28g long nano journal

[michika]

I'm going to pre-face this post with a huge thank you to OldDude. I was over to pick up macro algae yesterday and came home with a few beautiful SPS peices to get me started again. They all look great, polyps out and everything. Thank you very much Greg for your kindness.

I'm finally getting a change to start dosing Aqua Connect's Energy Elements product. I now have a very small collection of SPS and my water parameters have been all in line for some time. Why not start now while I repopulate my system.

So today's parameters (Jan. 6th)
SG 1.025
Nitrate, Nitrite, and Ammonia 0ppm
Mg 1500
dKH 10
Ca 500

I started using Ocean Pro Pure salt in December, and so far without running reactors I'm finding all my levels are a bit high for my liking. I think I will be switching back to Red Sea Pro after I finish with this experiment. However I don't want to skew any results by switching back now.

I'm using all three products 1, 2, and 3. The recomended dosing is 1mL per 100l, which converts to about 1mL per 26g. Per the website this is assuming a heavily populated coral tank. Since my tank currently isn't well populated I'm cutting down my dosage to 1/4 of the recommendation, so 0.5ml per 50g.

The website claims to do the following;
-enhance the intensity of colors
-support a better growth
-enhance vitality
-improve the appearance of the polyps
-not boost algae growth

Photos. I'm going to try and photograph each coral at least once a month, and post FTS one a week. If I can offer more frequent photos, I will.

Today's FTS:

from today:

After looking at the photos its time to reaquascape again before I fill up my system with too many SPS colonies and clams. I think I may do that tonight/this afternoon.

 

[michika]

I switched out my (dirty) batwing reflector for a luminarc reflector tonight. The change is huge, however the drawback is the crazy shading from the reflector.

I'm not sure if even moving the PC lights further to the sides is going to do anything for the shading. I can't see how to get any PC light to the center of the tank.

Shot down the right side of the tank

SPS today after 3 days of dosing. I think all the polyps are out more in all my pieces, even ones I've had in the system for a month, or the surviving zoas and LPS.

I've decided to go to 250w MH, regardless of the reflector. Its too hard to get 175w bulbs reliably, and I'm thinking of moving that setup onto my QT system. I just have to buy a ballast, which I'll do tomorrow.

Next up on my todo list:
- hook up kalk stirrer on the kalk. reactor (I'm sick of hand shaking)
- Swap out 175w ballast, and put in new 250w ballast and new bulb
- Re-plumb my skimmer
- Put in a new sump
- New drain design for the overflow

 

[michika]

This weeks update:
Parameters for January 13th
SG 1.025
Nitrate, Nitrite, and Ammonia 0ppm
phosphate 0.05mg/L
Mg 1380
dKH 10
Ca 500

I'm still dosing daily. I've also added a few more SPS to my system, and I've started using filter socks again. The other change I've made, is that the skimmer has been replumbed so the output is no longer right above the imput for the pump. Between the filter socks and the replumb I've seen about an 80% reduction in microbubbles. However, the bubbles do return if I put my hands in the tank for any reason.

Photos
Re-plumbing the skimmer. This is it before with its metric plumbing.

Filing out the inside of a reducer

Reducer on the stand pipe.

The new plumbing isn't the most graceful looking thing, but it gets the job done for now.

Filter Socks after 2 days (yuck)

I still have a few more things to do to the system to get it to where I want it. I am excited to have a system again that will require little if any weekly maintenance (other then water changes, feeding, and dosing).

FTS and photos of my new aquisitions to follow.

 

[michika]

Today's FTS, it seems that the GHA is both spreading, and thickening. I am going to manually prune it later today. It seems like I have another GHA battle on my hands.

This is some of SPS I aquired this week. I need to re-mount one of them, and find permanent homes for them in my rockwork. However, I don't like my aquascaping so I'm really iffy about gluing anything down.

New SPS

Existing corals.

 

[michika]

January 20th Update
Parameters today:
SG 1.023
Nitrate (Pinpoint monitor): Undetectable
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm
phosphate (Hanna Colormeter) 0.01
Mg (salifert) 1190ppm
dKH 7
Ca (salifert) 420ppm

Things that are happening this week;

I noticed cyano forming last week in tiny patches, I siphoned it out. This week its back and its everywhere. Last time I delt with this was 2004 and I fixed it by correcting my then low dKH levels. This time around I don't really know what to do. I'm researching it again to see what new information has come out on dealing with it.

I am experiencing STN on my biggest colony of SPS. You can see in the photos below the fresh white skeleton showing through. In one photo there is cyano on the colony before I blew it off. I'm unsure if it is related or not to the dosing program I am on as it was fine prior to starting the program.

My surviving clams came back to me. Delphinius was kind enough to hold onto them while my tank settled back to where I wanted it. Its really nice to see them again. Both are open and the mandarin is happy to have his favorite hiding/hunting spot back again. I can't wait until I can add more clams in the future, I really miss my field of clams.

The tang that I was holding for a friend is now mine. I convinced him to trade the tang for a good meal. I am now the proud owner of a tang that EATS!! GHA. I'm planning a 6ft tank right now to move him to in the next month or so. The tang also taught my imperator angel to eat GHA, so I can't complain. :biggrin:

Speaking of the GHA its still proliferating. I manually prune about 1/4 cup every few days. Its not as thick as the GHA I delt with in my previous tank, so that is a bit of a relief. I'm slowly going to start moving out infested rocks so I can cook them. It is going to be a long and slow process, but I think it needs to be done.

I'm thinking that there are two possible sources that are feeding the GHA right now, a) my RO/DI itself, b) my rocks from my original first set up in 2004. The only rocks that do get covered with GHA are all rocks that I got in 2004 when I set up my first tank. I had to go back through all my photos to make this connection.

I did starve a bunch of my hermits in my sump as suggested, now that they've been returned to the tank I hope they start chowing down. My urchin has finally abanadoned the tank walls as his perfered spot. Instead he how hangs out on the rocks, sadly its the underside, rather then the tops with the GHA.

FTS from Friday the 17th

FTS from today, the 20th

The imperator angel.

Mandarin

 

[michika]

Necrosis on my colony

Other corals in the tank

The clams, home at last.

 

[erics3000]

Does your imperator pick on anything? Somewhere on RC i saw pic of an imperator on RC where a clam caught it and killed it.

 

[michika]

The angel picks on the green hair algae, but that is about it. It will eat food if it falls into my SPS, but it doesn't nip at anything it shouldn't.

I remember that photo, talk about timing!

 

[erics3000]

yeah it was a good 1

 

[michika]

A few things have changed since I last updated this thread.

1) Stopped dosing Energy Elements, I was able to tie it in as the cause of a recent cyano outbreak. The cyano cleared up in about 4 days after I had stopped dosing. Since I was worried that something else was causing the cyano, I waited a week and tried to start dosing again. The cyano returned, and I am no longer testing out the product.

2) Re-aquascaped, I finally got around to it. I capped off the two loc-line returns that came in from the back. There is a great deal of increased flow coming from the remaining 7 returns which all come off the calfo manifold.

This is the shot of the new aquascaping as of yesterday. The lights went off before I could get in and vacuum up the crud on the bottom.

3) I removed the ugly rock on the left side, it went to the sump. I also removed a few rocks that I believe were leaching phosphates into the system, and fueling the GHA. I think I eventually want to add another 10-15 lbs of nice rock in the future.

4) I have fixed the microbubble problem. A few minor tweaks after I added the filter socks and replumbed the skimmer, and now I'm bubble free. I feel the clarity in the system goes a long way in inspiring me to stay in the hobby.

5) I lost a few sps frags, my largest colony was fine one evening, the previous RTN having stopped, and then the next morning white as a sheet. Same goes for about 3 other frags. Its upsetting and its a bit of a mystery as to the cause.

6) I swapped out my MH bulb, replaced it with the same for now, a 175w mogul base XM 15K bulb. I like the blue, and I've seen some of my corals respond quite nicely. I find the tank to be a bit blue for my tastes, but its still a crisp blue, so I can live with that.

7) Some inhabitants that have survived.
The first zoas to open after the aquascape

My oldest living SW related livestock. I got these zoas in 2004 from a friend and they are pretty much bullet proof.

A new clam I picked up a couple of weeks ago

8) Future plans
- I think I want sand again in my system so I'm looking into that.
- Keep up with trying to ensure that GHA doesn't come back
- Add more rock
- Start collecting more SPS and Clams

 

[michika]

More photos;

Only 2 SPS frags remain, everything else has RTNed. I've opted to just avoid SPS until April, or until someone can come up with a reasonable explanation as to the sudden decline in my ability to keep them alive.

Feeding time;

Clams;

 

[racksteris]

WOW.... An Emperor Angelfish in a 28 gallon tank. I guess you will be putting him in your ''1000g tank (planning/build stage)'' when it ever gets done.

 

[gumby007]

I just skimmed your thread because I am about to jump off, but I caught that you did a PO4 test when you had the GHA outbreak. To the best of my knowledge, not only are PO4 tests fairly inaccurate unless its laboratory grade, but when you have a lot of algae in your tank, the water itself does have low Phosphate, because it's all absorbed in the algae. So my question is, have you tried running any type of PO4 reducing filtration? Phosban reactor or something? Even small amounts of PO4 can be bad for SPS I think.

 

[michika]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11873936#post11873936 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by racksteris
WOW.... An Emperor Angelfish in a 28 gallon tank. I guess you will be putting him in your ''1000g tank (planning/build stage)'' when it ever gets done.

You are right, both the angel and the tang will be going to a 160g holding/grow out tank in the next month or so, and then from there to the big system once its ready for livestock.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11874031#post11874031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gumby007
I just skimmed your thread because I am about to jump off, but I caught that you did a PO4 test when you had the GHA outbreak. To the best of my knowledge, not only are PO4 tests fairly inaccurate unless its laboratory grade, but when you have a lot of algae in your tank, the water itself does have low Phosphate, because it's all absorbed in the algae. So my question is, have you tried running any type of PO4 reducing filtration? Phosban reactor or something? Even small amounts of PO4 can be bad for SPS I think.

Yes I do run a phosban reactor with GFO. The GHA is actually gone now. I went ahead and removed the 3 rocks on which it grew. I eventually tracked the GHA outbreak back to rocks I purchased and used in my first tank from 2004. I have removed them and they are being cooked for the indefinite future. I guess the rocks had just been in too many systems and had begun to leach phosphates into the tank, triggering and feeding the GHA.

Any other thoughts?

 

[justquit]

Seems like you and your tank went through some hard times there Michika... I'm glad everything is working out for you. By the way... I love your huge clams, I planning to get a couple of clams for my 36 bowl face tank in the near future. Good luck with everything

 

[michika]

Thank you. I love clams, and I hope you find some you like!

 

[SeaSerpant]

got an account on canreef and haven't been on reefcentral for like ever.

 

[michika]

I'm seeing some more subtle transformations and changes within my system. Algae growth on the glass seems to come more frequently, and in a larger quantity. My clams can't seem to get "comfortable", my small crocea, and my large derasa are regularly changing their positions. One day they orient with the MH bulb, and the next they are perpendicular.

I still want to try SPS again, but I am wary. This is the first time in probably 8 or more months in which I've actually had to put out my own money for tank supplies and livestock. My previous cube was self sustaining and I was more then able to buy all my own supplies and livestock. My funds are running out, so I guess I have to start putting my own money into the system if I want to try SPS again.

I figured out why my levels were a bit out on my last reading and I've corrected it. I use Ultra Mag reactor media in my Ca. reactor along with ARM media. The Ultra Mag needed to be replaced, along with my kalk powder in my kalk. reactor. I fixed those at the end of last week, after turning my reactors back online. So a few minor adjustments and now my chemistry is back inline.

I never thought I could go through that much media so quickly, but the last time I dialed in my Ca. reactor was after I had removed all my dead SPS, and sent my clams to a friends for care.

The thicker and more frequent algae growth on the glass was something that happened with my 28g cube. I'm seeing more and more familiar signs and correlations between my previous cube and this tank, its making me hopeful about keeping SPS again.

 

[erichatesmice]

You thread is like reading a good book.

I admire your perseverence. I've realized it's a necessity in this hobby.

 

[michika]

Thank you! I'm glad you like it.