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anizato

post them!

31 minutes ago, KevMax said:

Nice.  Your acans have colour compared to the 2 that I put in my tank yesterday.  

show them

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geekreef_05

Nice acans! 

 

Great stuff on the coral haul. A good lfs is gold. 

 

Nice to try something different too!. Gonis are awesome and its cool you have a yellow one!

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anizato

Hey all, hope the weekend was good. Anyone have special plans for tomorrow? We are going on a picnic near the lake and we're gonna hang outside in the sun and have the dog bark at people while we laugh and she thinks she is a hero for saving us. 

 

As for the stuff you care about, I will be doing a 3 Gallon water change. My alk has improved, it is now at 8.8dKH and my phosphorus is stil 41ppb (0.126ppm phosphate) so I still have to bring that down a tad, or no?. I can't believe a single clownfish can produce so much phosphate. I feed once every three days. I am hoping the addition of coral will bring the rest of the phosphorus down below 30ppb. But I will keep monitoring every other day. If I can't bring it down with tomorrow's WC then I will probably do another one on Wednesday instead of waiting all the way to Sunday. 

 

I actually snuk into my LFS yesterday to take advantage of their Memorial Deals, I wasn't expecting to buy anything but I couldn't resist the good prices on such good pieces.

After a second walk around the store I saw this Nice Torch for a steal, a second time, I HAD to pounce... it was meant to be mine... you know how it is. 

 

corales15.thumb.jpg.02b4f8863f1a5ab7b5ea92b8aeaee964.jpg

 

Something I learned from myself is that I am in absolute love with Goniopora 😘 I got two more to hang out with the first one I got 🥰; which I need to move because apparently the flow is too strong for it. A bit of a POTA because i already glued it.. lol... but the new one right behind it is actually liking that spot, so I may put the first one behind it, which would end up being almost above the one standing on the sand. I am not a fan of having coral on the sand, mainly because it becomes difficult to keep it clean without continuously disturbing the coral, I don't know if disrupting a coral routinely every other day is healthy, but I could be wrong. Am I?

 

Such a beautiful coral though. There are so many colors to choose from. I will definitely be obsessing over these things for a bit.😊 Maybe a GoniGarden ?corales13.thumb.jpg.82ac2c58b237a615a1023a721133a42f.jpg

 

 

 

Side view:

 

corales14.thumb.jpg.ea018e889a5ad6ef27d41640fafaf023.jpg

 

It took a full day for it to open up but look at that little bush 😍

 

Still figuring out the flow in the tank. Hopefully that torch frag can help me find the sweet spots.

 

 

 

Got a question for the community: 

I have my heater set to 76. I noticed the tank was at nearly 78, this evening. It's been hot and I know I have to get ready for summer, but the room the tank lives in actually stays pretty cool all day. Would temp changes like that be something to worry about? How anal do I need to be with that? I do have intentions of getting a temperature controller so I can connect a clip fan and my heater to it. Thoughts?

Thank you for your input.

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Looking really nice.

 

I personally would not be worried about a 2 degree change in temperature on warmer days. But, if you can minimise this, it is better. I have always used fans to good effect.

 

In respect of the phosphate, my preference would be to reduce the number to 0.03ppm or thereabouts. As you know, water changes and feeding a little bit less will help in maintaining lower PO4 levels. Or, opt for food with lower PO4 content. I am pretty sure that others will have different thoughts on a preferred level of PO4.

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anizato
On 5/27/2024 at 12:12 AM, Kev1n said:

Looking really nice.

 

I personally would not be worried about a 2 degree change in temperature on warmer days. But, if you can minimise this, it is better. I have always used fans to good effect.

Cool. Yeah so far the tank has been consistently swinging between 75F in the early morning to 77.5F in the evenings.

 

 

 

Have any of you considered dosing trace elements / amino acids? Should we rely on anything else besides feeding and water changes with such a small volume of water?

 

Also, I have a story for you guys. 

Four days ago (monday), alk was 8.8dKH and p4 was 41ppb :

 

I prepared for the Water Change and decided to feed the coral beforehand, the first feeding on this fateful Monday. I made a slurry of ReefRoids and BRS Reef Chilli and smashed LPS pellets. It was a thick paste through a syringe with a piece of air tubing attached to it so I could better spot feed. Turned off the flow, did the thing to each polyp as best I could, left the flow off for like 1hr. 

Tested again for P4 and the result was INCREDIBLE, it had gone up to 186ppb which is 0.57ppm 

Did the WC and tested again after an hr and the P4 was lower at an 86ppb which is 0.263ppm. 

I did a 1gallon WC change last night and the P4 result this morning was 46ppb 0.141ppm so at least I was able to bring it back. to where it was. I will be doing a 3gal WC today and testing again. and again tomorrow and the next until I can bring that P4 below .953ppb which is .003ppm PO4 which is what we are all shooting for, right?

 

Anyway needless to say, I have started to see signs of algae, or the ugly stage I was so desperately trying to avoid. But it is here. Seems like I HAVE to go to the LFS to fatten up the CUC that consists of a mere 1 blue legged hermit and 3 Nassarius Snails. Definitely need some cerith snails and hopefully I can find a Margarita snail to eat the algae on the rock, Astreas annoy me because they only stick to the glass and I can take care of that LOL. Ceriths seem to stick to the rock more, but Margarita Snails in my experience ONLY like the rock. See what the store has in stock.

I keep hoping my keeping the P4 down and controlling the feedings is going to help me avoid any type of algae establishing itself. Trying to be pro-actively-preventative instead of having to face algae outbreaks at any point.

 

 

 

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I am dosing absolutely nothing. I am just going along the water change route, at least for now. I personally think it's good to contain PO4 through water changes and adapting feeding without resorting to the use of GFO or similar products.

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anizato

I forget the name of this SPS but it has its tentacles out most of the time. So it must be really happy.

 

Torch seems happier in the new spot. Flow is more random as it lies between the rockscape. I am still deciding where this Torch will end up, but definitely close to the cave.

coralito8.thumb.jpg.5b6c787657ff9c41cfcc4d92ddfe86c1.jpg

The Lepto seems upset or doesn't like my tank for some reason. At least the bottom portion. There seemes to be some algae also on the dead part. But the monti is loving it in here.

coralito2.jpg.2ac909526d7388530177325699e8844f.jpgcoralito3.jpg.ff9eadd1faa17d806a45a436d8be242b.jpg

The acans are adapting nicely, the top one seems to have had two babies hiding. The bottom one is usually has its feeder polyps extended.

coralito5.thumb.jpg.08f98198df712f9d632435d752d2d852.jpg

 

The white goni loves it under the mp10

coralito4.thumb.jpg.b0b8c1a519865c67c4a95d276f845ba7.jpg

Utter Chaos frag just not liking it here. They came from a fellow reefer.

coralito7.thumb.jpg.62be4249115829ec57fa79a916e8c083.jpg

 

Also went to the store to get snails. I got 4 Cerith, 1 Trochus and 3 Astrea Snails.

 

Did the 3 gallon water change and the dKH & Phosphorus test.

 

Phosphorus (P4) = 69ppb = Phosphate (Po4) = 0.211ppm

dKH = 7.9

Nitrates = 10

 

I have another 3 gallon WC brewing at the moment. Seems like every other day for this tank until I can reduce the phosphates.

 

After 24hrs of being in the tank, the CUC has been eating away, all the miniature patches of algae have disappeared. The ceriths are even digging into the sand to eat whatever they can find. 

 

I also found some copepods on the water I extracted to perform the tests. So hopefully that means they are multiplying in the rear somewhere.

 

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anizato

So as we all know... my assassin murdering Ocellaris Onyx Clownfish has killed 5 Sexy Shrimp, 1 Pistol Shrimp, ...aaaaand his Wife 3 years ago. 

The Snails and the Hermit are doing fine, although he/she did attack one of the Cerith Snails until it figured out it finally gave up.

 

Question is:

 

Do I keep him/her? 

 

Do I surrender or sell or trade him/her?

 

Am I able to keep a healthy reef with just ONE fish and a CUC and coral?

 

Only other fish I can think of putting in there is a 6 Line Wrasse because it can escape and hold its own. But I don't know about having 2 aggressive fish in the same enclosure, although it could be interesting; but inhumane? 

 

If I do get rid of the Onyx I think I would get 2 or 3 different kinds of Gobies (is that even possible?) Replace the Sexy Shrimp colony for sure, the lost Randall's Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair maybe, get a TailSpoit Blenny, or maybe a school of tiny File Fish and some Fire Fish and a Cardinal? 

 

Anyway, what does the community have to say about this? Thanks for reading!

 

Enjoy the weekend!

 

Here are some updated pics of the coral.

 

Seems like the lepto is skirting onto the rock?

Or am I tripping?, remember this frag is not glued, and it's right in front of the MP10.

coralitos20.thumb.jpg.ad1680b2eb6d8eced7a7687ede1abb0d.jpg

According to me those yellow circles are new growth. The red circle is there the dead part is, where I think I touched it. Above the red line is where I see new eyes forming.

coralitos21.thumb.jpg.83cf38629344ecc3d92fc15760d373e7.jpg

On this yellow circle that skirt is new. I don't know if the flesh of the coral just dropped or if it is actual growth attaching itself to the rock because the flow is so strong where it sits and it is not glued.

coralitos22.thumb.jpg.cd74db4041ff66667b0d51d54316113f.jpg

These guys settled in nicely

 

coralitos23.thumb.jpg.c4dbf6bc8abdda5f483cdbcded500e77.jpg

This is supoosed to be the Jawbreaker 

 

coralitos24.thumb.jpg.03004e22674aa398a1f73ee295f44166.jpgcoralitos25.thumb.jpg.fa95b8d2b664b4c7866c3ff9fb72c127.jpg

This Encruster I don't know the name of but its colors are unreal.

coralitos26.thumb.jpg.4070e6b33444ae8d67c84ec2475a3c24.jpg

The Miami Chalice Showing off some nice colors on those top two eyes.

The right side of the tank.

coralitos27.thumb.jpg.02623883c8ef5cf802dbe88bfa2ff84f.jpg

 

The left side.

coralitos28.thumb.jpg.87bbabee63763e7795e686c20280ad1d.jpgcoralitos29.thumb.jpg.b6c110382caeb7077fe96024143b9bbf.jpgcoralitos30.thumb.jpg.82da3f6b7d24095d663d041a69a0f76c.jpg

 

 

coralitos36.thumb.jpg.e38c96c3ce3ddeba3a0659b168fea5a6.jpg

The white Goni

 

coralitos32.thumb.jpg.a1522e8ebc5382577a36cd25b3a0f5e2.jpgcoralitos33.thumb.jpg.abe88c28c527b38e08ea989c0f5d3b1d.jpgcoralitos34.thumb.jpg.e90e4fe05f508cfb8946fda118d2341f.jpgcoralitos35.thumb.jpg.793573ad6924a7f51014290d491caa98.jpg

 

The SPS section.

Full polyp extension on that yellow banana encruster.

 

coralitos37.thumb.jpg.72216fd1c6bc2226561b0ca93c73b01d.jpg

Euphyllia is a 50/50 here. The hammer still struggling to open up after over a week in the tank. There is still hope though.

coralitos31.jpg

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Not sure I can give you an objective comment about clowns as I am not a great fan of them in a nano. They mostly don't do a great deal except bob up and down a bit in one location. What drives me nuts is digging up the sand. They create a larger mess than an MP60. 🤣

 

I personally would not have a problem with the wrasse you mention, i really like them. My experience with this fish has been positive. I had one for years, I moved house and the wrasse was being looked after at the LFS for a temporary period. It jumped out of a tank whilst at the LFS. I would think it will be fine with your clown, but, as with everything, I would not offer you a guarantee. 

 

Mixing gobies could end up with some territorial fighting? Getting hold of a pair would be good, although will likely cost you more. 😀

 

Firefish, nice.   

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anizato

Parameter update after WC:

 

dKH (Carbonate Hardness)

  • Before WC: 7.1 dKH
  • After WC: 8.3 dKH
  • Change: +1.2 dKH
  • This WC brought the dKH exactly to where we want it! 

 

Calcium (C)

  • Before WC: 420 ppm
  • After WC: 495 ppm
  • Change: +75 ppm
  • Although a bit high I think it should be fine. We will have to see the results in a week.

 

Phosphorus (P)

  • Before WC: 36 ppb
  • After WC: 30 ppb
  • Change: -6 ppb
  • I finally hit the number!!!! P 30ppb = PO4 0.092ppm right on the nose!

 

Nitrate (NO3)

  • Before WC: 10 ppm
  • After WC: 0 ppm
  • Change: -10 ppm
  • This is something to keep an eye on. I am sure it is like this since the WC had just happened 1hr prior. This is what I was afraid of, not having enough fish to produce enough waste for the coral to thrive. Thoughts?

 

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Airedale.Reef
38 minutes ago, anizato said:
  • This is something to keep an eye on. I am sure it is like this since the WC had just happened 1hr prior. This is what I was afraid of, not having enough fish to produce enough waste for the coral to thrive. Thoughts?

 

hmm, based on your pre water changes parameters, I maybe would have skipped a water change this week, as IMO one really wasnt needed. Instead of the WC, I would have dosed ALK to raise your dKH a bit, but everything else seemed spot on. Po4 was a little high, and if that was the main reason for the change, I could go along with it. Weekly water changes in general is a good habit, but based on your test results pre change, I would have left it for another week. 

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anizato
49 minutes ago, Airedale.Reef said:

hmm, based on your pre water changes parameters, I maybe would have skipped a water change this week, as IMO one really wasnt needed. Instead of the WC, I would have dosed ALK to raise your dKH a bit, but everything else seemed spot on. Po4 was a little high, and if that was the main reason for the change, I could go along with it. Weekly water changes in general is a good habit, but based on your test results pre change, I would have left it for another week. 

Thank you, that is good to know, it definitely saves me money. 

Yes, the main reason for this particular WC was to get the P at the 1ppm mark. At one point it was around 5ppm. Now that it is where it's supposed to be, I can move forward, no?😊

 

So how ok is it for the system to go up and down like that weekly/biweekly? as in, the alk was 7.1 and now 8.3... , I thought that was a jump as it is, so I guess not, eh? another week would've brought it down even further, no? but the raise would have been the same 1.5 dKH right?

 

🧐

 

Cheers! 🍻

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geekreef_05
21 hours ago, anizato said:

Parameter update after WC:

 

dKH (Carbonate Hardness)

  • Before WC: 7.1 dKH
  • After WC: 8.3 dKH
  • Change: +1.2 dKH
  • This WC brought the dKH exactly to where we want it! 

 

Calcium (C)

  • Before WC: 420 ppm
  • After WC: 495 ppm
  • Change: +75 ppm
  • Although a bit high I think it should be fine. We will have to see the results in a week.

 

Phosphorus (P)

  • Before WC: 36 ppb
  • After WC: 30 ppb
  • Change: -6 ppb
  • I finally hit the number!!!! P 30ppb = PO4 1.0ppm right on the nose!

 

Nitrate (NO3)

  • Before WC: 10 ppm
  • After WC: 0 ppm
  • Change: -10 ppm
  • This is something to keep an eye on. I am sure it is like this since the WC had just happened 1hr prior. This is what I was afraid of, not having enough fish to produce enough waste for the coral to thrive. Thoughts?

 

 

Cool numbers. Niffty to see the change. What percent water change was this? 

 

There are a number of options with clownfish. 

 

You can remove her from the aquarium for a while and re introduce after adding another fish. Could move the rock around too, resetting the territory.

 

Could try to rebond her with a smaller clown. Need to start with a acclimation box though. 

 

Ultimately though, this fish already has a history of aggressive behaviour. I would try for a local trade or keep it as a 1 fish reef. The key will be too manage feeding. And you could offset the lower bioload by feeding or increasing coral feeding.

 

Some thoughts for your consideration!

 

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geekreef_05
20 hours ago, anizato said:

Thank you, that is good to know, it definitely saves me money. 

Yes, the main reason for this particular WC was to get the P at the 1ppm mark. At one point it was around 5ppm. Now that it is where it's supposed to be, I can move forward, no?😊

 

So how ok is it for the system to go up and down like that weekly/biweekly? as in, the alk was 7.1 and now 8.3... , I thought that was a jump as it is, so I guess not, eh? another week would've brought it down even further, no? but the raise would have been the same 1.5 dKH right?

 

🧐

 

Cheers! 🍻

 

Steady parameters are key. 

Water changes...

 

I think there are 2 schools of thought:

 

1) do weekly water changes. Replenish those elements we dont measure and may not even know we need.

 

2) do water changes when needed and dose stuff to keep parameters and elements in balance. 

 

Im of the 2nd school.

 

But overall i think its all about taking the approach your comfortable with. 

 

If your doing number 1, i would say smaller weekly or daily if possible, water changes are ideal to prevent parameter swings.

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anizato
38 minutes ago, geekreef_05 said:

 

Cool numbers. Niffty to see the change. What percent water change was this? 

Thanks man, being on top of it since day 1 has helped me not have an ugly phase, fingers crossed. This was a 3 gallon water change. 

There are a number of options with clownfish. 

 

You can remove her from the aquarium for a while and re introduce after adding another fish. Could move the rock around too, resetting the territory.

 

Could try to rebond her with a smaller clown. Need to start with a acclimation box though. 

This is actually not a bad idea. I'll have to think about it. Since my wife doesn't like the idea of giving away "our baby" 🤣

Ultimately though, this fish already has a history of aggressive behaviour. I would try for a local trade or keep it as a 1 fish reef. The key will be too manage feeding. And you could offset the lower bioload by feeding or increasing coral feeding.

Yeah he/she is a SOB so... it's either pair him or give him away to the LFS. I am leaning more towards trading him/her and getting different nano fish.

 

Some thoughts for your consideration!

 

 

28 minutes ago, geekreef_05 said:

 

Steady parameters are key. 

Water changes...

 

I think there are 2 schools of thought:

 

1) do weekly water changes. Replenish those elements we dont measure and may not even know we need.

 

2) do water changes when needed and dose stuff to keep parameters and elements in balance. 

 

Im of the 2nd school.

 

But overall i think its all about taking the approach your comfortable with. 

 

If your doing number 1, i would say smaller weekly or daily if possible, water changes are ideal to prevent parameter swings.

I'll have to stick to school #1 for now. I don't really feel confident in my dosing skills. I've never done it before.

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9 hours ago, anizato said:

 

I'll have to stick to school #1 for now. I don't really feel confident in my dosing skills. I've never done it before.

Dosing is easy enough once you stick your toe in the water, particularly with products like All For Reef which was designed for an idiot like me. 🤣

 

But, my preference is also for water changes. I just find simple reefing more satisfying personally. Each to their own though. 🙂 If water changes appear not to be working, I would not have any issue dosing.  

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Crawford_T

Apparently I wasn’t following! Fixed that. Tank is looking good so far, I dig your coral choices. 
 

I’ve come to accept my current algae situation, hoping time will help things balance. For me, weekly 5g preferably on the same day. I’m not shooting for a specific po4 number, just aiming for under .08ish. I had it bottom out recently and my “algae” got out of hand, dropped to 2x/week reef roids, every other day reef energy, daily fish food (alternating between pellets and frozen). 
 

 

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anizato
1 hour ago, Crawford_T said:

Apparently I wasn’t following! Fixed that. Tank is looking good so far, I dig your coral choices. 
 

I’ve come to accept my current algae situation, hoping time will help things balance. For me, weekly 5g preferably on the same day. I’m not shooting for a specific po4 number, just aiming for under .08ish. I had it bottom out recently and my “algae” got out of hand, dropped to 2x/week reef roids, every other day reef energy, daily fish food (alternating between pellets and frozen). 
 

 

LOL Welcome aboard!

 

Thanks, I really love Gonis!

 

Don't give up on the algae, you can definitely defeat it, you just have to vacuum the sand one portion at a time until you catch up and it's all clean, you can't expect to get it done in 1 or 2 tries, it is going to take weeks or months. 0.08ppm P is fantastic, just give it time, I was at 0.56ppm at one point but finally got it down to 0.10ppm with Monday's WC.
Don't let up man you are on the right track!

 

15 hours ago, Kev1n said:

Dosing is easy enough once you stick your toe in the water, particularly with products like All For Reef which was designed for an idiot like me. 🤣

 

But, my preference is also for water changes. I just find simple reefing more satisfying personally. Each to their own though. 🙂 If water changes appear not to be working, I would not have any issue dosing.  

Yeah water changes is what I know as well and has been working for me. I am too afraid of messing up the numbers if I start dosing.

 

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8 hours ago, anizato said:

Yeah water changes is what I know as well and has been working for me. I am too afraid of messing up the numbers if I start dosing.

 

Looks like you are doing good to me.

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Airedale.Reef
On 6/4/2024 at 7:58 PM, anizato said:

So how ok is it for the system to go up and down like that weekly/biweekly? as in, the alk was 7.1 and now 8.3... , I thought that was a jump as it is, so I guess not, eh? another week would've brought it down even further, no?

Definitely a jump, so that is why I suggested skipping the water change and to only increase ALK by dosing, as I didn't think your other parameters needed adjusted (outside of the po4). As Geekreef mentioned, stability is key! 

 

I was only suggesting that increasing your ALK  would allow you to skip a water change this particular week and for me that is always a win. I find that adding a few ML of 2 part, or adding Kalkwasser to your ATO is a great way to accomplish this, and IME saves me a significant amount of time vs my water change routine. 

 

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anizato

 

7 weeks 2 days = June 10th.

In this amount of time I have probably performed at least once sometimes 2 WC per week. So lets be safe and say I have done about 12 WC so far.

 

1.025 SG = 33ppt

 

dKH (Carbonate Hardness)

  • Before WC: 5.9 dKH
  • After WC: 7.3 dKH
  • Change: +1.4dKH
  • This WC performed roughly the same as last, raising around the same amount of dKH. But I clearly need to dose this tank. 

 

Calcium (C)

  • Before WC: 200 ppm
  • After WC: 250 ppm
  • Change: +50 ppm
  • This is insanely low! Again, WC bringing C up roughly around the same as last (last week was +75ppm)

 

Phosphorus (P)

  • Before WC: 6 ppb
  • After WC: 1 ppb
  • Change: -5 ppb
  • Wow ... same amount of reduction as last week (-5 ppb), but for some reason the water had 30ppb less P than last week, so does that mean coral and algae are consuming this amount weekly?)

 

Nitrate (NO3)

  • Before WC: 10 ppm
  • After WC: 5 ppm
  • Change: -5 ppm

 

 

I assume I have about 6.5 to 7 gallons. So I will go with 7 gallons to be safe. In the BRS Calculator for dKH it recommends 


0.10 tsps or 0.45 grams or 0.02 oz

For larger swings, it may be necessary to spread the dose out throughout multiple smaller doses, to avoid raising the pH more than 0.20. We do not recommend raising more than 0.5meq/L or 1.4 dKH per day.

In order to bring the dKH from 7.1dKH to 8dKH which is what my bucket typically measures at. Sometimes it can read up to 8.7dKH, never gotten a higher read. I use Fritz RPM. Been thinking about switching back to Red Sea Blue Bucket, I feel like Red Sea is more consistent I have used them in the past with much less experience, but I remember that much.

 

19.44 grams or 0.69 oz or approx 3.89 tsp

Measure out the amount of BRS Calcium Chloride provided by the calculator, and fully dissolve it in RO/DI or distilled water. Once the solution is fully dissolved (clear), you can slowly add it directly to a high flow area of the tank or sump. Please be careful and avoid blasting corals with the concentrated solution. Try not to increase Calcium more than 50 ppm per day. If larger changes are required spread the dose over a few days. Test between additions.

In order to raise C from 250ppm to 450ppm I need to add 0.69oz of diluted Dry Calcium Chloride. 

 

 

NEWS:

Found an interested party in my Clownfish. So I went to the LFS today and got two nets so I could catch him. It was impressive to see how confident he was swimming despite him being coralled by two nets trying to catch him, for a while I would approach him and he would simply always have a way out, so he never really felt the pressure. But after like 10 minutes of figuring out how he thinks I was finally able to outsmart him without stress and put him in a bucket so he can be delivered tomorrow. 

jun103.thumb.jpg.2b6440787a3b024fdc050bb40f2bcfcf.jpg

 

This week includes a new coral haul and the addition of new livestock. 

 

These are my options, what should I add first, second, third?

 

Royal Gramma, Hawkfish, Red Firefish, Clown Goby, Randall Goby, Tailspot Blenny, Pink Streak Wrasse (kinda looks like a 6 Line Wrasse & swims like a Pygmy Wrasse), 

 

Also added my first Acropora Coral. It seems to look like a Tenuis Acro. Let's see in a couple of months how she does to see if I decide to add any more.

 

jun101.jpg.fc666d9d8823f9e2eae420d88b3d1a81.jpgjun102.thumb.jpg.e8a6eb3d1ac2dc6fa28339aeeae1e216.jpg

jun109.thumb.jpg.33e008952c84179ab50941d6b97f741f.jpg

 

 

 

Questions:

 

1. Can I bring the parameters up to normal by doing daily WC while the BRS chemicals arrive before I start dosing? 

 

2. What is considered a large swing? What do SPS typically consider a 'healthy range' of parameter changes throughout the day? is a jump from 8.3dKH to 8.1dKH from one day to the next a substantial 'swing'?

 

3. What kind of reality am I looking at here? daily dosing? possible dosing pump situation?

 

4. Is it really this amount of coral that is sucking out that much dKH and Calcium from the water? or am I testing wrong?

 

5. This means that Mg is also in need of replenishing, correct?

 

6. What do you think about the P being 36ppb last week, and this week it being 6ppm before the WC?

 

Happy reefing!

 

 

 

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geekreef_05

Some sweet coral additions dude! 

 

Let me see if can help with some Questions:

 

1. Can I bring the parameters up to normal by doing daily WC while the BRS chemicals arrive before I start dosing? 

 

Yes. But be careful to really match salinity, heat, etc as closely as possible. Your walking a tight rope for a little while with your new stocking.

 

 

2. What is considered a large swing? What do SPS typically consider a 'healthy range' of parameter changes throughout the day? is a jump from 8.3dKH to 8.1dKH from one day to the next a substantial 'swing'?

 

Thats an acceptable swing.

 

2pt or higher swing is considered large. 

 

0.5pt daily swing is normal from night to day. 

 

 

3. What kind of reality am I looking at here? daily dosing? possible dosing pump situation?

 

Think of it as controlled hourly dosing is needed. Dosing pump is the way to go. The best solution's involve consistent dosing. As many times as needed, throughout the day, in the smallest amount possible per dose. Increasing dosing at night. 

 

Example. You determine 10ml/day of Mg is needed to sustain your levels over 24hrs. 

 

You can dose 1ml per hour, for 10 hours overnight, counteracting the natural overnight swing of Mg. 

 

Calc, Alk, Mg, pH. All have a swing during day/night cycles. The better you can counter act that effect, the steadier your reef will be.

 

This means, ideally, maintaining an impossible dosing schedule by any human means. Thus a programable dosing pump is key.

 

 

4. Is it really this amount of coral that is sucking out that much dKH and Calcium from the water? or am I testing wrong?

 

 Yes. The coral. The coralline algae. And it will increase the more sps you have and the larger all corals grow.

 

5. This means that Mg is also in need of replenishing, correct?

 

 Oh yah. Look at Mg, Calc and Alk. Prepare to dose all 3. All for Reef maybe a consideration 

 

6. What do you think about the P being 36ppb last week, and this week it being 6ppm before the WC?

 

I think its a big swing. 

Im not sure the effect it will have.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Amazing leaps forward on your part. Looking forward to seeing how things unfold!

 

 

 

 

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