fishmonkey
Member
That duncan is just so cool! You'll have to send me a frag once my tank's up and running, just to, you know, make more room for corals in your tank.
75 Gallons of Persistence
- Thread starter iwishtofish
- Start date
Robb in Austin
New member
GSP can, and will, take over. I'd recommend NOT having it in there; xenia, anthelia, kenya tree, or mushrooms(except ricordea) all fall in that statement too.
iwishtofish
Active member
It is a cool coral - I didn't think one would interest me much until I got one! It's nice to have a little movement in the tank, and it has really good color. I hope it develops some skeletal branches - it would be kinda hard to frag right now.
I hope the GSP can't spread up through the return pump!
Robb in Austin
New member
Don't be surprised if you see a tiny head of it in the display tank.
iwishtofish
Active member
Wonderful, haha...
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I fed the duncan a little mysis again tonight, and took a few pictures while it consumed them. It was fun to watch:
What I do not know, however, is if it is necessary to ensure that every single polyp gets food, like with the sun coral. That would be good to know.
I realized tonight that my rock has really turned a corner. The majority of the fuzzy stuff has come off (except in really low-flow areas) and the coralline quickly begins to plate where the rock is bare. The GSP has also started to open up again in the refugium. And, I noticed a lot of pods on the rock up top. Encouraging!
(Time for a fish or two, I think...)
Robb in Austin
New member
Yes please! I'd advise adding the most docile of the members of your fish list, but no the most fragile or delicate.
iwishtofish
Active member
I think I'll look for a Kole tang. Next addition should be a sixline wrasse (against everyone's advice...). I'm hoping to fill up the QT tonight.
Thanks much!
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Tested water today and found alk at 7 dkh. Oops! I guess the coralline taking off has dropped the alk this much. I'll be mixing some solution tonight, and then researching how to manually dose it correctly.
Calcium is 460. So not as much consumption there, obviously. It's actually a little higher than last time, which is not expected with just small water changes, and coralline growth. Maybe it's time to use the newer test kit.
Nitrates are at 0.
Robb in Austin
New member
Don't be surprised if your alk is going to run there. Just keep an eye on it.
Sure, using kalk or dosing can keep it higher, but stability is more important, IMO, than hitting some magical number.
Sure, using kalk or dosing can keep it higher, but stability is more important, IMO, than hitting some magical number.
jcw
Active member
Same with my tank with coralline. Alk stays around 6.7 unless I add two part. Can't keep up with just kalk at the moment.
iwishtofish
Active member
Thanks again - I'm trying my best this time!
If you ever need to talk to anyone about it, I am here, my friend. ( :lol: )
I'll watch it, yes. I've heard we don't really want it to drop below 7, though. Should I try to keep it around 8, so it doesn't run the risk of dropping too low?
Wow - say, what are you using to measure alk?
gabew
New member
Hooray! Good luck with the new fish! :thumbsup:
iwishtofish
Active member
Hey thanks, Gabe! I'm going to try to do it right!
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Now, before anyone gets excited: No, I did not buy a fish. But I am working on it!
Let me tell you my progress.I filled the QT tank with 20g of RO/DI water, and tonight I started to put equipment into it. I placed an old Koralia 3 in there, and tried to put the heater in a suction cup mount that was not designed for it. I discovered that a couple zip ties worked great to hold the heater and mount together. When I went to cut off the extra zip tie, the razor blade popped out of the cutter and fell to the bottom of the tank.
I realized netting a razor blade would likely be impossible. Never being one who liked to stick bare arms into fish tanks (antibacterial soap user, here), I decided to try a trick to get the razor blade out. I stuck two drinking straws together and put a big glob of super glue on one end. After lowering the glue end onto the razor blade, I decided to wait a few minutes and pull it out. Lesson learned: super glue apparently does not cure as quickly in freshwater as it does in saltwater. When I pulled the straw upward, it released, and a big cloud of cyanoacrylate shot out of the straw and hovered ominously over the razor blade. In fact, it is still hovering there at this time. I have no idea whether or not to change out the water in the tank, or just use it and run a carbon pouch in the filter. :crazy1:
I am going to dose 1 teaspoon of baking soda (mixed in RO/DI water) by hand - half slowly tonight, and half slowly in the morning. I am going to keep doing that for a few days, to see what effect it has on my levels. I want to bump my alk slowly from 7 dKH to 8 dKH, and keep it steady. I can't afford a set of dosing pumps at the moment.
My water is pretty much clear now, and the algae is almost gone. The rocks are getting a nice bluish/purple covering of coralline. The SPS corals don't look too happy. We'll see what effect the alk bump has, as well as the increased feedings because of the duncan. I am planning on lowering the lights 1" tomorrow morning.
And that's that.
jcw
Active member
Salifert.
(I just slowly added 3/4 tablespoon of baking powder mixed in RO/DI over about 24 hours.
Retested tonight and alk is up to 7.9. That seemed way more effective than my two part and much cheaper, fwiw.)
BTW, I purchased a triple doser on ebay from china. A long thread on it around here somewhere (not mine). Magic Marine I think it's called. Only about $170 I think. Haven't set it up yet.
I really hope the SPS turn around!
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iwishtofish
Active member
Wow, that's a pretty good jump in alk. I may test my alk in the morning before adding the other half. I really want to take it slow.
I'll have to take a look at that doser! Thanks for letting me know about it.
About the SPS - thanks. I think I can get them to turn around. I think the alk may have dropped well below what they were accustomed to, and that there may be too few nutrients, as well. Just need to get some fish and get things steady!
Robb in Austin
New member
Alright. STOP RIGHT THERE.
As one of the resident RNs and other healthcare professionals, just don't. The amount of antibiotics in soaps is enough to laugh at. The buggies are developing resistance enough on their own that they don't need constant exposure to help them evolve along.
Finding non-antimicrobial/antibiotic soap is difficult but worth the effort. Heck, use plain ole bar soap.
/rant
iwishtofish
Active member
Haha, I've always used Dial! Whatever will I do now? :lol:
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Regarding the reef: I am about to go test the alk, to see if 1 tsp brought it up any. I can see that this process could take a LOT of fine tuning!
iwishtofish
Active member
My alk is 8 dKH now, up from 7 dKH after adding only 1 teaspoon of Arm & Hammer baking soda. I'll test again perhaps tomorrow night, and then, if it hasn't dropped, every couple days after that for a while. Obviously, I am not getting any precision testing without a Hannah checker - if I had one, I could at least measure smaller changes in my alkalinity, which would make it easier to dial in on a daily dosing routine.
No obvious negative change in the corals from the relatively sudden 1 dKH jump.
I also lowered the lights 1" today, in hopes of bringing some color back to my corals.
No obvious negative change in the corals from the relatively sudden 1 dKH jump.
I also lowered the lights 1" today, in hopes of bringing some color back to my corals.
