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Seafurn's Old School Pico Gets An Upgrade - 365 Day Challenge


SeaFurn

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On 3/11/2020 at 9:05 AM, Amphrites said:

Bubblegum Digi's have the most amazing range of coloration.

Oh my gosh the picture posted makes me actually want to try a stick. I have never ever had one!

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6 hours ago, GtownSalty said:

Oh my gosh the picture posted makes me actually want to try a stick. I have never ever had one!

Montipora digitata are pretty forgiving (and beautiful!) so I’d say go for it! 

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Day 19

 

Day time FTS. Aside from the annoying, ugly, can’t get it to go away red algae, the corals are looking better than they have in a long time. Well, except for the hammer coral still - which I dipped and cleaned. I ended up putting it back in this tank to see if it would open up, but no dice. (It’s in the front left side of the picture)  It did look like it was pooping today so I don’t know. I will give it another day or two and then I’ll move to the 45. 

I’ve been trying to figure out where I’m going to put the zoas (glue them down). I’ve got some ideas. 

See the shark nose hanging out on the right? Pretty cool. He’s become very social - almost overnight. 

Damn that red algae is ugly. 

49674230218_dca1739854_b.jpg

 

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Day 20

 

Help! I think I asked this question before but how do I break this cycle of cyano (red algae)? It’s making me crazy.  At what point does green algae start to take over such that the snails/CUC takes care of it?  How do I get all that to happen? Dose more nitrogen and phosphorus daily?

More water changes?

More/a different CUC? (I still feel like I have too many snails in the tank). More flow? Flow is pretty intense already with the MJ606 pump (in fact, I have to use the bottom stainer or the tank overflows because the weir is too restrictive.)

 

More water changes seems like it will just reduce nutrients which may eliminate the cyano but could be detrimental by bringing back the chrysophytes.  The corals have definitely been more healthy with a little nitrate and phosphate in the water and I have to dose daily to keep them from being 0.  So, I don’t feel like stopping dosing would be smart. 

 

I am blowing or brushing the rocks off every evening and by the next evening they are covered again - some of them pretty thickly like the rock the psammocora is on (in pic above). The snails don’t touch it when it’s so thick...or they do but are so ineffective I can’t tell they’ve touched it.  

Help please! 

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Day 21

 

So I tried a little experiment yesterday. I didn’t dose nitrogen or phosphorus at all. And guess what? The cyano/red algae only made a slight appearance today. I didn’t even need to blow off the rocks. 

I didn’t test phosphates tonight but did test for nitrates and that was definitely lower - almost at 0. 

So I’m going to assume there are still some phosphates in the water and dose nitrogen just to raise the nitrates. (I know I need to be careful raising nitrates when there are no phosphates.) 

I’m wondering if that one little drop of phosphorus could have been causing the problem. According to the Seachem dosing calculator, that one drop should only raise phosphates by 0.02ppm. Phosphate has only been reading about 0.03 so I didn’t think that one drop would make that much of a difference - but maybe it did. 

 

I plan on gluing the new zoas down this weekend. Deciding where to put them is proving to be harder than I thought - but maybe I’m just too indecisive. 

 

I also hope to get caught up on some of the other contestant’s posts this weekend. Work has been absolutely crazy and I haven’t been able to keep up.

(I work for company that makes toilet paper for all of you - and yes, it’s been absolutely insane! But don’t freak out people - we’re making more - LOTS MORE)  

23 hours ago, Amphrites said:

 

Might be time to try chemiclean, I hat e advocating for antibacterials in fish tanks - but some cyano's just con't care what the conditions in the system are.

 

In light of my little experiment, I’m going to hold off on this but it has crossed my mind. Have you ever used it? 

 

23 hours ago, GtownSalty said:

I had to blow it off and do water changes and lower my light cycle. It took a solid 2 months to rid mine in 90

Oh geez...that’s quite awhile. Must have been pretty frustrating. 

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Day 22

 

I got all the new stuff glued down today. I took the rock out to do it and that made it pretty easy. I usually get glue everywhere but not this time! Most everything quickly opened up again. There were a couple of zoas that were still holding out when the lights when out this evening though.

I did move some corals around during the process. I’ll post some pics tomorrow so you can see what the tank looks like now. 

 

No new red algae today! I didn’t dose phosphorus yesterday but I did dose nitrogen. Nitrates tested ~0.2 tonight. I also tested phosphates tonight and I’ll call it 0.03. I’m wondering if the frozen food I’m feeding the fish will provide enough phosphates such that I won’t have to dose it. 

 

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This guy is extra salty
On 3/18/2020 at 9:21 PM, SeaFurn said:

 

49674230218_dca1739854_b.jpg

 

so clean! with the exception of that red slime lol'

that rock on the right is going to look amazing!

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Day 23

 

Some pics for you today!  (if you click into them - into Flickr - I think they look better) As you can see from the photos, the acan has now moved to the left side of the tank.  I spun it around so the smaller heads are facing out.  I like this placement much better than where it was on the right side previously.   I moved the Candy Apple Pinks to the spot previously occupied by the acan to make room for the Scrabled Eggs. I was just trying to balance out the colors some.  The Butt Kissers are now front right so I can keep my eye on them. They've been doing better with both polyps opening up - one decided to be shy for the photo.

I did get a few more new ricordea...they are mostly yellow and pink/orange.  I think I want to fill the bottom of the tank with them - especially with more pink and orange ones. 

 

The psammocora is greening up!  I think it will make a full recovery. 

The hammer did get moved to the 45 today.  It's been looking worse everyday. If it recovers I'll move it back to this tank and put it where it was previously (top right). However, the nozzle on this tank is so wide that it shades a big portion of that back corner. I think you can notice that even from this picture.  I may have to DIY some kind of diverter.  Wish I had @Peaches 3D printer...

Bottom front left is a frag of GSP.  It's still pissed from the scrubbing I gave it yesterday. It had been in the back of the tank covered in cyano/red algae.  Not sure what to do with it or even where to put it. Maybe put it on a small rock and keep it in the corner?

 

I've got a couple open spots on the tops of the rocks and will probably go with some SPS there at some point - no rush. 

 

49688246342_05e0a4eced_b.jpg

 

 

49687420163_5d29de9fda_b.jpg

 

 

49687422218_f5c29b390a_b.jpg

 

 

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Day 24

 

Woke up to find the snails had rearranged the furniture (the rocks) over night. The 2 rocks on the left side of the tank don’t weigh much and the trochus snail is a bull. I’m going to have to figure out how to keep them in once place without gluing them to the bottom of the tank. Any ideas on that? 

 

Today I moved the ATO output to the 1st chamber. It had been in the second chamber where the sensor is also located. What was happening was the pump would come on and dispense water but the water disturbance triggered the sensor and immediately shut the pump off. So the pump was putting just a little water in every 10 minutes or so. Moving the output now lets more water in on each top off. 

 

I did a small water change today - just 5 cups. I’m considering doing more frequent smaller water changes with this tank - as I’ve read some of the TOTMs have had done. 

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7 hours ago, SeaFurn said:

I did a small water change today - just 5 cups. I’m considering doing more frequent smaller water changes with this tank - as I’ve read some of the TOTMs have had done. 

I've recently started to do this on my Home Cube, every 2-3 days I'll swap out a Litre of Water (US Quart), I've noticed that the SPS corals are looking brighter then before with the new change

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Day 25

 

I don’t think this hammer is gonna make it. It’s been in the 45 for a couple of days now and there’s been no change. I thought there might have been some response to the water where it’s sibling is thriving. Maybe it’s still acclimating? Anyone ever have one recover after looking like this? 

 

49696010826_926ba76b07_b.jpg

 

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Day 26

 

Just a quick and interesting  observation to share today. The tank sits very near a window. This morning was gray and dreary. The window blinds were open and the light over the tank was already on. The corals were awake and looked good. And then the sun began to shine. In the span of only 5 minutes, the corals perked up even more, and the colors became even more vibrant. I realize there was much more light flooding the tank and the sunlight spectrum is much different than that of the bulb, but nonetheless, it was amazing to see. There is definitely something about the effect of natural sunlight on coral. I wish I could channel more of it into the tank! 

 

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The Rainy Day Aquarium
1 hour ago, SeaFurn said:

Day 26

 

Just a quick and interesting  observation to share today. The tank sits very near a window. This morning was gray and dreary. The window blinds were open and the light over the tank was already on. The corals were awake and looked good. And then the sun began to shine. In the span of only 5 minutes, the corals perked up even more, and the colors became even more vibrant. I realize there was much more light flooding the tank and the sunlight spectrum is much different than that of the bulb, but nonetheless, it was amazing to see. There is definitely something about the effect of natural sunlight on coral. I wish I could channel more of it into the tank! 

 

I had a planted tank that sat under a window seal. I ended up ditching the Kessil A80s that were on it and just let the sun do the work. Best planted tank I ever had.

20180326_194528_HDR-2.thumb.jpg.9e45e63506b17988b298429f9097a6b8.jpg

 

 

My 4.1 is in a similar position and the coral really enjoy the exta light! I wonder if anyone on here has tried a strictly "solar powered" reef?

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SaltyGallon

Looking really good Seafurn. That hammer looks like it could pull through yet. What's the orangey/red digi? It's a really distinctive colour.

 

One of these days surely someone will hook a reef tank up to a giant solar panel...?! 

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14 hours ago, Azur said:

Looking really good Seafurn. That hammer looks like it could pull through yet. What's the orangey/red digi? It's a really distinctive colour.

 

One of these days surely someone will hook a reef tank up to a giant solar panel...?! 

Thanks!

I hope the hammer makes it. I need some good news. 

 

It’s called a Bubble Gum digi. I love the color on it. 

 

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20 hours ago, The Rainy Day Aquarium said:

I wonder if anyone on here has tried a strictly "solar powered" reef?

 

14 hours ago, Azur said:

One of these days surely someone will hook a reef tank up to a giant solar panel...?! 

 

13 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

 

There have been a few sunlit tanks here on NR.  salt water tank + sunlight by disaster999. Other members were Mr Fosi, HankB and tinyreef. Around 2008

 

Thanks Deb! I’ll have to check those out.

I vaguely remember reading a thread where the tank was under a tube like thing that came

down from ceiling that channeled the light into the tank. Or maybe I just dreamt that one time... 🤔

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  • SeaFurn changed the title to Seafurn's Old School Pico Gets An Upgrade - 365 Day Challenge

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