Mad Scientist Syndrome

[sanababit]

Hello out there, with my 9 months experience i noticed that i have become a Mad Scientist, checking nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, calcium, alk, salinity, temp, phosphate, ph, magnesium like crazy, i was hovering on my tank adding this, mixing a dash of this with that, how about a pinch of this to correct that, wa hahhahahaha. well noticing that i was worried about my tank more than my life or wife, i started to leave it alone, its been almost 2 months and let me tell you what, its doing a lot better than when i was taking care of it like a science experiment, more growth, cleaner water, stable parameters (except ph), i even haven't changed the water in 2 months (i will change 10% on saturday for those of you that are outraged by my actions).

Well anyone out there experienced the same thing???, let me hear your stories



sana

 

[ksouers]

I had just the opposite. I let it go for about a month, not because I wanted to but because I had a big push on at work to get a lot of things done. Hair algae took over BAD! I lost some Yellow Polyps, the first corals I bought. I fought that algae for almost six months before I got it under control. Aiptasia were out of control. It looked like a had a little farm going.

Now the tank is looking quite nice. Nary a bit of algae and only a couple aiptasia.

 

[el Deutche]

Same as ksouers. lot to do at work, looking for a house, etc. Kinda let it slip. Was doing excellent for a while, then all of a sudden had a explosion of Hair Algae that I am battling now. Lost some zoos (not whole colonies) and yellow polyps.

 

[drparker]

Same here! everything looked good for a while then bam the tank from *ell. Takes a long time to recover. I might have to suck all my sand out, can't get nitrates down below 3 and my PO4 is at zero, but I still have hair algae.

 

[Aquarist007]

Re: Mad Scientist Syndrome

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11625317#post11625317 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sanababit
Hello out there, with my 9 months experience i noticed that i have become a Mad Scientist, checking nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, calcium, alk, salinity, temp, phosphate, ph, magnesium like crazy, i was hovering on my tank adding this, mixing a dash of this with that, how about a pinch of this to correct that, wa hahhahahaha. well noticing that i was worried about my tank more than my life or wife, i started to leave it alone, its been almost 2 months and let me tell you what, its doing a lot better than when i was taking care of it like a science experiment, more growth, cleaner water, stable parameters (except ph), i even haven't changed the water in 2 months (i will change 10% on saturday for those of you that are outraged by my actions).

Well anyone out there experienced the same thing???, let me hear your stories

I would suggest that you start using a 2 part dosing for calcium and alkalinity such as b-ionics or one of Randy's dyi mixtures listed in the reef chemistry forum
In less then a month your parameters will stabilize out as will your pH indirectly
At first I had to check weekly to see if I needed to increase the amt of two part needed for the parameters i wanted. Now its every three weeks

If you take steps to reduce phosphates and nitrates then you don't need to be testing for them

ie run phosban and carbon in phosban reactors
set up a refugium with cheato algae in it
make sure the flow in the tank is 20-40 times the tanks volume per hour
match the flow rate in your sump to the skimmers rate

rinse all frozen food with r/0 water before using and feed less but more frequently if needed





sana

 

[jbaty]

My tank had run with just replenishing the RO water for top off for 6 months and the parameters were steady.. even ph. It was doing really good until I had an issue with the MH's i was running and lost few pieces of coral and now have new lights..

When I changed the lights I decided to restack the rock work... since then I have done 10% changes every week.. for the past 2 months... parm are now perfect again... but plan on doing changes every two weeks for a few more months and then do 20% every month from here on out.

 

[old salty]

Ah yes, I was once like you (once upon a time.)

Now, it's 10% water changes performed every week and nothing else. Once a month, I may get up bug up my rear to do a set of tests; Ca, alk, and Mg. I gave away most of my kits before they expired (some lucky reefer received free Elos kits!!) I have also been much more careful about putting my hands in the water.

I spend hours each week observing the tank. Though it's probably not as accurate as a test kit, it's more enjoyable, less expensive, and teaches you a whole lot more about the animals you are keeping.

 

[Skeptic_07]

i used to do that but i realized that its a self-defeating cycle. changing things up too quickly and too often has often led to failure for me. any changes to the water chemistry, flow and lighting almost always seem to require an adjustment period. I never move things around in the tank or add things to the water or do anything outside of my normal maintenance routine unless there is a reason to ie something looks stressed or the chemistry is way out of whack. I dont test my water more than once per month and if i find that i'm low on something, instead of just adding enough of said chemical to the tank to bring the level up to whatever level is recommended, i simply adjust my maintenance schedule slightly so that i'm adding more of that chemical to the tank each week or whatever. Slow gradual changes are always best IM(limited)E.

 

[Aquarist007]

two part b-ionics for stability--its the way to go--I just tested tonight--4 weeks without any variation in the tank parameters---one min each night to dose--and alot cheaper