Spencer7 Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 On 2/20/2021 at 4:40 PM, Spencer7 said: Fun news! My male banggai has a nice fat clutch of eggs in his mouth! The little asshole either spat them out or swallowed them after a week lol (ex wife joke) - seems pretty common for prospective dads. Not used to starving part. Picked up some new frags today from a secret supplier 🤭 - also ordered some Vibrant to try on the algae on the rocks. Will give my review. Will post a real FTS soon. With the tank being immature/stagnant for the first six months, I hope this is this is the "before" reference shot for upcoming growth... Fav new frag is the French Tickler 😉 https://primecoral.com/index.php/product/wwc-french-tickler-acropora/ 1 Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 That is a good looking acro. But their zoa prices are effing insane lol. 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 14 hours ago, Reefkid88 said: That is a good looking acro. But their zoa prices are effing insane lol. True, 3 polyps for $70-$140. Thankfully, I didn't actually order from them. Just good/accurate pic of...the tickler 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 Unflattering pictures, lets goooo!!!! Two weeks of autopilot and not cleaning, I wanted to get some shots of the algae/cyano before I do a water change and Vibrant arrives. Also feels nice to post ugly pics and not be self conscious. 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 Scrubbed my rocks, cleaned glass, did water change, added first dose of Vibrant. So this is manual cleaning, now it's time to see how much algae comes back with 5mL of Vibrant every...10 days or so. 2 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 Maybe I get a basslet when/if the neon goby dies... https://www.liveaquaria.com/divers-den/product/547327/caribbean-swissguard-basslet Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 I think I'll set up a Paludarium as my next tank (alongside this guy). Moving into a 1BR around 8/1. I was looking for rimless tank options for a large tank and I was reminded of how pricy things get. E.g. 36x18x18" plain rimless tank, high clarity glass = $600+ (and sold out, often) I had the thought of maybe laser-cutting a setup and using 1/4" or 10mm acrylic... I could buy a large sheet for cheap and have a custom design. Adding plumbing holes would be trivial. From the front, the tank would be 70% plants/out of water growth so I don't feel as much of a need for high clarity glass. Thoughts? Reference 1: https://aquaforestaquarium.com/collections/aquarium-tank-cabinet/products/dooa-neo-glass-terra-h36 Reference 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21AvhbG2N-0 1 Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Seems like an interesting idea. I always thought one of these would be wicked cool. Like a lagoon style set-up with either rock flowers or maxi's,maybe even acro's. 2 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 On 4/4/2021 at 4:31 PM, Reefkid88 said: Seems like an interesting idea. I always thought one of these would be wicked cool. Like a lagoon style set-up with either rock flowers or maxi's,maybe even acro's. Well, hate to disappoint but this will be freshwater! (so more mosses, ferns, orchids...) Do people have a good stand recommendation? IKEA Ivar is closest to the dimensions I'm interested in. Maybe just something a little deeper/longer... https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ivar-cabinet-pine-70033766/ I'm also not crazy about the pine. I guess I could get a dark varnish... (don't think painting it would turn out as clean) Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted April 9, 2021 Author Share Posted April 9, 2021 Put ICP samples in the mail today. Have had a little STN on the edge/underside of a couple frags, not sure why. Temp: 76, 1.025 salinity, 0.09 PO4, 490 Ca, 8 dKH, pH fluctuates 7.25 at night, 8.1 in day Ca is high and I don't even dose it nowadays as a result..just a bunch of alk. Ca hasn't really dropped... Male banggai is carrying eggs again so water can't be that bad Test from ~5 months ago showed low iodine - I expect that to be improved (Lugol's) and my phosphates should be a bit higher (in a good way). 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted April 14, 2021 Author Share Posted April 14, 2021 On 4/8/2021 at 10:41 PM, Spencer7 said: Put ICP samples in the mail today. Have had a little STN on the edge/underside of a couple frags, not sure why. Temp: 76, 1.025 salinity, 0.09 PO4, 490 Ca, 8 dKH, pH fluctuates 7.25 at night, 8.1 in day Ca is high and I don't even dose it nowadays as a result..just a bunch of alk. Ca hasn't really dropped... Male banggai is carrying eggs again so water can't be that bad Test from ~5 months ago showed low iodine - I expect that to be improved (Lugol's) and my phosphates should be a bit higher (in a good way). ICP shows high silicates (491 µg/l). Maybe my RODI resin is saturated...not sure. Iodine was also TOO high this time lol. Running some GFO and will watch to see how things change. Skimmer off and not dosing anything. 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 Exactly three weeks of mouthbrooding the eggs, I saw the male at the front of the tank today and began checking the sump/filter sock/etc. Here are 2/3 little guys I found in the overflow! Very cute! Acro's have not been doing well on the other hand. Some Roaphos just arrived yesterday to remove the silicates, along with new DI resin...hope they work before I lose more frags. 3 Quote Link to comment
TatorTaco Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 They're soooo cute! Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 What are your guys' thoughts on dosing unequal amounts of two-part? I find that I need to dose e.g. 11mL of alk and 2mL of Ca for 8 dKH and 450ppm. (BRS two-part) If I dose 2 and 2mL, my alk will drop to ~6dKH. Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 Ummm,I don't think it would be a problem. Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted August 9, 2021 Author Share Posted August 9, 2021 After all my corals died (from what I can only guess as silicates) months ago, I moved into my new apartment! When it seemed like the chemistry issue wasn't being resolved, I decided to wait till my new apt and not stress on moving live acro's. My corralline algae on the rockscape died so it looks sad and pale but the hair algae that was taking over also died so...I'll live I guess. I kept all my sand and biological material (brick, rock, miracle mud, etc.) safe so it's not a full restart. A partial nonetheless. I'll post pics once I get some new life in the tank and get the lights up etc. 3 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted September 15, 2021 Author Share Posted September 15, 2021 Do you guys have a refugium strip/grow light you recommend? Just something ~12" long. I'm thinking about setting up a little chaeto section in my Red Sea sump where I currently have the black filter sponge. The Tunze light fits this description exactly but I'd prefer to not spend $87 on something so basic... https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/ecochic-waterproof-refugium-led-light-8831-00-tunze.html The tank looks really boring right now, rock is white after coralline died during the move...acro frags still seem to struggle. I bought some non-acro frags (red gonio, green leather, zoas, monti) and they seem to be doing well. Haven't done a water change since the move or tested the water...I've been pretty lazy with the tank. 1 Quote Link to comment
A.m.P Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 15 hours ago, Spencer7 said: Do you guys have a refugium strip/grow light you recommend? Just something ~12" long. I'm thinking about setting up a little chaeto section in my Red Sea sump where I currently have the black filter sponge. The Tunze light fits this description exactly but I'd prefer to not spend $87 on something so basic... https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/ecochic-waterproof-refugium-led-light-8831-00-tunze.html The tank looks really boring right now, rock is white after coralline died during the move...acro frags still seem to struggle. I bought some non-acro frags (red gonio, green leather, zoas, monti) and they seem to be doing well. Haven't done a water change since the move or tested the water...I've been pretty lazy with the tank. People need to stop talking about waterchanges or else I'll eventually end up actually doing one. Honestly anything full spectrum and even fairly cheap, provided it's intended to grow plants, will probably grow most macro just fine. Plenty of people use $20-30 amazon specials, strip or PAR format, to grow more chaeto than they know what to do with. Would you be running the light vertically against clear glass, or would it need to penetrate down into the water through a narrow opening (the latter is going to be trouble no matter what, though I think they make waterproof rods suitable for that usecase but they have to be cleaned often). 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 On 9/15/2021 at 2:13 PM, A.m.P said: People need to stop talking about waterchanges or else I'll eventually end up actually doing one. Honestly anything full spectrum and even fairly cheap, provided it's intended to grow plants, will probably grow most macro just fine. Plenty of people use $20-30 amazon specials, strip or PAR format, to grow more chaeto than they know what to do with. Would you be running the light vertically against clear glass, or would it need to penetrate down into the water through a narrow opening (the latter is going to be trouble no matter what, though I think they make waterproof rods suitable for that usecase but they have to be cleaned often). So I would remove the filter sponge that occupies the bubble trap/baffle section in the Red Sea 170 sump. About a 12x2" flow area. Water penetration of only 1-3". On 9/14/2021 at 10:47 PM, Spencer7 said: The tank looks really boring right now, rock is white after coralline died during the move...acro frags still seem to struggle. I bought some non-acro frags (red gonio, green leather, zoas, monti) and they seem to be doing well. Haven't done a water change since the move or tested the water...I've been pretty lazy with the tank. I did that water change and tested the water...yikes! We're talking... 0.95 PO4 8 NO3 6.5 dKH 250 Ca Amazing there are any SPS frags alive...so I finally willed myself to setup my GHL doser...seven weeks after the move. Also threw 1/3 cup GFO in the sock. I'm excited to get these cheap Wifi plugs (link). It means I can finally program my return pump to turn off for automatic feeding. Makes me want to try the Evo Reef EasySPS gel (link) with the doser to feed the coral...now that the food can actually sit in the display for 15 mins. Next lazy thing to take care of is setting up my big, gravity-fed, ATO reservoir. Then maybe fuge upgrade. We're only talking ~11 small frags in the tank right (can barely see them)... 1. Three acro's (Walt disney struggling, other two doing well, growing over glue in first month) 2. One Mille (no PE, could be better) 3. Pink Goniopora (happy) 4. 2x Zoa's (happy) 5. Pagoda Cup (not that happy) 6. Green leather (sometimes happy) 7. Green monti cap (happy) 8. Purple digi (happy) Total mix...just a big spectrum to decide when tank seems ready for the fancy stuff (again). 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted October 22, 2021 Author Share Posted October 22, 2021 Needed to re-calibrate the doser...I had a pretty extreme mismatch in KH and Ca dosing. 👀 so that should be resolved I think I'm going to take some pics this weekend after a water change to document the tank's status before growth takes off 😉 ...I'll also buy some new corals as well once things are in check. All that matters is that my pygmy angel is alive and thriving...near and dear to my heart. The banggai pair...they spawn but ehhh WHAT ELSE 10/24/21 Edit 9.7 dKH, 0.51 PO4, ~250 Ca Calcium deposits in sand from high alk. I was expecting low Mg but it was actually ~1500 (don't dose). Return pump was having issues starting up...broke it down and cleaned out deposits with vinegar Faulty thermometer...tank was getting up to 84F o.o 2 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 FTS! November 1st, 2021! 3 months after the soft restart (apartment move, empty tank) 1yr + 2months since setup PO4 still high, Ca low, KH high...got some new coral! 2 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted November 8, 2021 Author Share Posted November 8, 2021 Banggai's showing off those nice long fins...three amigo's hanging out! 4 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted November 18, 2021 Author Share Posted November 18, 2021 My Ca is not going up from ~200 (via Red Sea test kit), despite dosing 21mL Ca to 10.5mL KH (alk ~9dKH). Magnesium was high last time I checked (1500). I'm going to test the calcium and alk of a freshly mixed batch of saltwater and see if the problem is with the testing kits. Also planning on doing a 40-50% water change this weekend and I bought a Hanna pH checker. My best guess is that my pH is low and I need to be dosing kalkwasser consistently. What do you guys think? CO2 shouldn't be high in my apartment (spacious, just me, plants). It's not like corals are growing out of the water. The biggest telltale sign is that I don't have corralline algae growing right now, so that suggests to me that the Ca really is low. Quote Link to comment
A.m.P Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 Is your sand turning into cement? Could be precipitation. Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted November 18, 2021 Author Share Posted November 18, 2021 4 hours ago, A.m.P said: Is your sand turning into cement? Could be precipitation. Yea, I have calcium deposits. But I'd say they've gone down after I corrected my high alk dosing. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.php#12 What do you think is causing the supersaturation/precipitation? Quote Link to comment
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