Daniel's RSM 250 SPS tank

[nemodan]

Sounds good. I thought maybe fusion would sense the unit didn't have power and send the message. Good to know as I was anticipating real time notice. Still great to know after the fact as well!

At 2:02 PM my phone received these 2 messages:

Power lost message:

(Apex Fusion Power Issue: apex) Failed: 2016-02-03 10:35:11 (2016-02-03 15:35:11 UTC)
Restored: 2016-02-03 14:00:41 (2016-02-03 19:00:41 UTC)

Lower Temp message:

(Apex Fusion Alarm: apex) Date: 2016-02-03 14:02:13 (2016-02-03 19:02:13 UTC)
Status: ON
Statement: If Temp < 77.0 Then ON (75.0 )

AT 3 PM my phone received these:

(Apex Fusion Alarm: apex) Date: 2016-02-03 15:00:42 (2016-02-03 20:00:42 UTC)
Status: ON
Statement: If Temp < 77.0 Then ON (76.9 )


(Apex Fusion Alarm: apex) Date: 2016-02-03 15:02:12 (2016-02-03 20:02:12 UTC)
Status: OFF
Statement: Set OFF

Temperature was up again to 78 F

 

[nemodan]

PROBLEMS


My Alk went to 8.5 dkh and has been as that the last 3 days, independently that I reduced significantly my dosing volume for each part of B-ionic from 83 ml to 70 ml.

Today, after the pumps have dosed another 35 ml during the night, I decided to stop them and do not dose more for the rest of the day. Let see what is the use of Alk .

At 9 AM today I had 8.5 dkh .

I want the Alk nearby 7 dkh.

Since my start with AF salt I had 6.5 dkh and was increasing my dosing slowly (during 1 month) to take it to 7 -7.5 dkh. I went from 62 ml to 83 ml. And now this suddenly.

Or the dosing pumps are dosing more or the tank is NOT USING alk.....that means reduce growing and that means problems.


This Bird nest colony has been with me since the start if the tank in 2013. Has already done this during my nutrient crush. See white skeleton in the pictures. It is STN. I started to see it last week. Today I will remove it and frag.




I will remove also another bird nest colony beside this one that is growing but also dying at the same time. I will pictured it later.

 

[nemodan]

But I if I put my hands on the tank today :

- Removing 2 colonies and fragging 1 (the one in the previous picture) I am afraid I will afecting the daily use of Alk by the other colonies.

I think if there is movement in the tank could afect the daily growth.

Question:

Will it be better to wait and do not work in the tank today. Focus more on the Alk level than in the bird nest colonies ?

I am traveling again tomorrow and will not be able to do any fragging till Wednesday.

What do you think guys ?

 

[markalot]

I would take some small healthy frags and put them on plugs to make sure, then leave the big colony and see what happens. These green birds hate when Alk moves, this is how I lost my big one as well. Since then I've kept 3 tiny frags around just in case I want to grow it again. Silly birds.

 

[nemodan]

I would take some small healthy frags and put them on plugs to make sure, then leave the big colony and see what happens. These green birds hate when Alk moves, this is how I lost my big one as well. Since then I've kept 3 tiny frags around just in case I want to grow it again. Silly birds.

Thank you Mark for your fast answer !!!!!

I agree, that strategy will be the best.

I will focus first on solving my Alk issue. I will wait till tonight 9 pm, and measure,Alk. Based on the results, i will decide my dosing for the next 3 days. Then I will cut 2 frags of that colony.

I will not disturb the tank during the day to see what the heck is going on with Alk.

 

[nemodan]

By 10 PM Alk was at 7.6 dlk. Around 1 dkh was used after I dosed from Midnight to 8 AM 35 ml.

I programed the pumps for tomorrow to dose 68 ml instead of 83 ml.

Will see on Wednesday , at my return, where are the Alk levels.

Sorry guys if this is not interesting, but these notes helps me in my SPS journey.

Daniel

 

[Stylo328]

Daniel's RSM 250 SPS tank

I had a very similar issue while away on vacation recently. Alk jumped from 7.3 to 10.2 over a few days. This triggered a series of STN events that resulted in a loss of several complete colones as well as major damage and tissue loss to all remaining SPS. Some have been reduced from 3" colonies to only a few polyps on a single branch.

All the best in solving your alk issue. I truly enjoy your tank updates.

 

[markalot]

By 10 PM Alk was at 7.6 dlk. Around 1 dkh was used after I dosed from Midnight to 8 AM 35 ml.

I programed the pumps for tomorrow to dose 68 ml instead of 83 ml.

Will see on Wednesday , at my return, where are the Alk levels.

Sorry guys if this is not interesting, but these notes helps me in my SPS journey.

Daniel

I'm always interested, this is how we learn. Hopefully your Alk stays relatively stable. I've yet to kill anything with low Alk so I tend to target too low dosing when in doubt.

 

[mhucasey]

Daniel, believe it or not, I carefully read all of your posts, whether I reply or not. So keep them coming. If for nothing else, it will be a good thing for you to look back on later.

I had something like that happen to a small birdsnest a little over a month ago. It was in the shade and was getting picked at and then it just kind of melted down. I've never seen that happen before. Good thing birdsnests are like weeds.

 

[nemodan]

Daniel, believe it or not, I carefully read all of your posts, whether I reply or not. So keep them coming. If for nothing else, it will be a good thing for you to look back on later.

I had something like that happen to a small birdsnest a little over a month ago. It was in the shade and was getting picked at and then it just kind of melted down. I've never seen that happen before. Good thing birdsnests are like weeds.

Matt and all.... It wasn't my intention to meant that you guys are not writing because my post wasn't interesting. I was feeling bad for posting what I can write in a log book. I am lazy to take notes but not to post the same observations.


Sorry for the misunderstanding!!!!!

Today I dosed 60ml of both parts and at 9 PM Alk was 7.6 dkh. Tomorrow I will dose 58 ml only ( this is my log book to remember what I did and why).

Moreover, today I get rid of 2 big bird nest colonies that were 3/4 dead. So I do not envision there a big effect on Alk use (reduction).

One of my Acros have been secreting a lot of mucus. All rest looks like nothing, but I can see that they are not like some weeks ago.

Well....let see tomorrow if I can get the Alk a little bit lower.

BTW: I am not traveling thanks to the snow storm in Boston, so I can keep an eye on the system the full week after work.

Cheers
Daniel

 

[mhucasey]

Matt and all.... It wasn't my intention to meant that you guys are not writing because my post wasn't interesting. I was feeling bad for posting what I can write in a log book. I am lazy to take notes but not to post the same observations.


Sorry for the misunderstanding!!!!!

Today I dosed 60ml of both parts and at 9 PM Alk was 7.6 dkh. Tomorrow I will dose 58 ml only ( this is my log book to remember what I did and why).

Moreover, today I get rid of 2 big bird nest colonies that were 3/4 dead. So I do not envision there a big effect on Alk use (reduction).

One of my Acros have been secreting a lot of mucus. All rest looks like nothing, but I can see that they are not like some weeks ago.

Well....let see tomorrow if I can get the Alk a little bit lower.

BTW: I am not traveling thanks to the snow storm in Boston, so I can keep an eye on the system the full week after work.

Cheers
Daniel

This is better than a logbook- you won't lose this log!

 

[SpSChief85]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Dan, but it sounds like your on track, people with sps reefs need a strong will to get through the downs, I kind of look at it like life... try your hardest and give everything your best, there's going to be ups and downs, it's how we overcome them that shapes us into who we are. Enjoy the ride while it last, Best wishes

 

[nemodan]

Thank you guys for the push. We all need it !!!

I will post pictures later of the before and after the 2 colonies.

Beside the Acro that is secreting mucus and have reduced to almost nothing his polyp extension at night, all the rest looks OK, but !!! I can see is not the same polyp happiness with exception of the 2 SSC. They are happy and its polyps extended as always.

Now comes the why ?

I was in 6.5 dkh, all good, but wanted to take it to ~7 -7.5 and went from 62 ml dosing to 83 ml in around 1 month. Last week I was in 7.5 dkh and suddenly I find the system at 8.5 dkh.

Why That happened ? I will write my thoughts as they pump in my head.

- I have changed my B-ionic bottle for a new one this past weekend. Could be a bad lot with higher Alk concentration ? Is there a way to know that ? I still have a leftover in the previous bottle. I will check the lot #s and will post with the pictures.

- Could be that the Apex DOS dosing pumps dosed more than it was requested ? Does the power lost affected them in some way ? Difficult to know unless I make them dose in a graduated cylinder, that I have. At the end of today's dosing cycle I will disconnect from the tank the dosing tubes and will run a short cycle to measure the dosed volume.

- the bird nest were dying slowly . Why ? I took a look to my FTS pictures on this thread, from December and the guys were OK. If they were dying, hence they started to use less and less Alk, and at the same time I was increasing my dosing volume, could be we finish in an imbalance. At the end I added more Alk than the real needed one.

Those are my only thoughts at this time of possibles causes to my increase of in Alk.

Many runs their tanks at 8 and more. And they have beautiful tanks. Why being so worried if I found my tank with 8.5 dkh. Well, I have learned that in my conditions that is too much Alk. Once I went to 9 plus and my green slimer tips started to die (burnt tips). And I have seen how healthy my corals are when the Alk is around 7 dkh.

By the way: Ca was at 400 ppm on Sunday.


Daniel

 

[reefmutt]

Dan, where is your n and p?
I'm curious because you mentioned around the beginning of Feb that you started using AF np pro that came with the salt, but not consistently.. Then, you have your power failure and then an alk jump..
Maybe the inconsistent use of the np pro which MAY have been making nutrient go up and down a bit- along with the explosion in cheato growth and the mini stress from the power failure made the corals stop growth for a while- long enough for your dosers to over shoot the demand.
I have alway found sreiatopora corals to die out underneath heavy growth.. I forget, do you have peppermint shrimp in there? I have seen them feed in the underside of birdsnest as well..
It seems like there has been a small disturbance in the force, in your tank..
You have such a small coral to water ratio that small changes can have big effects..
I have no idea if this theory holds water, but still curious about nutrient levels over the past weeks...

Oh, and this is a Scotty Freddy tank:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2342739&page=46
Enjoy!

 

[nemodan]

Dan, where is your n and p?
I'm curious because you mentioned around the beginning of Feb that you started using AF np pro that came with the salt, but not consistently.. Then, you have your power failure and then an alk jump..
Maybe the inconsistent use of the np pro which MAY have been making nutrient go up and down a bit- along with the explosion in cheato growth and the mini stress from the power failure made the corals stop growth for a while- long enough for your dosers to over shoot the demand.
I have alway found sreiatopora corals to die out underneath heavy growth.. I forget, do you have peppermint shrimp in there? I have seen them feed in the underside of birdsnest as well..
It seems like there has been a small disturbance in the force, in your tank..
You have such a small coral to water ratio that small changes can have big effects..
I have no idea if this theory holds water, but still curious about nutrient levels over the past weeks...

Oh, and this is a Scotty Freddy tank:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2342739&page=46
Enjoy!

I have a strong feeling that you are correct. I was looking into the thread and I started AF at the end of December. My Np pro is inconsistent, so I decided to stop it today. At the end I was not using it before. Why I was using then ? Macros are incredible green and strong. They are sooooo happy with the AF salt . I had 2 power failures. One reported last week and another this weekend for 18 hours, but I was at home and connected the generator after half an hour of it start.

Yes.... As you, I believe is the summ of small factors. If it wasn't for those 2 bird nest and the Acro secreting mucus I will probably missed the issue. Polyps are not extended at night as before, but they are extended. Is very subjective. Not in the Acro that secrets mucus now, polyps in his tips wasn't extended the last 2 nights.

Yes, looks like the force isn't with them now.....:sad2:

Nice tank that one. These Aussie tanks are always amazing.


P and N levels will be posted. It has been long time I do not measure them. It's time to do it.

A few minutes ago Alk was ~7.7 dkh and has been around that value since yesterday. For the heck of stability, I will not touch again the dosing pumps (58ml) and will wait......and wait.......and pray !!!!!

Cheers
Daniel

 

[nemodan]

Here we go Matt.....

2/9/2016

Alk ....7.6 dkh SALIFERT
P .......0.05 ppm HANNA
N ........2.5 ppm SALIFERT
Sal ...1027 refractometer

Ca was 400 ppm on the weekend

 

[nemodan]

Some pictures......

Left and center bird nests colonies that have gone



The colony at the right of previous picture was relocated 2 inches to the left. It was where the white spot is now:




FTS as it is today:




Cheers
Daniel

 

[nemodan]

Update:

Since Feb 8 Alk has been stable at ~ 7.7 dkh



Corals started to show damage signs.

This Acro has been 3 days + that is,all the time secreting mucus.





This has sign of dead tissue and low polyp extension.



Green montiporas losing their green color.




Why this ? A change in 1 unit of dkh can start this ?

-1st week January......Start AF salt water changes. All looks like it was going OK since 2 weeks,ago.

- January 30 . Changed B-Ionic 2 part solution bottles. Could be a bad lot of Alk ? . I still have enought in the previous bottle. Emptied the dosing pumps line and filled with the old Alk solution. Have for some days. Tomorrow I will go to buy a new bottle but different Lot #.
Did the same for Ca (reinstalled the old leftover bottle). Will change both solutions, just in case.

- Since I started AF salt I was dosing inconsistently NP Pro . Stopped last week when I was traveling and I am not going to dose more. So 7+ days without dosing it.

What else ???????????

Did 2 AF water changes with a leftover of the previous week in the Brute. In the Brute I can mix 30 G. Used 20 G and the left over was for my son's tank. He did not changed water those 2 weeks. Water is always heated in the brute. It has also a pump and airstones. I mixed new water over the 1 week old AF water. I was always doing that with Reef Crystals.

Today's water change was precisely measured (20G) and no left over.

What else ????????

Last week AF Water Change: We had a power outage from 3 PM till 9 AM of the following day. Tank was hooked to the generator 40 minutes later (I was working at home last Friday). AF salt was disolver during the morning and I was going to do the change after I finish working (~5 pm). With the power outage I forgot to connect all the brute equipment until ~7 pm. 4 Hours without pump, heater and air pump. It was cold and have to wait till next day to do the WC. Previously I did AF WC where I mixed the salt at my return from work on Friday and changed the water on Saturday AM. Haven't noticed anything.


What else ?????? Nothing else come to my mind now.


I will now seat and wait. Again I have to say: "it is what it is" .
I don't have idea what else I can do beside:

A) get a new lot of B-ionic.

B) Do freshly prepared WC . Avoid leftover water in the Brute.

That's all.......

Daniel

Ps : last week, we also had a 4 hours power outage. No one was at home. Tank went to 76 F . I compensated the lack of dosing during those hours.

 

[mhucasey]

Update:

Since Feb 8 Alk has been stable at ~ 7.7 dkh



Corals started to show damage signs.

This Acro has been 3 days + that is,all the time secreting mucus.





This has sign of dead tissue and low polyp extension.



Green montiporas losing their green color.




Why this ? A change in 1 unit of dkh can start this ?

-1st week January......Start AF salt water changes. All looks like it was going OK since 2 weeks,ago.

- January 30 . Changed B-Ionic 2 part solution bottles. Could be a bad lot of Alk ? . I still have enought in the previous bottle. Emptied the dosing pumps line and filled with the old Alk solution. Have for some days. Tomorrow I will go to buy a new bottle but different Lot #.
Did the same for Ca (reinstalled the old leftover bottle). Will change both solutions, just in case.

- Since I started AF salt I was dosing inconsistently NP Pro . Stopped last week when I was traveling and I am not going to dose more. So 7+ days without dosing it.

What else ???????????

Did 2 AF water changes with a leftover of the previous week in the Brute. In the Brute I can mix 30 G. Used 20 G and the left over was for my son's tank. He did not changed water those 2 weeks. Water is always heated in the brute. It has also a pump and airstones. I mixed new water over the 1 week old AF water. I was always doing that with Reef Crystals.

Today's water change was precisely measured (20G) and no left over.

What else ????????

Last week AF Water Change: We had a power outage from 3 PM till 9 AM of the following day. Tank was hooked to the generator 40 minutes later (I was working at home last Friday). AF salt was disolver during the morning and I was going to do the change after I finish working (~5 pm). With the power outage I forgot to connect all the brute equipment until ~7 pm. 4 Hours without pump, heater and air pump. It was cold and have to wait till next day to do the WC. Previously I did AF WC where I mixed the salt at my return from work on Friday and changed the water on Saturday AM. Haven't noticed anything.


What else ?????? Nothing else come to my mind now.


I will now seat and wait. Again I have to say: "it is what it is" .
I don't have idea what else I can do beside:

A) get a new lot of B-ionic.

B) Do freshly prepared WC . Avoid leftover water in the Brute.

That's all.......

Daniel

Ps : last week, we also had a 4 hours power outage. No one was at home. Tank went to 76 F . I compensated the lack of dosing during those hours.

2 things:
Do you always dose exactly the same amount of both parts of b-ionic?
AF salt must be used within a day or so of mixing - it cannot be stored. That's from the mfg itself. You can store the mixed reef salt since it has no bacteria or probiotics.

 

[mhucasey]

Also I'm not a fan of B-ionic. I used it at the beginning but I saw an improvement when I went to simple DIY 2-part and stuck to dosing equal amounts of both. The added elements could be the problem with the b-ionic, or maybe it was a coincidence.