In Amber Clad

[MikeTR]

That nem needs it's own rock in the back just off center.. mind of their own i know..

[jedimasterben]

That nem needs it's own rock in the back just off center.. mind of their own i know..

There isn't any space for one, especially not for one as big as it needs. I'm even more limited by the 18" depth than I am the 24" I had in the 80, so visually I have 12" of width to work with taking in the visual distortion from the glass. I'd need approximately 14" diameter, and that doesn't leave much room for anything else.

 

I have lots of rock that I can work with, though, so I can do something with it, and that's the plan for tonight.

[jedimasterben]

So back in June I saw a thread on ReefCentral about KZ Coral Snow being 'chalk', which is basically ground up calcite (calcium carbonate, very similar to the aragonite skeletons our corals make). The guy figured out the dosage amount of dry weight (0.4 grams per milliliter, recommended dose 1mL per 100L volume) and matched it with analytical grade CaCO₃ powder and found it to have the same effect and having much higher purity than the calcite does (which has impurities like magnesium carbonate, silicate, etc). Here is that thread for reference: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23955030

 

I ordered a pound of food grade 97% CaCO3 powder on Amazon that day for $8.75. Since I was in tank limbo then, I left it in my closet until last night, the new tank being up and the skimmer having a consistent foam head. Did the first dose last night, just a tiny bit (around 1/8tsp). It is a pure white powder (in contrast to the off-white color of KZ Coral Snow when dried) and is VERY fine, think confectioner's sugar. Clouded the water like Coral Snow does, and cleared the water just like Coral Snow does. The slight haze the tank had was gone this morning.

 

In my research, some people have had issues with long-term dosing of Coral Snow and seeing slightly increased algae, diatoms, etc, and this could be from the impurities in the calcite. With food grade (or better) CaCO3, this shouldn't be an issue.

 

 

Tonight I'll do some measurements and figure out the weight of some common measurements (like the 1/8tsp, etc) to match the KZ recommended dosage and will make another thread for it, but so far I give it a thumbs up

[markalot]

Excellent. I own KZ coral snow, but haven't used it more than once. It's all about finding the cheap magic ingredients that go into some of these potions and going cheap!

 

Now I wonder what is in Sponge Power, this stuff works like magic.

[Paleoreef103]

So back in June I saw a thread on ReefCentral about KZ Coral Snow being 'chalk', which is basically ground up calcite (calcium carbonate, very similar to the aragonite skeletons our corals make). The guy figured out the dosage amount of dry weight (0.4 grams per milliliter, recommended dose 1mL per 100L volume) and matched it with analytical grade CaCO₃ powder and found it to have the same effect and having much higher purity than the calcite does (which has impurities like magnesium carbonate, silicate, etc). Here is that thread for reference: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23955030

 

I ordered a pound of food grade 97% CaCO3 powder on Amazon that day for $8.75. Since I was in tank limbo then, I left it in my closet until last night, the new tank being up and the skimmer having a consistent foam head. Did the first dose last night, just a tiny bit (around 1/8tsp). It is a pure white powder (in contrast to the off-white color of KZ Coral Snow when dried) and is VERY fine, think confectioner's sugar. Clouded the water like Coral Snow does, and cleared the water just like Coral Snow does. The slight haze the tank had was gone this morning.

 

In my research, some people have had issues with long-term dosing of Coral Snow and seeing slightly increased algae, diatoms, etc, and this could be from the impurities in the calcite. With food grade (or better) CaCO3, this shouldn't be an issue.

 

 

Tonight I'll do some measurements and figure out the weight of some common measurements (like the 1/8tsp, etc) to match the KZ recommended dosage and will make another thread for it, but so far I give it a thumbs up

Please keep posting how this works for you. I've been doing some Coral Snow recently and have loved the increased skimmer output.

 

Your new tank is a 40 breeder, right? Love those tanks.

[jedimasterben]

Excellent. I own KZ coral snow, but haven't used it more than once. It's all about finding the cheap magic ingredients that go into some of these potions and going cheap!

 

Now I wonder what is in Sponge Power, this stuff works like magic.

Sodium silicate with a little bit of a 'preservative' that is awful lot like vinegar is the best guess so far and that makes the most sense. Sponges are symbionts with and eat bacteria, so the silicate not only helps the sponge directly, but the 'preservative' (aka a carbon source) helps bacteria multiply to feed the sponges.

 

FWIW, I had a significant increase in sponge and feather duster growth when dosing sodium silicate. That stuff is a little touchy to dose, though, as it has an ULTRA high pH and actually precipitates magnesium when dosed (though this precipitate shortly dissolves back into the water.

 

Mark, does Sponge Power have any particulate matter in it that you can see? You don't happen to have access to a microscope, do you? Or if anyone else is reading this that does AND has some SP, can you look at it and check? Please and thank you

 

You actually reminded me - I wanted a while back to ask Randy Holmes-Farley if it is a good idea to mix a little vinegar with sodium silicate in an effort to prevent this precipitate and make it easier for someone as lazy as me to dose both.

 

Please keep posting how this works for you. I've been doing some Coral Snow recently and have loved the increased skimmer output.

 

Your new tank is a 40 breeder, right? Love those tanks.

I'll keep you guys updated, but I don't expect the results to be any different than Coral Snow, except that my wallet isn't being assaulted.

[markalot]

I don't have a microscope but the liquid is crystal clear. The dosage is very low, 1 drop per 25 gallons, so even if it has vinegar in it I can't imagine it's enough to make any difference. There is something else that really makes acros, especially stags like the slimer and the blue acro, respond quickly. New growth tips are noticeable within a week of dosing and elongated. Klein doses daily, automated, and look at the growth on his Katropora. That odd elongated growth is what I'm starting to see and not really liking it.

[charnelhouse]

Sump is clean!

 

 

 

Put my foot in there to appease Addinali

 

Please no do that n e moar....

[jedimasterben]

I don't have a microscope but the liquid is crystal clear. The dosage is very low, 1 drop per 25 gallons, so even if it has vinegar in it I can't imagine it's enough to make any difference. There is something else that really makes acros, especially stags like the slimer and the blue acro, respond quickly. New growth tips are noticeable within a week of dosing and elongated. Klein doses daily, automated, and look at the growth on his Katropora. That odd elongated growth is what I'm starting to see and not really liking it.

Hmm, very interesting. I wonder if it is (relatively) pure ethanol, then? 160 proof vodka for carbon dosing starts at the same one drop per 100L, though I know SP is not marketed as the main carbon source of Zeovit, so even if it was a split 50/50 between sodium silicate and ethanol it would contribute pretty well to carbon dosing - though this would have a detrimental effect in systems without a skimmer. I wonder if there are any tanks without skimmers using SP?

[tibbsy07]

Drink it and see if it gets you drunk

[jedimasterben]

[Addinali]

Can you post a link to the CAC03 from amazon you got.

[jedimasterben]

Can you post a link to the CAC03 from amazon you got.

http://www.amazon.com/Grade-Calcium-Carbonate-Ground-Limestone/dp/B00K43MRKO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1440455743&sr=8-2&keywords=caco3&pebp=1440455759879&perid=086B8151FTPS8EEGW7NC

 

 

Came home and the potters angel died. Fml

[Addinali]

http://www.amazon.com/Grade-Calcium-Carbonate-Ground-Limestone/dp/B00K43MRKO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1440455743&sr=8-2&keywords=caco3&pebp=1440455759879&perid=086B8151FTPS8EEGW7NC

 

 

Came home and the potters angel died. Fml

I liked that for the link not because the angel died that sucks.

[jedimasterben]

So I had this rock.

 

I made it in April of 2013, along with the big 'octopus' rock the nem is on now. The piece on the bottom were cut flat before I got them (didn't ask for it, but that's how they arrived, and it was cool!). They were originally joined together, but that middle joint broke while lifting it into the 80.

 

Whodathunkit, it fits like they were meant to go together

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for such poor photos. I have the Bluefish Mini on a custom LED ramp so that I can properly use the T5 and it very quickly ramps down and I don't notice it until after I've gotten the photos and it's too late to take more lol.

[Pinner Reef]

There ya go... Much better scape

[jedimasterben]

I'm still not 100% into it (no surprise there lol). The left side needs to be a bit higher to not look as close to the right side, and there is a small rock missing from the top of the left side that looks like it came off. I've got plenty of small pieces I can put there, so I will epoxy something to it. I thought about mortaring it, but its just a tiny piece that isn't structural. Super glue would probably do it, too.

 

The right side also isn't as open as I'd like (and not to mention kat lol), but I'm not sure what to do about it. The snake polyps rock needs to go somewhere, as does the piece of pukani from pgrvii. The snake polyps rock I can probably chisel into pieces and glue them somewhere, but it seems that though they look colonial, they are more individual and easy pop off of the rock, so now I have a few of them randomly floating about lol.

[DaveFason]

Great start! Now lets make sure those ALK tests are correct

[metrokat]

Those snake polyps need to be moved. They are seeming like part of the scape when they are a movable rock of their own. Jam it up on the front right corner or right to the glass in the front middle.

You don't HAVE to use every single rock that's in the house Benny. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't need to be in the tank.

[jedimasterben]

Those snake polyps need to be moved. They are seeming like part of the scape when they are a movable rock of their own. Jam it up on the front right corner or right to the glass in the front middle.

You don't HAVE to use every single rock that's in the house Benny. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't need to be in the tank.

BUT IF IT FITS IT SHIPS!

 

I have another ~30-40lb of rock that I didn't put in, so it's not like I'm stuffing it full, I could do WAY better. I don't think the snakes can go anywhere else. I put them in the front corner and they'll stick out out of place, I put them in the front middle and they'll stick out out of place. :/

[tibbsy07]

I like the scape, especially the new rock shape. Sorry to hear about the potter's angel.

[ReefWeeds]

I like it, Ben!!!

I like the scape, especially the new rock shape. Sorry to hear about the potter's angel.

I agree with Tibbsy! And sorry about the angel as well

[vlangel]

I like the scape, especially the left side. Sorry about the potter's angel.

[charnelhouse]

I like the scape, especially the new rock shape. Sorry to hear about the potter's angel.

 

+1

[Felicia]

I really like the left side of the scape now! Nice work