HarryPotter Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Dunno why you decided to post pics all of the sudden. It WAS all quite in here, then Harry finally gets a good look at the tank and freaks out. Now you're stuck with him. "Freaks out" is an overstatement.. It was just like this: Link to comment
evan127 Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hahahaha! I didn't know anyone wanted an update that badly! Link to comment
evan127 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 So things are going really well in the system lately. I haven't seen colors from my corals like this before. Everything seems to be getting very bright. Some of my corals are showing excellent signs of vibrant colors deep down in the tissue. The paler corals show this deep tissue color that I am hoping will come out to the surface soon. Growth is starting to be noticeable in encrusting and vertical growth for the first time simultaneously. Previously it had been just slowly encrusting. Polyp extension is far greater. The MP10s are in Reef Crest mode with 3 LEDs from the right being blank. I wish the controllers just had 10 or 20 LEDs so I could say, "at 50%" or "they're at 75%" instead of the random number they have now. Skimmer is working great right now. I think this is directly related to the next topic No more filter socks! I'm over it. Removing them has helped my system in so many ways. Yes, I have detritus build up in the first section, but that leads to the next point. 10 gallon water changes every week! HWmarine salt is super awesome! No complaints here! (I stir the sand bed with an acrylic rod and dust rocks off with a turkey baster before I change the water) I have been feeding 3 small amounts of fish food per day. Morning feedings are 1 small pinch flakes. Afternoon feedings are 1 small pinch flakes or 1 small pinch pellets. Evenings is a frozen mix. Twice weekly, Wednesdays and Fridays, I feed Reef Chili (broadcast style) to the system when the lights have been off for an hour. Refugium is lit 14 hours per day reverse display lights. Heater is set to kick on at 79F and turn off at 80F with the average being 79.5F. 2 cups GFO in my reactor with low flow. I know its a lot, so don't flame me. Its low flow and its working so shut it. 1 cup carbon in a bag. Radion is at 75% under Schiwngs program I modified. 5 hour peak of 14k. I dose 15ml of alkalinity, 15ml of calcium and 0.5ml of a special sauce per day So, when I read this again I will know not to mess and tinker with things I have found my system's perfect balance. The bad Diatom patches Red bugs My favorite acropora (whom I call blueberry) is irritated by the red bugs. My pistol shrimp thinks its now okay to bulldoze a foot outside his burrow, instead of the 6 inches he used to bulldoze for 2 years! Link to comment
markalot Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Nice pictures, thanks for posting the updated info now that corals are looking good. The bugs are supposed to die below 70F and SPS can survive for a few hours in the mid to upper 60's. I have black bugs, not red, but I am going to try slowly lowering temps this winter to see what happens. I think the basting and stirring, something I don't do on a regular basis, is one of the keys to improving colors. Not sure why. I'm really not sure about GFO anymore. I added it back in a bag and colors improved over 2 days with no STN, so ...... Link to comment
evan127 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Thanks Mark. I appreciate that. Yea, I forgot to mention the bad things. Red bugs are still around, but not in full force. I am not confident that the pipefish is doing much in this area, but who knows. I have yet to see the pipefish on the rock work at all. It seriously only sticks to the sand bed. I might slowly lower the temperature. Actually, as I am typing this out I forgot that my power was out a while ago and it reached about 74F. Maybe that actually helped with the red bugs? I blast the sand bed every week, which is good long term I think, but it doesn't help the diatom situation in the least.... I think GFO is awesome now that I know how to properly use it in my system. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Thanks Mark. I appreciate that. Yea, I forgot to mention the bad things. Red bugs are still around, but not in full force. I am not confident that the pipefish is doing much in this area, but who knows. I have yet to see the pipefish on the rock work at all. It seriously only sticks to the sand bed. I might slowly lower the temperature. Actually, as I am typing this out I forgot that my power was out a while ago and it reached about 74F. Maybe that actually helped with the red bugs? I blast the sand bed every week, which is good long term I think, but it doesn't help the diatom situation in the least.... I think GFO is awesome now that I know how to properly use it in my system. Hey can you email me your radion schedule? I PMd you a few days ago I recently removed all chemical media... things look so much better. No more diatoms, colors are really nice, and surprisingly the tank looks cleaner than ever. Link to comment
evan127 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hey Harry. You did PM and I completely forgot. I'm sorry. Here is my Radion graph for everyone to use if they want: Disclaimer: I have recently tweaked this graph. This is not what I have been using in the past. Again, I am trying something new. Use at your own risk EDIT: How and the heck do you add an attachment? Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hey Harry. You did PM and I completely forgot. I'm sorry. Here is my Radion graph for everyone to use if they want: Disclaimer: I have recently tweaked this graph. This is not what I have been using in the past. Again, I am trying something new. Use at your own risk EDIT: How and the heck do you add an attachment? You can't add the weird file type that the Radion graph is under. That's why I PMd you my email Link to comment
evan127 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Ah. Well thats dumb. Will this link to my public Dropbox work? https://www.dropbox.com/s/28d3e45nvqpg0px/SavedRadionSchedule2015-10-30.etg.xml?dl=0 Link to comment
evan127 Posted October 31, 2015 Author Share Posted October 31, 2015 Harry, did my graph work for you? I cleaned the sand bed during my 10 gallon water change. Cleaned my skimmer and man was it filthy. Thick, brown gunk and tons of it. Thinking of upsizing the skimmer too. Looking at the Vertex... HWmarine salt smells weird, but I love it and so do my corals! Link to comment
jstuver Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Tank looks great! Love seeing new pics:) Link to comment
uwharrie Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Now sure if any has said before but there is a way to properly calibrate a thermometer. you fill a container (glass usually) with ice, add cold water ( fill) stir well and place the probe in the ice bath. do not let the probe tip touch the bottom or sides of the container. you may need to agitate it a bit. once the thermometer has stabilized it should be reading 32 F If not then it needs to be adjusted. If can be ( some are not adjustable) just follow the instructions for the thermometer. ( oh and do not remove the probe while adjusting) You should actually do this once a month. Even good thermometers can be off, I use one at work that cost over $100 and we still check them monthly Alright, so life has been crazy busy. I haven't just been lazy with updating I have run into some troubles with my system. Essentially I have been cooking my aquarium slowly. I have had corals bleach over the last few weeks and I could not figure out why. At first I thought it might have been my alkalinity. It has not been swinging too drastically, but swinging. 7 to 9dkh. Then I thought maybe it could be too much flow. Then too little. Then too much light. Then not enough. Then too intense lighting. List keeps going. But at the bottom of my list was temperature. I had two of the little temperature probes you get at the LFS in my system. One in the display, one in the sump. I have used these before without issue. I also cleaned them regularly. In early December I calibrated my Jagers. It got really cold here and the aquarium is in the basement, which is about 64/65 degrees. The thermometers in the system kept reading 74. I thought it was due to the cold basement, so I cranked the heaters up a bit after the calibration. Still reading 74. I made another small heater increase. Still 74. This chase kept going for a few weeks. So this morning while drinking my coffee and looking at my tank, I decided to test the temperature using a meat thermometer. I know, weird. First I tested it on myself to see how accurate it was. Put it under my tongue and it read 98. So that was accurate enough for me. Put it in my tank and watch the gauge settle at 86. Yep. Awesome. Thermometers were both wrong and so I calibrated both heaters incorrectly. Amatuer hour over here! Moral of the story. Don't use those cheap thermometers. Not to run the risk anymore, this guy got an Apex today FTS coming asap! [ Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 I have since tossed the glass thermometers and gone with the Apex. No issues since then. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I have since tossed the glass thermometers and gone with the Apex. No issues since then. Dropbox doesn't work either Email me? Link to comment
uwharrie Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 What is an Apex? I like digital thermometers and use a Thermopen at work. I have never had one be off more than .04 deg F but still check accuracy with above methods monthly I have since tossed the glass thermometers and gone with the Apex. No issues since then. Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Its an awesome aquarium controller! I won't have another system with out one Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 UGH! EcoSmart Live is so screwed up since daylight savings Edit: EcoTech Marine's customer service rocks! Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Update So, the tank is doing really well so I thought I should mess with stuff I am going back to a more basic lighting schedule/program. I always had success in the past with more natural ways of lighting. Here is what I am doing now. 10 hours of lights on. That's it. 5 of those hours are 12k at 75% intensity (Radion Gen 3 Pro 120s for those just tuning in). The rest of the time is all blues. Sunrise is UV, Royal Blue and Blue. Sunset is UV, Royal Blue and Red. Screen Shot 2015-11-07 at 1.09.59 PM by Evan Cronshaw, on Flickr This gives me these approximate results: Screen Shot 2015-11-07 at 1.08.35 PM by Evan Cronshaw, on Flickr We shall see what happens. I am hoping for better growth without loosing color Feeding is being increased a lot. I am feeding 4 times a day. Small amounts, but at least 3 times a day with the hopes of 4. Coral broadcasts are on Wednesday and Friday nights after the lights are out. K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid) Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Things are still going well with the reef lately. Except the red bugs and diatoms. A few updates: The Radion is on High Growth (9am to 7pm) just as it was before, but I went with EcoTech's light points and cranked it up to 80%. I did add one point at "solar noon" to differentiate some cloud cover in the afternoons. The first half of "solar noon" has 30% cloud cover probability and the second half has 70%. I think intense light broken up throughout the day is beneficial and mimics natural environments. Over the past few months I have found that my reef loves Reef Crest mode on my Vortechs. Lagoonal creates too many dead spots in my tank. I will be building a new stand soon. New stand and new sand this winter! Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 New updates: I want to have more nitrates and phosphates in my system. I want a really dirty tank (insert jokes here). I've gone the ULNS for a while now with alright results, so I want to try the other end of the spectrum to see what happens. I'll only test for NO3 and PO4 for curiosity. Added two very bright purple firefish today. Killer deal too Skimmer is only on 12 hours a day. Just at night. I am changing one of my two filter socks once a week, so there is always some gunk in the system. I will take my GFO offline once it is expired. Also, I hate buying maintenance stuff like RO filters and DI resin. I did buy a block of the marinepure ceramic block stuff. I'm hoping that will be a huge copepod/amphipod factory. Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Lots of people around here are starting to subscribe to the dirty tank method of sps keeping. Mark's tank's are on it, he keeps the best updated chemistry journals on the site. His 240g should be easily searched out. Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 I look through his thread every so often. I'd prefer to go a more simplistic route though. I was more inspired by Richard Ross to start going down a more nutrient rich system to be honest Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 It's really weird and I don't know if there is any relation, but since I've increased nutrients my algae problems have been on the decline... Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 It's really weird and I don't know if there is any relation, but since I've increased nutrients my algae problems have been on the decline... When I stopped Chemi-pure blue all my diatoms went away lol. Reefing is weird Link to comment
evan127 Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 My sand bed is looking white again! It's crazy. I would have thought that more nutrients would drive the diatoms and the bit of Cyanobacteria I have to astronomical levels Link to comment
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