Floridiot's new SPS tank journal
- Thread starter Floridiot
- Start date
marino420td
Premium Member
Floridiot- you mentioned that some of your equipment is in another room. I am considering this type of setup as well. Can you post pictures of how you ran your plumbing through the wall?
Thanks.
Thanks.
spykes
New member
i have tons of frags from fellow reefers, once i put them into my t-5 tank they become light, lower amount of color and they just dont have the intense color. I dont know if you notice but iwan's tank has so many diffrent color lights they are hard to tell if they corals themselves look good without his lights. I know I will never get the colors that my friends with MH has.
Floridiot
Member
My T5 inspiration came much more from Bernd Mohr's tank: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=639570 and Danano's tank: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=541121 than from Iwan's. Both Iwan and Mohr switched to T5s from MHs and have reported better coloration.
I'm not really worried about my SPS coloration right now. My tank is still in its infancy (about 5 months old). Most tanks don't fully mature until somewhere between 6 and 24 months. At maturity, water parameters become very stable and that is when SPS begin to show their best coloration. The frags I'm getting have the genetic makeup to be colorful, and I know they will color up with the intense coloration in no time.
I still don't feed the corals themselves anything yet other than the reefbooster. I need to get my water params completely stable before I introduce additional nutrients. I also want to finish my Prodibio testing before I change my water chemistry any.
I am losing the proper ALk/calcium balance I need in my system. My Alk is at 3.5 ml/L and my Ca is at 325 ppm. I've cut back on my reactor feed a little bit to keep my Alk from getting too high, but this is causing my Ca to remain low. Once my Prodibio testing is over, I'm going to have to start adding CaCl slowly in order to raise my Ca levels. Even though my Ca level is low, and I'm not feeding the corals directly, I am seeing good growth already from these frags. My coralline is starting to become a nuissance already too.
I'm starting to wonder if the Prodibio could be having an effect on this ratio? It has always been my understanding that a Ca reactor supplies balanced amounts of Ca and Alk. I'm using the Schuran type media from Aquatic Eco-systems. I will post a question on the chemistry forum here to see if anyone has an answer to this.
kmagyar
In Memoriam
Well said! My system did not take off (coloration wise) until over a year (see progress pics at my website).
Also, I now use Kent Turbo Calcium and b-ionic along with my reactor. Mainly because I have experienced the same issue in the past with unbalanced alk and CA and I don't think my reactor can keep up.
Keith
Floridiot
Member
I have not ever checked Magnesium levels. I never did with my previous SPS systems, so I figured that I could probably do the same with this one. Maybe I just got lucky in the past, and I probably should start checking now.
I did however get a good explanation as to why my balance may be out of whack from Randy Holmes Farley on the chemistry forum. I use Instant Ocean for my water changes (15% a week). IO has a poor Alk/Ca balance to begin with (high Alk & Low Ca), and this is what is probably causing my levels to shift.
Floridiot
Member
I'm running an MTC ProCal reactor now with the Schuran media. This reactor can keep up with just about any tank. It is a beast, and when run with the Schuran media, it is probably capable of dissolving 5lbs of media a week :eek1:
These Procal reactors don't get the credit they deserve. They're definitely the easiest to setup and they don't need a feed pump. Mine is located about 14 feet from my tank and it drips at a very consistent rate (right now about .015 L/min). If you ever consider upgrading to a larger reactor, I'd recommend the Procal.
Floridiot
Member
http://www.marinetechnical.com/page12.html
I ordered it from them directly. Most LFS can get them for you too. They're not cheap and they do have a 3 to 4 week waiting time which is why I believe they're not too popular. They've been around for a long time. This is the second one I've owned, and to me they're well worth the money. Very easy to dial in with the built in flow meter.
When using schuran media, I believe you can go way over the 700 gal system they're rated for. The larger size of the schuran media enables you to run more CO2 creating a lower ph without worrying about the media turning into mush.
I ordered it from them directly. Most LFS can get them for you too. They're not cheap and they do have a 3 to 4 week waiting time which is why I believe they're not too popular. They've been around for a long time. This is the second one I've owned, and to me they're well worth the money. Very easy to dial in with the built in flow meter.
When using schuran media, I believe you can go way over the 700 gal system they're rated for. The larger size of the schuran media enables you to run more CO2 creating a lower ph without worrying about the media turning into mush.
kimoyo
Active member
I wish Grim was still around so I could talk to him about this. But he did his testing at the bottom of the tank but I think near the surface the par was similar. That doesn't mean the light disappears, its just means it spreads out more.
Also remember that eventhough the actinic+ is bluer it still has close to the same par as the aquablue. So even though it might seem less bright (because its blue) that doesn't mean there is less light.
I think this is a good sign, give it time.
Your setup looks good, and so do Keith's frags.
Great thread! I've been a multi 250 MH guy for a while and I'm now experimenting with T 5's on my sysytem as well, to early to tell what I like, I'll let ya know. Very interested to also see how your Prodibio tests go!
The real reason for my post, your Turbofloater skimmer. I have the tall version on my predator tank. In the past it skimmed really well now I have the same issue you seemed to mention can't get the skim mate flowing up and over.
Did you do your mod yet to your skimmer.
Thanks
Dave
The real reason for my post, your Turbofloater skimmer. I have the tall version on my predator tank. In the past it skimmed really well now I have the same issue you seemed to mention can't get the skim mate flowing up and over.
Did you do your mod yet to your skimmer.
Thanks
Dave
