Staticmoves Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 2 hours ago, Fishy Guy said: I'd heard of dry rock sucking up phosphates but didn't realize they could do the same to alk. Curious what salt you're using that comes at 12 dKH? Red Sea Coral pro salt Quote Link to comment
Justind823 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 2 hours ago, Staticmoves said: Red Sea Coral pro salt Wow that mixes really high Nice setup. Going mixed reef or what's your coral stocking plan? Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 17 hours ago, Justind823 said: Wow that mixes really high Nice setup. Going mixed reef or what's your coral stocking plan? It does mix high. looking at higher buffering capacity, in hopes tank will stabilize around 9-10 dkh. But 11dkh would be great. mixed reef yes, though I am looking at more SPS this time around. i’ve tiered my rock scape in attempts to give around 50 Par difference per tier. once the lights go on in about 5-7 weeks, I will rent a par meter and play with light height to see what kind of spread I can achieve. my goal would be around 300 PAR on top and 100PAR on the sand bed. but we will see. i have an ultra rock flower in my holding tank that will be going in, and a few other LPS and euphillia, i may leave the euphillia out this time, with the exception of picking up a nice colored torch. i want to save room for a Crocea clam down the road. right now i am just taking my time and stocking up on bio load and biome for the first three months lights out, then will be lights on. and a few more months as tank goes through its phases and levels out. working on a more patience based approach this time. Let’s see if it pays off. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 On 1/4/2024 at 12:47 PM, Fishy Guy said: I'd heard of dry rock sucking up phosphates but didn't realize they could do the same to alk. Cacium-based rock like aragonite is adsorptive to phosphates just like GFO. The amount adsorbed will be in equilibrium with dissolved levels in the surrounding logic, and the reaction seems to happen fast. Aside from a pH spike causing abiotic precipitation (eg from dosing kalkwasser, etc), I'm not aware of anything about the rock that would selectively take ca, alk and mg out of the water. @Staticmoves hasn't mentioned anything to suggest that has happened though. 🤷♂️ (We don't really have enough info to speculate on what ELSE might or might not be going on.) Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 1 hour ago, mcarroll said: Cacium-based rock like aragonite is adsorptive to phosphates just like GFO. The amount adsorbed will be in equilibrium with dissolved levels in the surrounding logic, and the reaction seems to happen fast. Aside from a pH spike causing abiotic precipitation (eg from dosing kalkwasser, etc), I'm not aware of anything about the rock that would selectively take ca, alk and mg out of the water. @Staticmoves hasn't mentioned anything to suggest that has happened though. 🤷♂️ (We don't really have enough info to speculate on what ELSE might or might not be going on.) And along with the above mentioned, I am not going to try and correct with dosing at this point, as we are a long way off from corals, and water changes going forward should help to slowly bring back in line equally, with out coral to eat up the cal, alk and mag. With the stocking in the tank, I have no issues moving ahead with weekly WC’s and keep an eye on chemistry to see what the tank is saying. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 2 hours ago, Staticmoves said: And along with the above mentioned Not that you should be, but is there any chance you are watching pH? Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 5 hours ago, mcarroll said: Not that you should be, but is there any chance you are watching pH? Always. Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 Six week update, still boring. did a 20% WC today and added a fighting conch to keep sand bed stirred and added some more hermits. copepods are still thriving and the fish are hunting. This is my first Pom Pom crab. It is quite pleasant to watch to come out to feed. i need to get a lens kit for my phone. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Keep that hawkfish well fed! 😉 1 Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 I ordered a PAR meter, and it should be here tomorrow. $259 all in on Amazon. reviews seem half decent on the different forums. (That we shall not mention). 🧐 i have a Hydra 32 HD, and are going to try the AB + spectrum (a mimic of AB+). it’s whiter than I am used to. But then again, everything is still white in the aquarium and I don’t have any Coral yet. I was going to rent a PAR meter but it’s $100 for the week including shipping. And if I ever want to adjust my lights, for an extra hundred, I now have my own. (Albeit not an Apogee). I'm excited to be able to actually tune my light this time around and have a good idea of the PAR values in different areas of the tank. 2 Quote Link to comment
Fishy Guy Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 16 minutes ago, Staticmoves said: I ordered a PAR meter, and it should be here tomorrow. $259 all in on Amazon. reviews seem half decent on the different forums. (That we shall not mention). 🧐 i have a Hydra 32 HD, and are going to try the AB + spectrum (a mimic of AB+). it’s whiter than I am used to. But then again, everything is still white in the aquarium and I don’t have any Coral yet. I was going to rent a PAR meter but it’s $100 for the week including shipping. And if I ever want to adjust my lights, for an extra hundred, I now have my own. (Albeit not an Apogee). I'm excited to be able to actually tune my light this time around and have a good idea of the PAR values in different areas of the tank. I'll definitely be curious your thoughts after playing with it a little while. Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 58 minutes ago, Fishy Guy said: I'll definitely be curious your thoughts after playing with it a little while. 59 minutes ago, Fishy Guy said: I'll definitely be curious your thoughts after playing with it a little while. I’d be curious from the perspective of experienced hands myself…….. but I will report, for what it’s worth…🧐 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I strongly recommend using a light meter (PAR or lux) while reefing. 🙂 First time I've seen that one so any feedback on usage will be of interest! 1 Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 PAR meter arrived this evening. did a quick unboxing….. it was packed well, and appears good quality for the price point. but the testing will have to wait……….🧐 As my wife and I have a serious game of Settlers of Catan to attend at the neighbours….😎 3 Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 Week 7 update, NO3 and phos look in good shape so lights are going on. took some PAR readings, and with the pumps off, seem’s to work well. my first PAR meter so I really don’t have any comparison for you. posted a quick sketch or ranges in readings. first sketch is top down and second is looking toward the reef. I originally had the light 12” above water, but lowered to 10” to achieve higher intensity on the top of rock structure, in hopes of growing an acro colony up there with some success. It’s still fairly low at 235, but let’s say this meter could be off a bit as well. However the height seems to give a half decent spread across the tank, and eventually a clam should be happy on the sand bed. lets see how I make out with the uglies over the next bit. 1 Quote Link to comment
Fishy Guy Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 How tall is your tank again? If those readings are anywhere close to accurate seems like you'll be in good shape. Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 35 minutes ago, Fishy Guy said: How tall is your tank again? If those readings are anywhere close to accurate seems like you'll be in good shape. Top of water to top of substrate is a 17” water column. 1 Quote Link to comment
sammy33 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 That par meter caught my eye as well. I have been looking for a replacement for my old apogee meter that got dropped in a tank...doh! So your light is ~27" from the sand and you are getting around 100 - 125 µmol. Good numbers me thinks. Have you tried measuring just the blues or uv channels only? Aquarium is looking great btw! 😎👍 Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 6 minutes ago, sammy33 said: That par meter caught my eye as well. I have been looking for a replacement for my old apogee meter that got dropped in a tank...doh! So your light is ~27" from the sand and you are getting around 100 - 125 µmol. Good numbers me thinks. Have you tried measuring just the blues or uv channels only? Aquarium is looking great btw! 😎👍 “Have you tried measuring just the blues or uv channels only? “ no, I have not. but I can run a test if it interests any. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 7 hours ago, Staticmoves said: I originally had the light 12” above water, but lowered to 10” to achieve higher intensity on the top of rock structure Could you increase intensity anymore by turning it up in software? (Ie gotta lower the fixture instead?) Seems like 10" ought to be about right anyway. 🙂 Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 11 hours ago, mcarroll said: Could you increase intensity anymore by turning it up in software? (Ie gotta lower the fixture instead?) Seems like 10" ought to be about right anyway. 🙂 Yes, I have some more playing around to do. My son is going to give me a hand this evening. 10” seems about right for light spillage where 12” was a little high. I’d like to achieve 300 up top. 2 Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 Son of a Bit$#! I thought the first thing I would see was diatoms or hair algae, well looks like peppermint shrimp are in order.…….🙄 1 Quote Link to comment
Fishy Guy Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 1 hour ago, Staticmoves said: Son of a Bit$#! I thought the first thing I would see was diatoms or hair algae, well looks like peppermint shrimp are in order.…….🙄 Oh man. Only question I have is how?! Quote Link to comment
Staticmoves Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 9 hours ago, Fishy Guy said: Oh man. Only question I have is how?! I doubt it was in the live sand. I have my bet on snail or hermit crab shell. Or who knows. I’ll grab some Ap-x to keep on top of best I can. All it takes is a spore, so pretty easy introduction. I just figured I’d see the uglies first……🧐 Quote Link to comment
boscoT Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Be careful running your UV at 110%. You will melt the lens covers in no time flat. my biggest fear is hitchhikers!!!! Quote Link to comment
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