MrineLfRlz
Active member
I was thinking about trying to fit some ati reflectors in the fixture they might just fit.
Mhucasey's SPS obsession
- Thread starter mhucasey
- Start date
MrineLfRlz
Active member
How often should you change out the t5 bulbs, every 7-8 months?
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Heh heh, that's what makes them so compelling- for no seeming good reason they all of a sudden start growing or melt down.:uhoh3:
MrineLfRlz
Active member
Im so jealous lol
I cant wait until the first week of next month fixture time!
btw.. i ordered some ati reflectors for my sun blaze they will be here next week i will see what it did for par.
I cant wait until the first week of next month fixture time!
btw.. i ordered some ati reflectors for my sun blaze they will be here next week i will see what it did for par.
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Everything is looking great in your reef!
Having read the number of T5 bulbs you've tried I'm curious what's sold you on the LED replacements ?
It seems like it might be hard to tell what effect, if any, they have given the large compliments of T5s you're using.
Also, a few pages back you listed your dosing regimen and all the AF products you're using. I'm curious if you're using their GFO because you found it to be different that other GFO or just because you went with their full product line ?
Any info would be appreciated. I've been using AF products for quite a while.
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Thanks guys, I work hard to mix and match the colors so that there is a variety throughout the tank. I'm excited to see it all grown in
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
I would think that they will help a lot, if you could rig a fan that would help as well.
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Thanks! Always good to hear from someone else who has been using AF. The LED tubes provide that 450NM fluorescence that is harder to find in T5 tubes, and would hopefully eliminate the need for bulb replacements for the bulbs I swap out. At worst I will use them on the Flubber tank to reduce the costs there, at best if they prove to be an adequate replacement, I would swap out more blue plus tubes for them. I won't use them at all if I see any loss of color from them. For now, they do enhance the fluorescence and color noticeably even though there are just two tubes.
I have had a lot of bad experiences with GFO in the past, between the brown rust water that it produces that takes forever to rinse away, to the lack of effectiveness without using large amounts, to several clams dying within hours of adding GFO. I think the iron that GFO leaches is the cause of a lot of problems that this hobby experiences and blames on other things. That being said, I have been feeding extra heavy lately with the addition of new fish and I wanted to bring the phosphate levels a bit lower(for science
). Perry talked me into giving it a try. The AF phosphate minus is totally different than any GFO I have ever used- first off, it looks like coffee grounds- black and moist and no powder. It didn't seem to need to be rinsed. It is very clean stuff. I put some in a mesh bag and ran it that way to see what happened. After a couple of days, phosphate levels dropped, and at last check I was down to 0.03ppm PO4. I have even begun to experiment with reducing the amount of NP pro. If I can keep the phosphate levels in check this way, it would be pretty awesome.
The AF GFO is granular ferric oxide hydroxide, and appears to be identical to Rowaphos.
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Welcome and thanks for the compliment
. I appreciate you taking the time to read through the thread!
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Update:
Four weeks went by quickly, so it was time to change out the zeolites with a fresh liter. While I was at it I changed out the 9tbsp Phosphate minus as well. Since the PO4 value has stayed low to the end of this batch of Zeolites, I'm very curious how much more it will drop now.
Four weeks went by quickly, so it was time to change out the zeolites with a fresh liter. While I was at it I changed out the 9tbsp Phosphate minus as well. Since the PO4 value has stayed low to the end of this batch of Zeolites, I'm very curious how much more it will drop now.
reefmutt
Active member
Happy Saturday!
Matt, theses shots are nice!! The fts has a really nice range of colors. They are definitely coming out nicely!
The first one is a tricolor?? It's very interesting looking.. Not typical.. Unless it isn't a valida..
Your reds are getting very good as well... In getting jealous!
I have used rowaphos you many years, pretty much exclusively as I've found it to be by far the most efficient gfo on the market but it is reeeeealy dirty. It requires a lot of washing to sufficiently remove the fines and brown water..
Aquaforest phosphate minus doesn't require any washing?
Anyways... Looking very good!
How many drops np pro are you using and where is n at the moment?
Also, how much micro e are you using? I noticed you mentioned you were going to up the dose a bit.. Any noticeable effect on cyano?
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Thanks! When I got that coral it was like a tricolor with a little bit bluish color. I don't know what is happening with it now, but I like it!
The first few scoops of phosphate minus I tried were extremely clean, I rinsed with RO and nothing rinsed out. I didn't rinse the second batch at all. This one was farther down in the container and I rinsed a little bit of residue out this time. Unlike GFO, it rinsed quickly and then ran clear right away.
I'm dosing 8 drops NP Pro daily, split into two two doses, and 8 drops MicroE. Cyano is minimal, but not entirely gone.
That
The first few scoops of phosphate minus I tried were extremely clean, I rinsed with RO and nothing rinsed out. I didn't rinse the second batch at all. This one was farther down in the container and I rinsed a little bit of residue out this time. Unlike GFO, it rinsed quickly and then ran clear right away.
I'm dosing 8 drops NP Pro daily, split into two two doses, and 8 drops MicroE. Cyano is minimal, but not entirely gone.
That
milsaltnewbie07
New member
Wow Matt tank is crazy. What is that acro in the second to last pic. The redish/pinkish one. Are you doing micro e at all?
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Thanks, that coral is a Millie I got 3+ years ago. When I got it it was brown, but it gained color under T5s. It was a big colony, but it dried out too much when I did the tank upgrade last year and I lost all but a few small pieces of it. It's colored nicely, now I just need it to get going growing!
This is what it looked like when the colony was going strong:
I've been dosing 8 drops MicroE each day.
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