markalot Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 :-) Thanks Mark! I was about to say my alk has been steady until I checked it again tonight. 5.5 again. Ugh. That bird growth is making me chase alk too much. I added the max 1 dKH to bring it to 6.5. At least it was caught before the forest fire digi bit it again! If you want colorful acros 1KH is too much, you need to get down to no more than .25, maybe less. Some species (is it species or varieties?) of acros are worse than others. I just went through a pretty big Alk spike and my Strawberry Shortcake, one of the slowest corals to color up, actually looks better while the "Katropora" I got from Kat browned out. It can be frustrating, to say the least! Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 If you want colorful acros 1KH is too much, you need to get down to no more than .25, maybe less. Some species (is it species or varieties?) of acros are worse than others. I just went through a pretty big Alk spike and my Strawberry Shortcake, one of the slowest corals to color up, actually looks better while the "Katropora" I got from Kat browned out. It can be frustrating, to say the least! Oh man, sorry to hear about your katorapora. I'm sure it will be back soon under your care. So, this is my fault. I had the dosing numbers dialed in steady, maybe a tiny higher than desired, but didn't expect the green bird would take off so much once settled in. Then... I didn't check last week since everything was looking good overall. I used my eyes instead. Well, at least this is a good problem to solve. :-) Mark, when alk is so low --5.5-- is it still best to move up at only .25 at a time? I was worried that prolonging life at 5.5 would do more harm than raising it 1 dKH? Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 New page, new pics... November FTS and updates. Pictures! Notice the WHITE sand?? So happy the diatom bloom is done. More recovery progress: This one had about a pea-sized nub left after the crash. Now it's about the size of a quarter and one of the fastest growing SPS in the tank. It had huge problems with the coral pro salt alk swings and I almost gave up on it. Fortunately the regular RedSea salt levels make it happy. I think there's even a haze of green base threatening to make an appearance. Crossing fingers... Growing. Polyps are out quite a bit more. Still not completely happy. Wish I knew what to do to get the purple base back. Oompa Loompas. You can see remnants of red algae that traps detritus and contributed to the diatom and dino bloom The red is starting to come out in the rainbow stylophora. Green slimer is happy. Camera sensor gets overloaded by the color. It's a little less glowy in my tank Help me get this lokani to color up. It should be a pretty blueish purple, instead of the glorious poopy brown. It is growing, but just barely. Same problem with this one. Should be a hot pink/magenta. I've got poop. :-( What do I do to color it up? 5 Quote Link to comment
Newtybar Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Beautiful tank Polar! Hopefully I can get mine close to this in a year 1 Quote Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Took the tour- great thread- that worm was nasty looking- is that still around? That pic you got of the clowns face to face is awesome- good catch what's the little green encrusting coral on the left side under the powerhead? The large picture of it is really nice. Enjoyed your photo dumps. Really good shot of kissyface too. Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Oh man, sorry to hear about your katorapora. I'm sure it will be back soon under your care. So, this is my fault. I had the dosing numbers dialed in steady, maybe a tiny higher than desired, but didn't expect the green bird would take off so much once settled in. Then... I didn't check last week since everything was looking good overall. I used my eyes instead. Well, at least this is a good problem to solve. :-) Mark, when alk is so low --5.5-- is it still best to move up at only .25 at a time? I was worried that prolonging life at 5.5 would do more harm than raising it 1 dKH? Sorry, I missed this. Yes, still advisable to go very slow to raise it back up. Quick corrections often do more harm than the original problem. Quote Link to comment
gypsyzNthievz Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 great looking tank! 1 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 great looking tank! Thanks! And glad you dropped by to check it out. :-) Sorry, I missed this. Yes, still advisable to go very slow to raise it back up. Quick corrections often do more harm than the original problem. Got it - thanks for letting me know! Took the tour- great thread- that worm was nasty looking- is that still around? That pic you got of the clowns face to face is awesome- good catch what's the little green encrusting coral on the left side under the powerhead? The large picture of it is really nice. Enjoyed your photo dumps. Really good shot of kissyface too. It's shows up now and then, but it's not a scary bobbit worm. Actually it's pretty sweet little hitch hiker that mows down algae. I won't be going after it with a blow torch. :-) There are two over there. One is a green plating monti with little red polyps, not sure the name. Maybe christmas monti? or chili pepper monti? I hoped the polyps would cover the flesh in red like the other montis do, but no dice. Will probably be re-homing it. The other green one with peach/pink spots is a bubble gum monster chalice--my second-fav coral in the tank. Really forgiving of the alk swings and pretty growth pattern. Thanks for dropping by! 1 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share Posted November 9, 2014 Bookmarks: phytoplankton culture instructions for later: http://www.melevsreef.com/phytoplankton.html culturing tisbe: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/342268-culturing-tisbe-pods/ shell-free brine shrimp eggs: http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/Shell-Free-E-Z-Egg-c202.html dragonette training: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/256327-the-many-methods-of-training-dragonets/ 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Bookmarks: phytoplankton culture instructions for later: http://www.melevsreef.com/phytoplankton.html culturing tisbe: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/342268-culturing-tisbe-pods/ shell-free brine shrimp eggs: http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/Shell-Free-E-Z-Egg-c202.html dragonette training: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/256327-the-many-methods-of-training-dragonets/ Sounds like you will be getting a mandarin? Love the latest photos . Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 Sounds like you will be getting a mandarin? Love the latest photos . She's a little thing but already devoured a bag of tisbe pods. 2 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Heads up for anyone wishing Ova was in stock -- just received an order for viable decap'd baby brine shrimp eggs. The mandy snarfs them up like candy. ***Also should I panic? We left the heat off today and house temp dropped to 61. Noticed the 2-part alkalinity has a cloudy residue at the bottom of the reservoir. Is this bad news?*** Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Heads up for anyone wishing Ova was in stock -- just received an order for viable decap'd baby brine shrimp eggs. The mandy snarfs them up like candy. ***Also should I panic? We left the heat off today and house temp dropped to 61. Noticed the 2-part alkalinity has a cloudy residue at the bottom of the reservoir. Is this bad news?*** I have that in both my containers, doesn't seem to effect anything. I suppose it may weaken the mixture a little bit so maybe testing just to check is in order? Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 I have that in both my containers, doesn't seem to effect anything. I suppose it may weaken the mixture a little bit so maybe testing just to check is in order? Thanks - much less worried now. Luckily I've been checking every day and adjusting timers--that might explain weird results. I put the container in heat like with the original concentrated solution but it didn't mix back up clear. Have you ever made your own 2-part from recipe #1 here? http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/#3 1 Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Thanks - much less worried now. Luckily I've been checking every day and adjusting timers--that might explain weird results. I put the container in heat like with the original concentrated solution but it didn't mix back up clear. Have you ever made your own 2-part from recipe #1 here? http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/#3 Nope, I buy these: http://premiumaquatics.com/products/fishies-balance-2-part-gallon-concentrate.html You get gallon jugs that you have to add RO/DI water too. Not the cheapest by far, but easy and contains more than just Alk, Calcium, and Magnesium. Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Nope, I buy these: http://premiumaquatics.com/products/fishies-balance-2-part-gallon-concentrate.html You get gallon jugs that you have to add RO/DI water too. Not the cheapest by far, but easy and contains more than just Alk, Calcium, and Magnesium. ESV says it maintains seawater ratios of major, minor and trace ions, but it doesn't break down what's in the bottles and my understanding is that you need to dose magnesium sulfate in order to actually maintain seawater ratios (ESV is just 2-part). Two little fishies at least says they balance magnesium and strontium. Got curious what other options were out there and found this one: http://www.tropic-marin.com/riff/de-bio-calcium-original-balling-en-bio-calcium-original-balling-fr-bio-calcium-original-balling/?lang=en Part C claims to balance balance all ions including trace and they list what's in it. (FULL/ORIGINAL BALLING METHOD) Fauna Marin Balling Light + Balling trace elements (BALLING LIGHT METHOD) http://reefbuilders.com/2009/09/11/instructions-fauna-marins-light-balling-method/ Edit: I never test magnesium because it's always spot on... just occurred to me that this could be from the ESV 2-part. 1 Quote Link to comment
Simone Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 She's a little thing but already devoured a bag of tisbe pods. Look forward to pics or video of the new mandy. Tank is looking awesome! 1 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Look forward to pics or video of the new mandy. Tank is looking awesome! Soon! and thanks! She's in a fish hatchery inside the tank so it's about impossible to get any photos of her. Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Beautiful tank. I love all the color. 1 Quote Link to comment
Newtybar Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Your tank is looking amazing Polarcollision. I just read the entire log and learned a bit along the way. Thanks for keeping this up to date, it is helping me. 1 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 OK, so the theme of the last several weeks has been "hey, your tank is depleted of trace elements!"That brown lokani frag above was starving for iodide. After starting with 1 drop a week and now 2 drops a week of Lugols, the flesh has grown in thick and mostly purple. There are even a few new coralite buds and a little bit of growth happening! Yay! Even more, zoas have suddenly gone from faded and a little crinkly to full and vibrant. Even some that were just shrinking away have come back. Turns out zoas are pretty tight with iodine, too. It got me thinking about a set of RedSea trace elements I'd purchased a loooong time ago and then stashed away. Too much of a pain to test for and you don't dose anything you don't test for, right? Well, I noticed that the dosing instructions always link to calcium usage. huh. interesting.Also, my ESV 2-part was running out and I didn't really want to spend so much on dosing. ESV 2-part is great, BTW. It's gotten me through the first 2 years of reefkeeping with good results. :-) Happened across a great 2-part recipe article by RHF for mixing up your own. Using recipe #1 with part 3A for magnesium maintains the reef's ionic balance. For every gallon of each 2-part, I add 2.5 cups of the magnesium part 3A and ionic balance should stay balanced.Current daily balanced dose: 23 mL Calcium, 23 mL Alk, 3.6 mL Magnesium solutionOn the price front, with black friday discounts, I paid 2/3 total the cost for a gallon each of ESV 2-part, but instead have enough mixture for 4-5 gallons each of 2-part. Roughly 85% savings.Table 2. Elements present (mg/L) after one year of additions and after adjusting for salinity changes. Calculations assume no water changes take place.Element Seawater Concentration Final Tank Concentration (w/ Part 3A) Final Tank Concentration (w/o Part 3)Chloride 19,350 19,440 19,710Sodium 10,760 10,730 11,360Sulfate 2,710 2720 2170Magnesium 1,290 1270 880Calcium 420 420 (assumed) 420 (assumed)Potassium 400 384 405http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/rhf/index.php#1Remaining component of seawater (mg/L)HCO3- (bicarbonate) 110Br- (bromide) 67CO32- (carbonate) 20Sr2+ (strontium) 7.9B(OH)3 +B(OH)4- (borate) 5 (as Boron)F- (fluoride) 1.3Organics 1 to 2Everything elsecombined (exceptdissolved gasses) < 1Remaining minor ions in seawater (mg/L)Li+ (lithium) 0.17Rb+ (rubidium) 0.12H2PO4- + HPO42- +PO43-(phosphate) 0.0 to 0.3IO3- (iodate) 0.03 to 0.06I- (iodide) 0 to 0.03Ba+ (barium) 0.004 to 0.02Al3+ (aluminum) 0.00014 to 0.001Fe2+ + Fe3+ (iron) 0.000006 to 0.00014Zn2+ (zinc) 0.000003 to 0.0006It just so happens you don't have to buy all the components from home depot and walgreens because bulk reef supply has pharmaceutical grade chemicals already nicely packaged in moisture resistant containers. They're even the exact chemical form RHF mentions in his article - I checked each label just to be sure. Combining info from the RHF article and BRS product webpages, I finally have estimated numbers for concentration of additives - something you don't get with ESV. No idea what to do with this info for now, but I'm sure it will come in handy some day:BRS calcium: ~37,000 ppmBRS soda ash: ~5,300 ppm dKH (1,900 meq/L)BRS magnesium: ~47,000 ppmBRS sulfate: ~70,000 ppmBRS chloride: ~86,000 ppmAlso turns out Fauna Marin makes a trace element supplement intended to ad to their own 2-part mix. What's great about this is that you don't have to take time out of your day to test and supplement each individually. They all get added to either the calcium or the alkalinity component in ratios the reef should use up with the alk and ca. Everything was easy to mix up and has been on line since Sunday. BRS 2-part might have a different concentration than ESV, or maybe it was just selling off the giant green bird using up so much alkalinity, but my alk shot up from a steady 8.5 to 10.5 in one day. I took the dosers off line and let the tank settle back down to normal levels. So far, none of the recovering acros seem to have noticed the swing. Should have everything dialed in by the weekend. Looking forward to seeing how trace elements hold out with the new system! Fingers crossed!Synthetic sea salt from RHF (taken from "Chemical Oceanography" by Frank Millero)It makes a recipe that matches 35 ppt seawater in terms of major ions, but does not try to match all minor and trace elements, most of which will be present as impurities in the major elements.23.98 g sodium chloride5.029 g magnesium chloride4.01 g sodium sulfate1.14 g calcium chloride0.699 g potassium chloride0.172 g sodium bicarbonate0.100 g potassium bromide0.0254 g boric acid0.0143 g strontium chloride0.0029 g sodium fluorideWater to 1 kg total weight 2 Quote Link to comment
Jay Wee Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Damn your Nuvo24 is mad impressive! 1 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 20K LOKANI COLOR UPDATE Dosing iodide is working! Look at that purple coming back :-) 12/10/14 Before: Not much growth from 9/8/14 3 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 FOREST FIRE DIGI GROWTH UPDATE 45 days from this to this GREEN SLIMER GROWTH UPDATE 45 days RED PLANET GROWTH UPDATE 9/8/14 12/10/14 GARF BONSAI RECOVERY 9/8/14 12/10/14 4 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE RECOVERY This one has been super slow since it's coming back from literally just a handful of polyps. trom 9/8/14 to 12/10/14 4 Quote Link to comment
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