Learning/rebuilding from my epic fail
- Thread starter reefmutt
- Start date
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Hi Matt,
Salifert KH test kit also comes with a reference solution. I have never known this test kit to deviate from FM Reference solution for more than 0.3 dKH (or less). If I were you, I would verify both test kits with an independent reference solution.
Salifert KH test kit also comes with a reference solution. I have never known this test kit to deviate from FM Reference solution for more than 0.3 dKH (or less). If I were you, I would verify both test kits with an independent reference solution.
reefmutt
Active member
I might do that.. it's a good idea..
But around here, Salifert kh test kits don't come with a reference solution. They ever have... I might buy another AF kit. Or both and compare again. Or look into other options..
Having said that.. knowing what my salifert kit was reading and what the AF kit is reading.. as long as I keep my kh stable where it is, the actual reading is less important.
FloformAustria
New member
Wow Matt!! Stunning just stunning
Your pictures are awesome and your corals look so healthy!!
Maybe I get to meet you in October this year ;-)
Cheers
Flo
Your pictures are awesome and your corals look so healthy!!
Maybe I get to meet you in October this year ;-)
Cheers
Flo
Love this oneLove the PE on the Horrida.
Red dragon looks great, and one of my favourite corals (for some strange reason). The reason is I killed so many and am determined one day to own one.
Same ambition for a Red Planet. Your's looks Awesome!!!
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janci
New member
Chasing numbers never resulted a good way to success.
Love the colours, PE and coral diversity.
Alex Costa
Member
Hi Matt.
Did ever think about Hanna KH meter?
I use it for years and I like it better than other options, basically because of its accuracy and ease to use.
The corals are looking better and better!
Regards.
reefmutt
Active member
Thanks!
Thanks, agreed 100%
Thanks Alex. I've never really bothered investing in one. The alk kits give consistent readings..
Hey Mark. I have been seeing some corals lose colour a bit with n so low, definitely.
It's just where my cheato has pulled it to- even with p staying up around .18.
Currently I am dosing kno3 to compensate in an effort to raise n and hopefully, maybe get the cheato to pull p down a bit more..
If it doesn't work, I will reduce the photoperiod of the cheato to get n to come back up a bit..
reefmutt
Active member
Hey Guys! So over the past month, the combination of reducing food from 10 cubes to 8 per day, along with increased light and photoperiod over my cheato fuge, has completely bottomed out my no3. I reacted by starting kno3 dosing (and reducing photoperiod by a couple hours) and now have n around 5-10 ppm. Which is where I want to keep it.
Po4 has been stubbornly consistent at .17 with Elos High Res. Test kit. That test kit is almost finished and I can't buy them anymore so I'll probably be moving to a Hanna egg.. not thrilled but what can I do..
This bottoming out of n really hit my frag tank hard. I had a lot of paling and lots of rtn on frags.. I guess there is less food particles flowing around in there and the corals just couldn't handle the drop. My display did pretty much ok. Maybe a bit of paling but nothing too serious..
So as of today, I will start extremely conservatively with some LC to try to pull p down to just around .05-.09..
I am doing this because although I have decent growth on many corals, I have many stubborn stagnant ones. I just want to try lowering p to below .1- nothing too crazy..
I am using Brihjtwell's phosphate e - 5 ml per day to start.
I'm adding it to a part of the system where all the water must first pass through the skimmer chamber and then through a filter sock.
I'll stay at 5ml per day for a few weeks and see if that amount has any effect at all.. then I'll increase slightly and wait again.
So I got the chance to take some more photos.. as usual, i am preoccupied with color contrasts and macros.. I'll get back to wide shots eventually, I'm sure..
One other small change I made was to replace a single blue plus with a pure actinic. So now I have 1 actinic
3 blue plus
2 coral plus
3 150 Ushio 20k
4 AI Primes running mostly blue leds..
I took the following shots with all lights on and set my camera to 9k Kelvin.
The shots came out so accurate that I didn't bother editing them at all..
Usually I'd warm them up, add some sharpening and crop..
This time I left them completely untouched- straight off the camera.. this is due partially to laziness and partially to lack of time..
Hope you enjoy..
Few more to follow..
Looking at them now, I realize I could definitely make them a bit warmer and better looking.. but.. I wanna go to bed and I still have to take the dog out..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Po4 has been stubbornly consistent at .17 with Elos High Res. Test kit. That test kit is almost finished and I can't buy them anymore so I'll probably be moving to a Hanna egg.. not thrilled but what can I do..
This bottoming out of n really hit my frag tank hard. I had a lot of paling and lots of rtn on frags.. I guess there is less food particles flowing around in there and the corals just couldn't handle the drop. My display did pretty much ok. Maybe a bit of paling but nothing too serious..
So as of today, I will start extremely conservatively with some LC to try to pull p down to just around .05-.09..
I am doing this because although I have decent growth on many corals, I have many stubborn stagnant ones. I just want to try lowering p to below .1- nothing too crazy..
I am using Brihjtwell's phosphate e - 5 ml per day to start.
I'm adding it to a part of the system where all the water must first pass through the skimmer chamber and then through a filter sock.
I'll stay at 5ml per day for a few weeks and see if that amount has any effect at all.. then I'll increase slightly and wait again.
So I got the chance to take some more photos.. as usual, i am preoccupied with color contrasts and macros.. I'll get back to wide shots eventually, I'm sure..
One other small change I made was to replace a single blue plus with a pure actinic. So now I have 1 actinic
3 blue plus
2 coral plus
3 150 Ushio 20k
4 AI Primes running mostly blue leds..
I took the following shots with all lights on and set my camera to 9k Kelvin.
The shots came out so accurate that I didn't bother editing them at all..
Usually I'd warm them up, add some sharpening and crop..
This time I left them completely untouched- straight off the camera.. this is due partially to laziness and partially to lack of time..
Hope you enjoy..
Few more to follow..
Looking at them now, I realize I could definitely make them a bit warmer and better looking.. but.. I wanna go to bed and I still have to take the dog out..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
reefmutt
Active member
Hey Mark,thanks!
I could be mistaken but I think the stuff you use- phosphate rx is more concentrated than the bright well product..
My system isn’t much bigger than yours- it’s 350g. If you are at 1 drop per day and I started at 5ml.. I better be careful.. I’ll test p often this week and next.
I could be mistaken but I think the stuff you use- phosphate rx is more concentrated than the bright well product..
My system isn’t much bigger than yours- it’s 350g. If you are at 1 drop per day and I started at 5ml.. I better be careful.. I’ll test p often this week and next.
I have always had the problem of low nitrates with high phosphates, and have tried many methods to get the nutrient levels in balance. I found that by using lanthanium chloride, I could never "balance" the 2 levels to hit a happy constant for both. What eventually worked for me was to couple kno3 dosing with carbon dosing such that the increased nitrates and carbon ended up bringing the phosphates lower naturally in natural ratios. After I brought both levels to an acceptable ratio (5ppm nitrate, 0.05 phosphate) I switched to dosing TM Bacto Balance to maintain the levels (since Bacto Balance is supposed to add phosphate and nitrate back in addition to carbon dosing to maintain acceptable levels). Unexpectedly, my nitrate dropped to a constant 0.2 and phosphate to a constant 0.01-0.02. Despite these very low levels, my corals have not paled out and still maintain the same level of colouration as when the system was at 5ppm nitrate and 0.05ppm phosphate. I believe that the Bacto Balance is helping the system process the nutrients better such that the corals are still getting enough, but measured levels are very low.
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Very nice Matt. Elos now sells refill kits as well. I wonder if you can approach some online retailers in the UK to find out if they are prepared to ship to Canada. This test kit is widely available in the UK.
