Higher Calcium Level for SPS Growth? (vs Health)

[Wally.B]

Sump ProtoType with Incorrect Plate

If I wait for new plate, this will delay things at least a week, so no harm in giving it a try, and run some freshwater thru to see things run.

Also, now looking a Refuge area, it's a bit small, so I can slant the divider to increase size.

The slant also looks interesting for a funnel flow to return pump.

I need to run test it, to discover other design issues.

 

[Wally.B]

perfect for a sump.
What? You haven't finished putting it all together and gotten it running yet??
Wally, you're slipping..

Hahaha

I guess you would have expected me to build the Scrubber into it by now.
...and Finished Chapter 2 of Algae Wars Movie....and...

You sound like my boss at work. Some guy just left for a work related stress leave,
and he give me his project, while I already have 5 on the go.

 

[Wally.B]

Strange! It's like a trip to the Doctors. All Symptoms go away. (Or is it the new bulbs?)

I haven't been paying attention to the Tank since I got the new bulbs.

Then tonight I noticed (during LED time) that the Tank appears to be overall healthier.

Hardly any Algae, Coralline getting richer, Most Corals healthier & more colorful,...

Is the tank doing the doctors office syndrome thing...?
... now that I have a new skimmer ready, and sump almost built?

(None of this is needed). Leave it alone!!

OR IS IT THE new MH Phoenix bulbs starting to kick in? (My greatest and last suspicion of things wrong with my setup, other than needing more fish.)

I'll never be able to prove this. But I always think of one possibility. Those Giesseman bulbs are super long life (3 years). But they are probably not much good after 18 month. Could it be possible that those bulbs could have been used (someone swapped them in the store)?
All my problems started around the time I bought them.

With the previous New bulbs, I could never get past 5 hour Photo Period, or fixture below 14 inches (without inducing Algae)
Now with these New bulbs I am at 6 hour photo Period, and fixture at 12 inches.
And it appears there is room for more lighting. (To trigger the proper Growth & Color I should have had all along).

I know a way I might be able to prove it. Rent that PAR meter again and compare [ If things keep improving I will rent it for sure!! ]

 

[Wally.B]

Glass Sump Rebuild (Glued and curing). Water test next.

So the sump is siliconed and curing.

That incorrect cut plate is turning out to be ideal. What it does is allow me to do, is hang filter sock below water level:
- (which is still good for large particle capture)
- (but NOT become a copepod trap).

Another improvement is the Refuge Area (slant plate). The skimmer fits in there so I could try out a re-circulating skimmer setup.

Notice the small glass baffle re-enforcements (those are there for support when doing maintenance and draining any section will put pressure on any wall still containing water.

Much more to come (probe hooks, power cord management, etc).

 

[moatdaddy]

do you run gfo, i was curious and too lazy to comb back through 28 pages

 

[Wally.B]

do you run gfo, i was curious and too lazy to comb back through 28 pages

Yes I do. My goal is to run it to keep Phosphate levels low, but readable.

I will run GFO while PO4 is above 0.02 ppm, but slow down or turn off GFO reactor when it get's below 0.02 ppm (ie 0.01), which hasn't happened recently.

When my PO4 was 0 ppb on my Hanna phosphorus meter I didn't run GFO.

However what I learned in this whole Algae problem is PO4 could be higher than 0.00 during algae bloom but undetectable by kits since Algae consumes the PO4 to grow.

 

[reefmutt]

Looks really good Wally!
Have you considered the possibility that since your attention has been directed elsewhere, the tank has had a chance to settle down and mature a little without your hands in there?
Or maybe it's just general stability..

 

[Wally.B]

Matt,

It could be my hands out, but they haven't been out.

It could be all the things I did after last algae fight and are catching up.

- the bio wall
- the algae scrubber
- switching to aquaforest bio salt with BioS dosing
- switched from Randy's homemade dosing to ESV
- new MH bulbs
- and stopped dosing Aminos daily.

and I don't plan to change anything for a while. Sump and skimmer isn't really a risky change.

I also will slowly increase photoperiod.

 

[reefmutt]

Yup... For sure. Could be any/all of the above... Whatever it is... It's all good!

 

[Wally.B]

ALGAE WARS - Chapter 2 [Named] - Trailer Intro (Sneak Peek)

The plot is written, Chapter II has been named. The crew is busy working on the production.

I promise you that things will get very Interesting, as the Plot Thickens!!!

Stay tuned...

WallyB.

 

[Wally.B]

(SUMP Built, TESTING, Video on YouTUBE)

I've done a lot of projects, but this one is one of those that came out better than expected. Kind of proud of this effort.

Hope it works as good as it looks and runs.

Here is the Test Run Video on

https://youtu.be/WI_HJ9nDyc8

Test run includes injecting Coral Snow to see water flow dynamics.

CURRENT (running) Rubbermaid

PAST SUMP (OLD Design on Same Glass Aquarium)

 

[Wally.B]

General Tank Update (ATS and Increased Photo Period):

Modified SM Algae Scrubber (Extra LED) Working Better.

So I added a 2nd RED LED to the Santa Monica Drop Box 0.6 Scrubber and it's working even better.
I did this since I noticed the Algae was growing mostly around the single LED.
I also added a couple of extra air bubble vents for more flow.

ATS went from 13 Grams of Weekly Algae harvest to 24 Grams.

New Pheonix MH Bulbs running Higher Photo Period and no Algae Bloom

So I've been increasing the Photo Period and I'm at 6hrs 30 mins, which was impossible to run without an Algae bloom before.

It may be new bulbs, but I did remove the RGB strip few weeks ago (which has Red LED's, along with Blue and Green to make white) and I think the RED's were a possible culprit. New Strip is Pure White.

So Tank even looks fine under MH lights, and no Algae Bloom appearing.
I see frag plug encrustment happening faster then ever before.

So tank is quite stable without any issues, so nothing to touch or change, just watch and enjoy.

 

[swk]

Tank looks wonderful with the halide bulbs. Congrats Wally on things turning around for you.

 

[reefmutt]

Nice, Wally!
I'm very happy for you that all the crazy work you put into cleaning the tank last year, has finally paid off!
Congrats!

 

[Wally.B]

RGB 5050 Led Strip (It must have been the Algae Causing Culprit!!) Algae Bloom Algae Machine.

I am going to post a dedicated thread about this, to warn others.

I think I found the source of my Algae griefs over last year or so.
Not 100% sure, but I will test my theory.

I think the LED strip I built myself was the culprit for my Algae blooms.

Let me explain.

My original LED strip was RGB. It had 3 LEDS' (RED, GREEN and BLUE). At first I used it for Blue like an Actnic bulb, which would have been fine.

But I started liking it WHITE (by turning on all 3 LEDS). Thus running it White I was turning on RED's. The REDS are what are in my Algae Scrubber, and it really grow's algae well.

It's all makes sense now thinking back over time.

I had that RGB strip on my tank for a short while, and that tank started having Alage problems. But I wasn't thinking the reason.

I eventually make custom canopy for that other Tank, and the RGB strip move to my SPS tank. I'm not 100% sure on timing, but that may have been when my Algae problems started in that tank.

It is by luck that when I got the new MH bulbs, I got a bit suspicious about the RGB strip. Since I had some experience with the Algae Scrubber and how well the RED led did for it.

When you buy a Commercial LED light, there are reds and blue leds. But in much lower ratios. There are dedicated white to do white. And that is what I have now (A pure White LED strip, a pure Blue LED strip, NO RED LEDs)

So in a nutshell. The RGB strip turned both my Tanks into a Algae Machine.

Thus when I started feel the corals, or overfeeding the fish the IN TANK Algae Scrubber started kicking in. Does anyone agree with this possibility?

Now that strip is gone a few weeks, things are totally as should be. Sure adding the stop measure like In Sump Scrubber, and Bio wall is helping. Also switching in new MH bulbs helps too.

Incredible is this is true. I suffered for months, due to my own making.

I'll prove this by putting that Strip over a small test tank, and nitrify it. I bet Algae will grow.

(( The positive side, is Algae Wars Movie would have never happened if my tank was clean all this time ))

 

[Wally.B]

Nice, Wally!
I'm very happy for you that all the crazy work you put into cleaning the tank last year, has finally paid off!
Congrats!

Tank looks wonderful with the halide bulbs. Congrats Wally on things turning around for you.

Thanks guys. Really happy that I can enjoy the tank. Post above may explain a lot.

 

[reefmutt]

I'd test that theory well before making any claims..
There are so many factors involved in causing algea blooms.. Blaming it all on the lights may be tough to prove..

 

[Wally.B]

I'd test that theory well before making any claims..
There are so many factors involved in causing algea blooms.. Blaming it all on the lights may be tough to prove..

I have the perfect setup for the test. That new Glass Sump isn't going to be installed anytime soon.

It has two almost equal volume chambers, with a MH light above.

I'll place a Black Piece of Acrylic to isolate the two sections (light Wise).
Add the RGB strip over one. (Running FULL RGB or just Red & Blue)

One water change from each tank will be enough for some waste water for the system. Add a bit of coral/fish food to boost the nutrient level.

Run it for a while and see what happens to each section with some rough screen in each.

 

[Wally.B]

A few NEW Acro Frags (Using Frag/Refuge Area of Future Glass Sump)

Sump is still work in progress, but I'm already making use of it.

That Isolated Refuge Area is handy for Frag Storage (Coral Quarantine).
Still running Fresh Water Flow tests in other Area's.

Got a Blue Tort to see if Blue will stay blue in my new stable setup. Plus a few nice other Acro's. Couple of Zoa's for my other tank too.

 

[Wally.B]

KITCHEN Tank Also Doing Better with Higher Bio Load

After a long Fallow Period, I added a nice 6x Blue Chromes School to my Kitchen Tank. The Hawkfish and the Algae Blenny are a good variety mix.

I can tell the Coral's are doing better with the higher nutrient load.
I'm only target feeding Every other week, and the Zoa's are really liking it.

I also broke the bank on a Reef Chilli order (expensive in Canada). And after first Target Feeding, the Corals Perked all up.

I get the feeling that my SPS tank desperately needs more Fish.
Been waiting for that Blackcap Basset for Months. One did arrive a LFS but it never survived the trip.