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MainelyReefer

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3 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

The next picture with the yellow and orange rimmed coral looks like a face to me.

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Haha... I agree.

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  • 1 month later...
MainelyReefer

Forgot to update all of August, it wasn't uneventful... with 90-100 degree heat waves in NH, the tank hit 86.4 degrees once when I left the windows open(dangerously close to death). Luckily I noticed and placed an ice cube in my glass lid and that worked.  Unrelatedly the red rim green mouth trumpet who had been looking pissy just started dissolving, not seeing anything out of the blue I grabbed the test kit.   Alk came back at 4.0, I figured it can't be right so I retest and receive the same 4.0 results exactly.  Concerned the Hanna checker might be acting up I mixed a new batch of RSCP which came with an ICP analysis and it mixed right to where it should at 12.1 so I can only assume somehow my little tank actually hit 4.0 dKH.  Halfway through a well mixed salt batch so I don't think there was discrepancies in the mixes consistancy.  Maybe with a newborn I have slacked and skipped a week or two of water changes, and when they were performed the freshly mixed SW likely sat for a few days allowing elements to precipitate out on the heater/powerhead.  Maybe a compounding of factors like that caused alk to bottom out.  IMG_4162.thumb.JPG.603c650c1287583ea97a4bf833228f8a.JPGhere is a junky shot of my blasto eating a bristleworm.   YUM

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other than that the tank has been running on autopilot.  Fritz and Weatherbee are still kicking too.

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MainelyReefer

Photo heavy update

7347EFC1-1A8C-44B0-848C-7CE34C8A12AD.thumb.jpeg.5d0a6d5a2028eaef95e9678bf9856919.jpeg6888BF55-F66F-4889-96B0-FED7C4E7254B.thumb.jpeg.277a5508f064e6da13a192dfa0377bd6.jpeg

this pic has a cool air bubble in the top left corner, the following is moments later but the colors are betterB352AAC3-2D9A-4793-8DB7-E012E89F0C0E.thumb.jpeg.edde76986949e2c418b3c479def09269.jpegF27FD352-AF01-4877-B156-A29BC51CE66D.thumb.jpeg.85f61cf462bab33aad5869b94d39157e.jpeg

The next four pictures are to show how the eagle eyes have circumnavigated the upper rockwork, now they just have to cover the cap2B6AFE34-7EB5-4282-87A7-FE08A61B15D2.thumb.jpeg.ade785b6665d7b178bb40b03a80dc665.jpeg23CC4D0A-7F47-48B0-9566-53AF7AC67E87.thumb.jpeg.ac405909c51c01072ef27c7970ba146c.jpeg01A4418D-365E-43A7-81FC-0958B6D70B9A.thumb.jpeg.e67cc99b6655c9c1bf3f5bc95fc801d1.jpegCFA51E46-DD4C-48F3-BB3C-E4ACA81DB922.thumb.jpeg.8f1f7a749200616de381b4c770fe145c.jpeg

Here is fritz, wetherbee is harder to findAD4797C5-17A1-46D8-8503-60980C05ABC1.thumb.jpeg.74de7c4eaa6bd9d899afc7da27336ccf.jpeg

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Your creative contest container tank is maturing beautifully.  What an inspiration for anyone looking to get into a reef tank without breaking the bank.  In a month it will celebrate its first birthday!  Kudos to you!

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MainelyReefer

The Reefbowl's CUC consists of a population of limpets and one single tiny cone shaped snail who is a boss and does work on the glass.  Today when I got home I noticed something strange in an acans mouth and it was the lonesnail

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so I scrambled to find my tweezers to save him

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not sure if the Acan would have eventually spit him out intact or if he was a sure goner, I was just glad I caught it and ensured his survival.  Then he dropped out of the tweezers down the lift pipe.  I made no attempt to retrieve him as limpets travel through there somehow so he should be able to make it out.  Survival of the fittest playing out in a bowl on my kitchen counter

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FEED MEIMG_4392.thumb.JPG.f8d77a036a26f447662ea7dc69c882fd.JPGIMG_4394.thumb.JPG.6838b836983ac97f7891990df9e7fcd5.JPGIMG_4393.thumb.JPG.9e172d06251a63a40eb305ec157ec777.JPG

the pistol shrimp dislodged the glue holding the green/orange ric down and I rescued it using a pair of tweezers holding another pair of tweezers in order to get the angle to reach into the bowl and under the rock, I'll get pictures next time to prove the McGyver genius.  Glued it onto the dead Skelton of the red green trumpet that bit the dust last month.IMG_6304.thumb.jpg.39bd2831e13c9c17402855bfff80c4ef.jpg

another ric close up with Fritz in the background IMG_6311.thumb.jpg.00626f4ed366ba2d4f88fed56e6463e7.jpg

and a shot of the blasto heads that are finally formingIMG_6312.thumb.jpg.41e22b421ca3eb1b2fd11420cb49dfbb.jpg

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WC day, grabbed some quick shots

Empty tank

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Empty Topdown

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Must have forgotten I own a filter to make these shots less blue. I like how drawn out the flesh gets on the blue trumpets almost like the skeleton will rip through, but it never does.

Refill Setup

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To refill the tank I just open the 1/4" ball valve and the freshly mixed water starts flowing with gravity from the 5g bucket into the bowl.  This is how I jet the detritus out of the sandbed, once it refills about 1/4 of the way I simultaneously begin siphoning again and suck all the detritus out.  My drain is faster than the fill so I easily grab all the detritus that is brought into the water column.  I also have the parts to operate the bucket filler on 3/8" but think it would fill to fast and stir up the sand too much maybe? I guess don't fix what isn't broken will be my approach.  This setup is also really nice at cleaning off the rock work and walls of sand after it gets all over during cleaning. Having a super easy maintenance routine is likely one of the main reasons this tank has continued to get TLC.

Dirty Waste Water

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I feed a pinch of flake daily and frozen the morning before WC so really it's not too gross considering some of the color is likely the film algae in suspension that I cleaned off the walls.

Just on the upper left edge of the bucket you can see the small amount of sand I usually end up siphoning out, today was the first time I actually replaced a little bit back in as it is getting low.  I went easy on the amount so as not to stress anything, which as far as I can tell it didn't.  Next WC I will likely replenish more back to the initial desired amount as the pistol loves shoveling it to and fro

Just Cleaned Tank(pissed coral)

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Once the bowl is refilled it becomes painfully obvious how discolored the water gets over the course of a week, it always feels like someone remade the bowl in low iron glass then I realize  I just cleaned it and it's still the same junky bubble filled glass from Indonesia.  I love it though.

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Fritz was out this morning, he likes my under cabinet lighting at night, whenever I make a baby bottle(a couple times a night) I use the under cabinet lighting and he always pops out I think to utilize it to hunt pods IMG_4441.thumb.JPG.7135355fb80c94897fb9385a88a9370c.JPGIMG_4434.thumb.JPG.8106d3a767a1e2dc40d17044e2b9c0fe.JPG

also going to throw a theory/question out there.  Recently a bristleworm stuck me with dozens of its bristles, vinegar to dissolve them was the solution.  So they are stripping the water of Calcium and alk too?  The population in this bowl is astronomical and the bowl bottomed out in alk at 4 something a few weeks ago, is it fair to assume the worms are contributing to alk/Calcium consumption?  I've certainly grown more bristles than coral in here haha

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That bristleworm is as big as Fritz. :whoa:

 

Yeah the bristleworms will consume some calcium (as will snails and other inverts); however, it shouldn't amount to much.  Certainly water changes should be able to replenish this amount.  I assume that your LPS is consuming the bulk of the alkalinity and calcium.

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I agree with seabass, I think it is your flourishing LPS that is consuming Alk and CA.  Maybe try dosing a little 2 part in the week to help control the swings.  With such a small reef it would last you a long time.

 

Btw, I loved how you showed your maintenance with pics!  That is a slick set up you came up with and your bowl just keeps getting more beautiful.  If there were voting on the creative container contest now yours would be a contender for sure.

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To go with the fritz picture from this morning I felt compelled to try to capture some pics of wetherbee the pistol shrimp.... the struggle is real.

Broadcast fed a pinch or two of flake to entice him out and waited

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Not

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Closed the door

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28 minutes later

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Leftys are Smarter

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Glorious Success

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Now to get the shot of fritz and wetherbee together, which everytime I see I never have a camera and filter on hand.  

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I love this bowl - you are showing that so much can be done with the right setup and maintenence. If the contest had run longer I think you would be the champion :biggrin:

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MainelyReefer

Parameter swing update.

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Still Swinging, I didn’t change anything about my maintenance routine so that’s to be expected but I have been paying more attention and it seems it’s just going to swing from the 10.2 alk my current RSCP mixes to and a 4ish a week later.

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 Today is WC day again(8 days) and it tested out at 4.6, I’m too lazy to test other parameters and slowly the corals that can handle these swings are likely to outcompete the ones who can’t.  Guessing the blue and green trumpets are my two biggest alk sponges, the blue one is growing in the form of Jabba the Hut with such low flow, like one giant mass with no discernible heads except when their mouths go out of the giant flesh blob.

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Feeling confident the corals won’t die from this weekly swing but rather be slightly stunted in growth speed.  So I might just allow it to take place as pruning won’t happen as soon and given the non removable nature of my aquascape that is a dreaded day.

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On 9/23/2018 at 5:31 PM, GraniteReefer said:

I feed a pinch of flake daily

If you're already in a routine of putting stuff into the tank daily....

23 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

Today is WC day again(8 days) and it tested out at 4.6

 

Then why can't some of that stuff be Part 1 and Part 2 to keep parameters from swinging so hard?  Compare the test results you've done so far and compute the usage per day. 

 

12.1 - 4.6 = 7.5 dKH of usage.  Per the Reef Chemistry Calculator, that's just a hair over 3mL of ESV Part 1.  (Dose equal amounts of Part 2 if your stonies are growing and using up calcium.)

 

7.5 dKH / 8 days = 0.9 dKH per day.  :)

 

That 3 mL can be diluted into a larger, easier to work with/easier to measure quantity of RODI water.

 

Divide the final volume you make (e.g. 500 mL) into 8 doses (40 mL each).

 

You put those doses in daily at the same time as your food until the whole (e.g.) 500 mL is gone....then it's time for another water change (if you want, instead of because you need to).   :) :)

 

No more real work than you're already putting in, just better stability.  $0.02

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MainelyReefer
On 10/2/2018 at 9:32 PM, mcarroll said:

Then why can't some of that stuff be Part 1 and Part 2 to keep parameters from swinging so hard?

I have been considering dosing, But with no perceived issues from the swings I just haven’t felt the need.  I do feel like the tendency for these tanks to swing is underreported so I am documenting it. 

On 10/2/2018 at 9:32 PM, mcarroll said:

That 3 mL can be diluted into a larger, easier to work with/easier to measure quantity of RODI water

With almost no evaporation all week, there would hardly be enough wiggle room to dose 3ml a day.  My assumption was dosing at a higher concentration would be better on a pico with a glass lid.

On 10/2/2018 at 9:32 PM, mcarroll said:

then it's time for another water change (if you want, instead of because you need to)

Water changes each week are not solely necessitated by swinging parameters, but also to remove the built up nutrients and detritus that a zero filtration system leaves unaddressed.  So unfortunately the system will always need weekly maintenance, especially since I keep a pistol/goby pair in 1.75 gallons.  I suppose I should check earlier picos to see what the precedence is for dosing.  I am curious if I test every day, will the first few days of the week show higher consumption due to more ideal parameters, and then as it skews would consumption drop because of less than ideal conditions.

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5 minutes ago, GraniteReefer said:

I have been considering dosing, But with no perceived issues from the swings I just haven’t felt the need.  I do feel like the tendency for these tanks to swing is underreported so I am documenting it. 

With almost no evaporation all week, there would hardly be enough wiggle room to dose 3ml a day.  My assumption was dosing at a higher concentration would be better on a pico with a glass lid.

Water changes each week are not solely necessitated by swinging parameters, but also to remove the built up nutrients and detritus that a zero filtration system leaves unaddressed.  So unfortunately the system will always need weekly maintenance, especially since I keep a pistol/goby pair in 1.75 gallons.  I suppose I should check earlier picos to see what the precedence is for dosing.  I am curious if I test every day, will the first few days of the week show higher consumption due to more ideal parameters, and then as it skews would consumption drop because of less than ideal conditions.

I feel like I remember Brandon posting something about dosing 2-part in picos years ago.  You might sift back through his posts and see what you find.  Probably 6+ years ago when I read it but you may find more recent posts about it.

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MainelyReefer

Just tracked down the Jan/feb 2018 copy of Coral magazine and searched Brandon’s article, and in that he pushed water changes as the best method of parameter control, the header to one section was even Water Changes: Avoiding Micromanagement Altogether.  So I guess if I was really concerned I would just do a WC mid week as that would be easier to me than dosing and would ensure other unchecked parameters were kept in proper ratios.  Also maritza the vase reef never received dosing according to the article in the same magazine.  One thing is for sure I have questioned the husbandry of these tiny bowls step by step and the process has yet to fail me no matter how strange it seemed.  I think I’ll stick with the 100% WC as that’s what the pros do.

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Although I had suggested 2 part a while back, I agree with the 100% WC.  Like you said, if the successful jars have been doing it that way then that is the proven method.  No need to complicate it.

 

O yeah, Happy 1 year Birthday!

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If you're already at the tank daily and doing the testing (notes here suggest both), then it hardly complicates things to add manual dosing.  (Add food daily vs add food+two part daily.)

 

Also, 3mL is very small...but was only an example arbitrary dillution to make handling easier.  You may make the solution of the strength that makes sense for your case.  

 

You can even measure and add the parts in powder form directly if you literally have no evap.  Easy with an accurate gram scale.  (a la Tropic Marin BioCalcium)

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MainelyReefer
21 hours ago, mcarroll said:

If you're already at the tank daily and doing the testing (notes here suggest both), then it hardly complicates things to add manual dosing.  (Add food daily vs add food+two part daily.)

 

Also, 3mL is very small...but was only an example arbitrary dillution to make handling easier.  You may make the solution of the strength that makes sense for your case.  

 

You can even measure and add the parts in powder form directly if you literally have no evap.  Easy with an accurate gram scale.  (a la Tropic Marin BioCalcium)

No interest

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While I think corals can probably tolerant more of an Alk swing than people often give them credit for, especially if they're accustomed to it, I wouldn't want to subject them to a 5+ swing. Honestly, if its not an issue with your tester, I wouldn't count on that large a swing not having some effect on them long term. If you don't want to dose id do the mid week WC. I'm even considering that for my nuvo 10

 

But then again, if it ain't broke don't fix it, and there's plenty of different ways to reef successfully. For every tank that follows the "rules" there's one that throws the rules back in your face. 

 

 

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