Mark's 150 gallon

[biggles]

I draw my skimmer air from outside to lessen pH drops especially in winter, glad you got it sorted out Mark. :thumbsup:

I remember just how crazy one off beautiful this piece actually is when it's humming mate, great to see the colors taking off

 

[rovster]

Sorry if I missed it but what kind of levels were you seeing? Mine fluctuated from 7.8-8.2. Florida, windows shut, full house, etc....

 

[markalot]

Sorry if I missed it but what kind of levels were you seeing? Mine fluctuated from 7.8-8.2. Florida, windows shut, full house, etc....

Same in the summer, except for a few days last week where it was dropping to 7.0.

 

[drawman]

Tank is looking really nice Mark! Polyps look very happy! It's been a while since I've checked in but what do you think caused the turn around?

 

[MichaelW]

I have very low on on my tank. It only gets above 8.0 if I can leave Windows open all day, which my wife does not like. When you guys are drawing air from outside into your skimmer are you not concerned about the possibility of contamination from someone spraying for like insects or weeds etc outside?

 

[markalot]

I have very low on on my tank. It only gets above 8.0 if I can leave Windows open all day, which my wife does not like. When you guys are drawing air from outside into your skimmer are you not concerned about the possibility of contamination from someone spraying for like insects or weeds etc outside?

I am, and I did not draw outside air while on vacation just in case, but I have an odd basement with a tiny side window that sits 6 feet above the ground. House is on a hill and the bottom of the basement is above ground level in back.

 

[markalot]

P = 10 or .03 so I'm dropping my daily dose of PhosphateRx from 3 to 2 drops daily. NO3 is still undetectable.

Cousin It has some plans!

and the horrida is teasing me again.

 

[Bpb]

P = 10 or .03 so I'm dropping my daily dose of PhosphateRx from 3 to 2 drops daily. NO3 is still undetectable.



Cousin It has some plans!

and the horrida is teasing me again.

Nice! Lol cousin it. Good name. I have that same milie I believe. Got it as a no namer frag from a big colony from another reefer. Reddish pink base with green run around the encrusting, white grown tips, and so hairy you can barely see the color unless you agitate it to where it sucks in the polyps. I've been calling it Chewbacca Millie


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[mhucasey]

I have very low on on my tank. It only gets above 8.0 if I can leave Windows open all day, which my wife does not like. When you guys are drawing air from outside into your skimmer are you not concerned about the possibility of contamination from someone spraying for like insects or weeds etc outside?

I pull all my air for the skimmer from outside through activated carbon pads. My pH runs from 8.1 to 8.5 with air from outside. If I don't, the pH will get as low as 7.8.

 

[mhucasey]

This is a great shot! I love the montis melting into each other!(or are those Favia?)

 

[MichaelW]

I pull all my air for the skimmer from outside through activated carbon pads. My pH runs from 8.1 to 8.5 with air from outside. If I don't, the pH will get as low as 7.8.

Did you notice any problems when it gets down to 7.8? Mine gets lower than that every night. Don't believe it's causing any issues... But who knows maybe my corals would be better looking if I was able to keep it higher.

Just scared shitless of something contaminating my tank from outside...and I don't think my wife would be 2 Happy with me drilling a hole through the wall.

 

[mhucasey]

Did you notice any problems when it gets down to 7.8? Mine gets lower than that every night. Don't believe it's causing any issues... But who knows maybe my corals would be better looking if I was able to keep it higher.

Just scared shitless of something contaminating my tank from outside...and I don't think my wife would be 2 Happy with me drilling a hole through the wall.

Oh Michael, that's why you drill holes in the walls when the wife is out!:lolspin:

I didn't notice anything for sure other than slower growth, but I believe that plenty of scientific study favors higher pH values. The air inside your house isn't necessarily that much better, and filtering through carbon is an effective way of removing contaminates.

 

[plyle02]

Nice top downs Mark, you are well on your way now! Great stuff man, most would have exited stage left, kudos for hanging in there and bouncing back, the tank looks awesome man! Hope all is well with you

 

[markalot]

Nice! Lol cousin it. Good name. I have that same milie I believe. Got it as a no namer frag from a big colony from another reefer. Reddish pink base with green run around the encrusting, white grown tips, and so hairy you can barely see the color unless you agitate it to where it sucks in the polyps. I've been calling it Chewbacca Millie

Ha, this was also a no name from my nearby LFS which has nothing but browned out SPS frags. I like a gamble, and a good long dip! I have a feeling this is going to be stunning but only when upset.

This is a great shot! I love the montis melting into each other!(or are those Favia?)

Thanks Matt,

The one on the left is a Lepastrea, Jason Fox John Deer I think, got it from another reefer. On the right is actually blue clove polyps that are trapped by the rockwork and the encrusting Lepastrea. :lmao: All squished together it sure does look like something else.

Nice top downs Mark, you are well on your way now! Great stuff man, most would have exited stage left, kudos for hanging in there and bouncing back, the tank looks awesome man! Hope all is well with you

Thanks Perry, much appreciated. It feels good to get to the other side with only a few losses.

 

[reefmutt]

Looking better and better, Mark.
Love that round top down.
Who makes phosphate rx?

 

[markalot]

Looking better and better, Mark.
Love that round top down.
Who makes phosphate rx?

Thanks Matt,

Blue Life makes it and it's just lanthanum at some unknown mixture rate. People have had good luck with it so I'll pay the price for some magic formula that you could probably make on your own.

I think it's appropriate to caution that fro all I know a buildup of lanthanum (I do not use a filter sock) might cause me issues down the road, I just have no idea.

 

[reefmutt]

The build up thing has always worried me about lanthanum.. Where does all the bound p go if it isn't getting trapped or skimmed out? And there's no way it's all getting removed..
I don't know the chemistry behind it..
Do you dose into your skimmer?

 

[markalot]

The build up thing has always worried me about lanthanum.. Where does all the bound p go if it isn't getting trapped or skimmed out? And there's no way it's all getting removed..
I don't know the chemistry behind it..
Do you dose into your skimmer?

Nope, straight into sump chamber one prior to the skimmer. I'm sure some make sit into the display and sits where all the detritus sits so the occasional gravel vac may remove it, or it may not.

 

[mhucasey]

The build up thing has always worried me about lanthanum.. Where does all the bound p go if it isn't getting trapped or skimmed out? And there's no way it's all getting removed..
I don't know the chemistry behind it..
Do you dose into your skimmer?

Once Phosphate is bound to Lanthanum it is almost completely insoluble, it just becomes inert detritus.

 

[aggie13reef]

Everything is looking great Mark, that cousin it is going to be pretty insane. What is the acro in the picture below the horrida, is it weird that I like that one the best?