VW_TDI_02 Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 My goal is to never change the water if I can help it. Usually 2-3 months between 50% changes, and that's almost always because I screwed up dosing (100+ ppm nitrates) or my brother doses a damned gallon of calcium! I have started dosing trace elements to help with the lack of water changes. I'm curious to see if I get different/better growth due to that. Never changing the water is actually a challenge - not so much because of nutrient build up, like in a typical reef, but because of the constant depletion of nutrients. The challenge is in the stuff we can't or don't know to measure for. Have you thought about going with dosing pumps? Link to comment
vlangel Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I get good growth from some of my macros and I do big water changes because of the seahorses. Even at that I still dose iron, magnesium and occasionally iodine to make up for depletion of nutrients. I use straight tap water so they are probably getting some nutrients there too. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Have you thought about going with dosing pumps? I have, and I did get pretty close to biting the bullet. But the BubbleMagus stuff is too pricey for me, and the cheaper options with controllers seem to be finicky or unreliable. The Jebao doser seemed like a great choice but there's a real nice long thread full of problems with it over on RC. The other option is building DIY dosers, (or getting BRS dosers), but then I'd need a controller, which means I'm into buying all sorts of other stuff. Someday I probably will, or maybe even build my own arduino or rPi controller. That would be fun! Link to comment
ReeferReefer Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 How is that lettuce sea slug doing? I heard they are hard to keep alive. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 How is that lettuce sea slug doing? I heard they are hard to keep alive. I unfortunately lost the slug (and my shrimp, and my porcelain crab) a while back when my nitrates spiked (over 100+ppm!) from overdosing. It did well for the time that I had it, active and colorful. I'll probably try again once I get dosing levels figured out a little better. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 So my nitrates... are around 160ppm Kind of impressed with how well my few corals and nem are handling it. Gonna have to cut back on dosing nitrate for a week, and jacking up my phosphate dosing to help bring the N down. Not much else going on with the tank other than letting things grow in, cleaning up the scape a little more, got several new macros in but haven't figured out where to put them yet. A few new shots! All untouched and under daylights w/blues.Halymenia sp. (I'm naming it Pink Dragon - it's a lot like Dragon's Tongue, but pinker and without any iridescence) Blue OchtodesHypnea PannosaFrogspawn, made because I moved it but looking very colorful these nitrate levels! Actually much brighter in person.Grandis doing good in lower light, need more light for better color though.Freebie from Edward! Link to comment
leonel619 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Looks great Andrew. Are those the grandi palys you had for sale? I was gonna ask about those but saw that you had them for sale as part of a frag pack. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Looks great Andrew. Are those the grandi palys you had for sale? I was gonna ask about those but saw that you had them for sale as part of a frag pack. Thanks, and yep, that's them. I think they normally run $10/polyp (what I paid on SDR), and there are 6-7 polyps, so $30 for the pack is a steal! Link to comment
leonel619 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Thanks, and yep, that's them. I think they normally run $10/polyp (what I paid on SDR), and there are 6-7 polyps, so $30 for the pack is a steal! That is a steal. Hmm are you still selling the pack? I'll send you a pm later or tomorrow morning. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 That is a steal. Hmm are you still selling the pack? I'll send you a pm later or tomorrow morning. Yessir, sounds good! Do you have room?! Link to comment
leonel619 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Yessir, sounds good! Do you have room?! for those grandis I'll make room lol Link to comment
JoeDigiorgio Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Looking great! I gotta send you some updated pics of that moss wall you helped me out with! Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Sump shots too! Packed, I need to move more stuff up to the display. The Hypnea and especially Ochtodes have been doing awesomely! I have one rock that's totally bare in my display, thinking about covering it in Ochtodes. Looking great! I gotta send you some updated pics of that moss wall you helped me out with! Definitely!! Link to comment
brad908 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Where did you get Blue Ochtodes? I looked on reefs2go but don't see any Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 Where did you get Blue Ochtodes? I looked on reefs2go but don't see any I got it from someone on eBay, which is where I get most of the more uncommon macros lately. I've ordered from R2G several times but will no longer after several DOAs and unauthorized substitutions. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I have, and I did get pretty close to biting the bullet. But the BubbleMagus stuff is too pricey for me, and the cheaper options with controllers seem to be finicky or unreliable. The Jebao doser seemed like a great choice but there's a real nice long thread full of problems with it over on RC. The other option is building DIY dosers, (or getting BRS dosers), but then I'd need a controller, which means I'm into buying all sorts of other stuff. Someday I probably will, or maybe even build my own arduino or rPi controller. That would be fun! ORRRR a BRS doser with simple timers that are like $7 each Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 ORRRR a BRS doser with simple timers that are like $7 each Looked at that too, but I'm dosing so much different stuff that I'd have to buy... a lot of pumps. Plus that fact that some pumps won't shut off once turned on depending on the timer (mechanical vs electronic solenoid, as seen with the RKE/RKL PB4 issue). For my budget the only thing that works is the Jebao or DIY chinese pumps, but both seem to have reliability issues that I don't want to take the chance on. Kind of a bummer, but low tech ain't so bad. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Looked at that too, but I'm dosing so much different stuff that I'd have to buy... a lot of pumps. Plus that fact that some pumps won't shut off once turned on depending on the timer (mechanical vs electronic solenoid, as seen with the RKE/RKL PB4 issue). For my budget the only thing that works is the Jebao or DIY chinese pumps, but both seem to have reliability issues that I don't want to take the chance on. Kind of a bummer, but low tech ain't so bad. I have a Jebao DP4 that I really like. I do have a little back-siphoning issue. Need to buy some anti-siphon valves Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 I have a Jebao DP4 that I really like. I do have a little back-siphoning issue. Need to buy some anti-siphon valves I did get super close to buying one, but the big deal breaker for me was that I read it doesn't keep settings after a power outage. And with my wife tripping the tank's circuit twice a month, that was a big problem Link to comment
Manbearfish Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I got it from someone on eBay, which is where I get most of the more uncommon macros lately. I've ordered from R2G several times but will no longer after several DOAs and unauthorized substitutions. So I'm not the only one! I had a macro pack come from them yesterday and not only did I never get a tracking email sent to me or any sort of contact email whatsoever about my order, but my package comes and they just crossed some of the stuff in the package out with a sharpie and wrote in new subs which I can't even read, I was a little bummed to be fully honest. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I did get super close to buying one, but the big deal breaker for me was that I read it doesn't keep settings after a power outage. And with my wife tripping the tank's circuit twice a month, that was a big problem Um- yeah it does! Jebao DP4 has a battery that lasts a few days if the power goes out; I've personally done this a bunch of times Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 So I'm not the only one! I had a macro pack come from them yesterday and not only did I never get a tracking email sent to me or any sort of contact email whatsoever about my order, but my package comes and they just crossed some of the stuff in the package out with a sharpie and wrote in new subs which I can't even read, I was a little bummed to be fully honest. I always get the tracking email like a week later. Kinda useless. They are fairly responsive with complaints and DOA credit, but their $20 shipping kind of kills it when the macro is $4. If I could do it again I think I would've just done a credit card chargeback, which I really try not to do but wasting money with them is not fun. Also, I am loving your user name and avatar. I'm super cereal. Um- yeah it does! Jebao DP4 has a battery that lasts a few days if the power goes out; I've personally done this a bunch of times Really? Awesome, I will check it out again. I was reading through a long thread on RC about the DP4 issues and that was mentioned, but maybe I was mistaken! Thank you. Link to comment
brad908 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I got it from someone on eBay, which is where I get most of the more uncommon macros lately. I've ordered from R2G several times but will no longer after several DOAs and unauthorized substitutions. Thanks for the info. I am looking to add more macro's to my mangrove tank, so I will keep using ebay and skip R2G. If you ever sell any, lmk. Actually, I think I found you on ebay. Are you selling a $65 high-end saltwater macroalgae plant pack? The pictures on the listing look identical to this thread. Or did you just repost pictures from that sellers listing? Link to comment
Manbearfish Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I always get the tracking email like a week later. Kinda useless. They are fairly responsive with complaints and DOA credit, but their $20 shipping kind of kills it when the macro is $4. If I could do it again I think I would've just done a credit card chargeback, which I really try not to do but wasting money with them is not fun. Also, I am loving your user name and avatar. I'm super cereal. Really? Awesome, I will check it out again. I was reading through a long thread on RC about the DP4 issues and that was mentioned, but maybe I was mistaken! Thank you. Haha thanks, I'm also a gamer at heart, my other "hobby" Link to comment
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