Kasey's 60g
- Thread starter kaserpick
- Start date
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
Thanks for the info. How long have you been using the Reefbooster and have you really noticed a difference after using it? Corals colouring up etc?
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
That's a tricky question. As far as time frame goes, that's easy; I started using Reef Booster a little over a year ago, but I haven't always been consistent. I've probably been consistent for about 6 months.
When I consider it's effectiveness, I'm not sure how to answer. In the past 6 months, I've seen much more PE at night. Before, there was no difference between night and day. I've also seen an increase in color and growth. That could just as easily be attributed to the fish food, as I increased my daily frequency around the same time. I like the idea of Reef Booster, but I cannot, with certainty, say that it has caused good things to happen.
Lastly, I've been dosing MB7 (12 drops/day) for about 6 months as well. It's just another variable that I can't isolate, but I believe the bacteria could certainly act as a coral food.
My main problem with this tank has been nutrients. For the first ~18 months, the tank was too low on Nitrates, I believe. I'd add food, but my bacteria and carbon dosing kept Nitrates low, while my PO4 continued to rise. There is no winning in that scenario. My colors were terrible and the growth was almost non-existent. It drives my mad that this tank will approach it's 2 year mark, soon, and I have almost nothing to show for it.
FISH!!! Nitrates went up naturally when I cut back on bacteria and carbon and added more fish. I'm back down to 3, as my Chromis are kind of bullies, but I've increased their feeding frequency.
Sorry, that was not a short answer, and most of it probably wasn't necessary info.
markalot
...
Howdy.
I for one appreciate the long answers. :reading:
I'm at just a few months with my 150 but it contains contents from a 40 and 46 in which I could never color up acros or get large acro colonies, other than my slimer. I am still not certain I know how to properly feed the tank and I certainly understand the frustration of not having anything to show for the effort.
For my feeding I use Reef Roids almost daily, a pinch here and there to keep something in the water, and the corals have seemed to respond positively. I don't understand how Reef Booster can work with such few dosings but a lot of people seem to swear by it. Wouldn't everything be settled or skimmed out after a few hours? :hmm4:
I for one appreciate the long answers. :reading:
I'm at just a few months with my 150 but it contains contents from a 40 and 46 in which I could never color up acros or get large acro colonies, other than my slimer. I am still not certain I know how to properly feed the tank and I certainly understand the frustration of not having anything to show for the effort.
For my feeding I use Reef Roids almost daily, a pinch here and there to keep something in the water, and the corals have seemed to respond positively. I don't understand how Reef Booster can work with such few dosings but a lot of people seem to swear by it. Wouldn't everything be settled or skimmed out after a few hours? :hmm4:
Fsurocks99
New member
Tank is looking great, Kasey!
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
That's a tricky question. As far as time frame goes, that's easy; I started using Reef Booster a little over a year ago, but I haven't always been consistent. I've probably been consistent for about 6 months.
When I consider it's effectiveness, I'm not sure how to answer. In the past 6 months, I've seen much more PE at night. Before, there was no difference between night and day. I've also seen an increase in color and growth. That could just as easily be attributed to the fish food, as I increased my daily frequency around the same time. I like the idea of Reef Booster, but I cannot, with certainty, say that it has caused good things to happen.
Lastly, I've been dosing MB7 (12 drops/day) for about 6 months as well. It's just another variable that I can't isolate, but I believe the bacteria could certainly act as a coral food.
My main problem with this tank has been nutrients. For the first ~18 months, the tank was too low on Nitrates, I believe. I'd add food, but my bacteria and carbon dosing kept Nitrates low, while my PO4 continued to rise. There is no winning in that scenario. My colors were terrible and the growth was almost non-existent. It drives my mad that this tank will approach it's 2 year mark, soon, and I have almost nothing to show for it.
FISH!!! Nitrates went up naturally when I cut back on bacteria and carbon and added more fish. I'm back down to 3, as my Chromis are kind of bullies, but I've increased their feeding frequency.
Sorry, that was not a short answer, and most of it probably wasn't necessary info.
On the contrary; your answer is most helpful. Prodibio is pretty scarce to locate in the UK for some reason...and I wanted to know whether it was worth the effort in trying to find a continuous source...
Anyway, whilst searching for Prodibio I found this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1576446
Its your old 65G tank...man! You had some awesome colours in the SPS corals growing in that tank!
biggles
Premium Member
The new layout looks great Kasey, the corals are looking healthy and very colorful mate :thumbsup:
I've lost count of how many acro tips and branches i've snapped trying to keep the back glass clean of coralline. Every bloody time i do it i smash things no matter how careful i think i'm being - wow the glass looks good and there goes 2 months growth on that acro and that one and that one.............
I've lost count of how many acro tips and branches i've snapped trying to keep the back glass clean of coralline. Every bloody time i do it i smash things no matter how careful i think i'm being - wow the glass looks good and there goes 2 months growth on that acro and that one and that one.............
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Colors have improved a lot Kasey. I'm glad you're finding the balance. Your old system had sick color! I think you're on your way to getting that back. I use prodibio biodigest/bioptim but I never found a need for reef booster. It didn't make a difference in my tank at all, and it was a pain to get the skimmer working again for a day or two.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
That's funny! I miss that tank. It's reminders like that, that make me want to start fresh. But, I just can't do that. In the past, if things got difficult, I would just reboot the tank. I'm glad I haven't done that this time. I definitely could've started on a better foot and been further along than I currently am, but I've learned quite a bit along the way. If the tank had crashed, that would've been different. But, the corals just kept holding on.
I'm a little surprised that Prodibio is difficult to find in the UK; I would have that it would be easy, since it's a French company (at least I think so). Like Jackson has said, the Reef Booster is kind of a pain on the skimmer. It wants to go crazy after you dose it...for a while. But, you also need to remove it, so you're kinda caught. I usually wait 2-3 days before turning it back on. I don't know if I'd recommend doing that.
I feel like the ZEO and Fauna Marin foods might be a better, more controlled options, but I have over 24 ampules of the stuff. I may half the dosing amount and essentially throw away the half, to see how the skimmer reacts.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
The new layout looks great Kasey, the corals are looking healthy and very colorful mate :thumbsup:
I've lost count of how many acro tips and branches i've snapped trying to keep the back glass clean of coralline. Every bloody time i do it i smash things no matter how careful i think i'm being - wow the glass looks good and there goes 2 months growth on that acro and that one and that one.............
Thanks, Biggles!
I know exactly what you mean. When I broke the Red Planet, my heart sank. I thought, 'Great, there goes all that effort to get the stupid thing to grow'
I'm curious how the original piece (just can't bring myself to call a small coral a mother colony
) will react to the break. I'm hoping for multiple growth tips. The two frags are doing well. I've mounted them close to each other as a way of experimenting. Once they spread their bases, I want to see if there's a growth spurt from growing into each other.
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
Yeah that tank of yours was sweet!
Another UK buyer had the same issue as me trying to locate Prodibio Biodigest and BiOptim...he pointed me to Amazon.co.uk after I made a thread on the largest UK forum...I got a years supply for my tank. I didnt end up buying the Reefbooster though. I have plenty of Coral foods from the Zeovit range as well as others in my cupboard.
Thanks to you and Richard for your input regarding Prodibio. :thumbsup:
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
I'm with you Jackson. I think that it's a difficult food source to utilize well. I'm wondering if the skimmer reaction is an indication that the amount of food in the tank is too high. I'm going to play with that idea more and post what I find here. As far as the effectiveness of it, I've always felt that it's done well for me in the past. Both my 30g breeder and 65g were using it. They also used Roti-feast and Oyster Feast, so I can't say that it's doing much, for certain.
Thanks for the kind words!
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
I'm glad you found a source! I enjoy the ease of it, and I feel like it doesn't make your tank 'too clean'.
Thanks, I'm glad that I can contribute. I feel like I'm on the side lines, watching everyone do a better job than me.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Thanks, Jroovers! I'm happy about that particular coral as well.
It's hard to believe these two are the same:
jdm1114
New member
So, I spent a good chunk of yesterday cleaning and giving the tank some much needed attention. I removed a ton of bubble algae. Here's a pic:
During the cleaning, I inadvertently fragged my Red Planet, twice. That was a little sad, considering that it took forever to get the thing to grow. I remounted the two pieces in a different location.
Today, I'll take some pics. I re-aquascaped...not sure how I feel about it.
Good work, I can't stand bubble algae!
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Thanks! It felt great to get all of that algae out of there.
Wow, nice to see corals grow from frags, and it looks fantastic! I'm still waiting for the first time I have a nice deep purple acro with that good of color.
Thanks Mark! I'm sure it'll happen soon enough! :thumbsup:
jroovers
New member
Thanks, Jroovers! I'm happy about that particular coral as well.
It's hard to believe these two are the same:
Very nicely done! Keep it up, I want to see what it looks like when it has grown out more :thumbsup:
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
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