I can tell you that the current pics are just about visually correct relative to the naked eye. The earlier ones, as I mentioned, were somewhat washed out. My colors have definitely improved though. For anyone that doubts the colors in the current pics, all of the photos were taken with the same camera settings including the FTS shots. Please color check by looking at the fish.
FWIW...The history of my tank and my dosing schedules:
This tank is four years old but I started putting corals in it only three years ago. I have two 250 watt 20 K bulbs (magnetic SPS 20K on the left, electronic Radium on the right) and two actinic VHOs. About two and a half years ago I decided that it would be an SPS tank. Until about four months ago it was a berlin setup (plus a calcium reactor and SSB) with a limited fish load and a very reduced feeding schedule. It has always been non-detect for NO3 and PO4 on hobby grade test kits. Three months (or so) ago I added GFO and started feeding a little more. Then the larger changes...
8 weeks ago, after much (but NEVER enough) reading, I started doing carbon dosing. From the start I took a conservative approach. It took many weeks to get beyond counting in drops. After about a month (or so) I bumped to 1 mL of VSV and 0.25 mL DIY amino acid formula per day. During this time I went from feeding a small bit maybe three times a week to feeding a *LOT* on a nightly basis. As of six weeks into this process I was quite sure that I had fed the tank six months worth of food. I feed so much that my fish literally stop eating and look for a lazy boy to sit down on. I've fed as much as five cubes to four fish in a single day. It is an impossible feat for such a small crowd of fish to eat that much food! Anyways, I'm still reading ND on my nitrate kit and 0.0 on my phosphate kit. These are both hobby grade kits so take the results for...well...a grain of salt. I'm gaining access to a HACH 980 next week though so I look forward to having much more detailed numbers to help my own decisions and to help any readers that are looking for their own non-proprietary path. I have no exceptional nusiance algae growth. BTW, I completely scraped all of the coralline off of the back glass twice between the two FTS's above.
In short, here's where I am today:
* 85 net gallons with a semi-mature SPS tank
* Relatively NSW parameters for salinity, Ca, Mg, and alk (I haven't done a water change since January, the one before that was June or July)
* Feed so much that my fish go starry-eyed
* 2 mL of VSV a day (5mL vodka, 1 tspn sugar, 5mL vinegar, 15 mL RO/DI)
* 0.5 mL DIY amino acid solution (just buy an AA solution, I'm going to very soon)
* DIY bacteria culture (would I recommend this, I dunno - PLEASE shoot holes in this idea if you feel so inclined) of a small dish of tank water that recieves a few pellets of food, a few drops of VSV and a few drops of AA's a few times a week. 1/2 of the dish gets emptied into the tank on a ~daily basis to
feed the corals. Here is the <a href="http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=211460&highlight=nitrate">inspiration</a> for this idea.
* Also - I nearly forgot that I do this - I have a filter bag as a bubble catch out of my skimmer. I scrape it a few times a week to send any detritius and/or bacteria back into the tank to also
feed the corals.
I'm very pleased with where I am right now but I see this as a journey. I will be somewhere else along the voyage a month from now (definitely proprietary AA's and maybe zeolitic stones). I would rate some of my corals in the 8 to 9 out of 10. Others (California Tort) would only receive a 5 or 6. Hopefully my experience can help others find their own path. Even better - if my experience could help us find a collective probiotic approach, that would be icing on the cake.
Total investment so far....maybe $10.
