Acer's new build thread

[Pittsburgh]

Yeah, Alk stability is the key for SPS. Along with salinity to a lesser extent.

Here's me trying to fly low and steady. Now that the system is stable, I test Alk every 3 days. I found that this is the longest I can let it go without testing and adjusting. A short term swing causes stress, while a longer term swing eventually RTN/STNs the sticks. As Kevin said, between fluctuations in Alk consumption and water changes, I end up constantly dialing in Alk dosing to keep it at around 7.5dkh. I was away for a week recently where I couldn't test/adjust and you can immediately see on the graph the system reacted with almost a week long dip.

 

[kevinl]

Very stable Alex! Another reefer that has great success with his tank.
My stability starts with following these 3 main parameters,
0TDS "“ ALK (7.5) Salinity (1.026).
Close behind is temp (76), this is my newest experiment.
In January I was running my temp at 78 "“ 79, had decent success.
Now I'm at 76 "“ 77, I don't see much change "“ by June I want to be at 74 "“ 75.
6 months for a 4 degree drop in temp (even to me that seems extremely slow)

 

[acer]

KevinL - New frags doing well. That Green side branching frag is super hairy now and has gotten brighter green. The rest have kept their color well and seem to be settling in fine. Its weird that the Red Dragon that I fragged up to give back to you, a coral that many seem to have no luck with, has done soo well in my tank. Yet - other corals that are not are difficult have started to have browning and poor polyp extension and I had to frag up the unusually colored Birdsnest that had been doing well for over a year - but the top branches died in the last month. Not sure it that is because of the placement with the LED lights causing this or if something else went wonky.

OK - Must test ALK daily( or even 2 x /day) - yuck! But really isn't hard- I am just lazy. My auto top off is holding my SG at 1.025 - I do check that regularly.

Heading up to the Grand opening of Coral cave tomorrow with Fetta- will pick up a Red sea Nitrate test if he has one. Great Video on BulkReef.com about different Nitrate test kits.

 

[kevinl]

Again, interesting.
That frag of red dragon you gave me back don't look so good for me.
wonder if this is telling us something??
That sideways hairy thing is a millepora, darker green with less light and lighter color with more light (in my tank). I have that mother colony 6-8" from the top of the water and it is almost a yellowish green (if that's a color?) Much lighter than the piece I gave you.
So with this in mind, where did you place it in your tank? It's already getting lighter for you (more light right? Or intensity?) Are the polyps rocking and rolling like they were in my tank? (flow) That was another thing we talked about, corals need food brought to them by flow but also need kept clean by that same flow.
Very interesting talk here, but I'm not sure it's helping much with your algae issues. I still think on that note, your tank would still be considered young (6 months) I remember going through many stages of various problems for the first 8 to 10 months.
Hey, we got a friend just starting the same (Jesse) experienced reefer starting a new system and taking it slow. Will be interesting ride as well!

 

[acer]

Yes, that hairy green frag is higher up, but not much and the hairs are indeed rocking and rolling.

Test today :

Alk = 9.8 Dkh
ph = 8.2
Mg= 1260
Nitrate= API test= basically zero.

<a href="http://s1028.photobucket.com/user/acer327/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-04/IMG_20170408_135635093_HDR_zpsoremunzk.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/acer327/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-04/IMG_20170408_135635093_HDR_zpsoremunzk.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20170408_135635093_HDR_zpsoremunzk.jpg"></a>

Yes, i agree 6 months is still a "new tank".

 

[kevinl]

think you told me no detectable Po4 & no N03.
I would drop your alk to 8 or 8.5 then.
we did talk about the algae masking your P04 & N03 numbers.

 

[acer]

Yep, just posting the newest numbers. U going up to Coral Cave tomarrow. PO4 at last check was .025, today it is .021. Ca+ = 517. How can u lower Alk?

 

[kevinl]

consumption,
I never used kalk, is that supplying both alk &ca?
Then lower that mix.
Then comes the concern of Reef Crystals mixing at 11.5 and trying to keep your alk to 8.
I'm sure there's something to lower it, but I don't know what it is.
Can't make it to Mercer, granddaughter is getting baptized.

 

[Misled]

Hey, we got a friend just starting the same (Jesse) experienced reefer starting a new system and taking it slow. Will be interesting ride as well!

Yea, I'm not really even doing any testing yet. Most frags are doing fine. I did get some torts to try to see how they would do. One stn'ed but two others are doing fine. I'm gonna do a water change tomorrow.

When all is said and done, I'll be using a doser to keep things stable. I also plan on running a little colder than I am now, somewhere around 76 or so.

 

[acer]

Yep, kalk is both ca+ and ALK. My Ca+ tested yesterday at 510. So yep , will decrease the kalk water in my ATO. Planned on just using kalkwater in ATO untill growth of corals are consuming more that what the ATO can provide. Then switch to dosing. I will add some Mg today as 1250 is ok but have read that 1400 us better to control Algae.

Jesse, where did u get the Torts? Why are u planning on running temp at 76? I am at 78.

After reading all over the net , and talking to several really good hobbyist. The main issue I am having is time ( tank running only 6 months) - that is the reality. I also think some additional fish and going to feeding 2 times per day will help a bit.

 

[Misled]

So let's see, first, I got the torts at aquaworld. IMO torts are a little on the difficult side of things and figured it would tell me about how things are going. The two are still fine even after this morning's disaster, (I'll get to that last).

On why I want 76 degrees, there are a few factors. First the bacteria thing. Bacteria becomes more prevalent in warmer waters. I understand there are good bacteria, but there are also bad. Keeping the water cooler may help control some things, (cyano, dinos and brown jelly come to mind). There's also the dissolved oxygen thing. The warmer the water, the less dissolved oxygen it can hold.

I've also been doing some research on water temps on reefs. Not on reef sites mind you. This came about when my mom came across some of my old pics from the Marines. She was talking about the pics of us coming up from dives and out snorkeling, and she wanted to know why we always had wet suits on if the water was so warm. it got my mind going and from what I remember, the water under 5 feet is much cooler than the water on the surface. Most water temps for the oceans are taken from the surface. Looking at research I've found temps much lower than we would normally think. Want a little surprise, look here.

Another thing that had me thinking was the rock I had curing over the winter in my shop. When I stuck it there, there were a couple corals, (an acan and some encrusting sps), on the rocks. I stuck a powerhead in it and it got some light through the blinds, but over the winter, temps dropped down to 65 and below a few times. The only thing I did for well over 8 or 9 months was top off the water. Both corals survived. I never feed or changed water. I also found a hermit and a turbo snail alive and kicking. I figure if I'm gonna be different on this tank, I'd put some of the things I've had in my mind to it. I'm also not going with sand this time, not bare bottom either, but we'll talk about that later.

Todays disaster. The cross I bare living in an apartment. Someone in an upper apartment had a sink overflow. In an area above my set-up. Some water got in the system, also some pieces of ceiling tile. Light got wet, ceiling tile everywhere. Cleaned up as best as I could and covered with plastic. Had to leave like that for now. Once everything dries out, I'll finish cleaning up and get to the water change. Then I'm covering everything!!! Everything in the tank looks fine though!!!

 

[kevinl]

That's a bad break Jesse, Dose not sound like much water got in your system hopefully not much ceiling tile either. Hopefully the light is ok.
Sanjay told me think about where these corals come from, much colder water, he's the one who recommended 74 to me.
I just witnessed a cold temp tank last week, I felt the water and it was very cold. I asked the temp and they didn't have a thermometer, they were not running a heater either. The chalices were puffed up very nicely, color was great, I was amazed. I would figure 68 degrees or so.

 

[acer]

Very cool stuff guys. Not sure why I never thought about it. I totally agree with water temp being low 70's deeper than 5 feet. Back when i snorkeled and scuba dove u could feel it. At times at 5 feet, others closer to 8-10 feet. Wonder why all the " experts" say 78-82 degree's!?

 

[IvanTheTerrible]

After reading all over the net , and talking to several really good hobbyist. The main issue I am having is time ( tank running only 6 months) - that is the reality. I also think some additional fish and going to feeding 2 times per day will help a bit.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I'm struggling with algae myself. I added some more CUC, but I really think time is the biggest factor.

- Ivan

 

[krshlln300]

Do you think cooler temps may also help ward off algae? didnt someone have some corals in their seahorse tanks? They did pretty well i think and would have been in colder water.

 

[acer]

That was Dawn. She runs were seahorse tank pretty chilly- She does has a fish or two and some mushrooms. But, I don't think any hard coral. Certainly food for thought = running a tank mid 70's instead of upper 70's. I am no expert on Seahorses, but I do believe that people run those types of tank chilly to control bacteria - which is the number 1 problem for seahorses.

 

[acer]

I took out several rocks that had corals attached to them yesterday due to algae ( hair and bubble) and cleaned them in the sink. I physically scraped off the algae first, then used a baster to do a controlled application of Hydrogen peroxide ( 3%)- making sure not to spay it on the attached coral. Then rinsed the areas where I had applied the peroxide with RODI water. I let that stand for a few minutes and then put the rock back into the display. SO far so good.

 

[acer]

Unable to just edit the last post - got called away form the computer.

Anyhow - part of the reason I was taking out the rocks was I attempted to add a new fish - a Copperbanded butterfly. Purchased on 4/9 and who had been in a full functioning reef tank for months. He went into display due to his status of being in a tank with corals for several months. He stayed in the upper corner all night and looked good in the morning. When I moved the rocks around yesterday after cleaning algae off several of them - the butterfly came out and seemed fine at first. Then my large Coral Beauty Angel saw him and the fight was on - by the time I caught the Copperbanded a few hours later - it was too late. So , now I have a decision to make. Either get a fish that can handle the large Coral Beauty, like a blue throat trigger ( on the list of preferred future fish) , or catch and get rid of him. The problem is that he is getting along with the other fish in the tank currently, does not pick on corals, and is very pretty. I picked him and a large Royal Gramma as a rescue from a local who was shutting down their tank. So, if I add a Blue Throat- will that change the "pecking order" enough to mellow out the Coral beauty so I can add more timid fish like a Copperbanded ( a favorite of mine) , some Anthias or fairy wrasses, or will he just attack even though he is not the alpha of the tank anymore?? Maybe catch him and keep him in the refugium tank for a few months - then after the new fish are established bring him back into the community. Hmmm.....

 

[Blink2824]

Tough predicament. I am also a huge fan of the CBB and attempted to add one to my display but turned out unsuccessful due to my powder blue tang being a relentless meanie... but I love my PBT. Personally I would catch the dwarf angel and opt for a CBB instead. Dwarf angels can be a model citizen and then wake up one day and be your worst nightmare ... a real roll of the dice in my experience. I've enjoyed following your build. Keep up the good work, happy Reefing.


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[acer]

Thanks Blink, appreciate the thoughts. Hope the thread has helped others, as well as just be interesting to read. Not to mention a great way for me to ​get others insights, knowledge, and experience.