Learning/rebuilding from my epic fail

[plyle02]

Great job, the new trend seems to be the old trend, lol... I too am going back in time, back to 2007, before all the number chasing, back when things were quite simplistic, and I had a thriving sps setup, built on biology, not technology. You have been an inspiration for years around the SPS forum, thanks for keeping us up to date on your tank!

 

[reefmutt]

I have some Bayer for you. Let me know.

Eric, thanks! I got my hands on a small amount of interceptor. The frag tank is soaking in it now. I'll leave it for the day. That should take care of them.
Did you order it on line or go to the States to buy it?

 

[reefmutt]

Great job, the new trend seems to be the old trend, lol... I too am going back in time, back to 2007, before all the number chasing, back when things were quite simplistic, and I had a thriving sps setup, built on biology, not technology. You have been an inspiration for years around the SPS forum, thanks for keeping us up to date on your tank!

Perry, thanks for the very kind words! Very nice to say.
I would really like to go back to pre 2007. And I will try my best to do so but the whole testing thing is 'out of the bag' so to speak..
I will definitely be building up my biology but this time around, I will use technology to watch and try to maintain stability as I think what is more important than actual numbers is overall stability. I think that the biology, when properly maintained is key to keeping the system stable.

 

[ChrisKirkland]

Perry, thanks for the very kind words! Very nice to say.
I would really like to go back to pre 2007. And I will try my best to do so but the whole testing thing is 'out of the bag' so to speak..
I will definitely be building up my biology but this time around, I will use technology to watch and try to maintain stability as I think what is more important than actual numbers is overall stability. I think that the biology, when properly maintained is key to keeping the system stable.

+1 that is the biggest thing, good husbandry and stable parameters will get you farther than anything. I too have been chasing number recently, since reading this thread I have taken a step back and now I am addressing my PO4 issues through carbon dosing (vodka and Vinegar).

 

[mhucasey]

Matt, I'm very glad I found your thread. Not only do we share the same name, but our timelines for getting Into the hobby and our true obsession for it are so similar it's a little spooky. My ex-wife hated the attention I gave the reef tanks and referred to pictures of reef tanks as "porn". Luckily she is my ex

My fiancé and I got our current tank going about 2.5 years ago and I started worrying that she would be jealous of the time and attention I was spending on it. One day she said "I wanted to talk to you about the tank"...oh crud, here it comes...she then said "I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you spend keeping the reef going". That, my friend, is a keeper!

I was a big contributor to the dosing nitrate thread and I'm glad you got something out of it. I still occasionally dose CaNO3 but I haven't needed to do much of anything in that regard since going to the All-in-one pellets several months ago. These aio pellets are so easy and they work like a charm!

I'll be following along, keep up the good work!!!

 

[reefmutt]

+1 that is the biggest thing, good husbandry and stable parameters will get you farther than anything. I too have been chasing number recently, since reading this thread I have taken a step back and now I am addressing my PO4 issues through carbon dosing (vodka and Vinegar).

Chris, im glad you checked this thread out. i hope i can help some reefers, like me, who got a little crazy trying to find that miracle additive and chasing numbers instead of chasing stable biology..

 

[reefmutt]

Matt, I'm very glad I found your thread. Not only do we share the same name, but our timelines for getting Into the hobby and our true obsession for it are so similar it's a little spooky. My ex-wife hated the attention I gave the reef tanks and referred to pictures of reef tanks as "porn". Luckily she is my ex

My fiancé and I got our current tank going about 2.5 years ago and I started worrying that she would be jealous of the time and attention I was spending on it. One day she said "I wanted to talk to you about the tank"...oh crud, here it comes...she then said "I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you spend keeping the reef going". That, my friend, is a keeper!

I was a big contributor to the dosing nitrate thread and I'm glad you got something out of it. I still occasionally dose CaNO3 but I haven't needed to do much of anything in that regard since going to the All-in-one pellets several months ago. These aio pellets are so easy and they work like a charm!

I'll be following along, keep up the good work!!!

Matt,my reefer brothah from another mothah, thanks! a 'keeper' indeed!!
you know what?? there's worse porn and worse things to be addicted to!
I am amazed at how nutso i got when my p started getting high and how crazy, in general, i got trying to find the next magic potion that was going to turn my tank around..
a little guidance from awesome RC reefers like you and basic biology fixed the problem and rebalanced my tank, now it's just a matter of keeping it balanced.
I haven't had to add cano3 for a few weeks now..

 

[reefmutt]

Ok! Well I took some pics . I have the beginnings of a reef! No acros in the tank yet because they have red bugs and I have to dip them in something. The 10 yer old interceptor pill a buddy gave did not work..
I might be coming for that Bayer, Eric!
Here's left right and fts:



Couple fishy shots..

 

[reefmutt]

Couple coral shots..
This torch was given to me by a friend and mentor named John who, a few months ago closed the doors on his shop called Octopus. It was the oldest reef shop in Montreal and had been for the past 20 years, not only the first place I ever visited when I was just getting into reefing but also a welcome stop whenever I was in the area- which was often.
I'll try to keep the torch in a quiet area.. It'll be named little John it's not particularly special, it was just one of the last remaining corals in the store before he shut all the systems down..

Turbinaria- my favorite non acroporid coral.. I'm hoping the three pieces will merge into one nice colony..

 

[reefmutt]

Ok.. Couple acros in waiting..
Cj's pinky looking not so pinky at the moment:

Pink Floyd looking not so special atm, either..

Red dragon:

Not sure what this is.. Suharsonoi??


Can't wait to get the acros in the tank.. I have a few lps that I still have to place as well..

 

[mhucasey]

Ok! Well I took some pics . I have the beginnings of a reef!

Woot! Congrats on getting the ball rolling. Did you bond or bind the live rock together? I'm starting to collect ideas for a future tank upgrade, hopefully near future. Looking forward to more updates as the process goes along

 

[renevilleneuve]

Thanks for the sharing privilege. Seems like I am watching birthgiving (in French;accouchement) the teasing gave quick results. I know, I know you were away for a week which prevented you from posting for a month. Looking forward to every meticulous detail.

 

[reefmutt]

Woot! Congrats on getting the ball rolling. Did you bond or bind the live rock together? I'm starting to collect ideas for a future tank upgrade, hopefully near future. Looking forward to more updates as the process goes along

Very psyched, I must say! Will recieve a few new frags on Tuesday from a Toronto supplier. They will be Interceptored and dipped (along with my current frags) and then I will start placing some acros in the dt.

This tank, I placed the rocks without any glue. I have done it this way on all my tanks except my last 300g. That one, I used two part epoxy to glue everything together. I don't really have a preference. Not glueing allows for rearranging from time to time but also leaves the potential for collapses..

 

[reefmutt]

Thanks for the sharing privilege. Seems like I am watching birthgiving (in French;accouchement) the teasing gave quick results. I know, I know you were away for a week which prevented you from posting for a month. Looking forward to every meticulous detail.

Rene! 'Away for a week which prevented you posting for a month' hm...
J'aime ton sens de l'humour aigu!
Biggles is a master at subtle public shaming. It's very effective.
Plenty more picks to come.

 

[reefmutt]

Well.. A small chemistry update.. Pics of the 20 odd frags I have already added will come when I have a little more time..
Before I went away at Christmas- about two weeks, now, I had a n of 5 and a p of between 0 and .02. Before I went away, I added a cheato ball, some ecobac + pellets to my aio pellets- to top off the chamber and I added a few more sections of dsb. AND the fish weren't being fed as much because my mother was only coming once a day to feed them. So, today's numbers showed n down to about 1-1.5 ppm and p up to .09. Interesting how the balance can shift.. I assume now that I am home and will start adding more fish and more food, the n will creep up a bit and the p will fall... We shall see..
Ca is 450
Alk is 7
Mag is 1600
I also got my hands on some Bayer. (Thanks Eric!) i really can't say from personally experience how effective it is but anecdotally, the evidence seems very strong. I dipped all of my new frags in a bath of 10ml Bayer to 250ml tank water- which is on the strong side of the range that people seem to have tried. The corals came out of it with polyps extended in minutes. As if they didn't even notice. This will be my dip from now on for new additions..

 

[mhucasey]

FYI if you need interceptor(Spectrum) in the future, i.e. if the Bayer missed anything, try "Pet Shed". Its a pet supply place out of Australia that will sell you Spectrum without a prescription. For 40 bucks I have the equivalent of 9 doses for my system.

 

[biggles]

Rene! 'Away for a week which prevented you posting for a month' hm...
J'aime ton sens de l'humour aigu!
Biggles is a master at subtle public shaming. It's very effective.
Plenty more picks to come.

Pretty sure you just put some kinda weird French hex on me Matt......

I'm super jealous of your purple tang and that dragon acro. Never seen one of those in a shop, what species are those true dragon acros Matt. I assume yours is the same species as Greg's green dragon (i want that so bad )
Turdinaria's are one coral i never took a liking to, they look a bit like cactus leaves to me lol. That acan looks yummy as does the torch and that smooth skin acro.
I didn't realise how far out of the loop i was with your progress mate, awesome to hear everything is well under way and going well so far :beer:

'Biggles is a master at subtle public shaming' - i have no idea where you get that idea Matt, if i was like that i'd be pointing out the barren pictureless screen i'm staring at on this journal page............ but that's not the way i roll :reading:

 

[renevilleneuve]

rolling on the floor

 

[markalot]

I was glad to see some pics anyway!

 

[shih87]

Wow!!! you have heavy duty light system...

Have you completed the cycle?