teenyreef Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I recall you mentioning that it would be a matter of time before the sps frags would acclimate and start consuming more alk so I think that's starting. BTW, thanks for the tip about the the using a razor for the limestone on the skimmer. I'm waiting for some new stones and I basically scraped the outsides of the current one really good and it works like a charm. I guess the outsides of the limestone start deteriorating and it just needs scraping in order for the good limestone area to be exposed to water. I'm thinking about starting back NO3 dosing, and wanted to get your thoughts about it as you've used it for a while now. Let me know. I think that in theory it's possible to keep scraping the airstone and keep it going by exposing new wood until there's no wood left. Eventually it won't be worth it because as it gets smaller from the scraping there will be fewer bubbles. But that would take a long time. On NO3 dosing, I still do it in both my 10g and my 40g tank, although I've cut it back pretty low in the 10g. In the NoPox instructions they recommend against using it together with any other phosphate reducer like gfo, but after doing some research it seems that lots of folks were doing it, so I did it too. I did it because it takes a lot longer for the phosphate to go down after the nitrates start to go down and I got impatient after a couple of weeks. But, at least in the 10g tank, I think it was counterproductive because the natural balance of nitrates to phosphates got artificially changed since I was controlling both with artificial mechanisms. I still think it can be done with care, but I'm trying to gradually get the 10g tank onto just NoPox without having to use gfo. I don't think I can avoid using NoPox in the 10g because I have too many fish in that tank otherwise.But I may end up moving Doug the Puffer into the 40g tank as he continues to grow, which would also help. So I guess the bottom line on this long-winded post is by all means try it, but go slow (like everything in this hobby), and be patient about letting the phosphates get lower on their own. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 I think that in theory it's possible to keep scraping the airstone and keep it going by exposing new wood until there's no wood left. Eventually it won't be worth it because as it gets smaller from the scraping there will be fewer bubbles. But that would take a long time. On NO3 dosing, I still do it in both my 10g and my 40g tank, although I've cut it back pretty low in the 10g. In the NoPox instructions they recommend against using it together with any other phosphate reducer like gfo, but after doing some research it seems that lots of folks were doing it, so I did it too. I did it because it takes a lot longer for the phosphate to go down after the nitrates start to go down and I got impatient after a couple of weeks. But, at least in the 10g tank, I think it was counterproductive because the natural balance of nitrates to phosphates got artificially changed since I was controlling both with artificial mechanisms. I still think it can be done with care, but I'm trying to gradually get the 10g tank onto just NoPox without having to use gfo. I don't think I can avoid using NoPox in the 10g because I have too many fish in that tank otherwise.But I may end up moving Doug the Puffer into the 40g tank as he continues to grow, which would also help. So I guess the bottom line on this long-winded post is by all means try it, but go slow (like everything in this hobby), and be patient about letting the phosphates get lower on their own. Great info as always, thanks. I'm using chemipure which contains gfo so I'll leave it in at first to see how it goes. I was dosing nopox in the shallow tank in very low doses and it yielded good results. I suspect the coral food is whats causing spikes in nutrients so I may have to do a little less of it. Although, this is the first time I've owned 3 fish in a tank so that may also be part of it. Appreciate the feedback! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 I started dosing NosPox a few days ago because my nitrates weren't going down much even after water change. I've used this stuff a while back but never fully realized how much it works. This API water test was pure orange about 3 days ago (approximately 8ppm), and I was noticing some algae starting to grow on frags. Acros weren't very happy but everything seemed okay. Started dosing and tested yesterday to find levels much closer to what I want. Phosphate is going down much slower, but it's working - I'm happy. 1 Quote Link to comment
DaveFason Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 When you do water changes, make sure to suck stuff from the back chambers. This has helped BIG time on my IM10. 2 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 When you do water changes, make sure to suck stuff from the back chambers. This has helped BIG time on my IM10. Good call Dave. Completely forgot about that area LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Good call Dave. Completely forgot about that area LOL. I agree, and I've also learned if I use a flexible hose I can work it down into the dead chamber under the overflow and pull out an amazing amount of disgusting stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Not too much to update for the tank. I finally got around to cleaning the back chambers which helped tremendously. There was so much crap back there which I'm sure was contributing to tank pollution. Found some dry rock pieces in an old box and decided to do some scaping. The live rock in the tank is great, it's just not the 'bonsai' look that I want. Starting with the base. Hmmm, I might be on to something. Ordered some E-Marco 400 reef cement so we'll see what happens. 1 Quote Link to comment
DaveFason Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Another trick I do is pure the water change water in the back chambers. This moves any of the gunk back there. Great rock formation! 2 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Recent. Nothing new as I've stopped buying frags for now. Dropped NosPox dosing down to 1ml/week. It's working well with nitrates at 0 for the past week. Continuing to scape the dry rock and marcos rocks mortar just came in so I'll start molding together hopefully soon. Sorry for the terrible camera flash pic. 2 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Removed this hideous piece of live rock with bubble algae all over it. Can't believe how much this stuff was growing. Luckily it doesn't look like it spread to other rocks. Had to toss some green mushrooms that were attached to it, but it was totally worth it. Thought I was done buying, but it's tough once you're at the LFS. This purple acro on the frag rack looks really nice. Trying millepora for the first time (down by the mushrooms). This was a total steal for $10. FTS 2 Quote Link to comment
DaveFason Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Looking wonderful. Snap a quick FTS with the light in the photo and I will share. -D 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Looking wonderful. Snap a quick FTS with the light in the photo and I will share. -D Will do. I keep forgetting to do photo mode and end up spending photoshop time adjusting the evening lighting. 2 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Look great, it's really doing well. I like the new dry rock you put together, when do you think you'll put it in place? Or are you still waiting for E-marco reef cement? I've used it and really love it. In my 40, I was able to stack the rocks in place and get the tank started, and then used the mortar months later once I was sure it was all put together the way I wanted. I just drained enough water to expose the rock joints and did it all in place, then refilled the water after about half an hour of drying time. Worked great 1 Quote Link to comment
dmw913 Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Very nicely done!!! Thanks for keeping us updated. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Look great, it's really doing well. I like the new dry rock you put together, when do you think you'll put it in place? Or are you still waiting for E-marco reef cement? I've used it and really love it. In my 40, I was able to stack the rocks in place and get the tank started, and then used the mortar months later once I was sure it was all put together the way I wanted. I just drained enough water to expose the rock joints and did it all in place, then refilled the water after about half an hour of drying time. Worked great Thanks Teeny. Great to hear about success stories about the cement. I got it a few days ago but haven't had much time to start using it. I have a pretty good idea of what I want - which is a bonsai look - but what I really want is less rock on the sand which the stand. I'll probably sculpt it, iterate, sculpt, iterate and then cycle when I'm happy. Will probably try to swap the current rock in the tank now - which is what I've been designing it for. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 Cabinet shot. 3 Quote Link to comment
DaveFason Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Tag yourself in my IG post. People dig the tank. 2 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Tag yourself in my IG post. People dig the tank. Yay, you're famous! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Yay, you're famous! bahaha, not even! 2 Quote Link to comment
Saltydude Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Wow sick tank! U would have spent a small fortune on that. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Wow sick tank! U would have spent a small fortune on that. Nah not a fortune, definitely not compared to others in these forums. But thanks though! Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 Testing and changing. Definitely that time of the week. The alk struggle is real. Can't get levels up even at 10ml/day. Just ordered the red sea reef foundation test kit as I need to test mag, and my API alk test is running low. Gonna try this stuff. Did some MAJOR cleaning in the chambers, skimmer, and dosing tube holder. It gets pretty crusty back there. Clean Go falcons!! 1 Quote Link to comment
Bowen1022 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Did you end up rescaping? Tank is looking great! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 Did you end up rescaping? Tank is looking great! Thanks Bowen! Yes I am still putting together a new scape with dry rocks. Just not finding time to work on it. Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted February 6, 2017 Author Share Posted February 6, 2017 Taking a snow day to enjoy the tank. Yay! 1 Quote Link to comment
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