DivingTheWorld
Active member
Thanks Tim. That means a lot coming from you!
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DivingTheWorld's Custom Leemar 80g Rimless Reef
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DivingTheWorld
Active member
Nutrient Update: Following my last picture post where I was showing the difference in color and growth of my sps under T5, I have also been noticing my Nitrates dropping significantly. In fact they dropped all the way from averaging around 25ppm to 0.5ppm. As a result I was noticing some paling of corals.
I've read that every tank has so called "indicator" corals that tell you when levels are getting out of wack. For me, the corals that started paling first were my PC Rainbow Acro and my TCN Red Planet. You can look back to my last T5 posts and actually see in the pictures as the colors were paling while the Nitrates dropped in my Red Planet.
So I decided to dose Nitrate again. I did two doses, 24 hours apart. In retrospect I should have spaced it out a little because I had a 2-3 day drop in Alk usage which tells me that my corals weren't too happy with the sudden increase. But other than that, nothing else was noticeable. These two doses brought my Nitrate from 0.5ppm to 5ppm.
It's been about 2-3 weeks since I did the dosing and my Nitrate has been holding stead at 5ppm since then (no additional dosing necessary). I've noticed a significant change in my corals colors, specifically my PC Rainbow and TCN Red Planet which are now back to their normal coloration.
I'm continuing to dose 2ml daily of Pohl's Xtra Special as well. While I think Pohl's helps, I attribute the significant difference to the Nitrate increase.
I've read that every tank has so called "indicator" corals that tell you when levels are getting out of wack. For me, the corals that started paling first were my PC Rainbow Acro and my TCN Red Planet. You can look back to my last T5 posts and actually see in the pictures as the colors were paling while the Nitrates dropped in my Red Planet.
So I decided to dose Nitrate again. I did two doses, 24 hours apart. In retrospect I should have spaced it out a little because I had a 2-3 day drop in Alk usage which tells me that my corals weren't too happy with the sudden increase. But other than that, nothing else was noticeable. These two doses brought my Nitrate from 0.5ppm to 5ppm.
It's been about 2-3 weeks since I did the dosing and my Nitrate has been holding stead at 5ppm since then (no additional dosing necessary). I've noticed a significant change in my corals colors, specifically my PC Rainbow and TCN Red Planet which are now back to their normal coloration.
I'm continuing to dose 2ml daily of Pohl's Xtra Special as well. While I think Pohl's helps, I attribute the significant difference to the Nitrate increase.
DivingTheWorld
Active member
Bryopsis Solution is Fluconazole!
As those who follow this tread know, I had my battles with Bryopsis. It is indeed the scourge of reef keeping. Some of you have actually taken down tanks and started new because of it. But I truly believe that it is so widespread in the aquarium industry that there is no avoiding it. Therefor the only solution is to deal with it, one way or another.
I battled Bryopsis for over a year trying every kind of snail, various fish, sea hares, Kent Tech-M, and even a few algae fighting medications. The snails did nothing. The sea hares did eat some, but their life span was a month max. The only fish I found that had any impact was my foxface, but he can't take it all on himself. The algae medication I tried "Algae-X" caused significant coral loss and I don't plan on trying an algae specific treatment again.
What finally worked for me (in addition to my foxface which I still have) was short spine sea urchins. I added three of them and they decimated my Bryopsis, fighting it back to only the most deep cracks in my rock. I later sold off two of the urchins because there was not enough food left in the tank. But I still have one and he mainly just cruises around eating up my Coraline. It's possible he's still eating some Bryopsis, but it's never noticeable to me.
It's been almost a year since my Bryopsis battle came to a conditional surrender, but I have still maintained some in the deep cracks in my rock. Upon reading a few threads on here about the use of Fluconazole, I decided to give it a try. I watched the threads for over a month to make sure I didn't see anything about it harming tank inhabitants.
As those who follow this tread know, I had my battles with Bryopsis. It is indeed the scourge of reef keeping. Some of you have actually taken down tanks and started new because of it. But I truly believe that it is so widespread in the aquarium industry that there is no avoiding it. Therefor the only solution is to deal with it, one way or another.
I battled Bryopsis for over a year trying every kind of snail, various fish, sea hares, Kent Tech-M, and even a few algae fighting medications. The snails did nothing. The sea hares did eat some, but their life span was a month max. The only fish I found that had any impact was my foxface, but he can't take it all on himself. The algae medication I tried "Algae-X" caused significant coral loss and I don't plan on trying an algae specific treatment again.
What finally worked for me (in addition to my foxface which I still have) was short spine sea urchins. I added three of them and they decimated my Bryopsis, fighting it back to only the most deep cracks in my rock. I later sold off two of the urchins because there was not enough food left in the tank. But I still have one and he mainly just cruises around eating up my Coraline. It's possible he's still eating some Bryopsis, but it's never noticeable to me.
It's been almost a year since my Bryopsis battle came to a conditional surrender, but I have still maintained some in the deep cracks in my rock. Upon reading a few threads on here about the use of Fluconazole, I decided to give it a try. I watched the threads for over a month to make sure I didn't see anything about it harming tank inhabitants.
DivingTheWorld
Active member
To prep for treatment I took a couple steps:
1. I cleaned out my skimmer and added a tube from the drain directly back into the sump. Fluconazole reacts similarly to Chemiclean and makes your skimmer overflow. But it's good to keep the skimmer working to oxygenate your tank.
2. I turned off channel 1 on my ATI fixture which contains an Actinic bulb. Some people have suggested that actinic bulbs can render the treatment ineffective.
3. I turned off my Carbon reactor, but left my GFO reactor in place. Carbon can remove the medication from the water.
I did my first dose on 03/11 and dosed 1700mg of Fluconazole into my approx. 89g of system water.
1. I cleaned out my skimmer and added a tube from the drain directly back into the sump. Fluconazole reacts similarly to Chemiclean and makes your skimmer overflow. But it's good to keep the skimmer working to oxygenate your tank.
2. I turned off channel 1 on my ATI fixture which contains an Actinic bulb. Some people have suggested that actinic bulbs can render the treatment ineffective.
3. I turned off my Carbon reactor, but left my GFO reactor in place. Carbon can remove the medication from the water.
I did my first dose on 03/11 and dosed 1700mg of Fluconazole into my approx. 89g of system water.
DivingTheWorld
Active member
Here's where I ordered mine from:
https://www.payless-petproducts.com/fluconazole200.html
Their prices have about doubled since this Bryopsis cure came to light. I think they're realizing they carry a golden product.
DivingTheWorld
Active member
Here's some pictures of the progress of the two most noticeable spots of Bryopsis in my tank:
Day 1
Day 4
Day 6
Day 1
Day 4
Day 6
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DivingTheWorld
Active member
Day 8
Day 10
Day 14
Day 10
Day 14
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DivingTheWorld
Active member
So by day 14 I was Bryopsis free with no issues in the tank from the treatment. Shrimp, snails, fish, corals including sps, all fine. It did not help in any way with my bubble algae, but in reading it doesn't seem to help anyone else either. This is strictly a treatment for hair algae and Bryopsis.
I decided to do an additional dose for good measure, so on 03/25 I did my regular 10g water change and dosed an additional 1800mg Fluconazole.
Yesterday was 1 month since beginning treatment so I cleared it from my system. I used the same procedure I have used with removal of Chemiclean. I replaced my Carbon media and turned the reactor back online. I then did my standard 10g water change, but through my skimmer. I then turned my skimmer down a little so it would stop overflowing and by the next morning it was settled down and I could turn it to the regular setting without overflow. I also turned my Actinic channel back on, on my ATI T5.
So after a month of treatment, I can confirm there were no ill effects from the treatment. Nothing died or even looked bad. I did find it interesting that my nutrients never went up during treatment even though my skimmer was not collecting and my carbon was offline. I may now see a drop in Nitrate so I'll have to keep an eye on that.
I hereby recommend this treatment for Bryopsis!
I decided to do an additional dose for good measure, so on 03/25 I did my regular 10g water change and dosed an additional 1800mg Fluconazole.
Yesterday was 1 month since beginning treatment so I cleared it from my system. I used the same procedure I have used with removal of Chemiclean. I replaced my Carbon media and turned the reactor back online. I then did my standard 10g water change, but through my skimmer. I then turned my skimmer down a little so it would stop overflowing and by the next morning it was settled down and I could turn it to the regular setting without overflow. I also turned my Actinic channel back on, on my ATI T5.
So after a month of treatment, I can confirm there were no ill effects from the treatment. Nothing died or even looked bad. I did find it interesting that my nutrients never went up during treatment even though my skimmer was not collecting and my carbon was offline. I may now see a drop in Nitrate so I'll have to keep an eye on that.
I hereby recommend this treatment for Bryopsis!
DivingTheWorld
Active member
So as many who follow this thread know, there is only one device that I completely trust for measuring salinity, my Tropic Marin Precision Hydrometer. One of the problems with the hydrometer though is that it is factory measured and calibrated at 77 degrees. To use it at other temperatures, you need a conversion table. I searched around the internet and found one that Randy Holmes-Farley posted.
The problem with his table is that it uses ppt for salinity, for one, and for two it uses Celsius. Also the salinity and temperature measurements are so wide that it isn't tremendously useful for home aquariums where we keep our salinity and temperatures.
So I calculated it out based on the temperatures I use in my tank and a narrow salinity band. I also converted everything to specific gravity and Fahrenheit. With this table, I can measure at any temperature and know exactly what my salinity is. Here's the table if anyone else uses a hydrometer calibrated at 77 degrees:
The problem with his table is that it uses ppt for salinity, for one, and for two it uses Celsius. Also the salinity and temperature measurements are so wide that it isn't tremendously useful for home aquariums where we keep our salinity and temperatures.
So I calculated it out based on the temperatures I use in my tank and a narrow salinity band. I also converted everything to specific gravity and Fahrenheit. With this table, I can measure at any temperature and know exactly what my salinity is. Here's the table if anyone else uses a hydrometer calibrated at 77 degrees:
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DivingTheWorld
Active member
Time for an update on DTW Reef!
My tank's been going steady and I'm continuing to see excellent growth and color from the ATI T5 fixture. I wish I had switched to it years ago! The one thing I was missing though from the T5 is the visual "Pop" in my corals. I had tried an E5 Blue Pop bulb, but that was a bust since it doesn't play well with Dimmable fixtures.
BRS decided to run a sale on Reefbrite fixtures and since it was my birthday, I bought one for myself. Thanks to my wife for not getting mad when she found out what she bought me for my birthday! :celeb3:
I picked up a Reefbrite 36" Blue Tech with a dual fixture dimmer which connects to my Apex. I plan to keep the dimmer when I upgrade to my next tank which may have two fixtures so I went with the dual fixture model.
It attaches cleanly to my ATI fixture and actually helps block some of the glare. I'm currently running 10:00 to 21:00 plus an additional hour on each end for dimming up and down, so 13 hours total per day. It adds some pop with all bulbs on during the day. When I only have my two blue bulbs (Blue+/Actinic) running in the morning and evening, it adds a lot more Pop. And when only the Reefbrite is running, the Pop is huge.
Here's some pics although it's hard to capture the look visually. At least you can see what the fixture looks like:
My tank's been going steady and I'm continuing to see excellent growth and color from the ATI T5 fixture. I wish I had switched to it years ago! The one thing I was missing though from the T5 is the visual "Pop" in my corals. I had tried an E5 Blue Pop bulb, but that was a bust since it doesn't play well with Dimmable fixtures.
BRS decided to run a sale on Reefbrite fixtures and since it was my birthday, I bought one for myself. Thanks to my wife for not getting mad when she found out what she bought me for my birthday! :celeb3:
I picked up a Reefbrite 36" Blue Tech with a dual fixture dimmer which connects to my Apex. I plan to keep the dimmer when I upgrade to my next tank which may have two fixtures so I went with the dual fixture model.
It attaches cleanly to my ATI fixture and actually helps block some of the glare. I'm currently running 10:00 to 21:00 plus an additional hour on each end for dimming up and down, so 13 hours total per day. It adds some pop with all bulbs on during the day. When I only have my two blue bulbs (Blue+/Actinic) running in the morning and evening, it adds a lot more Pop. And when only the Reefbrite is running, the Pop is huge.
Here's some pics although it's hard to capture the look visually. At least you can see what the fixture looks like:
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DivingTheWorld
Active member
Note you need to balance it on the back
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It's actually perfectly level in the picture, just looks a little distorted. But you're right, when I first installed it, I had to re-balance the ATI fixture to compensate for the extra weight hanging off the front.
DivingTheWorld
Active member
What do I do when I go on vacation?
What do I do when I go on vacation?
I see posts from time to time inquiring what to do when we go on vacation. As everyone knows, these tanks require A LOT of maintenance and leaving for a week (or 4 weeks) can be stressful if you don't take the right precautions. We just got back from a week in Florida, so I thought I'd share some of the things I did/do to prepare.
First, I have a few things set up already which help quite a bit:
Surveillance Cameras - I have two camera for the fish tank, one facing and one under the tank watching the sump. They are recording 24/7 and I can view them from anywhere in the world.
Labeling - I've labeled all key items under the tank, dosers, ATO, skimmer, top off , etc. Along with the cameras, this helps me direct whomever is watching the tank what to do. Instead of saying, drain that big white and clear thing with the gunk on top, I can just say "skimmer" and they see the label and know what it is.
Apex - I use an Apex which allows me to monitor all sorts of things like temperature, automatic dosing, auto top off, etc. It can do things like shut off my lights or turn on a fan if the tank starts getting too hot.
Auto Waste Collector - I use a waste auto collector for my skimmer. This allows collection of up to a month of skimmate and will automatically shut off my skimmer if it fills up.
Next, there are the things I set up specifically for vacation:
Sump Sock Removal - I remove the socks in my sump. My socks clog up every 4-5 days and I usually replace them every 3. When I go on vacation, I just remove them altogether.
Manual Feeder - I feed my fish frozen food once a day. I usually let it thaw out, then dump it in. Since the person I have stopping by is an aquarium novice, I want it as simple as possible. So I built a floating cone for them to just dump in some frozen food. This allows the fish to eat at their leisure without it sucking into the filter before they can eat it. I built it by combining a Two Little Fishies MagFeeder with a Lee's Cone Worm Feeder. I also put together individual bags of frozen food for each visit. That eliminates the possibility of over feeding. All they need to do is grab a bag from the freezer and dump it into the ring.
Auto Feeder - I use a Neptune Auto Feeder. It allows me to control it through my Apex so if I see something out of wack on my tank cam, I can turn it off. I can also manually trigger it whenever I want and watch the fish eat on the tank cam. Directly under the Neptune feeder I have a floating ring to prevent the pellets from going into the overflow before the fish can eat them. I built it by combining a Two Little Fishies MagFeeder with a Square Ring Feeder. I added foam to the bottom of the Square Ring Feeder to provide for better floating. I also have my Apex set up to turn off my Vortechs for 3 minutes once the auto feeder is triggered. Last, I found that my turbos would sometimes knock the feeding ring out of alignment, so I use two Hammerhead algae scrapers (one per side) to hold it in place.
ATO Reservoir - My under tank reservoir only holds 5 gallons which is good for 4-5 days max. I'd love to get a bigger one, but that's all that fits. So when I go on vacation I need something that can fill approx. 1 gallon per day. So I use a 32 gallon Brute garbage can. I set that up next to the tank and just drop my Tunze pump in it. It's good for at least 30 days. I also zip tie the lines both to the garbage can, as well as to each other and to pipes under the tank to make sure our cat or someone else doesn't bump them out of place.
Hardwire Apex - I don't have an internet port behind my tank, so I use a gaming adapter to connect. As those that use them know, they sometimes drop connection. If you're home, it's a 2 second fix, but if you're not home, that's another story. So when I go on vacation, I always hard wire my Apex. It looks ugly like the brute can, but no one's home so who cares!
I think that's it. Let me know if you have any questions, I might have more tips I didn't think of putting in here!
What do I do when I go on vacation?
I see posts from time to time inquiring what to do when we go on vacation. As everyone knows, these tanks require A LOT of maintenance and leaving for a week (or 4 weeks) can be stressful if you don't take the right precautions. We just got back from a week in Florida, so I thought I'd share some of the things I did/do to prepare.
First, I have a few things set up already which help quite a bit:
Surveillance Cameras - I have two camera for the fish tank, one facing and one under the tank watching the sump. They are recording 24/7 and I can view them from anywhere in the world.
Labeling - I've labeled all key items under the tank, dosers, ATO, skimmer, top off , etc. Along with the cameras, this helps me direct whomever is watching the tank what to do. Instead of saying, drain that big white and clear thing with the gunk on top, I can just say "skimmer" and they see the label and know what it is.
Apex - I use an Apex which allows me to monitor all sorts of things like temperature, automatic dosing, auto top off, etc. It can do things like shut off my lights or turn on a fan if the tank starts getting too hot.
Auto Waste Collector - I use a waste auto collector for my skimmer. This allows collection of up to a month of skimmate and will automatically shut off my skimmer if it fills up.
Next, there are the things I set up specifically for vacation:
Sump Sock Removal - I remove the socks in my sump. My socks clog up every 4-5 days and I usually replace them every 3. When I go on vacation, I just remove them altogether.
Manual Feeder - I feed my fish frozen food once a day. I usually let it thaw out, then dump it in. Since the person I have stopping by is an aquarium novice, I want it as simple as possible. So I built a floating cone for them to just dump in some frozen food. This allows the fish to eat at their leisure without it sucking into the filter before they can eat it. I built it by combining a Two Little Fishies MagFeeder with a Lee's Cone Worm Feeder. I also put together individual bags of frozen food for each visit. That eliminates the possibility of over feeding. All they need to do is grab a bag from the freezer and dump it into the ring.
Auto Feeder - I use a Neptune Auto Feeder. It allows me to control it through my Apex so if I see something out of wack on my tank cam, I can turn it off. I can also manually trigger it whenever I want and watch the fish eat on the tank cam. Directly under the Neptune feeder I have a floating ring to prevent the pellets from going into the overflow before the fish can eat them. I built it by combining a Two Little Fishies MagFeeder with a Square Ring Feeder. I added foam to the bottom of the Square Ring Feeder to provide for better floating. I also have my Apex set up to turn off my Vortechs for 3 minutes once the auto feeder is triggered. Last, I found that my turbos would sometimes knock the feeding ring out of alignment, so I use two Hammerhead algae scrapers (one per side) to hold it in place.
ATO Reservoir - My under tank reservoir only holds 5 gallons which is good for 4-5 days max. I'd love to get a bigger one, but that's all that fits. So when I go on vacation I need something that can fill approx. 1 gallon per day. So I use a 32 gallon Brute garbage can. I set that up next to the tank and just drop my Tunze pump in it. It's good for at least 30 days. I also zip tie the lines both to the garbage can, as well as to each other and to pipes under the tank to make sure our cat or someone else doesn't bump them out of place.
Hardwire Apex - I don't have an internet port behind my tank, so I use a gaming adapter to connect. As those that use them know, they sometimes drop connection. If you're home, it's a 2 second fix, but if you're not home, that's another story. So when I go on vacation, I always hard wire my Apex. It looks ugly like the brute can, but no one's home so who cares!
I think that's it. Let me know if you have any questions, I might have more tips I didn't think of putting in here!
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corallover00
Member
Great job! I loved that bare bottom tank.
DivingTheWorld
Active member
I wish, no. We were only in the Keys for about 4 days with my parents and kids and just didn't have time. We did get a couple days of snorkeling in though.
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