Georgi's 40B rimless

[terahz]

Hi Jamie,

Unfortunately I have nothing good to report really.

Since I started this tank I have not been able to keep a single sps for more than a couple of weeks. In my battle with that, one of the things I tried was to stop running GFO for a while. That, combined with a few day vacation in which my Ulva dissolved and probably released quite a bit of nutrients in the water resulted in a turf algae outbreak, so I'm now back to basics - low bioload, lots of skimming, reduced photo period etc.

I've given myself 2-3 weeks to see a decline in the algae, if that doesn't happen I'll most likely do a "soft" restart - take out all my rocks, save as many zoas I have on them as I can, take out the top layer of sand which now looks like a moss garden, put some new live rock and some more dry sand and 100% water change. Either that, or let the turf algae cover the entire tank and have a nice green fish and zoa only tank

Also in the process is changing my LED drivers to eliminate that PWM dimming which I don't like. For that I designed my own drivers and have the built. I'll also change 75% of my CW LEDs with NW, as that's what I had in my 10G nano and I seem to have no trouble keeping SPS there.

So that's about it. I don't dare post photos

 

[TheFishMan65]

Just out of curiosity what was the dislike to PWM dimming>

 

[terahz]

I have absolutely nothing scientific here. But there is something about the fact that it is not really dimming but fast on/off that bothers me. I can't really say what, but looking at my tank, even at 2-3% PWM, everything looks like the light is on at full blast (coral, fish etc). I kind of expect things like zoas, to react somehow to the dim light ( maybe less light, a little bit closed, more light, fully open etc.). I might just be imagining things, but I'll just "sleep better" when I know I'm really sending less intensive light while dimming, rather than just switching it on/off.

 

[RTMA]

G, if you do decide to reformat the tank, I'll give you some of my rocks to start over with. In fact, if you want to bring the extra you have over now I can seed it in my sump. I have a whole section open. I just added a bunch more pods too. I think maybe starting from scratch with dead rock may have something to do with it.

When I started my tank I used a lot of the live rock I had in my 29, which was seeded by the 10 or so pounds of live rock I had in my mini bow.

As for the pwm, I have not had an issue with my sps, but my zoos, Acans and chalices seem to grow better under the t5s. I also only have a 30 minute ramp to full power on my LEDs.

 

[terahz]

Thanks Joe! The thing is, I don't think I trust that rock, even in dry form . Plus it has been collecting dust for a while so I'm probably going to dump it. If I'm redoing it, I'll probably get some different dry rock from a different place, just to be sure.

Anyway, I'm not giving up yet

 

[Obi-dad]

How long has the 40 been up? I had problems keeping sps until the tank was almost a year old, and while not everyone has that issue, many do. I have read about different types and populations of bacteria competing until balance is reached that the sps like.

Once you get the NWs in I would like to see the tank. I have only CWs and love the look, but haven't seen a tank in person with the NWs.

 

[terahz]

Greg, I think you've seen my 10G nano. It was with 50:50 NW/RB mix. I believe Steve C. recently changed his LEDs to NW/CW/RB/B mix and said he was much happier with the colors.

As for the tank, it is just about 1 year old now. I guess I can treat the algae I have now as a post-cycle bloom, and that my cycle took 1 year .

 

[terahz]

Well it is 15 months later, and I'm close to doing a complete restart. Here is the situation:

No sps will live in my tank and it is driving me crazy! I've tried everything. Feeding more, feeding less, reducing the photo period, increasing it, reducing bioload altogether, treating for possible pests (some of which I've seen, some I haven't), increasing and decreasing the intensity of my lights from 200 par to 500 par, having alk in the 10-11 range, having it in the 8-9 range, having it in the 9-10 range, testing for Silicate, Iodine/Iodite, vodka+mb7 dosing, Vit C dosing - nothing works. 95% of the sps I put in the tank will be gone within 2 weeks, the rest might stick for a few more weeks but ultimately be gone as well. My water temperature stays constant, my alk/cal are being dosed daily with pumps, ph is as high as it can get using co2 scrubber (usually round 8 all the time), salinity is kept constant with ATO,

So I'm thinking I should just spend another $100 for some new rock (I have a brand new bag of sand), spend a weekend pulling all my zoas from my current rocks and starting again.

What do you guys think?

 

[Genetics]

It sounds like everything you've done should support SPS. The only issue I would be concerned with is the pH of 8. If there is any error in reading and it's actually lower, I don't see it supporting SPS.

 

[terahz]

Ph is from new probe, calibrated couple of weeks ago. It swings from 7.8 to 8.2 depending on how long it takes me to cook dinner (gas stove and burners)

 

[TheFishMan65]

Current Tank Info: DIY 40 Breeder with LEDs

You silly boy - you can't grow corals with LEDs.:lolspin:

 

[RTMA]

New rock and I'll give you some of mine to seed it. I agree with Greg, something up with the bacteria. What kind of rock was it? I'm hesitant to use any quarried type of rock.

 

[terahz]

You silly boy - you can't grow corals with LEDs.:lolspin:

Heh, good one

New rock and I'll give you some of mine to seed it. I agree with Greg, something up with the bacteria. What kind of rock was it? I'm hesitant to use any quarried type of rock.

Yep, I think that's what's gonna happen. It was Marco Rock.

Edit: the question now is, should I just spend another $100 (on top of the $100 above) and just get live rock from sea life inc, premium aquatics or live aquaria (GB anyone? ) or should I get BRS base rock (which looks exactly like marco rock.)

 

[RTMA]

I'd go with the BRS pukani dry rock and like I mentioned I will give you some pest free live rock to seed it.

 

[Obi-dad]

Maybe worth doing a copper test, in case the rock was exposed to copper treatment. Even small amounts are hard on acros.

 

[terahz]

I'd go with the BRS pukani dry rock and like I mentioned I will give you some pest free live rock to seed it.

Thanks Joe. Pukani is out of stock and BRS said "Hopefully early November ". The live rock I'm eyeing is also not available for the next 2-3 weeks though.

Maybe worth doing a copper test, in case the rock was exposed to copper treatment. Even small amounts are hard on acros.

If I can find a <$10 test at petsmart, I might check it, but I'm done buying odd tests for 20-30 bucks that I'll probably never use again

 

[rjinct]

If I can find a <$10 test at petsmart, I might check it, but I'm done buying odd tests for 20-30 bucks that I'll probably never use again

I have a copper test you can use. I work in Stamford now so can bring it with me on Monday if you want to test your tank.

 

[zhangg3]

I would suggest getting real live rock and no sand bed. That's what I did anyway and now my both my Tyree undata and setosa are clearly encrusting and growing. A bunch of new frags I put in the tank two weeks are also showing great polyps extension and retaining color. If fact, an old browned out purple bonsai is kind of getting its color back.

On a side note, I did switch out the AI and replaced with MH.

 

[scolley]

Georgi - As you know, I used to be planning on upgrading my 180 to reef , but those plans are on hold. So I'm sitting on many, many pounds of the highest quality dry rock that money can buy. Really nice, nice stuff.

If you'll take a piece of my live rock as seed material, I'm happy to give you all the quality dry rock that you want.

Just lemme know.

 

[terahz]

RJ, that would be great. Let me know where/when is good for you.

zhang, the day I make a bare bottom tank, I might as well setup a screensaver . Sorry, but reef without sand is no reef. That's just how I feel about it. Live rock, on the other hand, sounds like a good idea.

Steve, thanks a bunch for your offer. I might be contacting you soon