A.m.P Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 The the smily lil' blenny 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 On 10/13/2023 at 5:03 PM, A.m.P said: The the smily lil' blenny The zero maintenance fish. Doesn't eat anything, doesn't ask for anything. Fat. I (FINALLY) took the time to adjust my lighting spectrum and schedule to hopefully lower the PAR slightly and give the corals more incentive to grow UP vs. just encrust. Before/after below. I took out the sharp peak and widened the daylight period. I lowered the lights from 80% power to 60%. Keep in mind, the four T5 bulbs are running 11am - 3pm on top of this LED schedule. So I would say the intense daytime period is six hours, 11am - 5pm, with the LEDs peaking 12-5pm. 2 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 7.6 Alk 400 Ca Increased alk from 6x2.5 mL to 6x3 mL /day Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 I re-calibrated my doser pumps today and re-plumbed the doser to the other side of the stand. I also finally added Reef Energy AB+ to the lineup (vs. dosing manually). Next chore is ordering new T5 bulbs and changing out DI resin. I should do an ICP test sometime this winter. I also might want to try Reef Snow food (vs. AB+). I should dose both of the foods into the display tank with a second magnetic tube holder. (Note: skimmer isn't running close to feeding + no filter sock) EvoSPS gel: 3mL at midnight Coral AB+ : 5mL at 11am *Also could use some bumblebee snails since I have a growing number of vermitids Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted November 4, 2023 Author Share Posted November 4, 2023 Ca: 395 Alk: 7.7 pH: 8.2 PO4: ~0.00 NO3: ~0 5 gal WC today 3 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted November 20, 2023 Author Share Posted November 20, 2023 Alk: 7.5 (6 x 3mL --> 3.6mL) Ca: 420 (no change) Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted December 8, 2023 Author Share Posted December 8, 2023 ICP sample from 11/30/23 Fauna Marin trace element complex is taking care of my boron, bromine, lithium... Looks like it's adding tin. Not adding iodine or fluoride. Going to send in an organics test kit on Monday (12/11). Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted December 10, 2023 Author Share Posted December 10, 2023 Ca: 410 KH: 6.5 (dosed 30mL, 6x 3.6 increased to 4 mL) Two drops lugol's. Quote Link to comment
JonathanS Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 On 12/13/2023 at 3:24 PM, Spencer7 said: Nice. 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 Came home to 4.3 alkalinity on Friday after my dosing container emptied while I was gone. I now have it up to 7.2 with my Ca a bit high at 470 ppm. Thankfully, just lost one wimpy frag that I wasn't attached to. The other corals look a little agitated but nothing bad. Bumped alk dosing 6x4 mL --> 6x5 mL Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 January 13th: 7.6 Alk and 430 Ca Purchased five frags yesterday from a friend... 1. Yellow blue tenius 2. Wolverine 3. Frakenberry 4. Confetti 5. Rainbow Loom I had to glue a small branch to the scape to accommodate them. Frags look pretty beat up today. I think I'll turn off the T5s for a few days. I'm looking to potentially start dosing ammonia and fluoride into the tank. I need to be more consistent with iodine. Still want to add that sump cover. Want to dose the coral foods to the display vs. the sump. Pumps are probably due for a cleaning in acid. 2 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 5mL KZ Komplex 2 drops iodine 5 gal water change Trying to do a better job remembering what's what. Rainbow Loom Yellow/blue tenius (on new branch) Wolverine Confetti Frankenberry Existing piece from March, 2023 that's been doing great Top-down shot... Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 Increased Alk from 6x5 to 6x6 mL /day Increased Ca from 6x2 to 6x3 mL /day I recently gave my friend a summary of the tank's history and the improvements (I think) made the biggest difference... ___________________________________ Tank was fine but sparsely populated going into 2023. In March, 2023 I got my first frags in nine months. July 1st: tank moved. I felt like things were starting to pick up and improve in September. Corals were settled. Positive changes in Fall, 2023... 1. Multiple ICP tests (both Triton and FM), more consistent testing at home 2. MP10's going to 100% power 3. Longer photoperiod 4. Auto-dosing two coral foods (AB+ and EasyReef gel) at night, went on to increase the dose 5. Added CO2 scrubber to skimmer (runs for 4-6 hours at night) after seeing dissolved CO2 on FM ICP results 6. Dosing KZ Trace Komplex (vs. KZ Coral System 2+4) ___________________________________ Major (past) changes that I strongly feel helped the tank... 1. Red Rea salt --> Instant Ocean 2. Removing Miracle Mud 3. Calibrating GHL doser 4. Reefbreeders RPM's --> MP10's 5. Stopped using NeoNitro and NeoPhos 7. Soda ash --> bicarb (big improvement in 2023) 8. Dosing EasyReef EasySPS gel The three tank moves have definitely stagnated progress at some points. I had that pretty bad alk crash (precipitation event) back in the day that killed some frags. I had a bad experience with soda ash (originally I was interested in the higher pH). When I actually test my values regularly...the tank does better. Upcoming improvements/maintenance I'm planning on... 1. Dosing ammonia to raise nitrates 2. Dosing fluoride (consistently low, Paletta has seen good results) 3. Better consistency on dosing iodine 4. Maybe modify MP10's for wider flow 5. Increase lighting intensity once recent corals have settled 6. Clean pumps 7. Auto dose coral foods into display tank (vs. sump), maybe dose a little more 8. Maybe a new fish one day... 9. DIY laser-cut sump cover 10. Send out a Triton test once my dosing has been stable for 3-4 weeks 3 Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Any pics ? All these updates and never pics 😂 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 18 hours ago, Reefkid88 said: Any pics ? All these updates and never pics 😂 Posted pics Sunday to document the freshly glued frags! All the frags are still around. Polyps are coming out now. T5's are back on. Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 7.6 Alk 480 Ca “0.00” PO4 Dropped Ca to 6x2.5 mL / day. Dosed iodine and KZ Komplex. Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 Sunday (1/28/24) 5 gal WC (cleaned MP10s and return pump) 2 drops of iodine 5 mL KZ Komplex Dosed two new supplements... Fluoride stock solution: 28g (1 oz) NaF in 500mL RODI water --> dosed 1 mL 56mg NaF or 25mg fluoride in 165 liters ~~> 0.15 ppm or mg/L My fluoride was 0.74 mg/L, I'd like to get it to like 1.4 mg/L ______________________________________________________ Ammonia bicarbonate (NH₄HCO₃): 1/4 tsp (1g) powder in 5 gal of RODI water (top-off reservoir, ~19 liters, reservoir concentrate = 41 mg/l nitrate) Following this guide: 1g NH₄HCO₃ => 215 mg ammonia => 785 mg nitrate If the tank evaporates 1 gal a day (max) right now, I estimated that I'm dosing 157 mg nitrate a day into my 165 liter tank. 0.95 mg/L or ~ 1ppm NO3 per day. ______________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 Photo drop! No editing. Normal lighting. 2 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 Pics! 480 Ca 7.8 dKH 2 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 ICP water sample taken the morning of February 6th... Tin: high Iodine: high Lithium: high Silicon: elevated Barium: elevated Calcium: elevated Fluoride: low Potassium: low Phosphates: very low Action-items Change out RODI resin Ordered Nyos Phosphate supplement (out of EasySPS gel) One drop of iodine per week vs. two Continue dosing fluoride (hopefully slowly increases) Consider dosing potassium (or switching trace element complex away from the KZ solution ---> ordered KZ I/K/F supplement) Observation: My coralline has stopped growing so there's definitely some tuning to be done. Quote Link to comment
geekreef_05 Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 On 1/18/2024 at 3:56 PM, Spencer7 said: Increased Alk from 6x5 to 6x6 mL /day Increased Ca from 6x2 to 6x3 mL /day I recently gave my friend a summary of the tank's history and the improvements (I think) made the biggest difference... ___________________________________ Tank was fine but sparsely populated going into 2023. In March, 2023 I got my first frags in nine months. July 1st: tank moved. I felt like things were starting to pick up and improve in September. Corals were settled. Positive changes in Fall, 2023... 1. Multiple ICP tests (both Triton and FM), more consistent testing at home 2. MP10's going to 100% power 3. Longer photoperiod 4. Auto-dosing two coral foods (AB+ and EasyReef gel) at night, went on to increase the dose 5. Added CO2 scrubber to skimmer (runs for 4-6 hours at night) after seeing dissolved CO2 on FM ICP results 6. Dosing KZ Trace Komplex (vs. KZ Coral System 2+4) ___________________________________ Major (past) changes that I strongly feel helped the tank... 1. Red Rea salt --> Instant Ocean 2. Removing Miracle Mud 3. Calibrating GHL doser 4. Reefbreeders RPM's --> MP10's 5. Stopped using NeoNitro and NeoPhos 7. Soda ash --> bicarb (big improvement in 2023) 8. Dosing EasyReef EasySPS gel The three tank moves have definitely stagnated progress at some points. I had that pretty bad alk crash (precipitation event) back in the day that killed some frags. I had a bad experience with soda ash (originally I was interested in the higher pH). When I actually test my values regularly...the tank does better. Upcoming improvements/maintenance I'm planning on... 1. Dosing ammonia to raise nitrates 2. Dosing fluoride (consistently low, Paletta has seen good results) 3. Better consistency on dosing iodine 4. Maybe modify MP10's for wider flow 5. Increase lighting intensity once recent corals have settled 6. Clean pumps 7. Auto dose coral foods into display tank (vs. sump), maybe dose a little more 8. Maybe a new fish one day... 9. DIY laser-cut sump cover 10. Send out a Triton test once my dosing has been stable for 3-4 weeks This really good intel. Nice summary dude. I was wondering about the Soda Ash to BiCarb. Ive tried both with mixed results. Sorry, i havent read your full thread. Are you using it for ALK, pH or both? What made the bicarb alot better? 1 Quote Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 8 hours ago, geekreef_05 said: This really good intel. Nice summary dude. I was wondering about the Soda Ash to BiCarb. Ive tried both with mixed results. Sorry, i havent read your full thread. Are you using it for ALK, pH or both? What made the bicarb alot better? Thanks man! Conscientious reefkeeping has always faired better for my tanks (testing, journaling, maintenance)...at least with acros. So I'm happy to keep a diary. I wish I could give you a knockout answer. I was attracted to soda ash because I was interested in the elevated pH. I'm not sure why it didn't work for my setup. It definitely increased my pH. I had a lot of precipitation in my sand bed and pumps. It didn't translate to impressive coral growth. It's been easier to keep my alk at ~8 with bicarb and it feels safer to bump my pH with CO2 scrubbing on the skimmer intake. My skimmer runs at night just to oxygenate the water. It's not really being used for nutrient export. Every tank is different. Some supplements will fill voids perfectly in some tanks but not any value in others. I definitely have more appreciation for regular ICP testing to dial in something like trace elements or nutrients. My tank is so stable that I've had the luxury to change supplements and not lose coral or crash the tank. Maybe that's a perk of the negligible bioload + automated supplements. Quote Link to comment
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