Mark's 150 gallon

[Pife]

Hate to say this but I am an electrician and I don't believe that you have found your issue at 1500 watts at 120 volts your just barely above 12 amps. That should not trip even a 15 amp breaker. You would need to go above 1800 watts of power used. Of course all of this imho.

 

[markalot]

Hate to say this but I am an electrician and I don't believe that you have found your issue at 1500 watts at 120 volts your just barely above 12 amps. That should not trip even a 15 amp breaker. You would need to go above 1800 watts of power used. Of course all of this imho.

I used 110 in my calculations which is wrong, it's 120.

And right, it's 1800W not 1500.

This is why I post my thinking here.

So something tripped the breaker, cause still unknown.

 

[Pife]

I would be suspect of your heater or that exhaust fan.

 

[markalot]

I would be suspect of your heater or that exhaust fan.

I don't like GFI but the heater is on GFI. I suppose there are means of failure that would not trip GFI first ...

I have a replacement heater since this one is over a year old.

 

[Pife]

I don't like GFI but the heater is on GFI. I suppose there are means of failure that would not trip GFI first ...

I have a replacement heater since this one is over a year old.

I don't run any gfi's for my tank. They would only prevent me from getting shocked and I personally would rather my tank stay running then have an errant trip on a GFCI. They do not protect against over current just the difference of current between the neutral and hot to tell if something is taking some of the current your body ect.

I know others have different opinions on the subject though.

 

[glaukos]

Hi Mike, thanks. It's getting pretty heavy flow this time around and growing thicker than the previous version. My wife, who is not a coral lover, saved the old skeleton of the stylo because she thought it was neat it grew so large from a small frag. That version has long thin branches.

Have exactly the same results with heavy flow too bud.:beer:
Good call there from the wife,i find old coral's skeletons to make the best ''base'' for the new ones

 

[markalot]

A few pics.

I take the huge mariculcured valida for granted. The night sky look of the base is the coolest feature.

Pinky is ever so slowly regaining areas of deep pink after it and the smaller frag bleached badly.

I've tossed all branches of the blue stag except the small piece and this larger branch. Skin turned brown and started to peal in what I think was a reaction to the low Alk. Maybe these will finally turn blue again, parts are getting there.

This little dude, hurt bad in the big tank crash, has woken up. Fingers crossed!

 

[Pife]

Your tank is a great inspiration Mark. That fts is a thing of beauty.

 

[mhucasey]

Unreal Mark, that looks fantastic!! Do you have a feeling ultimately what happened through the tank issues and subsequent recovery? I can't wait for the Acros to take off with some real growth, its been a slow turn-around for me but I see improvement every day.

 

[nemodan]

Mark....that FTS is amazing. Your tank is one of the best. Congrats !!!

Daniel

 

[kevlow]

It has already be said several times but that FTS is pretty awesome. It deserves several mentions at least. I like that each individual coral jumps out at the viewer. Inspiring.

 

[markalot]

Your tank is a great inspiration Mark. That fts is a thing of beauty.

Thanks Pife, persistence pays off, something I was not sure of a year ago.

Unreal Mark, that looks fantastic!! Do you have a feeling ultimately what happened through the tank issues and subsequent recovery? I can't wait for the Acros to take off with some real growth, its been a slow turn-around for me but I see improvement every day.

I think instability of PO4 and KH combined did long term damage, it's the only thing that makes sense to me.

Mark....that FTS is amazing. Your tank is one of the best. Congrats !!!

Daniel

Thank Daniel. I still have a ways to go before I get the crowded mature look that I love about your tank.

It has already be said several times but that FTS is pretty awesome. It deserves several mentions at least. I like that each individual coral jumps out at the viewer. Inspiring.

Thanks Kev. All by accident, I assure you.

So Xenia ... I've had a lot of helpful suggestions for combating it but I stumbled on the perfect tool, for me anyway, at the grocery store.

Ice Tongs

Incredibly simple, flexible, and it doesn't let go of the Xenia. I pulled a LOT out before the FTS above.

 

[markalot]

I'm lucky this monti tolerates lower light since the Xenia is constantly shading it out.

Monti Tour

Setosa, this one very slow growing.

Saved a tiny chip of blueberry capitata during the crash and have pretty much ignored the poor thing during my acro obsession.

Same goes for this green with blue polyps cap. I glued a chip to one of my fake branches and left it over here to die. As if caps ever die.

One observation to add about this last pic. That poor blue stag frag, which looks healthier than any other I have, is a mean SOB. It fell on and killed half the monti frag below it. So far anything a blue stag has touched is dead. I'm afraid to move this little piece because it remains healthy. Way down at 150 PAR and steady slow flow this piece is trying to tell me something.

 

[glaukos]

A few pics.

.....no words....just...:inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove:

 

[nemodan]

About the Xenia. I love the pulsating ones. I had a lot and i was keeping then in line cutting them with a scissor. If i wanted to stop them growing then i will cut them near the rock on cover it with putty ....done.

Now, for unknown reasons, i just have a small spot and they do not extend. They just survive there.

Cheers
Daniel

 

[markalot]

Thanks Mike and Daniel.

I dropped PO4 too low and am paying a small price with some minor bleaching and base recession. PO4 on the ULR reads 9 which for me is way lower than I usually run and this is after reducing PhosphateRx usage to 3 and now down to 2. PhosphateRx is strong stuff, keep out of reach of children. :lolspin:

I've dimmed my LED strips to slow things down a bit, monitoring KH daily.

NO3 - trace (salifert)
KH 7.2 (hanna), .67 (salifert)

2 drops PhosphateRx daily
2 drops MicroE
2 drops Kalum

Feeding aprox 1/4 tsp Reef Roids, Reef Chili, or Coral Frenzy every day.

Colors are improving on most corals, just need the bases to get healthy again.

 

[Pife]

Thanks Mike and Daniel.

I dropped PO4 too low and am paying a small price with some minor bleaching and base recession. PO4 on the ULR reads 9 which for me is way lower than I usually run and this is after reducing PhosphateRx usage to 3 and now down to 2. PhosphateRx is strong stuff, keep out of reach of children. :lolspin:

I've dimmed my LED strips to slow things down a bit, monitoring KH daily.

NO3 - trace (salifert)
KH 7.2 (hanna), .67 (salifert)

2 drops PhosphateRx daily
2 drops MicroE
2 drops Kalum

Feeding aprox 1/4 tsp Reef Roids, Reef Chili, or Coral Frenzy every day.

Colors are improving on most corals, just need the bases to get healthy again.

What number are you shooting for in the ULR? Which is the food that gives you the best feeding response?

 

[markalot]

What number are you shooting for in the ULR? Which is the food that gives you the best feeding response?

I like all 3 foods, with Reef Roids always seeming to produce the bigger response but that's purely casual observation. Reef Chili seems a little large for SPS but an older academic study showed it and Reef Roids increased growth of a montipora. Reef Frenzy looks like a god mix of particle sizes and I do see some feeding response, the slimer seems to like it, but nothing notable.

I like PO4 in the .04 to .06 range. If it's testing a little under .03 now it was certainly lower a few days ago, which is very bad in my book. This is exactly how I've killed tanks before, it's like a personality flaw with me. Something tells me the tank would do better with lower PO4 and I succeed all to well in lowering it. Fortunately, this time, the drop was likely slow due to dosing rather than chucking a bunch of GFO into a reactor and then wondering why everything was suddenly bleaching.

 

[Pife]

Thank you. I ordered the trial pack of reef roids and it came in destroyed so then it took me several months to get a refund. I vowed never to use them because of that but I have been hearing nothing but great reviews.

 

[slin1977]

The shape and growth of your colonies are sublime and beautiful.
This looks on point Mark.