markalot
...
Thanks! Mine always stays full even when nitrates are 0. I have seen that before but not in this tank.
Thankyou both, sorry for the delayed reply. I have top downs finally.
Mark's 150 gallon
- Thread starter markalot
- Start date
Thanks! Mine always stays full even when nitrates are 0. I have seen that before but not in this tank.
Thankyou both, sorry for the delayed reply. I have top downs finally.
markalot
...
Absolutely gorgeous MarkThe tank is looking stunning! You must be pretty happy with how it's running!
How is the reef going Mark, as well as it looks in those last yummy pics i hope
Thanksyou guys, sorry it's been so long. Busy summer!
Nope, I will review dosing in an upcoming topdown post.
markalot
...
Ok, whew, finally took some topdown shots. I'm pretty darn happy with everything.
Some background:
So it's been a very busy summer. My son was bit badly by a dog on the face, numerous stitches, will have a scar but not too bad, nothing life changing or anything. He started college as well so we've been busy coordinating that.
I put the tank on auto pilot with minimal maintenance, deciding to stick to what I knew worked and was needed and doing everything else as I had time.
- I kept the skimmer cleaned and made sure it was skimming at a regular rate.
- Made sure Alk stayed as close to 7.0 as possible.
- Made sure I dosed the following every morning.
2 drops PhosphateRx
2 drops AF Vitality
2 drops MicroE
Everything else was done in the afternoon when I had time and sometimes skipped for a few days.
1 drop ProBioS
2 drops Pohls extra special
2 drops CaNO3
If I thought things looked off I would do a small 2 or 3 gallon water change but so far I've only done two of these.
I've tried to feed the tank coral food twice a week but there have been a few weeks where only a single feeding was done.
So far the only negative thing I've noticed is recession in deeply shaded areas. The big Valida base has receded and 2 branches of the Katropora RTN'ed back to branch crotches and stopped (this was weeks ago).
You would think things might not look so hot but these are some of the best top down's this tank has produced.
The only frag added in the last year, that boring green one. :lmao:
Some background:
So it's been a very busy summer. My son was bit badly by a dog on the face, numerous stitches, will have a scar but not too bad, nothing life changing or anything. He started college as well so we've been busy coordinating that.
I put the tank on auto pilot with minimal maintenance, deciding to stick to what I knew worked and was needed and doing everything else as I had time.
- I kept the skimmer cleaned and made sure it was skimming at a regular rate.
- Made sure Alk stayed as close to 7.0 as possible.
- Made sure I dosed the following every morning.
2 drops PhosphateRx
2 drops AF Vitality
2 drops MicroE
Everything else was done in the afternoon when I had time and sometimes skipped for a few days.
1 drop ProBioS
2 drops Pohls extra special
2 drops CaNO3
If I thought things looked off I would do a small 2 or 3 gallon water change but so far I've only done two of these.
I've tried to feed the tank coral food twice a week but there have been a few weeks where only a single feeding was done.
So far the only negative thing I've noticed is recession in deeply shaded areas. The big Valida base has receded and 2 branches of the Katropora RTN'ed back to branch crotches and stopped (this was weeks ago).
You would think things might not look so hot but these are some of the best top down's this tank has produced.
The only frag added in the last year, that boring green one. :lmao:
Last edited:
codydemmel4
Active member
wow Mark, everything is looking great!!
How often are you feeding your fish?
How often are you feeding your fish?
markalot
...
Wrangy
Acrotrooper
You can be excused on your lack of updates Mark because that photo-bomb was just unreal!! The tank is looking splendid man!! :inlove: :inlove:
I hope your son has/had a speedy recovering! That would have been nasty, sounds like he had a pretty full on summer heading off to college as well!
I hope your son has/had a speedy recovering! That would have been nasty, sounds like he had a pretty full on summer heading off to college as well!
codydemmel4
Active member
how long have you been dosing af vitality and why do you dose it?
I have it but have not dosed it in months.
I have it but have not dosed it in months.
reefmutt
Active member
Hey Mark, same boat-- busy lately.. I had a quick look and your tank continues to shine!
Soonnice. I'll come back to droool more over the pics.
Sorry to hear about your son! That kind of thing makes a parent crazy because there is noting you can do to control the situation.. hope he recovers well.. may I ask what type of dog bit him?
Soonnice. I'll come back to droool more over the pics.
Sorry to hear about your son! That kind of thing makes a parent crazy because there is noting you can do to control the situation.. hope he recovers well.. may I ask what type of dog bit him?
nemodan
New member
Hi Mark , I am not happy hearing about your son bad experience and thanks God with not big issues to his face.
The tank looks great, as always. I can't remember, but from your postings on this page you are almost not doing water changes, correct?
All the best to your son and wish him a fast recovery.
Cheers
Daniel
The tank looks great, as always. I can't remember, but from your postings on this page you are almost not doing water changes, correct?
All the best to your son and wish him a fast recovery.
Cheers
Daniel
markalot
...
Sorry it took so long to reply.
I use a top down box that attaches to the camera lens.
Thanks Pife, he's doing very well fortunately.
Yea, pack all life experience into one summer like busy! Thank for the kind words.
I've been dosing it for 6 months now, I think. It's vitamins, smells like vitamins, and the health benefits seem solid with no adverse effects besides a little extra red cyano here and there.
Thanks Matt. Labradoodle or some nonsense. Seems like they are bred for lack of shedding. He made a few mistakes ... dog did not know him, approached near food bowl, etc. Not totally the dogs fault but I worry about dogs that are quick to defend with a bite like that.
Hi Daniel, I rarely do water changes unless something looks off without explanation. When I do water changes the tank looks a lot better after a few days so IMO a little more on a regular basis would do me well.
Thanks!
I use a top down box that attaches to the camera lens.
Thanks Pife, he's doing very well fortunately.
Yea, pack all life experience into one summer like busy! Thank for the kind words.
I've been dosing it for 6 months now, I think. It's vitamins, smells like vitamins, and the health benefits seem solid with no adverse effects besides a little extra red cyano here and there.
Thanks Matt. Labradoodle or some nonsense. Seems like they are bred for lack of shedding. He made a few mistakes ... dog did not know him, approached near food bowl, etc. Not totally the dogs fault but I worry about dogs that are quick to defend with a bite like that.
Hi Daniel, I rarely do water changes unless something looks off without explanation. When I do water changes the tank looks a lot better after a few days so IMO a little more on a regular basis would do me well.
Thanks!
markalot
...
So I often do things that make me question my sanity. I should preface this with tank is fine, no mistake that caused any issues but ...
I had been annoyed at how I was using more of the Alk two part than the Calcium. I think most people, at this point, would have quickly deduced that one of the dosers was off. Not me, no, I'd rather just complain about it rather than use logic!
Since balancing out the dosers and raising calcium up to more normal levels I think I've seen a definite health improvement in a few acros. I believe this has been going on for at least 3 months based on left over calcium jugs. It was when the Alk ran dry with calcium having 1/4 left that I realized there might be an issue. :headwallblue:
And yet the tank looks better than it ever has, really enjoying the stability of careful neglect. (I say careful because I do visit the tank daily and do needed maintenance, it's not ignored).
I had been annoyed at how I was using more of the Alk two part than the Calcium. I think most people, at this point, would have quickly deduced that one of the dosers was off. Not me, no, I'd rather just complain about it rather than use logic!
Since balancing out the dosers and raising calcium up to more normal levels I think I've seen a definite health improvement in a few acros. I believe this has been going on for at least 3 months based on left over calcium jugs. It was when the Alk ran dry with calcium having 1/4 left that I realized there might be an issue. :headwallblue:
And yet the tank looks better than it ever has, really enjoying the stability of careful neglect. (I say careful because I do visit the tank daily and do needed maintenance, it's not ignored).
markalot
...
Calcium had dropped to 380 :hmm2: and I've raised it to 400 for now. The real question is how long had it been that low. I've had some LPS issues, and some base recession and branch death on a few acros but only in shaded areas. Could be related though, stress plus poor conditions usually equals trouble.
Yesterday was get the hands back in the tank day. My goal, besides trimming the weeds, was to toss corals / frags I that were not happy or colorful and move a few things around to capitalize on the minimal space.
The Hawkins gets a spot up front after carefully removing all the Xenia that had grown around it. This was really fun since I did not remove it from the water. Amazingly it hardly lost any color, the brown being parts that were being shaded.
The Red Robin was in a bad spot, being shaded by an acro above it and the Xenia. I turned this stick around and re-positioned (leaning on an acro that refused to cooperate) so that it's also right up front.
Brown Robin
I could not give up my only frag rack so i chopped up a rock/frag mag thing so it fit in the narrow space. Not quite natural looking but better than a black plastic rack. Might be feeding time.
I want more of this little dude. It's grown a thick base at the same time it's started to branch out.
This odd damage might be related to low calcium. The odd blue/grey streaks instead of solid green. Looks interesting, but not right.
FTS You can see how the color is down a few notches, i figure it will take a few weeks to color back up. :headwallblue:
Yesterday was get the hands back in the tank day. My goal, besides trimming the weeds, was to toss corals / frags I that were not happy or colorful and move a few things around to capitalize on the minimal space.
The Hawkins gets a spot up front after carefully removing all the Xenia that had grown around it. This was really fun since I did not remove it from the water. Amazingly it hardly lost any color, the brown being parts that were being shaded.
The Red Robin was in a bad spot, being shaded by an acro above it and the Xenia. I turned this stick around and re-positioned (leaning on an acro that refused to cooperate) so that it's also right up front.
Brown Robin
I could not give up my only frag rack so i chopped up a rock/frag mag thing so it fit in the narrow space. Not quite natural looking but better than a black plastic rack. Might be feeding time.
I want more of this little dude. It's grown a thick base at the same time it's started to branch out.
This odd damage might be related to low calcium. The odd blue/grey streaks instead of solid green. Looks interesting, but not right.
FTS You can see how the color is down a few notches, i figure it will take a few weeks to color back up. :headwallblue:
markalot
...
Thanks Matt. I still expect it to crash any day now.
I feed twice a day, 3 times on weekends. Some algae flake but mostly Hikari pellets.
Coral food is usually once a week using BRS Reef Chili. I have used other products but Reef Chili works and is the least expensive. I was a fan of Reef Roids but most of it ends up in the sump for some reason.
Fish:
One Spot Foxface
Yellow Tang
Kole Tang
2 Lyretail Anthias
Sixline Wrasse
Yellow Tail Damsel
Coral Beauty Angel
Flame Angel
Blue Chromis
Male and Female Clown (false percula)
Midas Blenny
3 blue eyed cardinals
Somehow this crazy mix just works.
