Polarcollision's Nuvo 24: March FTS

[AnonymousRfr]

Such a beautiful tank. I like the progression photos. It inspires me that maybe one day I can have my tank looking so nice.

[DaveFason]

Great job! The tank really has settled with the 2.0 update. 

[Polarcollision]

On 12/6/2017 at 8:42 PM, AnonymousRfr said:

Such a beautiful tank. I like the progression photos. It inspires me that maybe one day I can have my tank looking so nice.

Everything changes so slowly, its nice to have proof that coral grow. :-) If I can do it, I'm more than confidant that you will too.

 

18 hours ago, DaveFason said:

Great job! The tank really has settled with the 2.0 update. 

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it overall right now, despite hydroids and cyano. :-)

[Polarcollision]

I'll just leave this here

 

[teenyreef]

That is so awesome 

[samnaz]

Where on earth did you find branching cyphastrea?

[Mariaface]

Teach me your tank secrets!

 

And your keto secrets!   

[Polarcollision]

On 12/8/2017 at 7:56 PM, teenyreef said:

That is so awesome 

Right??!!!! God, do I follow up on the urge to breed clowns just so I can have this experience???

 

On 12/10/2017 at 11:54 PM, samnaz said:

Where on earth did you find branching cyphastrea?

Got mine at a LFS, Red C Aquariums about 2 years ago. But good news! It's for sale at vivid aquarium right now -- the same thing. If you look close at the top of their frag, you'll see a hint of teal sheen which makes the pink ends pop. That develops under low lighting and stable alk.

 

On 12/12/2017 at 7:58 AM, Mariaface said:

Teach me your tank secrets!

 

And your keto secrets!   

Hehe, I don't know what I can teach you other than... don't give up because everything works itself out eventually. I'm sure you're making forward progress and learning along the way.

How do you like the IM media reactor? I'm thinking of getting one to control phosphates. Nitrates are undetectable, but phosphates are just ridiculous. Still. Coral color is good, but darn if that cyano isn't covering everything else...

 

Tell me about nitrogen dosing. That sounds interesting-- and useful!

 

I  saw where you mentioned your RW pump sparks. So does mine... I figured it's just a feature when the power is plugged in, but maybe I'm wrong, wrong, wrong in a very dangerous way??

 

Have you tried a little pincushion urchin or a sea hare for the bryopsis? Together both are controlling my red geledium and other wire algaes. Just a thought if bryopsis is still haunting ya.

 

Keto - I LOVE it. Will be sticking to it indefinitely. So much of my general feeling of yuckiness has faded away with the cutting of carbs and the extra 20 lbs is falling off slowly but surely. Let me know if you want recipes - most of them are modified from ruled.me website.

[Justind823]

That gif is great

 

Your tank is looking awesome! I love that shot of the eviota goby romping through the zoas and birdsnest. Congrats on the 4 year mark

[Mariaface]

8 hours ago, Polarcollision said:

 

Hehe, I don't know what I can teach you other than... don't give up because everything works itself out eventually. I'm sure you're making forward progress and learning along the way.

How do you like the IM media reactor? I'm thinking of getting one to control phosphates. Nitrates are undetectable, but phosphates are just ridiculous. Still. Coral color is good, but darn if that cyano isn't covering everything else...

 

Tell me about nitrogen dosing. That sounds interesting-- and useful!

 

I  saw where you mentioned your RW pump sparks. So does mine... I figured it's just a feature when the power is plugged in, but maybe I'm wrong, wrong, wrong in a very dangerous way??

 

Have you tried a little pincushion urchin or a sea hare for the bryopsis? Together both are controlling my red geledium and other wire algaes. Just a thought if bryopsis is still haunting ya.

 

Keto - I LOVE it. Will be sticking to it indefinitely. So much of my general feeling of yuckiness has faded away with the cutting of carbs and the extra 20 lbs is falling off slowly but surely. Let me know if you want recipes - most of them are modified from ruled.me website.

 

Love the reactor! My sponges always clogged so I was using Seachem's Matrixcarbon and Phosguard, since it doesn't sneak through the tiny holes that hold the media. I'm also loving Brightwell's phosphate and nitrate export cubes, the tiny nuggets, because they fit in there in a tall 'crooked totem pole' way that lets water flow all around them.

 

If you have undetectable nitrates, bacteria can't process the phosphates in your system - they need the 'Redfield ratio' to be in balance, with Nitrogen, phosphate, and carbon; you may need to google to find the actual number  But assuming your system has carbon (and if you feed, it does), adding nitrate will give bacteria a change to use up phosphates. Then they get eaten, or skimmed out, and it's 'nutrient export'.

 

Mine only sparks at the moment that I plug it in or unplug it, and it's probably not a fun feature 

 

Fluconazole completely fried any algae I had! I have a tiny patch of wiry red algae (I mean, thumbnail sized), but the hitchhiker limpets and trochus snails keep it that size.

 

Isn't it awesome?! I probably need the recipes; I always run out of things to have, the family makes something carb-loaded and delicious, and the bandwagon's entire wheel system dissolves. In flan. >> But I do agree; it does wonders for my energy levels, attitude, stair-climbing... As long as I don't forget my electrolytes  

[Polarcollision]

22 hours ago, Justind823 said:

That gif is great

 

Your tank is looking awesome! I love that shot of the eviota goby romping through the zoas and birdsnest. Congrats on the 4 year mark

Thanks! Me to, the little goby is probably my favorite fish in the entire aquarium. I'm just stunned that it's survived so long for being such a small fish. Hopefully when the other acros grow out they'll make a good home for another little 1" fish.

 

14 hours ago, Mariaface said:

 

Love the reactor! My sponges always clogged so I was using Seachem's Matrixcarbon and Phosguard, since it doesn't sneak through the tiny holes that hold the media. I'm also loving Brightwell's phosphate and nitrate export cubes, the tiny nuggets, because they fit in there in a tall 'crooked totem pole' way that lets water flow all around them.

 

If you have undetectable nitrates, bacteria can't process the phosphates in your system - they need the 'Redfield ratio' to be in balance, with Nitrogen, phosphate, and carbon; you may need to google to find the actual number  But assuming your system has carbon (and if you feed, it does), adding nitrate will give bacteria a change to use up phosphates. Then they get eaten, or skimmed out, and it's 'nutrient export'.

 

Mine only sparks at the moment that I plug it in or unplug it, and it's probably not a fun feature 

 

Fluconazole completely fried any algae I had! I have a tiny patch of wiry red algae (I mean, thumbnail sized), but the hitchhiker limpets and trochus snails keep it that size.

 

Isn't it awesome?! I probably need the recipes; I always run out of things to have, the family makes something carb-loaded and delicious, and the bandwagon's entire wheel system dissolves. In flan. >> But I do agree; it does wonders for my energy levels, attitude, stair-climbing... As long as I don't forget my electrolytes  

 

You're talking me into the reactor. I see one on sale for $55. I think it will fit next to the skimmer. Wait. Is that a bad idea to run it before the skimmer? Hmmm. The other option is to take the media rack out of the other size and add the reactor there instead. But then I'll have to figure out how to capture detritus with the missing filter floss. So complicated!

 

The skimmer is pulling decently dark skimmate out... and cyano is certainly at no loss for building blocks. I dunno, but maybe that means there's just enough for the cyano. OK, I'll try it. It's working for you. This stuff has been solid for much longer than expected. Where do you get your nitrogen for dosing?

 

I wish I understood electronics. The spark isn't cool, but every time it does that I remember the outlet at work that sparks every time we plug in our electronics so I've been blowing it off. I don;t think I'm getting shocked with hands in the water. Geese. See, if I knew more about electronics I'd know if I had to worry about the house burning down or not. LOL

 

Congrats on the algae massacre! Fluconazol, huh? I'm listening...

 

I'm drinking keto baileys tonight. :-) Let's start you off right:

 

1 c heavy cream

1.5 tbsp cacao powder

1/2 c erythritol and 10 drops stevia sweetdrops

.5 tsp instant coffee

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (or a dash of almond milk to your cup)

 Heat cream to dissolve in cacao and sugar substitute. Once dissolved, add everything else. Put 2 oz of mixture in a glass with 1.5 oz Jameson whiskey and ice. Yum!

 

 

[Mariaface]

8 hours ago, Polarcollision said:

You're talking me into the reactor. I see one on sale for $55. I think it will fit next to the skimmer. Wait. Is that a bad idea to run it before the skimmer? Hmmm. The other option is to take the media rack out of the other size and add the reactor there instead. But then I'll have to figure out how to capture detritus with the missing filter floss. So complicated!

 

The skimmer is pulling decently dark skimmate out... and cyano is certainly at no loss for building blocks. I dunno, but maybe that means there's just enough for the cyano. OK, I'll try it. It's working for you. This stuff has been solid for much longer than expected. Where do you get your nitrogen for dosing?

 

I wish I understood electronics. The spark isn't cool, but every time it does that I remember the outlet at work that sparks every time we plug in our electronics so I've been blowing it off. I don;t think I'm getting shocked with hands in the water. Geese. See, if I knew more about electronics I'd know if I had to worry about the house burning down or not. LOL

 

Congrats on the algae massacre! Fluconazol, huh? I'm listening...

 

I'm drinking keto baileys tonight. :-) Let's start you off right:

 

1 c heavy cream

1.5 tbsp cacao powder

1/2 c erythritol and 10 drops stevia sweetdrops

.5 tsp instant coffee

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (or a dash of almond milk to your cup)

 Heat cream to dissolve in cacao and sugar substitute. Once dissolved, add everything else. Put 2 oz of mixture in a glass with 1.5 oz Jameson whiskey and ice. Yum!

 

 

 

Decisions, decisions... Putting it before the skimmer would definitely cause it to clog faster..

 

Right now I'm using Brightwell's NeoNitro (I was using Seachem's Nitrogen but I think I read the label and it was also dosing potassium, which I don't have a test kit for).

 

Yeah, I don't understand electronics very well, either.. I understand the digital side and I can use a breadboard and those little logic bits to make some LEDs light up (thanks, high school!), but as far as safety, I've got 'don't touch live wires' and 'if you don't know if it's live, use the back of your hand so your muscles don't contract around the wire and keep you stuck there'. 

 

The Fluco damages the algae's cell walls, it stops being able to grow/reproduce, and once it's really mushy it's edible food for clean up crew  

 

Oh man. That sounds delicious and dangerous!

[Polarcollision]

On 12/22/2017 at 5:23 AM, Mariaface said:

 

Decisions, decisions... Putting it before the skimmer would definitely cause it to clog faster..

 

Right now I'm using Brightwell's NeoNitro (I was using Seachem's Nitrogen but I think I read the label and it was also dosing potassium, which I don't have a test kit for).

 

Yeah, I don't understand electronics very well, either.. I understand the digital side and I can use a breadboard and those little logic bits to make some LEDs light up (thanks, high school!), but as far as safety, I've got 'don't touch live wires' and 'if you don't know if it's live, use the back of your hand so your muscles don't contract around the wire and keep you stuck there'. 

 

The Fluco damages the algae's cell walls, it stops being able to grow/reproduce, and once it's really mushy it's edible food for clean up crew  

 

Oh man. That sounds delicious and dangerous!

Well, we all know how unlikely I am to service the reactor's clogged filters so I better put it elsewhere.

 

Perfect! I'm getting a 10 point drop in potassium each week so I'll try seachem's option to kill 2 birds with one stone. Thanks for the suggestion and extra tidbits!

 

Yes, yes it was. I've stuck to keto and haven't had alcohol since Thanksgiving.

[Polarcollision]

Copying this here for my own future reference. It's my reasoning behind the parameters I keep, in case it is useful to anyone else.

 

Whenever I'm looking at ocean alkalinity data, it's always linked to pH. Mostly because 96.5% of alkalinity is carbonate which is directly affected by pH. (I always measure pH in my water tests) As pH goes up, alkalinity also goes up, even though nothing has been dosed or diluted. Soooo, this means that we need our pH test results to interpret our alkalinity test results. Here's a handy graph of 35 ppt salinity from advanced aquarist. Blue= current average, green=pre-industrial average:

 

As CO2 saturation goes up, alkalinity measurements fall. I keep this in mind in winter when all the windows are closed and also with the seasonal CO2 variations. I also use preindustrial CO2 levels when deciding on parameters. Most references I've found have ocean pH at 8.2 around reefs. I've found research papers suggesting that ocean pH levels were 8.4 in the not too distant past, one of the reasons I keep my pH somewhere around 8.3 as a happy average. Using the graph above, that equates to 2.75-2.8 meq on our current CO2 blue line, which translates to around 7.8 KH. Convenient because my red sea salt mixes to 7.8-8.2, so minimal swings at the 2-6 month 1/3-1/2 total volume water change, and the extra available bicarbonate helps hard coral grow faster.

 

If pH is kept at 8.2, then seawater alkaliniy would be measured at 2.5 meq/6.3 KH, which speaks to your 6.7 KH suggestion.

 

Interestingly, when my alk dosing containers run out unnoticed, there's not usually any effect on corals until KH reaches 5-ish KH.

[cobra2326]

2 hours ago, Polarcollision said:

Copying this here for my own future reference. It's my reasoning behind the parameters I keep, in case it is useful to anyone else.

 

Whenever I'm looking at ocean alkalinity data, it's always linked to pH. Mostly because 96.5% of alkalinity is carbonate which is directly affected by pH. (I always measure pH in my water tests) As pH goes up, alkalinity also goes up, even though nothing has been dosed or diluted. Soooo, this means that we need our pH test results to interpret our alkalinity test results. Here's a handy graph of 35 ppt salinity from advanced aquarist. Blue= current average, green=pre-industrial average:

 

As CO2 saturation goes up, alkalinity measurements fall. I keep this in mind in winter when all the windows are closed and also with the seasonal CO2 variations. I also use preindustrial CO2 levels when deciding on parameters. Most references I've found have ocean pH at 8.2 around reefs. I've found research papers suggesting that ocean pH levels were 8.4 in the not too distant past, one of the reasons I keep my pH somewhere around 8.3 as a happy average. Using the graph above, that equates to 2.75-2.8 meq on our current CO2 blue line, which translates to around 7.8 KH. Convenient because my red sea salt mixes to 7.8-8.2, so minimal swings at the 2-6 month 1/3-1/2 total volume water change, and the extra available bicarbonate helps hard coral grow faster.

 

If pH is kept at 8.2, then seawater alkaliniy would be measured at 2.5 meq/6.3 KH, which speaks to your 6.7 KH suggestion.

 

Interestingly, when my alk dosing containers run out unnoticed, there's not usually any effect on corals until KH reaches 5-ish KH.

This is really interesting information, but I'm not totally sure about what conclusions we can draw from it

 

Quote

this means that we need our pH test results to interpret our alkalinity test results

Quote

CO2 saturation goes up, alkalinity measurements fall

 

At first, I thought, "Oh no, this means that if I measure my alkalinity in the morning vs the afternoon, it will be different!" However, this doesn't appear to be the case. From the article you're referencing: "there is an exact mathematical relationship between pH and carbonate alkalinity for any aqueous system in equilibrium with the atmosphere" (emphasis mine). In the section pH vs. Alkalinity in Reef Tanks, Randy outlines several reasons that people can move between those lines. So the pH can change in an aquarium due to diurnal fluctuations, and other reasons, without affecting the Alkalinity at all. You simply move horizontally on the graph.

 

Also,

 

Quote

Convenient because my red sea salt mixes to 7.8-8.2

 

I think that it should always mix to a given pH, determined 100% by the alkalinity, as long as it is well mixed and at equilibrium with the air. I'm basing this off of Randy's following statement from the article: " This is an important result: in seawater in equilibrium with the atmosphere, for a given alkalinity there is a single pH that results, regardless of what was added to get to that alkalinity."

 

Hopefully I'm making sense here. I'm just learning these concepts, so I could absolutely be wrong and welcome the discussion

 

[Polarcollision]

29 minutes ago, cobra2326 said:

This is really interesting information, but I'm not totally sure about what conclusions we can draw from it

 

I use it as a guideline for target parameters. Obviously corals thrive in a wide range of conditions so for me it’s helpful as a reference point for coral’s original conditions. When my pH is 8.3, I know I want my alkalinity result to be near 7.8-8.2 KH. If instead, pH measurement came in at 7.9, i could reference the graph to see the concurrent KH the tank would have.

 

29 minutes ago, cobra2326 said:

At first, I thought, "Oh no, this means that if I measure my alkalinity in the morning vs the afternoon, it will be different!" However, this doesn't appear to be the case. From the article you're referencing: "there is an exact mathematical relationship between pH and carbonate alkalinity for any aqueous system in equilibrium with the atmosphere" (emphasis mine). In the section pH vs. Alkalinity in Reef Tanks, Randy outlines several reasons that people can move between those lines. So the pH can change in an aquarium due to diurnal fluctuations, and other reasons, without affecting the Alkalinity at all. You simply move horizontally on the graph.

The diurnal pH fluctuations change available carbonate, which we want to grow hard coral. As pH goes down, the carbonate buffer system will shift towards more carbonic acid and less bicarbonate. As long as alkalinity is at or a little above seawater, this buffer system will protect livestock from swings in pH throughout the day. Prevents acidic damage to proteins, and leaves carbonate available to hard corals.

 

29 minutes ago, cobra2326 said:

Also,

 

 

I think that it should always mix to a given pH, determined 100% by the alkalinity, as long as it is well mixed and at equilibrium with the air. I'm basing this off of Randy's following statement from the article: " This is an important result: in seawater in equilibrium with the atmosphere, for a given alkalinity there is a single pH that results, regardless of what was added to get to that alkalinity."

 

That was 7.8-8.2 KH. I didn’t add the unit. But yes, the salt mixes to those values at 35 ppt. The pH will self-adjust to the atmosphere just like you expected. Once it’s in the aquarium, proteins and other biological molecules will usually shift pH lower. I worry that this gives the impression that we should chase pH. Rather, it’s more a useful tool to interpret test results.

 

29 minutes ago, cobra2326 said:

 

Hopefully I'm making sense here. I'm just learning these concepts, so I could absolutely be wrong and welcome the discussion

 

No worries! I’ve been known to misinterpret data myself, so I’m happy to be corrected anywhere I have the wrong understanding. :-)

[cobra2326]

Cool, that all makes sense now. I think I just didn't understand the concepts well enough, so I misinterpreted what you were saying. It's funny because I've read that article a few times now, but it isn't until I start thinking deeply about some of these things that I really start to grok them. Thanks!

[Polarcollision]

3 hours ago, cobra2326 said:

Cool, that all makes sense now. I think I just didn't understand the concepts well enough, so I misinterpreted what you were saying. It's funny because I've read that article a few times now, but it isn't until I start thinking deeply about some of these things that I really start to grok them. Thanks!

I’ve been known to either give too much info and bore people or leave out stuff and not be clear. LOL! Sorry I wasn’t clear enough. I’ve read the advanced Aquarist article and the RHF article so many times just to recall everything I forgot. Again. Each time it takes on new levels of understanding, which is kind of nice to see things interlink. 

 

You used Grok! I loved that book!

[teenyreef]

39 minutes ago, Polarcollision said:

I’ve been known to either give too much info and bore people or leave out stuff and not be clear. LOL! Sorry I wasn’t clear enough. I’ve read the advanced Aquarist article and the RHF article so many times just to recall everything I forgot. Again. Each time it takes on new levels of understanding, which is kind of nice to see things interlink. 

 

You used Grok! I loved that book!

Me too! Not many people use that word now 

 

After reading the Ph vs alkalinity posts, it makes me wish I had paid more attention to my high school chemistry teacher and less to my girlfriend who sat next to me 

[cobra2326]

6 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Me too! Not many people use that word now 

 

After reading the Ph vs alkalinity posts, it makes me wish I had paid more attention to my high school chemistry teacher and less to my girlfriend who sat next to me 

Ha! I’ve never actually read the book, but it’s been so highly regarded that I probably should ?

 

Whenever I read something I don’t understand, I just keep pushing through. Then revisit later after thinking on it some. Eventually I’ll get it, but it usually takes a while.

[Polarcollision]

On 12/22/2017 at 10:07 PM, teenyreef said:

Me too! Not many people use that word now 

 

After reading the Ph vs alkalinity posts, it makes me wish I had paid more attention to my high school chemistry teacher and less to my girlfriend who sat next to me 

It's a good word! Let's all bring it back. I don't grok chemistry though I try really, really hard to understand what we need for troubleshooting the reef.   Equations make me groan inside. Thank got for RHF's translations! I'd also have preferred the boyfriend or drawing back then as well.

 

On 12/23/2017 at 4:56 AM, cobra2326 said:

Ha! I’ve never actually read the book, but it’s been so highly regarded that I probably should ?

 

Whenever I read something I don’t understand, I just keep pushing through. Then revisit later after thinking on it some. Eventually I’ll get it, but it usually takes a while.

Go for it! I'm curious if you'd like it as much as the word! I love your persistence, it's a really great attitude and a nice reminder to keep at it for myself.

[Polarcollision]

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

 

Today's test results:

Mg: 1400  (oops! overshot the mark)

Ca: 400

Alk: 8.5

pH: 7.9 (house closed up)

NO3: 0-1

PO4: 0.08  (yay! Down from 0.31 on 11-30-17)

K: 390  (steady 10 point drop every 2 weeks)

Salinity: 1.026

Temp: 78.7

[controlledentropy]

Wonderful tank. So many colors, growth patterns, and textures.

 

I just started and I am in the planning stage and I tried to conscientiously plan what to stock.

 

I am curious to see what can live underneath Montipora Capicornis or in general, what can live in shadows? I like the tabling/plating? structure monti and even the chalice, but having those basically will waste the space underneath them, as they will shadow their underside. I see that in your May 2016 tank shot, you have a chalice under your green monti, do you have any other suggestion as to what else can live in the shadow?

 

I am thinking of either Lepto or Chalice can live in the dark.

[Polarcollision]

6 hours ago, controlledentropy said:

Wonderful tank. So many colors, growth patterns, and textures.

 

I just started and I am in the planning stage and I tried to conscientiously plan what to stock.

 

I am curious to see what can live underneath Montipora Capicornis or in general, what can live in shadows? I like the tabling/plating? structure monti and even the chalice, but having those basically will waste the space underneath them, as they will shadow their underside. I see that in your May 2016 tank shot, you have a chalice under your green monti, do you have any other suggestion as to what else can live in the shadow?

 

I am thinking of either Lepto or Chalice can live in the dark.

Thank you! I'm glad to have you stop by. :-) Have you started a tank journal thread? Any low light corals can live under monti caps. Mine were never more than 6-8" diameter so they didn't block too much light. Chalices, acans, pipe organs, a lot of softies, sun corals, anything non-photosynthetic if you're willing to feed it. I think gonipora do better in lower light as do blastos, scolys, wellsophyllia, I think some euphillia (check me on that one), lobophyllia, elegance coral, candy canes. So many options! Keep in mind that coral change colors in different lighting intensities, I believe Leptos are known for this though I've not kept one yet.

[controlledentropy]

30 minutes ago, Polarcollision said:

Thank you! I'm glad to have you stop by. :-) Have you started a tank journal thread? Any low light corals can live under monti caps. Mine were never more than 6-8" diameter so they didn't block too much light. Chalices, acans, pipe organs, a lot of softies, sun corals, anything non-photosynthetic if you're willing to feed it. I think gonipora do better in lower light as do blastos, scolys, wellsophyllia, I think some euphillia (check me on that one), lobophyllia, elegance coral, candy canes. So many options! Keep in mind that coral change colors in different lighting intensities, I believe Leptos are known for this though I've not kept one yet.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

I have. Check it out. Even took a potato pic with my phone today.