A Splash of Color

glaukos said:
:lolspin::lolspin::lolspin:
Bud can't tell you how much i enjoy your descriptions/narrations of what happens in your tank!

Can feel for you in most of them but still soooo funny:beer:
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Lol it's too silly for words Mike, imagine what's going to happen when i add another 20+ anthias and cardinal sized fish - they won't just swim around and eat food..... there's no way that will happen Mike, something terrible will occur but at least it won't be such a shock......:hmm4:

The glass fish don't do anything bad, they're the only ones immune to the world war Z fish virus running rampant in my display.....:rolleyes:

I'm dosing 200ml of the comp 123 mix i made up for the first time today. I was dosing 170ml of plain bicarb but i don't bake it and it never dissolves properly so it's not a saturated alk solution - that's why my calcium draw which is fully dissolved as per Randy's instructions is lower at 140ml.

Since the calcium mix is correct i would have to say that my real alk/calcium draw is 140ml a day which is woeful when you consider how much acro volume i have. Since the AF bicarb is mixed at a much lower concentration than Randy's i went with 200ml since it's a nice round number to work from and should be somewhere close i think - prob a bit high by 20-30ml but who knows.

It's exciting isn't it :)

Tested this morning before the dosing started.

Alk - 7.7

Calcium - 410

Mag - 1320

Potassium - 420


I will adjust the dose after i test tomorrow morning and once i get the daily draw matched i'll adjust the alk and calcium a bit. As long as i have the numbers in the following range i'm happy.

Alk 7.0-7.5

Calcium - 410-440

Mg - 1300 - 1350

K - 400-450

# I never saw any negative effect when the potassium was over 650 that i could observe.


Heads Up on AF salt - i know you will read what's in it unlike me but just in case you don't:

Don't use the sea salt no matter what type of reef you run, it's way low in important elements which is ridiculous. Even less demanding element draw corals like Dom's silly little pile of zoa garbage are still used to normal NSW numbers no matter how much stuff they use daily. You could mix up calcium at 360 and alk at 9.0 !

You better sort that idiotic mix out AF science geeks because from where i'm sitting you're off with the bloody sea fairies !

From now on it will work this way:

AF management ask for a new product - geeks try making it - geeks PM biggles to check it out - redo it so it's not stupid - sell it.

Parameters of a salt are presented below:

Temp: 24
Mg – 1200-1300 mg/l
Ca – 360-400 mg/l
K – 300-350 mg/l
dKH – 8,0-9,0
pH – 8,0-8,2
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The reef salt is much better and very close to the numbers most of us keep as a minimum and not at all stupid.

That's all for now on the AF roundup, i'm sure i'll find more goofs soon enough - nearly cut my finger getting the sharp edged lids off those alk and calcium buckets. If you'd run their design past old biggles i would have said ' good work but try opening the lids you idiots - make sure you have a bandaid handy !'

and the bag ties slip and are useless - obviously that was an in house tie wrap design project rather than say ringing a company that makes non slipping non useless tie wraps............ :spin3:
 
biggles said:
The Elos would smash your stupid photometer thingy kit mate.......... cool reefers use Elos............ :rolleyes:




I have thought about the nutritional value of blended seahorses fed to the acros after lights out but i think it would be cost prohibitive. I hadn't thought of pipefish however so i'll look into those :thumbsup:

In future Marty i think it's best to PM me about blitzing up seahorses etc mate - some of these guys and gals will get the wrong idea about you otherwise buddy :beer:
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Elos is tough to find here in St Louis Missouri. I'm still cool. Just ask me, I'll tell ya all about how cool I am....:cool:

You might wanna go with the Ninja Professional Blender for you seahorse/pipefish blending needs. Definately go with something heavy duty, I'm guessing the hard bony parts dull blender blades pretty quickly.
 
1100 watts of blending power. Cripes!

I have aptasia in my smaller tank and the peppermints were well on their way to cleaning them up when the basslet realized he could eat them. All gone. :(
 
Andrew,
for a tank with so many sps corals - I am shocked you only dose 140ml of Randy recipes 1.
Quantities of corals in my tank are less than half of yours and I don't even have that lighting watts as you.

My tank alk and cal consumption is 144 ml per day of each.
Something definitely not right with your coral growth.
I didn't want to mention it to you before incase I upset you - as I like reading your post. :beachbum:
 
Love your peppermint story, Andrew. Been there!!
I'm one of those guys.. I've lost a few peps to some fish in the tank.
They look like food going in, especially if they are small ones.
Best time to add them is at lights out or over night. Gives them a chance to get to the rocks and look like they belong there as opposed to floating around looking like food.
 
slavetonet said:
Andrew,
for a tank with so many sps corals - I am shocked you only dose 140ml of Randy recipes 1.
Quantities of corals in my tank are less than half of yours and I don't even have that lighting watts as you.

My tank alk and cal consumption is 144 ml per day of each.
Something definitely not right with your coral growth.
I didn't want to mention it to you before incase I upset you - as I like reading your post. :beachbum:
Click to expand...

140 ml of RHF Recipe 1 per day is actually quite reasonable considering that Andrew also dose limewater everyday manually.

It is difficult to make direct comparisons between two tanks because some of the consumption may or may not be attributed to coral growth. Examples include coralline algae growth, bacterial activity and nitrogen cycle.

Another point to remember is that folk sometimes see consumption rise (often temporary due to nitrogen cycle) and dose even more alk and CaCl2 to meet the demand. This causes precipitation of calcium carbonate on pump impellers, heaters, sand bed, etc. (read it as money down the drain).
 
maxxII said:
Elos is tough to find here in St Louis Missouri. I'm still cool. Just ask me, I'll tell ya all about how cool I am....:cool:

You might wanna go with the Ninja Professional Blender for you seahorse/pipefish blending needs. Definately go with something heavy duty, I'm guessing the hard bony parts dull blender blades pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

Mortar and pestle is the way to go mate, you need to get your hands dirty.

markalot said:
1100 watts of blending power. Cripes!

I have aptasia in my smaller tank and the peppermints were well on their way to cleaning them up when the basslet realized he could eat them. All gone. :(
Click to expand...

Sooooo you never thought to warn me even though i mentioned i was going to get some feeder shrimp Mark ? :facepalm:

slavetonet said:
Andrew,
for a tank with so many sps corals - I am shocked you only dose 140ml of Randy recipes 1.
Quantities of corals in my tank are less than half of yours and I don't even have that lighting watts as you.

My tank alk and cal consumption is 144 ml per day of each.
Something definitely not right with your coral growth.
I didn't want to mention it to you before incase I upset you - as I like reading your post. :beachbum:
Click to expand...

It's a joke mate, i've been whining about my terrible growth for ages lol. You shouldn't worry about upsetting me if you think something is up that i might be missing :)

reefmutt said:
Love your peppermint story, Andrew. Been there!!
I'm one of those guys.. I've lost a few peps to some fish in the tank.
They look like food going in, especially if they are small ones.
Best time to add them is at lights out or over night. Gives them a chance to get to the rocks and look like they belong there as opposed to floating around looking like food.
Click to expand...

Oh you've been there too have you Matty........ bloody hopeless you lot are at warning your old mate biggles about pep shrimp........ hopeless or intentional so you could get a giggle...... you and Mark are on the watch list now - i'm gonna be watching the pair of you to see if you're running around the forums setting reefers up like you did me........ :hammer:

DiscusHeckel said:
140 ml of RHF Recipe 1 per day is actually quite reasonable considering that Andrew also dose limewater everyday manually.

It is difficult to make direct comparisons between two tanks because some of the consumption may or may not be attributed to coral growth. Examples include coralline algae growth, bacterial activity and nitrogen cycle.

Another point to remember is that folk sometimes see consumption rise (often temporary due to nitrogen cycle) and dose even more alk and CaCl2 to meet the demand. This causes precipitation of calcium carbonate on pump impellers, heaters, sand bed, etc. (read it as money down the drain).
Click to expand...

Hey Bulent, i stopped everything except 3 part dosing and weekly water changes but thanks for the informative post my friend :) I have always observed a drop in nutrients available to the algae whenever i see signs of growth tips forming so i'm sure the acros are competing. The faster the acros are growing the easier my nutrient control will be i'm sure.


Tested after the 200ml comp 123 dose:

Alk - 8.2

Calcium - 420

Mag - didn't test.

Potassium - didn't test.


Way off so i should have just went with the calcium dose around 150ml for my first dose. :hammer:

Since 150ml is probably very close to the correct dose and i now wanted the alk to drop i dosed 100ml of 123 today and added 50ml of straight calcium to the comp 1 dose.
I didn't test the Mg or K because it's obvious they would have risen so why waste the test reagents. Both can drop and still be in the range i want them to hold so i didn't make up for anything else except the calcium.

This way the comp 123 containers will always remain at the same levels. I have potassium chloride and the AF magnesium for individual adjusting if needed.

Once i get levels and dosing stable i hope to see something happen within 3-4 weeks of the AF balling. It will need to be impressive because just the DIY comp 123 will be $40- a month for the comp strong box used up each month let alone all the other ingredients you need to make up the solutions. Mind you the other stuff is much cheaper per batch made up so the total is probably about $60- a month if i get to 300ml - which i bloody well better within 6 months time ! $700- a year i better see something cool or look out........:hammer:


......... remember - i'm watching you two peppermint shrimp smart arses. :mad2:
 
Hey Andrew, great read as always! Two things; AF recommends their Sea Salt for fish only tanks and a shrimp = dinner to a fish no matter what. Every tank I've started began with a few cleaner shrimp but as the fish grew bigger the shrimp disappeared. I even tried sneaking them in with lights off, next day, gone! Fish are a total pain, most notably clowns. As the grow they become most territorial. I have a pair or morons (Maroons) that will tip over anything within 12 inches of their space, never again!
 
Hey Mike, i didn't realize the fish preferred goofy nothing like nature intended water............ don't try to make excuses for them Mike.......... don't get between me and the AF geeks :fun2:

Totally with you about the fish. They all turn out to be ungrateful little turds - the female clown and gramma both bite me hard enough to really hurt and the little buggers always go for the soft underside of your arm.

Oh i meant to update the pep shrimp debacle last post.

I removed the sock from the sump today and looked inside as i always do and i see a small shrimp molt on the bottom - not a dead shrimp but an obvious clear shell. Hmmmm i think, a closer look inside and halfway up the bag where the water level was is little mr 'i bail and hide in the sump at the first sign of danger' pep shrimp. I carefully got him in my hand and took him too the display. I turned off the T5's which were the only lights on and gently placed him into the middle of the big right island and saw him scurry down into the rocks - YIPPEE KI YAY you stinkin fish :wave:

When i came home from work i decided to have a look for Trevor - since he's the lone display shrimp i decided to name him. I didn't expect to spy him in the rocks but as i approached the tank the clowns were having a hissy fit in 'their' back right corner which caught my eye. They were madly swimming up and down the silicon seal with that crazy agro clown shimmy they do.

I look down the seal to see guess who about 1" up from the bottom doing this little bobbing back and forth dance on the spot. I turned and walked away saying out loud ' i hope they rip you to pieces Trev '........... and i meant it........ when i go to the shop to pick up the sump tomorrow we'll see if i get a smiley face in person when i update him on the lemming shrimp he sold me.........

I'm not even trying anymore - $%$@ the fish, shrimp and anything else that i don't glue down.......:mad2:
 
Nice tank! How do you keep your sandbed so clean? So your doing AF? Dosing component 1,2,3?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
.equis said:
Nice tank! How do you keep your sandbed so clean? So your doing AF? Dosing component 1,2,3?
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Thanks mate, i only started the AF comp 123 yesterday.

The sand remains pristine white even in the shadows and low flow areas. If you have low nitrates and high phos you get dirty glass and clean sand. High on both and you get dirty glass and cyano etc on the sand. No idea what happens when you have low phos and high nitrates because i've never had trouble bottoming out nitrates since i've always gone heavy on live rock and now matrix bio media.
If i see anything starting to appear on the sand i will know the matrix is over due for a clean.

Easy peasy when you don't think about it too hard and just use your noggin :)
 
I think you'll be pleased with the results from comp 123. I have been using it for approximately 1 month and my consumption has gone up by a factor of 4. Changing to comp 123 was the only change made in that time.
 
DiscusHeckel said:
Andrew,

What are your latest nutrient test results?

Cheers
Click to expand...

I'll test them for you in the morning Bulent. The glass was dirty today by the afternoon with just the comp 123 change.

Geeray said:
I think you'll be pleased with the results from comp 123. I have been using it for approximately 1 month and my consumption has gone up by a factor of 4. Changing to comp 123 was the only change made in that time.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, i have seen so many guys describing remarkable results after starting the AF comp 123 so i have to give it a go since it's no harder than regular dosing. Even if my draw doubles i will be over the moon :)
 
Hi Andrew
Follow your thread great info sorry to ask but what substrate are you using? Looks pretty chunky just what I need.
Thanks
Chris
 
Hey Andrew, I'm the last person to make excuses for anyone, I have to make too many for myself LOL! I think the AF Sea Salt is what ever is left over after the test guy gets done fine tuning the Reef Salt, might even be what they sweep off the floor, who really knows right? Fish selection is always one of those regrettable activities. At first it's all good, then they grow, keep getting hungrier, and do what they do. I for one will NEVER put clowns in a reef again, such a pain! Forget the pep shrimps and get a CBB. I have had one since 2012 and he is by far the most useful finned fellow I've ever had in a reef tank. The only prepared food he eats is the morning splash of mysis, rinsed in a small net with tap, the rest of the day he swims my reef looking for snacks of Aiptasia, haven't seen those in years, and anything else small and creepy. A true reef tank buddy!
 
On the AF comp 1-2-3 I'm most interested in hearing your thoughts. I switched from TMP and ESV A/C/M to AF Reef Salt and 1-2-3. It looks like I'm going to be dosing double to hit the same Salifert test numbers of 7.5/410/1350. I doubt it's because their product is so magical that my corals are eating up 1-2-3 because I don't really see a huge up shot of growth at the moment but I'm willing to invest in another few months to see where it all goes. Colours are the same, if not a touch on the pale side, which kinda bums me out. Adding back Acro Power to help out with colour, still dosing your recommended Lugols and 8 drops of Sponge power per day.
 
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