it, so all you have left is the disc (and the frag, of course)

 

Thanks,

Friar

[.Newman.]

a scalpel? it depends on what frag i guess and whether the coral already encrusted on the plug. i wouldnt touch it if the coral has encrusted.

[Mr. Microscope]

Woh! Hey. You gotta take a new closeup of your RPEs. Looks like you have four now. They're huge. Maybe a top-down shot. They look awesome! Very pretty ric too BTW. Nice addition.

[friar1]

Woh! Hey. You gotta take a new closeup of your RPEs. Looks like you have four now. They're huge. Maybe a top-down shot. They look awesome!

 

Thanks Mr M, I will try to get a better shot, they are four polyps now, one more on the way.

 

Very pretty ric too BTW. Nice addition.

 

Actually, that is the ric I got in the summer. It is just turned toward the front now because of the minor aqua scape I did when cleaning the rocks last weekend.

[.Newman.]

i was going to say Micro, where are you seeing a new ric lol?

it looks much better.

[friar1]

Woh! Hey. You gotta take a new closeup of your RPEs. Looks like you have four now. They're huge. Maybe a top-down shot. They look awesome! Very pretty ric too BTW. Nice addition.

 

Here is a close-up Mr M.

 

There are four, but one more one the way!

 

[.Newman.]

dang that algae is STILL there >_<

I know this is going to sound very random, because I just fell in love with these things, but have you thought about a lettuce sea slug? they look nice and they will clean your tank of their favorite food-bryopsis/hari algae.

If you happen to also have chaeto, thats great because once the bryopsis is gone you can feed them chaeto to keep em alive. they also breed real easy if you get 2-3 at the start, and you could probably get credit for them from an LFS if you breed them (I was actually thinking of these myself)

[friar1]

Hmmm.

Maybe,

But i think is would get too big for my little reef tank

 

Good thought though. I would be interested to see what happens if you get one.

 

The algae, though a pain is ok now, since I know how to deal with it to keep it down now, I am no longer afraid to take out my rocks and clean them off. So I figure every couple months or so.

 

We will also see what the Chaeto does for the tank.

 

Thanks for the advice newman.

 

Friar