Mark's 150 (NanoBox Retro)

[markalot]

4:30pm  7.0KH    topoff not working at all for some reason.  Again!

[markalot]

5pm 7.5

 

cutting back the dose a tad

[markalot]

Time for another scooch maneuver, always dangerous but if anything big broke, well it needed trimmed anyway.   Naturally nothing broke.

 

I took some old reef rocks that had been outside in the garden and put them in the utility tub to soak for a few days.  Added 20 drops of PhosphateRx to help remove PO4 from the tap water and rocks.  

 

4Pm start

 

 

The scape prior to the scooch.  In the back center is the Sarmentosa on a mag rock that no longer can support the weight.  It has to move as well.

 

2 hours later all done, skeletons removed for drying.

 

No wonder the mag rock could not hold the Sarmentosa ... he's a big boy.  That is all coral.

 

 

Result of the push is a good deal of space in the front now and a lot more light on the sandbed.  Flash used to light up the rocks.

 

 

 

Here's the blue/green stag I moved to the center/back.  It's growing at least as fast as the slimer now, kind of snuck up on me.  I have two frags of it.

 

It's a deep green with the base going from very light tan to blue with bright blue tips.  This is a pretty accurate pic, including the brown branch that had been shaded by the Katropora.

[markalot]

I have more space in the little section in front than many people have tank, yet I'm afraid to put anything there for fear it will be crowded out.

 

No design sense whatsoever.  :)

[vlangel]

The tank looks amazing as always Mark.  Who needs a sense of design when their tank is full of awesome beautiful coral?

[markalot]

5pm 7.6kh

[jSully]

wow, the maturity of those colonies is exceptional.. beautiful

[markalot]

13 hours ago, xtra0t said:

wow, the maturity of those colonies is exceptional.. beautiful

Thanks Sully. :)  

[DaveFason]

You can do no wrong. Tank looks amazing Mark. I hope the new rock helps. 

[specore]

Both of your tanks are looking fabulous.  If you ever have any frags available I may have to head up I-71 😉

[metrokat]

Happy Birthday Mark. 

[markalot]

1 hour ago, metrokat said:

Happy Birthday Mark. 

 

Thanks Kat.  55 years young.   need to get me one of those AARP cards and start demanding senior citizens discounts. :) 

 

1 hour ago, specore said:

Both of your tanks are looking fabulous.  If you ever have any frags available I may have to head up I-71 😉

 

Thanks!  I always have a few frags here and there.  Later July might be an option, just yell.

 

13 hours ago, DaveFason said:

You can do no wrong. Tank looks amazing Mark. I hope the new rock helps. 

 

Thanks Dave.

[specore]

7 minutes ago, markalot said:

Thanks!  I always have a few frags here and there.  Later July might be an option, just yell.

 

I'll do that.  As long as I get my wife to Cinci for Taste of Belgium she won't complain about me buying a couple of frags 

[markalot]

So ya know how I encourage people to dose based on Alk and test calcium from time to time?  I finally tested calcium after a few months and mine is at 270.  :o  I knew the calcium doser pump had a few issues because the container wasn't emptying as fast but I radically underestimated the problem.  I need 500ml of calcium to get back to normal, so far I've dosed 240ml.  Acros doing well but the tips are still distorted a bit which forced me to test everything.  Need to follow my own advice and test calcium monthly, little doser errors add up.

[DaveFason]

On 6/26/2018 at 8:56 AM, markalot said:

So ya know how I encourage people to dose based on Alk and test calcium from time to time?  I finally tested calcium after a few months and mine is at 270.  😮 I knew the calcium doser pump had a few issues because the container wasn't emptying as fast but I radically underestimated the problem.  I need 500ml of calcium to get back to normal, so far I've dosed 240ml.  Acros doing well but the tips are still distorted a bit which forced me to test everything.  Need to follow my own advice and test calcium monthly, little doser errors add up.

More people need to do this. I have talked to countless people with the same issues. Parameters "should" be fine to find out that the dosers have been off for months. 

 

You'll be back on track. 😄 

[markalot]

On 7/2/2018 at 9:16 AM, DaveFason said:

More people need to do this. I have talked to countless people with the same issues. Parameters "should" be fine to find out that the dosers have been off for months. 

 

You'll be back on track. 😄 

 

Just got back from our vacation in Chicago.   Prior to leaving I dumped all the calcium I had on hand, and not in the doser, into the tank.  Things look better so I'll test and see how much further I have to go.

 

Man I miss my hometown bad.  Stayed downtown on a high floor with a view of the city ... you want a view of the lake sir, NO, the city!   Rode the Metra train out to Geneva to grab some overpriced food and drink, then rode back.  I love trains, I could have done that 5 or six times with the all you can ride weekend pass.   Visited the Shed Aquarium, of course, the art institute, and the Field museum of natural history.  I highly recommend walking in downtown Chicago in 95 degree heat for weight loss and views.  ahem.

 

I didn't take many pics other then to document ... we were here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday the wind shifted to off the lake and it was a beautiful 75F with a nice breeze.

 

 

 

My dad made fun of this eyesore at every chance.  I made the kids watch Blues Brothers prior to the trip so they would recognize some landmarks.

 

 

 

[xiaoxiy]

Next time your in Chicago, you should check out Old Town Aquariums and Reefwise!

[markalot]

I'm still dumping calcium into the tank, I've gotten up to a whopping 350 now and Alk usage has started to climb dramatically.  It's kind of tough to judge Alk since adding calcium will drop it so I've been adding calcium in the morning and testing Alk in the evening,  Had a low of 5.7 KH which I quickly corrected to 6.5 KH.   I am willing to bet that the loss of the SSC acro was due to the calcium imbalance.   The Lokani, which I almost lost, has a glow I haven't seen in a while and is back to encrusting rapidly, something I took for granted prior to the problems.  If the blue stag, which has struggled for almost a year now, recovers then I'll know for sure that the tank has been calcium deficient at some level for a long time. 

 

Though my test kits haven't expired I've got new Alk, Calcium, and Mg kits arriving tonight and I'll retest.   

 

Mg tested at 1400 last night.

[markalot]

Calcium 380

KH 6.2

[teenyreef]

Calcium takes forever to change significantly, so much harder than alk. I had low calcium in my 40g a month or two ago, for the same reason. It's so easy to put off checking calcium just because it never seems to change when you do it regularly. Next thing you know, it hasn't been tested in six months and it's way off.

[markalot]

16 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

Calcium takes forever to change significantly, so much harder than alk. I had low calcium in my 40g a month or two ago, for the same reason. It's so easy to put off checking calcium just because it never seems to change when you do it regularly. Next thing you know, it hasn't been tested in six months and it's way off.

 

The doser is still off, I noticed once again the calcium container is a little higher than the alk.  Going to replace the head and see if that fixes it.  And yea, just a little off adds up quick.  I still need 500ml of Calcium to get it to where I want it.  lol.

[xiaoxiy]

Can you calibrate the calcium doser head?

[Arce]

I barely come on the forums anymore, but every time i do i come back here to check on your tank. Your colonies are huge. Everything looks great Mark. 

[markalot]

6 hours ago, xiaoxiy said:

Can you calibrate the calcium doser head?

 

I could see how much it was dosing by measuring, but it appears to be variable at the moment.  I think an easier solution is to just get off my ass and actually test calcium every week.  :) 

 

5 hours ago, Arce said:

I barely come on the forums anymore, but every time i do i come back here to check on your tank. Your colonies are huge. Everything looks great Mark. 

 

Thanks Arce!

[Orangutran]

On 7/7/2018 at 8:53 PM, markalot said:

 

The doser is still off, I noticed once again the calcium container is a little higher than the alk.  Going to replace the head and see if that fixes it.  And yea, just a little off adds up quick.  I still need 500ml of Calcium to get it to where I want it.  lol.

Funny enough, I have calcium issues the other way, spiked to 480 cus my doser is acting up! SPS are pissed off-- not extending. Hopefully you get yours resolved. Not even sure how to lower my Ca, do I shut off the doser and do some water changes?