A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

I saw Dan last night, but he was too tired to chat for more than a few minutes. But he was up early this morning at the Apex Users Meeting, and I saw his smile once in the vendor hall.

Hopefully, we coordinate where cocktails are tonight....


Dave B
 
danfeig said:
Osteoclast,

Thanks for the compliments! Tangs are definitely my favorite fish. I love getting them small and watching them grow. Both my Lopezi and Vlamingi Tangs are getting huge!

I am real happy to share my Apex programs for my Vortechs or any of my equipment. I've actually been debating about getting two more MP40's to create additional flow on an intermittent basis. I enjoy sitting in front of the tank and creating different flow patterns.

With regards to my dosing... the plane truth is I don't know!!!

I purchase from my LFS the Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium formulas (I believe they purchase the powder in bulk from BRS), pour the powder/ingredients into 5 gallon drums, add RO water, mix and viola! Because I dose hourly, I use a mixture that is 150% - 170% of the normal concentration for Calcium and Alkalinity. Every month - six weeks when I replace the solution, I have to spend a 5 days or so adjusting my dosing levels. I use the BRS Drew's Doser Pumps, which are supposed to dose +/- 1.6 ml per minute (i'd be surprised if they do 1 ml per minute). Each hour I have my Calcium set for 11 minutes, my Alkalinity set for 13 minutes and my Magnesium set to dose for 4 minutes. I just lowered everything slightly...My Calcium is running at 450, Alkalinity is at 12 (I like it to be at 11) and Magnesium is around 1,200.

I keep my solutions constantly stirring. All my solutions are in 5 gallon water jugs and I have little/nano power heads residing in the bottom of each jug.

I hope this helps....

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Hey Dan

i've read your thread a few times and love your tank!

i have a question about your dosing as well, specifically the jugs you use.

did you have to order these or are they a DIY type of thing?

thanks!!

Drew
 
DJ_drew said:
Hey Dan

i've read your thread a few times and love your tank!

i have a question about your dosing as well, specifically the jugs you use.

did you have to order these or are they a DIY type of thing?

thanks!!

Drew
Click to expand...

Thanks Drew!

Those are regular 5 gallon water jugs that I picked up at one of the local Water Street stations.
 
It seems like it has been forever since I have been able to post here.

My tank is doing fantastic and I have been starting to frag a lot from it! I haven't added any new livestock recently. There are a few pieces at my LFS that I have my eye on. In quarantine, I still have my Whitetail Bristletooth Tangs and a pair of Black Tangs.

I hope to have some updated pictures soon!
 
danfeig said:
It seems like it has been forever since I have been able to post here.

My tank is doing fantastic and I have been starting to frag a lot from it! I haven't added any new livestock recently. There are a few pieces at my LFS that I have my eye on. In quarantine, I still have my Whitetail Bristletooth Tangs and a pair of Black Tangs.

I hope to have some updated pictures soon!
Click to expand...
That's an understatement. So have you been that busy that the bristletooths weren't added to the DT? And now you have a pair of blacks? Yea its confirmed that you're the mam.
 
I would love that! Thanks for the invite. She and her husband reside on base at Davis Monthan. She's not a fan. Benn there 2 yrs. she doesn't feel safe in that part of town. She needs to find out what to do. She says all good stuff is real far from base
 
Bryopsis

Bryopsis

So I know exactly where it came from....

I had picked up a frag at out last local frag swap (a few months back) and after dipping it and scraping a few things off its plug, placed it into my tank. I remember it had a little algae growing off it and thought I had eradicated it all.

I now have several areas in my tank where I see small patches of Bryopsis growing.

Everyone knows how anal I can be about tackling a problem before it gets out of hand. So let's see.... I have added 20 lettuce nudibranch's and am trying to get some more. I added 4 large blennies to hopefully mow things down and am now attempting to raise my mag to 1,800 ppm for a few weeks. A tough task!

I have purchased 12 gallon containers of Kent Marine Tech M and have thus far dosed 7 gallons over a week period. I am up to about 1,600. From everything I read, it is some other metal in the Tech M that kills off the bryopsis. It's amazing how dosing so much mag is playing with my CA, & Alk levels, along with my salinity. I am taking water samples to my LFS daily in addition to checking things myself. I will send out a water sample to Aquarium Water Testing on Friday.

Again, the amount of Bryopsis is small, but, I know that it can go nuts if not caught early.
 
Dan,

For the Bryopsis I never had luck with the nudibranchs. But I had good luck with the Sea Hares - Not as pretty, and sometimes they float around the tank looking like a big turd. But they are great at eating the algae.

They aren't much money, and your LFS shouldn't have a problem getting them. And they have a pretty good life span.

I have had them Spawn many times in my tank, but never seen a bunch of small ones cruising around.

Dave B
 
o2manyfish said:
Dan,

For the Bryopsis I never had luck with the nudibranchs. But I had good luck with the Sea Hares - Not as pretty, and sometimes they float around the tank looking like a big turd. But they are great at eating the algae.

They aren't much money, and your LFS shouldn't have a problem getting them. And they have a pretty good life span.

I have had them Spawn many times in my tank, but never seen a bunch of small ones cruising around.

Dave B
Click to expand...

Dave,

How are you pal? I have tried Sea Hares in the past in my QT. I am somewhat worried about putting them in my main display - concerned that they may get pulled into one of the MP40's or MP60's.

They didn't seem to touch the Bryopsis in my QT, but, I can try again. I think Fishy Biz has 3 or 4 in stock.
 
Following along. I have a Bryopsis issue too. Did a 4 hour acclimation for 3 black mollies. So far they are starting to somewhat pick on the glass. Also, i have a frag of branching GSP, almost fully opened.
 
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