Learning/rebuilding from my epic fail

Mark said:
I'm sure Joe will chime in, but the reactor in question is call ARID. More details here: https://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/pax-bellum-llc/

I hope my post didn't sound discouraging. In order to move the hobby forward, there will always be a need to experiment. And I'm glad people do :). It keeps things interesting. Anyway, good to see some veteran reef keepers around. Subscribed to your thread and look forward to seeing your reef grow as nice as your old one.
Click to expand...

Mark, never discouraging, not at all. Anyways, no comment could ever be as discouraging as a poorly functioning system..
thanks for the link, i will definitely go check it out.
i have to see this AIO pellet experiment through. Like I said to sahin, i like having that control- now that i have it.. even though i never had it in the past..
I hope i can entertain everyone with some nice growth and colour soon..
 
Mark said:
Great thread. I'm sorry about your ups and downs as of late. I enjoyed your take on reefkeeping history, the industrial age versus modern age. But honestly, myself and many veteran reefkeepers that lived through the industrial age seem to be going back to it in some areas.

Advancements in lighting and skimming are no doubt worth noting. But when it comes to nutrient control, go back to the old-school man! :) Ditch the additives and the pellets. I've tinkered with vodka, biopellets, gfo, zeo. It was a tireless battle of the yo yo between nitrates, phosphates, cyano, coral lightening. Eventually I stopped battling my tank and retired back to macroalgae and some skimming. Life got easier again. My phosphates and nitrates don't look pretty in test kits, but the corals looked great and I like looking at corals more than test kits anyway. I say this humbly and please don't take offense. Your old tank was awesome for a reason.

I believe JB NY would agree with me. He's running a pretty sweet chaeto reactor, a new spin on and old methodology.
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I completely agree with you Mark, I had been running GFO and dosing vodka for years, I had really good success with it for a while but soon caught myself chasing numbers like so many other people. Playing with dosing led to brown outs or STN. It seemed a never ending battle. It wasn't until I had my own epic fail and my then failed attempt to come back from it that I started looking at what I was doing for nutrient control but also why I was doing it, and came to the same conclusion that Mark and others have had, go back to the old school. Ditch the GFO ad carbon dosing and just use macro algae and skimming for nutrient export.

I am still a little obsessed by the numbers but I am working on it. Letting my N and P move up from zero was a hard thing to get used, but I know it is for the better.

Matt, Here is my build thread that I talk about the reactor with some pictures. Look a few posts down when maxxII starts asking me some questions and I get into how it is working for me.
270 Gallon SPS tank for JBNY

Any questions you might have just let me know I would be happy to be able to help you out.
 
Hi Matt, in regards to the AIO pellets, how much pellets are you using and what is your total system volume?

The only time I had some weird effects was when I let the levels get low. I keep about 1L of pellets for 120Gallon system volume, and i had let them degrade down to maybe 1/2 L.

I based my target QTY off of Kryztoffs system, he uses about 1.5L for 190gallon volume if I remember correctly. I'm at a bit of a loss as to why the phosphate numbers keep popping up, it could be a bad tester or test reagent as much as an actual system value. I use the Milwaukee Phosphate colorimeter, it gives me very repeatable results and every test I've taken shows zero.

I'm not suggesting you change meters, but maybe just focus on how the corals are doing rather than the phosphate number. If the corals are showing growth onto the base(easiest place to see growth in my experience) then things are usually ok.
 
Some nice additions Matt, looks like things taking off, especially color... Hopefully we can see an all tank shot soon :)
 
JB NY said:
...and came to the same conclusion that Mark and others have had, go back to the old school. Ditch the GFO ad carbon dosing and just use macro algae and skimming for nutrient export.
Click to expand...

+1 I have quite using GFO a long time ago. Currently I rely on water changes and a skimmer for filtration. The Cyano in my tank has now disappeared. I will wait one or two more weeks more and then add a Chaeto refugium.
 
Thanks for noticing my joke,I was beginning to think I wasn't so funny. Corals look great. it seems to me reefing is a lot about philosophy and that there are not any hard-fast rules because there are too many parameters involved. Being observant and involved seems to influence success. Thanks again for the inspiration.
 
Mark said:
I'm sure Joe will chime in, but the reactor in question is call ARID. More details here: https://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/pax-bellum-llc/

I hope my post didn't sound discouraging. In order to move the hobby forward, there will always be a need to experiment. And I'm glad people do :). It keeps things interesting. Anyway, good to see some veteran reef keepers around. Subscribed to your thread and look forward to seeing your reef grow as nice as your old one.
Click to expand...

JB NY said:
I completely agree with you Mark, I had been running GFO and dosing vodka for years, I had really good success with it for a while but soon caught myself chasing numbers like so many other people. Playing with dosing led to brown outs or STN. It seemed a never ending battle. It wasn't until I had my own epic fail and my then failed attempt to come back from it that I started looking at what I was doing for nutrient control but also why I was doing it, and came to the same conclusion that Mark and others have had, go back to the old school. Ditch the GFO ad carbon dosing and just use macro algae and skimming for nutrient export.

I am still a little obsessed by the numbers but I am working on it. Letting my N and P move up from zero was a hard thing to get used, but I know it is for the better.

Matt, Here is my build thread that I talk about the reactor with some pictures. Look a few posts down when maxxII starts asking me some questions and I get into how it is working for me.
270 Gallon SPS tank for JBNY

Any questions you might have just let me know I would be happy to be able to help you out.
Click to expand...

Matt, I wound buying an ARID E18 reactor after JBNY talked about his and after speaking directly with Tristan of Pax-Bellum. In 11 days PO4 went from 0.08 down 0.00....no water changes, no nothing.... I'd used bio pellets with no luck/results. About 21 days into running it, I'm liking it so far.
Might not be the best solution for everyone, but it appears to be the best for me.
I started a thread here and on Manhattan Reefs using the same title....

If you want to read more: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2499912

Kudo's to you for not quitting. I'm getting back after several set backs myself, which is why your thread title caught my eye.
 
reefmutt said:
...
putting out polyps when nutrient came back up: DV kushberry
AD3EBF47-F2CE-45AD-AF81-1EE2739C901B_zpsyampud35.jpg

...
Click to expand...

All very good frags, especial this one I love most. Base adapt to rock very well and healthy PE...
 
Well, after going through JB NY's whole thread and thinking more about going back to basics, I recently added some cheato (1week ago)
I think I'll also start dosing kalk along with my ca reactor.
The tank, in general is doing very well. Still slow growth without any of that crazy new growth coloration, but growth is better than no growth.
N is still around 4ppm and p is around .12
Now that things are stable, I will start lowering p while trying to maintain n where it is.
Once the cheato starts to kick in, it'll be interesting..
Matt, I do not have more than 500ml of biopellets at the outside. Probably less. I will add a little more but with the cheato, I'm hoping to remove the pellets all together or at least have just enough to be able to control p by dosing n..
Here a couple shots of corals that have begun to grow, ever so slowly..
Bonsai:

Oregon tort:

This was called frozen ivy.. Not sure what type of coral it is. You can see a new bud starting at the base..

Here's a sweet echinata (I think) that I just added..

And another new addition: 24 k. Eric, this is from you, apparently..

Hopefully I will have more growth coming..
 
Matt, I'm happy to hear that things are stabilizing. This hobby is supposed to be rewarding and its hard to feel rewarded when things are going badly.
 
Ha! Tell me about it!!
It's been a total pita since I started this tank almost 3 years ago..
If I had been new to the hobby, I would have quite looooong ago. It's only because I have experienced the rapture that is explosive growth and mind boggling coral colours.
It's been that need to experience that again that has kept me going with this tank...
I can smell it... It's coming.. :)
 
Hey Matt, it makes me happy knowing your tank is on the mend. Well done on turning the tank around buddy. :beer: Its no easy feat and can be downright frustrating; but it sure look like things are turning for the better. :)
 
Matt,
Love the direction of the tank, you can tell obviously that the corals are happy, considering the color, but the PE looks great too! Nicely done, looking forward to seeing your results by the addition of chaeto for nutrient uptake. Great update :)
 
Matt, Can't believe you read my whole thread, it is dense in some parts. I am glad things seem to be coming around. Pictures look good, you have much better polyp extension than I do (I have 6 pigmy angles!). Hopefully the cheato works for you. it has helped remember that so many of the other things I had been putting in my tank are not really necessary to keeping a good tank.

Kalk is key, I think many people forget how much it can help with growth and coloration.

Good luck! Maybe we can be trading frags this time next year!
 
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