cmaxwell39
New member
Thanks, all of you.
A few of my SPS
- Thread starter cmaxwell39
- Start date
this is me
Active member
Very nice sps. Love the polyp extension on them.
cmaxwell39
New member
I took some new pics recently. Once I get them uploaded, etc. I wi post them.
As far as filtration:
GFO-- As needed when phosphates spike over .1
GAC-- 24/7 in a BRS reactor changed monthly
Pellets-- I assume you mean bio pellets and no I don't run them. I do dose vinegar, but have found that a very low dose keeps my tank in line.
Other than that, I keep it simple, no fuge, large skimmer, filter sock for a few days when I blow off the rocks or stir up the sand bed (about once a month or so.)
As far as filtration:
GFO-- As needed when phosphates spike over .1
GAC-- 24/7 in a BRS reactor changed monthly
Pellets-- I assume you mean bio pellets and no I don't run them. I do dose vinegar, but have found that a very low dose keeps my tank in line.
Other than that, I keep it simple, no fuge, large skimmer, filter sock for a few days when I blow off the rocks or stir up the sand bed (about once a month or so.)
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
Great. Many thanks for the info. Look forward to the new pics when you upload them. :thumbsup:
cmaxwell39
New member
Better late then never, right....
I finally got some photos of the tank and some of the inhabitants. Everything has been going pretty well with the tank. Do have some new residents in QT right now as well, but will get to that later.
FTS:
Phosphates have been testing a little high lately, but nitrates are always at 0, so I have started to dose some sodioum nitrate. I dissolve 10.5 gr 99.5% pure sodium nitrate into a liter of water and have been dosing between 10 and 30 ml of this solution per day. At this concentration each 10 ml dose should raise my 200 gal system .1 ppm nitrate. I know I could go a lot faster, but I am always overly cautious when trying out something new. So far I have managed to raise my nitrates to between .2 .and .5 on the salifert nitrate test kit.
I have also switched back to using microbacter 7 as my bacteria source instead of Microbe Lift Special Blend. My theory is that switching up bacteria sources from time to time helps keep the tank from becoming to monolithic in its bacteria population. I started the tank with MB7 and after a year and a half or so switched to special blend. It has been a couple of years so I am switching back for a while. Just got done reseeding the tank with MB7. I may try switching bacteria sources every 6 months to year and see if there is any benefit from running one bacteria source for extended periods.
A couple of coral pics to end this update...
Thanks for stopping by.
I finally got some photos of the tank and some of the inhabitants. Everything has been going pretty well with the tank. Do have some new residents in QT right now as well, but will get to that later.
FTS:
Phosphates have been testing a little high lately, but nitrates are always at 0, so I have started to dose some sodioum nitrate. I dissolve 10.5 gr 99.5% pure sodium nitrate into a liter of water and have been dosing between 10 and 30 ml of this solution per day. At this concentration each 10 ml dose should raise my 200 gal system .1 ppm nitrate. I know I could go a lot faster, but I am always overly cautious when trying out something new. So far I have managed to raise my nitrates to between .2 .and .5 on the salifert nitrate test kit.
I have also switched back to using microbacter 7 as my bacteria source instead of Microbe Lift Special Blend. My theory is that switching up bacteria sources from time to time helps keep the tank from becoming to monolithic in its bacteria population. I started the tank with MB7 and after a year and a half or so switched to special blend. It has been a couple of years so I am switching back for a while. Just got done reseeding the tank with MB7. I may try switching bacteria sources every 6 months to year and see if there is any benefit from running one bacteria source for extended periods.
A couple of coral pics to end this update...
Thanks for stopping by.
cmaxwell39
New member
cmaxwell39
New member
trueblackpercula
New member
Well what can one say other then outstanding reef you have there. As for live bacteria I also started prodibio and it's been going well would highly recommend it. Please continue share such an insperation tank. Wow
Michael
Michael
lakeviewink
New member
Congrats on the TOTQ on the local forum, Calvin. Well deserved"¦
tdb320reef
Active member
Hi Calvin - Again nice tank. I stopped dosing bacteria about a year ago. If you read up in the chemistry section, Randy and a few other PHD's explained that what ever bacteria is added-to your tank is typically out-competed in seconds by existing stands referring to bacteria supplementing as snake oil. It made sense and I stopped and to be honest had not noticed any implications from stopping or differences with the tank at all.
They mentioned if you wanted to change or diversify or add bacteria then add a foreige piece of live Rock. Perhaps you and I could trade a couple of Rocks and achieve the same result.
They mentioned if you wanted to change or diversify or add bacteria then add a foreige piece of live Rock. Perhaps you and I could trade a couple of Rocks and achieve the same result.
cmaxwell39
New member
Thank you.
Well what can one say other then outstanding reef you have there. As for live bacteria I also started prodibio and it's been going well would highly recommend it. Please continue share such an insperation tank. Wow
Michael
Thanks for the well wishes. I have never used the probido. I know a local guy that used it for a while so I may have to talk to him about his experiences with it. Thanks for the suggestion.
That is a great tank cmaxwell!:thumbsup:
Thanks for sharing
I am glad to be able to share my tank with everyone. Thanks for taking the time to read my update.
Thanks. I was humbled to be selected for that honor and it was totally unexpected. There are so many great tanks out there that for my tank to be selected was a little surreal.
Interesting thoughts Tom. I look at it the other way around I guess. I have never seen any negative reactions from dosing bacteria to the tank and in the grand scheme of things it is cheap to dose so why not. I guess I could stop and see if I noticed any negative reactions, but if nothing else it dosing the bacteria gives my ADD mind something to focus on. It might not help, but it at least gives me something to tinker with that is not doing any harm.
I'll give a live rock trade some thought though. Might not be a bad idea to get some diversity of bacteria and other small critters.
cmaxwell39
New member
I promised to post some more pics a couple of days ago and don't want to forget to so here goes.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy.
cmaxwell39
New member
Hey Sahin.
Not 100% sure exactly how much rock is in the tank. It all started as dead rock 3 1/2 years ago when I started the tank. It was all out of previous systems that I used to have running, but was bleached, acid bathed, and dried in the sun for a long while before being put in this tank. No "live rock" was used in starting it.
As far as how much, I would guess somewhere in the neighbor hood of 75-100 pounds of dry rock was used when starting. No rock has been added or removed from the system since startup. Here is a picture of the tank during the cycle 3 years ago to give you an idea of how much rock was used.
I am not a minimalist aquascaping setup for sure, but wanted to avoid the wall of rock look as well. I would call it a moderate amount of rock. For scale the tank is 6'x2' footprint.
Not 100% sure exactly how much rock is in the tank. It all started as dead rock 3 1/2 years ago when I started the tank. It was all out of previous systems that I used to have running, but was bleached, acid bathed, and dried in the sun for a long while before being put in this tank. No "live rock" was used in starting it.
As far as how much, I would guess somewhere in the neighbor hood of 75-100 pounds of dry rock was used when starting. No rock has been added or removed from the system since startup. Here is a picture of the tank during the cycle 3 years ago to give you an idea of how much rock was used.
I am not a minimalist aquascaping setup for sure, but wanted to avoid the wall of rock look as well. I would call it a moderate amount of rock. For scale the tank is 6'x2' footprint.
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