A Capital Dream - 400g SPS build
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McPuff
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In my experience, the chaeto does a better job of removing nutrients. Caulerpa is nice because you can feed it to your fish. But cheato will allow you to actually export those nutrients (not recycle). Maybe it's just 6 of one, half dozen of the other... something to consider though. I have chaeto and dragon's breath in my fuge so the fish can eat the latter and I can simply export the former.
For the MarinePure blocks... I have added one to my sump just over a month ago and have noticed some very positive effects. Prior to adding I was wiping the glass about every 3 days. Now I may not have to wipe every 5-6 days. My remaining corals are also looking better than ever for color and PE. When I transition everything over to the 300 (in 120 now) I may add another block but I will wait to see if it's necessary.
Thanks for the info on the chaeto vs caulerpa. I think I will switch it over this weekend. It is worth a try.
I like the MP block. I used it plus four litres of matrix for the 220g. I doubled up on these now that I have the 400 and the 75. I added them within the past two weeks so they should "kick in" in the next month.
I am having a phosphate issue that, I believe, came with the new dry rock that I added. This should clear up in time, with chaeto and GFO.
I like the MP block. I used it plus four litres of matrix for the 220g. I doubled up on these now that I have the 400 and the 75. I added them within the past two weeks so they should "kick in" in the next month.
I am having a phosphate issue that, I believe, came with the new dry rock that I added. This should clear up in time, with chaeto and GFO.
I visited my goto LFS today and picked up some more cleanup crew. Last week, I added 50 astrea snails to go with the 25 astrea, 6 large nassarius and 6 mexican turbos. The turbos are getting close to baseball size, but they only come out after dark. Today, I bought 20 trochus snails, 10 cerith, 10 peppermint shrimp, strawberry conch and two short spine urchins.
I am not sure what type they are but, go figure, all the rock with algae and they want to hitch a ride on snails.
The algae levels on the rock is not too bad, but I don't want it to get worse before the P04 settles down some. The sandbed is in pretty good shape and I am hoping the ceriths and conch will keep it that way. If not, I will get some more.
I am not sure what type they are but, go figure, all the rock with algae and they want to hitch a ride on snails.
The algae levels on the rock is not too bad, but I don't want it to get worse before the P04 settles down some. The sandbed is in pretty good shape and I am hoping the ceriths and conch will keep it that way. If not, I will get some more.
I mentioned in post 197 that I had taken a more aggressive approach in adjusting the CARX. It appears, I might have been a bit too aggressive. My Alk has jumped to 8.7 (target 7.5 to 8.0). I run a constant effluent stream from the CARX and I am making adjustments to the PH. I had it set at 6.55 ph (pretty low) so have adjusted it to 6.62. The alk was rising about 5ppm (.28dKh) per day. I will check again tomorrow to see what the impact is.
I tested P04 yesterday, and it read .03. This is down from the .07 a couple of days ago. I attribute this to user error with the Hanna Phosphorous ULR colorimeter. It seems to fluctuate between .03 and .07 when I test. I have Rowaphos in a reactor and will leave it "as is" for now.
A few of the corals are starting to show signs of growth since I moved them into the tank, so I don't plan to make any changes at this time. The fish are getting fatter by the day and the corals do not appear unhappy.
I tested P04 yesterday, and it read .03. This is down from the .07 a couple of days ago. I attribute this to user error with the Hanna Phosphorous ULR colorimeter. It seems to fluctuate between .03 and .07 when I test. I have Rowaphos in a reactor and will leave it "as is" for now.
A few of the corals are starting to show signs of growth since I moved them into the tank, so I don't plan to make any changes at this time. The fish are getting fatter by the day and the corals do not appear unhappy.
Thanks Matt. I was not too worried about the variance at the time. I forgot about the margin of error but felt the change was too small to worry about.
The tank and I had a little test. Sue and I went down East to New Brunswick to celebrate her folks 60th wedding anniversary. We left last Thursday morning and returned last night(Mon). This left the tank unattended for 5 days. I am very happy to say that all corals are looking good and there are no detrimental affects that I have seen.
I used the Eheim autofeeder and gave the fish a shot of pellets 4 times a day. I lost no fish and the clean up crew looks pretty good. I have a lot of snails so not sure if I lost any.
We got back late yesterday afternoon and I tested the parameters last night. The alk had dropped to 123 ppm (6.88 dKh) so I added a little baking soda (5 tsp). The main issue with the CARX is the use of a small pump (MJ600) for supply and the use of a needle wheel to regulate the effluent stream. I have experienced some plugging of the effluent line and consequently some variable effluent volumes. I plan to get a peristalic pump but until then I will use the MJ600 and a needle valve to provide a continuous flow. I will just have to make some adjustments on the fly.
I did have an algae film on the glass when I got home. It was not too heavy, so I was quite happy given the 5 days absence. I tested nitrates and they were basically zero (no colour using salifert). My phosphates were .09+ which is higher than the .05 that I want. I am not surprised because I expected the Rowaphos to exhaust soon.
I replaced the Rowaphos today and will continue to monitor the phosphates.
Off topic: It was a wonderful weekend. My In-laws are pushing their 80's plus, and they were smiling the whole weekend. The wholw family was there plus many friends. My father-in-law drives me nuts, only because he talks way more than me. [emoji16] My mother-in-law is a sweetheart and I love her almost as much as my own Mom. I came to realize a long time ago that their daughter's welfare is the most important thing to them, and that my role is to be the best husband I can be. I must be doing something right, because she is still with me after 28 years and the in-laws still accept me. End of sentimental segment.
Thanks. The shelf rock is great for scaping and provides loads of space for corals.
I have been following your build and am looking forward to you getting that monster wet. Your equipment list is excellent. [emoji106]
Compromise and communication. Won't be very long and you too will celebrate 28 yrs. I actually forgot our 20th anniversary on the date. I got home and Sue asked where we were going. Dummy here said "what are you talking about. I just want supper".
Needless to say, I have never forgotten since then, and probably never will. [emoji15]
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Thx
I have 90 lbs of shelf rock. May add another 90. Whatever is left I can add to the 224 I'm also setting up.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I bought 250 lbs of the dry shelf and used a little over 200. I still have some left that I will use later to fill the centre of the tank as I expand. I will use some in my 75g, but I have been a little lazy with it. Oops. [emoji3]Thx
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I used the dry, but I also transferred about 300lbs of live rock from my established 220g tank. I use a remote central sump (actually 2 tanks - a 90g and a 65g) so integrated the 400g with the 220g before I transferred all the live rock and the livestock.
When I set up the 220g, I used about 275 lbs of dry rock and bought the 25 lbs of live rock to seed. It took a little longer to get through the cycle, because of the dry rock, but this was my 3rd setup and I had learned patience through my previous screw ups. [emoji1]
I am glad I used the live rock to seed and you would not go wrong doing the same. I also used pure ammonia to help the cycle along.
Unfortunately, no. My wife and I may try to go next year.
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