Essentials for Spectacular Reef Tank
- Thread starter Hampton
- Start date
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
Re: Essentials for Spectacular Reef Tank
understanding the requirements of your animals.
It's not the answer many would expect. Think about it.
understanding the requirements of your animals.
It's not the answer many would expect. Think about it.
Concur. I've had aquariums for 32 years. I've had salt water for about 7. I've been serious for about 2 1/2. I have brain corals, branch corals, soft corals and with the same fish for the last 2 1/2 years, but it's just not like the superior ones you see on this site and others. I haven't had any luck with anemones, but I haven't tried one for over a year.
I have a superior over-the-back (100% with no fingers) overflow to my skimmer, extremely healthy macro algae in my sump, excellent lighting (2 X 250 MH HQI + others), a 2500gph closed loop with cycling, and my corals grow very well, but the colors aren't as vivid as I'd like them to be. Also, I'm still fighting extraneous green growth.
I've always suspected that getting my live rock from that guy near Tampa with all of the extra marine life has always been my downfall. It's taken 2 1/2 years and I still have various outbreaks of odd greenery that cycle in and out. I have to turkey baste the heck out of my tank twice a week, and I have to clean the heck out of it every other week with pump-driven flow and a temporary cannister filter to extract the debrie.
I tried a good load of reef-keeping critters, but they declared global nuclear war on eachother and they're down to the last remaining dozen or so.
Does everyone go through this?
I have a 2" sand bed, raised rock, tons of flow...
Is it just me?
I have a superior over-the-back (100% with no fingers) overflow to my skimmer, extremely healthy macro algae in my sump, excellent lighting (2 X 250 MH HQI + others), a 2500gph closed loop with cycling, and my corals grow very well, but the colors aren't as vivid as I'd like them to be. Also, I'm still fighting extraneous green growth.
I've always suspected that getting my live rock from that guy near Tampa with all of the extra marine life has always been my downfall. It's taken 2 1/2 years and I still have various outbreaks of odd greenery that cycle in and out. I have to turkey baste the heck out of my tank twice a week, and I have to clean the heck out of it every other week with pump-driven flow and a temporary cannister filter to extract the debrie.
I tried a good load of reef-keeping critters, but they declared global nuclear war on eachother and they're down to the last remaining dozen or so.
Does everyone go through this?
I have a 2" sand bed, raised rock, tons of flow...
Is it just me?
By the way, if I had it to do over, I'd have a clean bottom (STS), and start with cured, live, but not over-grown live rock.
Another note, I tried adding supplements regularly...Iodine, Zoe, Essential Elements, Stron/Moleb, calcium products (of course)... The coral did fine with and without, but the soft corals do better with the supplements. The stonies are doing fine either way, but they only really look good in the blue light. Additionally, many that should be purple are mostly beige. They grow, but don't shine.
Another note, I tried adding supplements regularly...Iodine, Zoe, Essential Elements, Stron/Moleb, calcium products (of course)... The coral did fine with and without, but the soft corals do better with the supplements. The stonies are doing fine either way, but they only really look good in the blue light. Additionally, many that should be purple are mostly beige. They grow, but don't shine.
glassbox-design
New member
a razor blade to keep it clean.
hampton, you've got high nutrients. read up on GFO and RDSBs.
hampton, you've got high nutrients. read up on GFO and RDSBs.
I've always suspected high nutrients. I've recently started hanging a bag of charcoal in the sump. I've always rinsed my fish food (frozen mysis primarily, and sea weed). I rarely feed flake, but when I do, it's the good stuff.
Since I started hanging charcoal, the top of the sand stays mostly clean. I've been a little late changing it our recently due to incompetent lfs personnel, but now I'm ordering it online.
I get tons of DH in the live rock holes - I wonder if I have a large zoo's worth of wild life in those caves.
I honestly don't know how else to decrease nutrients, but I'm willing to try. It seems that if I really stay on top of the cleaning for a few weeks in a row, it subsides significantly, but if I hit it too aggressively, I end up in a rash head to toe that takes weeks to clear up.
My overflow is coast-coast with only one horzontal finger that doesn't touch the water, but only keeps critters in. From there, the water goes into the lowest of three tubes:
1) Drains directly into the skimmer intake.
2) If 1 gets clogged, drains directly into the skimmer intake
3) If 1 and 2 get clogged, drains directly into the sump.
The skimmer is a EuroReef RS-135. It performs very well. I grow Chaeto in the sump under lights at night. I have LED moon lights. In the morning, the blue lights come on for a couple of hours, then more blue (actinic) and some whites, then the whites go out as the MH's come on, then reverse the procedure to moon lights only for about 8 hours.
My temp has been stable at 78.5 deg. I have a flower pot that is brilliant green and growing nicely. I have (2 years) a green brain that looks great in the morning and night, but not in the day.
My sump sand is only about 3 or 4 inches - is this a limfac?
Any glaring errors?
Since I started hanging charcoal, the top of the sand stays mostly clean. I've been a little late changing it our recently due to incompetent lfs personnel, but now I'm ordering it online.
I get tons of DH in the live rock holes - I wonder if I have a large zoo's worth of wild life in those caves.
I honestly don't know how else to decrease nutrients, but I'm willing to try. It seems that if I really stay on top of the cleaning for a few weeks in a row, it subsides significantly, but if I hit it too aggressively, I end up in a rash head to toe that takes weeks to clear up.
My overflow is coast-coast with only one horzontal finger that doesn't touch the water, but only keeps critters in. From there, the water goes into the lowest of three tubes:
1) Drains directly into the skimmer intake.
2) If 1 gets clogged, drains directly into the skimmer intake
3) If 1 and 2 get clogged, drains directly into the sump.
The skimmer is a EuroReef RS-135. It performs very well. I grow Chaeto in the sump under lights at night. I have LED moon lights. In the morning, the blue lights come on for a couple of hours, then more blue (actinic) and some whites, then the whites go out as the MH's come on, then reverse the procedure to moon lights only for about 8 hours.
My temp has been stable at 78.5 deg. I have a flower pot that is brilliant green and growing nicely. I have (2 years) a green brain that looks great in the morning and night, but not in the day.
My sump sand is only about 3 or 4 inches - is this a limfac?
Any glaring errors?
I use home-made RO/DI water. It's up to about 28 ppm. It's usually zero. It hasn't been that long since I replaced the filters. Is this a glaring error?
What brand of salt do you use? I've used Reef Crystals up to now, but plan on switching brands ASAP. Is Red Sea coral salt good stuff?
What brand of salt do you use? I've used Reef Crystals up to now, but plan on switching brands ASAP. Is Red Sea coral salt good stuff?
pledosophy
Active member
large refugium IMO.
ReefRadical
In Memoriam
An accurate simulation of the enviroment your animals thrive in.
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
Any glaring errors? yes:
You have good lights. You have a good skimmer. It sounds like you have a well designed system BUT nowhere in your first post do you mention testing the water as being essential. IMO it is. Don't supplement what you don't test for. This is very important and I'm referring to all the stuff you listed above which can actually be part of your high nutrient problem causing SPS to "brown out".
Understanding the relationship between calcium and alkalinity is a major key to maintaining a healthy reef aquarium. (Notice I didn't say 'spectacular' because that's a subjective term. Healthy animals are 'spectacular' in their own right.)
It's crucial that you understand the relationship between Ca, alk and Mg in order to create a "spectacular" SPS reef aquarium.
For more info on Ca/alkalinity read the articles in RC's Reef Chemistry Forum.
Incidentally, I personally think using the TBS liverock was a good choice- it's loaded with life. I used it in my own system.
'Reef Crystals' is a good salt brand- it's certainly not something that wil make or break your reef aquarium.
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