The Fire Swamp's 50g SCA Starfire Cube- 🔥🐊. Upgrade Coming Soon

[jack1978]

2 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

Too late he made me mad by conveniently having to leave for work, making me have to decorate the house all by myself AGAIN. He’s the master of foisting stuff on me he doesn’t want to do. 

Decorating...... isn't that women's works anyway?  Its scientifically proven that your smaller hands yield much more efficient and productive decoration skills. 

Pretty sure I read that somewhere..... 

My point is, its not your husband's fault. 

[mcarroll]

4 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

I though having be 8.1-8.3 was okay? Mostly I though a solid 8 was always the goal.

Definitely OK....just unusual under "normal home conditions" that usually dictate higher CO2 levels than what is in outdoor air.  CO2 levels (via carbonic acid formed in water) combined with alklinity levels give the water a particular pH level.  (In a nutshell.  For the full scoop Google this: "bingman farley alkalinity ph" and read everything that comes up.  Post questions as needed.)

 

4 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

I’ll pull the rest of the macro out today.

👍

 

4 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

I’ll be honest, I can do many things but not math, and I haven’t figured out how to dose according to how much per day is needed based on parameters. Because I’m a mental deficient sometimes. 

Nothing more than simple math needed....it's really more of a process than it is a math problem.   

 

Test.

Dose to target level.

Test again in 24 hours and compare result with target level. 

 

The difference is your daily dosing amount.

 

(target level - result )= (daily consumption)

 

Concentration of alk changes very fast in a tank with growing stony corals whereas mag changes very slowly and ca is in the middle.

 

In new tanks with fewer slower-growing coral or depending on the parameter you're gauging, you might have to wait 5 days or more to get a detectable change in the parameter you're trying to measure. 

 

In that case:

(target level - 5 days consumption)/5 = daily consumption

 

Either way you get the correct amount to dose every day.

 

If you can test and calculate the amount to dose, that's really all the math that counts.  You can use that answer to dose manually or to program an automatic doser.

 

BRS and Seachem both have dosing calculators to help with that.  The Reef Chemistry Calculator can help for many other products....I use the RCC extensively and always have. 

 

But you should be able to follow the dosing directions on the bottle of whatever product you're using.  If you can't, consider switching to something with better instructions.   IMO Brightwell's products have some of the best-written and most complete directions.  There are other good examples too though. 

 

And again (as always), ask questions as needed.   Even if it's just a sanity check for something "basic"......but also if something really is tricky to figure out, chances are someone has figured out a trick or made a calculator to make it easier or faster and someone will chime in with the best resource.  Try this search for some good online resources: "bingman farley dosing"   

 

That search actually turned up a link list I made as a shortcut back in 2014 that you might go through: mcarroll's Favorite Chemistry Links 

 

The third and fourth sections of links get into calcium and alkalinity issues.

 

4 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

I did watch the video about pulling GHA- none of mine is super long. Maybe scrubbing with a toothbrush would do better.

Plucking is superior.  Use the method he demonstrates, using a cup of clean tapwater to catch your pluckings and rinse your fingers between plucks.

 

Green algae will generally be encouraged to spread if you just scrub it without removal. 

 

BTW "super long" is extra.....it's just "long" when it's too long for snails/herbivores to eat.  so whether it's long or super long, once it's that long it becomes "your algae".  😆

 

If plucking it out feels like it will be too tedious, don't try to think about doing it all at once. 

 

You only need to work on a section at a time....according to whatever your time allows.  Ideally you will spend "some time" every day though or you'll fall behind.  (Algae takes no days off.)  In fact even working daily you may still fall behind if there aren't enough snails/herbivores to keep the spaces clean that you take the time to work on. 

 

To that end, it's not a bad idea to place a snail right on the area you clean when you're done.  They'll get any remaining fragments AND record the area to memory as a good grazing area in the future.   From reading it seems that snails are very memory-oriented in their feeding behavior....so they may actually learn to avoid areas of the tank that are overgrown with algae too long for them to eat.  In that case you'll need to move them to "teach them otherwise".

 

4 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

As for the CO2, are you saying it has too much flow? Or that the macro is taking up the CO2?

My thought it that the macro is taking it up.

[ECLS Reefer]

58 minutes ago, jack1978 said:

Decorating...... isn't that women's works anyway?  Its scientifically proven that your smaller hands yield much more efficient and productive decoration skills. 

Pretty sure I read that somewhere..... 

My point is, its not your husband's fault. 

Yes it is. When in doubt blame the husband. And thank you, Richard, for assuming it’s my job to not only decorate but also herd/scoontch/badger/order my non-helping helpers into putting stuff where it’s supposed to go. 
 

They’re entertained now that the trains are up at least. 

[ECLS Reefer]

40 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Definitely OK....just unusual under "normal home conditions" that usually dictate higher CO2 levels than what is in outdoor air.  CO2 levels (via carbonic acid formed in water) combined with alklinity levels give the water a particular pH level.  (In a nutshell.  For the full scoop Google this: "bingman farley alkalinity ph" and read everything that comes up.  Post questions as needed.)

 

👍

 

Nothing more than simple math needed....it's really more of a process than it is a math problem.   

 

Test.

Dose to target level.

Test again in 24 hours and compare result with target level. 

 

The difference is your daily dosing amount.

 

(target level - result )= (daily consumption)

 

Concentration of alk changes very fast in a tank with growing stony corals whereas mag changes very slowly and ca is in the middle.

 

In new tanks with fewer slower-growing coral or depending on the parameter you're gauging, you might have to wait 5 days or more to get a detectable change in the parameter you're trying to measure. 

 

In that case:

(target level - 5 days consumption)/5 = daily consumption

 

Either way you get the correct amount to dose every day.

 

If you can test and calculate the amount to dose, that's really all the math that counts.  You can use that answer to dose manually or to program an automatic doser.

 

BRS and Seachem both have dosing calculators to help with that.  The Reef Chemistry Calculator can help for many other products....I use the RCC extensively and always have. 

 

But you should be able to follow the dosing directions on the bottle of whatever product you're using.  If you can't, consider switching to something with better instructions.   IMO Brightwell's products have some of the best-written and most complete directions.  There are other good examples too though. 

 

And again (as always), ask questions as needed.   Even if it's just a sanity check for something "basic"......but also if something really is tricky to figure out, chances are someone has figured out a trick or made a calculator to make it easier or faster and someone will chime in with the best resource.  Try this search for some good online resources: "bingman farley dosing"   

 

That search actually turned up a link list I made as a shortcut back in 2014 that you might go through: mcarroll's Favorite Chemistry Links 

 

The third and fourth sections of links get into calcium and alkalinity issues.

 

Plucking is superior.  Use the method he demonstrates, using a cup of clean tapwater to catch your pluckings and rinse your fingers between plucks.

 

Green algae will generally be encouraged to spread if you just scrub it without removal. 

 

BTW "super long" is extra.....it's just "long" when it's too long for snails/herbivores to eat.  so whether it's long or super long, once it's that long it becomes "your algae".  😆

 

If plucking it out feels like it will be too tedious, don't try to think about doing it all at once. 

 

You only need to work on a section at a time....according to whatever your time allows.  Ideally you will spend "some time" every day though or you'll fall behind.  (Algae takes no days off.)  In fact even working daily you may still fall behind if there aren't enough snails/herbivores to keep the spaces clean that you take the time to work on. 

 

To that end, it's not a bad idea to place a snail right on the area you clean when you're done.  They'll get any remaining fragments AND record the area to memory as a good grazing area in the future.   From reading it seems that snails are very memory-oriented in their feeding behavior....so they may actually learn to avoid areas of the tank that are overgrown with algae too long for them to eat.  In that case you'll need to move them to "teach them otherwise".

 

My thought it that the macro is taking it up.

Wow that was concise thank you!!!!!!! 

[ECLS Reefer]

WHEW okay today was a crazy busy day. With all the Christmas decorating and train setting up, I did manage to clean out the sump, as best as I think I can without pulling every blasted thing (equipment included) out, pulling the sump itself out, and dumping it over. At any rate, got 99% of the sand out and a bunch of vegetable chaff. Removed the macro. Left one large rock in because it had an unwilling to relocate emerald crab on it. Left the barnacle down there for the blenny, who is decidedly sick of my face today. Tested water-had a large drop in nitrates already. Phosphates will take more work. Everything is in flux currently.

 

 

Mr Blenny Blen says I need to remove myself from his home.

 

 

Not sure what is taking up the magnesium at such a stupid rate. 

 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

Few shots of the SCA tonight. Water has been crystal clear since I put in the carbon bag. Also, the sump is now clean enough to pull the FF, but I think I’m gonna keep using it until I find some method of blocking the baffles because of the blenny. He and his cousin Altuve the starry blenny in the DT are my two favorite fish and I’d hate for something to happen to him. 
 

Pincushion urchin next to one of the escaped RFAs

Acan colony

Second escaped RFA. Wish they would have all stayed as a group like a little garden. 

 

One of the Halloween hermits

 

Hector the male black snowflake clown

Altuve peeking out from a vantage point 

Baby snail doo doo doo doo doo doo doo

 

Altuve 😊

[FISHnChix]

Is it just me our does the clown just look like an a hole😁

[ECLS Reefer]

2 minutes ago, FISHnChix said:

Is it just me our does the clown just look like an a hole😁

He’s got nothing on his big woman, Pearl. Although I just sat here and watched the YTD come over to the clowns my territory, use his tail to stir up a bunch of sand then brandish that tail at the clowns. They didn’t appreciate- they both got in his face, but he didn’t seem too intimidated. He attacked that little mandarin I tried to introduce a couple weeks back- maybe he’s part of my tank stocking woes.

[ECLS Reefer]

So took a bunch of pictures up to the LFS this week where they have an old veteran working now. He suggested adding a few more pounds of live rock to boost the filtration. So, the rock scape changed a bit, but maybe to the better. The flat ledge seems to be a pretty effective frag rack, and the frags on it actually seem to be getting happier. Water chemistry has stabilized a bit more, with less issue on high nitrates and phos decreasing. KH is staying at about 9.5.

 

The filter floss is completely removed so there is free flow through the sump, but for some plastic grid to keep the blenny in the middle sump chamber and not chopped up in the return pump. There is a skimmer, a bag of carbon and live rock. Hopefully it's enough.

 

So now we wait. 

 

 

 

[mcarroll]

The introduction of a new (and probably wider) variety of microbes surely figures into any change as well.   Good move!  

[ECLS Reefer]

Tank isn't so pretty today, not that it's been beautiful for a while, but the effect Ruby Reef Rally makes is disturbing. Looks like something The Swamp Thing would live in.

 

[mcarroll]

How about "your tank is in Hulk Mode"?

 

 

😆

[ECLS Reefer]

3 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

How about "your tank is in Hulk Mode"?

 

 

😆

It's in a somewhat icky cloudy state now, since I can't run carbon or the skimmer for another day. Well, until the kick ick is done too. So for like a week. The corals are not quite so happy now that the light isn't to their liking.

[ECLS Reefer]

 

[ECLS Reefer]

So, all this time has gone by (it’s probably not that much time in reality but with my crazy work schedule, I never know what day it is anymore, so it FEELS like a long time). 
 

The tank is holding steady on the turf algae problem, which is good because at least its not worse. I try and turkey baste the rocks every day, and stir the sump and sand semi frequently. Still doing weekly water changes. Have started combining carbon and phosguard in a big bag in the sump, which has been driving down the phosphates and nitrates numbers. Theyre never zero, but the nitrates always hold at 25 and the phosphates have been getting down to 0.05 and staying there. I change the bag about every other week. 
 

The corals for the most part are either holding steady or coming back, which is good. But I did lose so much 😢. And it seems while I can add inverts successfully, I still can’t add any fish. Even after a Ruby Reef Rally and Kick Ick treatment. Good news is, none of the current fish have died and the new astrea snails are going to work like nuts on the algae. 
 

So I guess there’s some small improvement, though the process is still painfully slow and frustrating. 
 

 

[mitten_reef]

11 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

So, all this time has gone by (it’s probably not that much time in reality but with my crazy work schedule, I never know what day it is anymore, so it FEELS like a long time). 
 

The tank is holding steady on the turf algae problem, which is good because at least its not worse. I try and turkey baste the rocks every day, and stir the sump and sand semi frequently. Still doing weekly water changes. Have started combining carbon and phosguard in a big bag in the sump, which has been driving down the phosphates and nitrates numbers. Theyre never zero, but the nitrates always hold at 25 and the phosphates have been getting down to 0.05 and staying there. I change the bag about every other week. 
 

The corals for the most part are either holding steady or coming back, which is good. But I did lose so much 😢. And it seems while I can add inverts successfully, I still can’t add any fish. Even after a Ruby Reef Rally and Kick Ick treatment. Good news is, none of the current fish have died and the new astrea snails are going to work like nuts on the algae. 
 

So I guess there’s some small improvement, though the process is still painfully slow and frustrating. 
 

 

Glad to see things are moving in the right direction, as slow as it might seem. 

[ECLS Reefer]

So amazingly enough, I have pods again in the SCA!!!! And I didn't put them there so that's a great sign! The GHA/turf algae is retreating thank goodness, with fairly regular toothbrushing (I pick it off with my fingers sometimes but mostly it's too short to do) and a virtual herd of Astrea turbo snails, plus two new Halloween hermits that have boosted the cleaning crew. The monster emerald and his little brother have been seen actually doing their job, too. Not so lazy after all. I'm glad to see them beating back the algae though. Something is taking up calcium again in the tank, so it makes me hope that coralline may be coming back too. The little frogspawn and the Euphyllia next to it are starting to look like they want to extend their polyps again, as well. I can't remember if the little Euphyllia is a hammer or torch, so I guess I'll have to wait and see what it does. 

 

Overall, great hopes that the tank is finally hauling itself out of the deep blue funk it was in.

 

 

 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

I'm so cautiously optimistic about this tank!!! The corals seem to be coming back strongly! The little Rhodactis in one of the pictures has double in size in a matter of days. The frogspawn and hammer/torch in the front of the tank are daily extending themselves more. Found a forgotten lost little frag of frogspawn while organizing things in the tank and realized it was still alive, so found it a place. Got some GSP from the LFS today and it was already almost completely open tonight. So happy to see it starting off with a bang. 

 

Who can tell me what little flower shaped growth is living on the side of this first coral in the series? Are these cloves? Also, what kind of coral is the purple one with all the circles and spikes? 

 

 

Took the step of catching the two strawberry crabs I own tonight. Pinky lived in the SCA and The Brain lived in the Evo. They both are of a size now equal to the clowns, and it seemed like Pinky at least was trying to turn predatory. Of course, The Brain also predated my poor conch snail yesterday. So it was time to move to the sump. After the multi-hour struggle to catch The Brain, I could never find Pinky. Went to check on the crab trap a few minutes ago and lo and behold he was in the opposite corner away from where the trap was, but out in the open. So I snagged him up quick and got him in the sump with The Brain. 

 

Of course, Mr Blenny Blen lives down there in his barnacle, and so far he hasn't shown that he's too pleased about these new additions. So we will see how this goes. 
 

 

[Tamberav]

Could be blue cloves. While pretty...they are very invasive.

[ECLS Reefer]

19 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Could be blue cloves. While pretty...they are very invasive.

Don’t a lot of people like cloves though? I had even thought of buying some from an online supplier a while back. I haven’t noticed a spread yet, but at the moment I’m just happy with contented corals.

[Tamberav]

Not all cloves are equal. The tiny blue ones (or brown) can spread across the tank and grow on top certain corals like zoas.

 

They don't seem to pose a threat to stinging corals but eventually will cover any exposed rock surface. It can not be kept in a separate island as they sexually reproduce in our tanks.

 

I kept them many years ago so I know they can be little terrors from first hand experience.

 

I found this article:

 

https://reefbuilders.com/2018/02/06/stop-adding-blue-polyps-to-your-reef-tank/

 

 

FYI I can't tell from pic if it is blue cloves for sure. If it is sympodium coral (blue and green)....that one shouldn't be a problem.

 

 

 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

2 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Not all cloves are equal. The tiny blue ones (or brown) can spread across the tank and grow on top certain corals like zoas.

 

They don't seem to pose a threat to stinging corals but eventually will cover any exposed rock surface. It can not be kept in a separate island as they sexually reproduce in our tanks.

 

I kept them many years ago so I know they can be little terrors from first hand experience.

 

I found this article:

 

https://reefbuilders.com/2018/02/06/stop-adding-blue-polyps-to-your-reef-tank/

 

 

FYI I can't tell from pic if it is blue cloves for sure. If it is sympodium coral (blue and green)....that one shouldn't be a problem.

 

 

 

 

They’re not super big and so it’s hard to tell with my lights what color they really are. Should I crank up the whites to see if there’s any green? Otherwise they do look kinda monotonal brownish. ☹️ I like their shape and look so I hope they’re not pests. 

[ECLS Reefer]

I am getting so excited about how the tank is looking this week. It's been a hard road the last couple of months with the severe tank blahs, but at least it didn't crash outright. The pod-splosion is still ongoing, the corals are starting to look fantastic, the Astreas are working the algae over like crazy, and the water chemistry has been holding steady enough that I'm on day 10 of the current water. Been stirring the tank daily with the turkey baster, including the rocks, top layer of sand and the sump, just to keep everything moving. I replace the carbon and phosguard every week. Unfortunately we let the anthia's feeding schedule fall through and the last one died earlier this week. While my 7 year old is heartbroken and holding it over my head, it does improve the water chemistry situation since I no longer have to feed as frequently. 

 

I have finally be able to successfully add new livestock other than snails, as well. There is a young tiger pistol in the tank, though I can't ever see him. There's always new diggings every morning so I know he's there. Unfortunately his goby disappeared, and while that's not necessarily a death sentence, I don't hold out much hope for him. Due to his survival being up in the air, I went ahead and caught the strawberry crab (who was humongous) and moved him to the sump where he could be more constructive. I have been able to add a few small frags of coral and see them start to thrive. I added a small torch, acan, GSP colony and purple monti. I'm pleased to say that all are doing great, which is a huge stride. Especially for the torch, as before the Euphyllia added would withdraw it's polyps and start to look melted within hours of introduction. I also made a surprise discovery, as there was a small frogspawn frag lying on the sand bed in the dark, still alive. I moved it to the front of the tank with some light and it's showing polyp extension now as well! 

 

Last but not least, I was able to add two new wrasses to the tank to replace the free swimming anthias. The 7 year old is not impressed by either of these additions, but I'm happy with them, because they are doing so well! And just getting a fish past 24 hours is a ridiculous accomplishment for me. There is a medium sized tricolor wrasse and a small newly imported yellow Coris. I dearly DEARLY wanted to add a leopard with these, and my LFS got a huge shipment in of blue stars and regular leopards, but I just had to say no 😢😢😢😢 It's about killed my soul to do so, but I want to let the pod situation get stronger and the tank continue to stabilize. Perhaps for Mother's Day, I can finally get my leopard wrasse, and by then I will definitely know what the status on the goby is. At any rate, I'm still overjoyed by how the tank looks at the moment, and letting it do its thing.

 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

Picture proof... also, my starry blenny Altuve is rather a turd about pictures. He can’t stand seeing me with my phone and usually won’t sit still for a picture. Today he was telling me where I could stick it.

 

 

 

[WV Reefer]

2 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

Picture proof... also, my starry blenny Altuve is rather a turd about pictures. He can’t stand seeing me with my phone and usually won’t sit still for a picture. Today he was telling me where I could stick it.

 

 

 

looks a lot better. 😊