dialing back my tank old school

[northbay-reefer]

most of you saw my old tank and how nice it was filled with sps,

That was 3 years ago, life has turned for the worse so my tank got neglected and things starts to die off. I took the whole rock works apart and redid, similar to how my life was at the time. This is my new look with the new rock works

The change that I had done to the tank took a heavy toll on the water parameter so it has taken months for it to stabilized. I have a calcium reactor running with very little bubble count since most of the corals are gone. I was running GFO but that has been taken off line. I do have a large skimmer running with ozone. I started noticing algea collecting fast on my glass so thats mean I have phosphate build up so I added back the kalk reactor remembering that kalk dissipate phosphate. Now that phosphate is under control all I need to add back is carbon. My alk is 7.5, cal is 420, mag 3500 so the tank is finally dialed in and I have a feeling that it is going start to thrive from now on. Soon I am going to go corals shopping (green marine and neptune and good friends from BAR) and hopefully by this summer my tank will be back to respectability and maybe I can have a meeting at my house to show it off. Ok so I have put pressure on myself to have my tank ready for showing by this summer, but that is my way of motivating myself :bigeyes: I am going to do things the old ways the way it has worked in the past and not going to try things like vodca, sugar, garlic or italian dressing for that matter :lol: although I think they are good ideas except the italian dressing part lol. :jester:

Wish me luck :frog:

 

[northbay-reefer]

I used to have Jasson H, and Jeff/Mike to motivate me, going to their house seeing how awesome their tank look makes me want to make my tank look the same. Now those guys tanks are gone I am on my own j/k Ken's tank, Bob's, Chris, and Brian's from Bar have done an awesome job on their tank so I do love to see those tanks for motivation. I guess my point is: this club is what we have to share information and corals, but it also help motivate one another to maintain their tank and give each others the energy needed to keep going when the going get tough. Thanks for being there for me.

 

[shaneh]

keep at it buddy...one day i wll get some pics of mine on here. I'm shooting for winter time when i can stop working outside on the house so much

 

[Apon]

Don't forget to get a new clam or two... : )

 

[thysrof]

Tom,

Well put my tank is only where it is thanks to you and the club!

 

[Grant W]

Hey Tom if that is your current layout on the rockwork it is going to be amazing when you get it back up to speed. It makes me want to start over on my old beast lol. I look forward to seeing it all grown in.

 

[Reef Bass]

Shane, you've got so much going on with your life right now that it's nice of you to even bother posting in the forum.

Your tank is rebuilding. 6 months from now things will have settled in and down and you'll be feeling that sense of pride that comes from a job well done.

I do hope that's a typo on your mag level. 3500?!?!? I'm happy at 1300-1500.

You forgot lemon and hot oil on your list of new things to not try. They go great with those butterflies and angels that insist on nipping on sps. :lmao:

Tom, I hear your loss of the old guard. I came in just as they were winding down. It is my hope that some of us new comers can make an impression on an old jaded pro like yourself.

And I totally see your aquascaping style in Shane's beautiful rock work.

 

[northbay-reefer]

Arnold, I do need some clams lol, I love the new beautiful maximas that are coming out in the market lately.

Bob, how is the pellet test going? are your corals coloring up?

Shane, sighhhh yeah after two years you are still promising pictures lol ... stick with keeping promise to the new love, worry about reef latter man

GRant, yeah I can't wait to load my tank with sps and see it grows. I am itching for a road trip to the bay area for corals shopping. We are helping a fam member out financially so I am having to do some cutting back ... but when that is done I can shop until I drop ... lol

Ken, oops I meant 1350 lol high level of mag burns corals just like high alk. Those old guard went through life changing events too, soon they will be back. If my intuition is correct, Jeff is having off and on though in his head about how he wants his new tank to look like. So I think soon .....

 

[thysrof]

Pellets are doing well. They definately reduce algae

 

[northbay-reefer]

Bob, the only thing I don't like about the pellets is the price it takes to run it on my tank. Kalk got rid of phosphate and maintain some calcium and alk for me and my current refugium/skimmer/ozone took care of the nitrate so I can't justify adding pellets. $80 buck will get me 8 corals at Green marine and Neptune

 

[Apon]

if you in SF stop by Chris's he has got some sweet large maxima's in stock - 4-6 inches

 

[thysrof]

I don't have a fuge or ozone. Sounds like you got it covered.

 

[northbay-reefer]

Arnold, I was in SF this morning but didn't have time to drop by Chris so maybe next time I'll check it out. How many clams do you have in your tank now?

Bob, I think after a while your tank will stop stressing due to the massive changes that we made to your tank, you won't need those pellets anymore. The hard part will be "will you be able to beat the Vodca pellets addiction"

 

[shaneh]

surprisingly since I have not bothered the tank it has done better and all my alk burn has come back, with the exception of a brain coral, half died but the other half is doing just fine.

You guys are right I have a lot and I mean a lot going on right now....getting married in Hawaii in two weeks, working on the house (new drive way will be poured tomorrow), spending longer hours at work, keeping up with the tank....after things settle down I’ll get the pics up.


Oh i wanted to tell you guys i am going to hunamana Bay in Oahu for a day, it's a reef preserve you can go snorkling. It's sooo cool look it up, it may be speled a bit wrong.

I'm also working on gettting a dive mask with an intergrated video camera!!! I hope to get it before I leave.

 

[northbay-reefer]

Shane, I've been there and it really nice, make sure you go as soon as they open because after the crowd get there they will stir it up and water isn't as clear. You won't see much corals but you will see mostly fishes, go to the left side of the reef you will see a lot more fishes. On the way back you will see a super market on your right go in there and ask to taste all of the awesome raw ahi poki mixes that they have and then make sure to try out the puff pastry at the front door, it will be the best puff pastry you ever had in your life. Have fun. Also don't forget to go to the football field on Wednesday and do some flee market shopping you will love it(they have miles and miles of shops so you can buy seashells/puka shells necklaces and stuff like that really cheap).

 

[shaneh]

perfect thanks! will do I'll take pictures and post them the same time as my tank....ahahh