A_CoupleClowns
New member
Yeah, now that one is a keeper 
A Low Country Reef Tank....one more final upgrade
- Thread starter SPotter
- Start date
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
Wow. Nice growth Steve .
nightOwl
Premium Member
Getting much better! See why I wanted you to get a big boy camera now 
. Last picture is your best in this group in regards to composure and focus. Remember with the 100 mm macro try to focus on the part of the coral closes to you or adjust aperture to get more in focus. Keep up the good work!
. Last picture is your best in this group in regards to composure and focus. Remember with the 100 mm macro try to focus on the part of the coral closes to you or adjust aperture to get more in focus. Keep up the good work!
SPotter
Active member
Getting much better! See why I wanted you to get a big boy camera now
Thanks Henry!!!! I took about 30 pics of that one frag before I got one I liked. these frags are in my frag tank and the challenge is the depth of the tank. Its hard to use the marco lens and the porthole and still have enough distance to focus and get a good shot.
nightOwl
Premium Member
Steve - Back when I had corals (so depressing) I would stage them the day before so I would not have to move them as much. That's the beauty of it you can take pictures as long as it takes to get it right. You will also find the more you practice with your equipment the better you become because you know what it can do!
SPotter
Active member
Hey Art,
I've been using it since November now and I love it. I have found that the 150g bulk cases settle a lot and need some dry mixing before mixing with water. I just transfer the contents of the box to a 5g bucket and roll the bucket really well. The salt dissolves amazingly fast and leaves zero residue in my mixing bin. I really like it and I have been able to order it from here....
http://pentairaes.com/crystal-sear-forty-fathoms-bioassay-mixture-150-gallon.html
If you order two cases the price drops to $39 and you get free shipping. All of my corals look amazing after a water change. They explode with pe!
On a side note Art.....my dastaco should be in very soon!!! Thanks for your help with my questions.
SPotter
Active member
I did order the triton media as well. I mix my salt at 1.025 and alk tested at 8.3. You definitely have to dry mix it a lot before using. The first time I didn't dry mix and the alk tested under 8 but ever since I've been dry mixing before use I get consistent 8.3 results.
SPotter
Active member
Update time.....
Update time.....
So just like every reefer in this hobby bumps in the road happen and I hit a bump about 6 weeks ago. Over the last 6 weeks I have been dealing with significant temp spikes, alk dip and spike, mag dip, elevated po4 levels and a gorilla crab.
* Temp issues have been addressed by adding a Mini Split AC system to my garage and a 1hp chiller. I was experiencing 3.5 to 4.5 swings a day and that did do well for my fish or corals causing some casualties.
* Alk and mg have been stabilized and holding steady for about 4 weeks now.
* Po4 I am still struggling with. I am able to get the level down to .06 with 2 cups of rowaphos but it is exhausting in 2-3 days and then makes it way back up to .12 ppm. I have replaced the 300lbs of live rock that was in the live rock tank with Real Reef Rock, I have reduced feedings significantly, increased wc's and started using Rowa. Im close to pulling all of the Marco rock out of the DT and replace that with Real Reef Rock as well.
* I noticed some bite marks on a few pieces of corals and then noticed a gorilla crab wandering around after lights out. I had read that Hoevens wrasse might have a liking for them so I added one. I had been wanting to add another wrasses since my Mystery wrasse is no longer with me. A couple of days later I found a pair of claws that look like they belong to the gorilla. I have been checking nightly an hour after lights go out for any signs of him and I have found it. I am hoping that the hoevens got it and that its not molting.
* Equipment changes to the closed loop....I spent a lot of time and money on the Flow Wolf Closed Loop diverter and after trying 4 different versions of it I finally threw in the towel and purchased two Ocean Motion 4 ways. For over 6 months I was without my closed loops and was supplementing the flow with 4 jebao power heads but dont think I had enough flow in the tank. I finally got them hooked up last week.
Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will be able to post some pictures and have a better update.
Update time.....
So just like every reefer in this hobby bumps in the road happen and I hit a bump about 6 weeks ago. Over the last 6 weeks I have been dealing with significant temp spikes, alk dip and spike, mag dip, elevated po4 levels and a gorilla crab.
* Temp issues have been addressed by adding a Mini Split AC system to my garage and a 1hp chiller. I was experiencing 3.5 to 4.5 swings a day and that did do well for my fish or corals causing some casualties.
* Alk and mg have been stabilized and holding steady for about 4 weeks now.
* Po4 I am still struggling with. I am able to get the level down to .06 with 2 cups of rowaphos but it is exhausting in 2-3 days and then makes it way back up to .12 ppm. I have replaced the 300lbs of live rock that was in the live rock tank with Real Reef Rock, I have reduced feedings significantly, increased wc's and started using Rowa. Im close to pulling all of the Marco rock out of the DT and replace that with Real Reef Rock as well.
* I noticed some bite marks on a few pieces of corals and then noticed a gorilla crab wandering around after lights out. I had read that Hoevens wrasse might have a liking for them so I added one. I had been wanting to add another wrasses since my Mystery wrasse is no longer with me. A couple of days later I found a pair of claws that look like they belong to the gorilla. I have been checking nightly an hour after lights go out for any signs of him and I have found it. I am hoping that the hoevens got it and that its not molting.
* Equipment changes to the closed loop....I spent a lot of time and money on the Flow Wolf Closed Loop diverter and after trying 4 different versions of it I finally threw in the towel and purchased two Ocean Motion 4 ways. For over 6 months I was without my closed loops and was supplementing the flow with 4 jebao power heads but dont think I had enough flow in the tank. I finally got them hooked up last week.
Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will be able to post some pictures and have a better update.
Osama
New member
Hi Steve.. Our hobby always confronts us with challenges when we think things are stable we get a new surprise. Hope all keeps improving... Pls expand for my info on why removing LR and what is Real Reef Rock and why it could be better for your system and Thanks... Best of Luck and have a wonderful weekend
dave.m
Active member
For lowering the PO4 in a maturing tank I have found the following three steps to be significant:
1). Vacuum the sand bed out, a bit at a time each week. If, as you indicate, you have been overfeeding, the sandbed is like a great big reservoir of PO4 muck. In future add some sandbed clean-up crew that will get down under the surface like nassarius snails and conchs.
2). Clean up the detritus that has settled on the rocks. This can be done simply by waving your hand over the rocks to get the detritus floating in the water again. Once it runs through your overflow your filter socks will capture this muck so you can remove it from your system. If, as you mention, your internal flow has been much reduced of late, then there is probably a significant accumulation of detritus that needs to be stirred up and removed.
3). Clean out your sump. It is easy to ignore the detritus piling up in the dark corners of your system, but this is exactly the stuff that will eventually start pulling your water parameters down. A good thorough housecleaning of your whole system can make a big difference in performance and bring your system back up to the levels you were wanting.
Don't let it happen again!
Dave.M
1). Vacuum the sand bed out, a bit at a time each week. If, as you indicate, you have been overfeeding, the sandbed is like a great big reservoir of PO4 muck. In future add some sandbed clean-up crew that will get down under the surface like nassarius snails and conchs.
2). Clean up the detritus that has settled on the rocks. This can be done simply by waving your hand over the rocks to get the detritus floating in the water again. Once it runs through your overflow your filter socks will capture this muck so you can remove it from your system. If, as you mention, your internal flow has been much reduced of late, then there is probably a significant accumulation of detritus that needs to be stirred up and removed.
3). Clean out your sump. It is easy to ignore the detritus piling up in the dark corners of your system, but this is exactly the stuff that will eventually start pulling your water parameters down. A good thorough housecleaning of your whole system can make a big difference in performance and bring your system back up to the levels you were wanting.
Don't let it happen again!
Dave.M
I have been running the oceans motions for 18 months never have any problems or issues i forget they are there!
SPotter
Active member
Hey Dave....well I don't have any sand in any of my tanks on this system. I usually siphon the detritus out every week. I picked up a used canister filter that I use for clearing debris from the rocks and removing detritus on the bottom of the tank.
I definitely need to vacuum the sump as that hasn't been done in a couple of months.
Yeah the OM's are great!!! They're dead silent!
Did you almost give up on the closed loop? Sometimes i think of removing it just for the power consumption it uses but noting beats having flow with nothing stuck to the glass!
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