Mhucasey's SPS obsession

[reefmutt]

This is fascinating information.

What I'd like to know is if there's a way to bind the nitrogen before it causes cyano issues. Or if it's just preferable to use salifert AA off the top.

That's the trick, isn't it?
Everything is binding nitrogen on a reef.. You just have to get the right things binding it.. Like good bacteria, algea in a fuge, corals..

 

[Reefvet]

Where do you get the information about the difference in Nitrogen between the two products? A while back you said something to the effect of "once you look at the ingredients you will understand why Acropower causes cyano". Salifert AAs list the ingredients as:amino acids and amino carbohydrates
Acropower lists their ingredients as: not listed

Salifert adds carbohydrates (simple sugars contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms) and AP has none added. The added carbon feeds useful, cyano inhibiting bacteria.

Dose carbon along with the AP and you'll find you can suppress the cyano easily.

Both were tested in our lab using standard methods to determine Nitrogen. This is perhaps the first and most common test run when you're trying to grow anything and you're looking at all the components being added to your system.

 

[reefmutt]

Again... Very interesting!
So what about most other amino acid additives like Zeo or Polyp Lab which have a mix of aminos.. Or at least I know Polyp Lab's aminos are a comprehensive mix with no aspartic acid added..
Would this type of amino additive benefit from a carbon addition as well?
Or do the many aminos in these products mess with the carbon+aspartic acid, cyano reducing formula?

 

[mhucasey]

Salifert adds carbohydrates (simple sugars contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms) and AP has none added. The added carbon feeds useful, cyano inhibiting bacteria.

Dose carbon along with the AP and you'll find you can suppress the cyano easily.

Both were tested in our lab using standard methods to determine Nitrogen. This is perhaps the first and most common test run when you're trying to grow anything and you're looking at all the components being added to your system.

Good info, thanks! Any more detail on what is specifically in Acropower? I ask because Steve Garrett told me he tasted it and it was super sweet- which led him to speculate that Aspartame was a component. From what I read that wouldn't work, but Aspartic acid is a component of Aspartame. Is Aspartic acid sweet on its own?

 

[mhucasey]

I present....sand!

 

[MichaelW]

I present....sand!

Always love it when you have nice fresh white sand added. Just adds a whole new dimension. Hard part is keeping it that gorgeous bright white

 

[mhucasey]

Well it's pretty fine and maybe 1/2cm -1.5cm deep, so it will move around a lot and hopefully stay fairly white. At this point I'm just happy it's not dark red like the Coraline algae bottom was:thumbsup:

 

[biggles]

Looks crazy good Matt, it might be a lot easier to run BB but nothing can match the look of a sand bottomed SPS heavy display :thumbsup: I bet the acro colors are popping brighter now when you look at the display

 

[mhucasey]

Looks crazy good Matt, it might be a lot easier to run BB but nothing can match the look of a sand bottomed SPS heavy display :thumbsup: I bet the acro colors are popping brighter now when you look at the display

I 100% agree, I didn't want a bare bottom tank, I just thought I'd be stuck with it because the sand would just blow away...I'm very happy it's staying put!

 

[joshky]

It looked great before, but I'm definitely a sucker for a nice clean sand bed. Looking really great Matt!

I'm having the problem of my sand blowing away right now, the tank being so shallow isn't doing me any favors.

 

[reefmutt]

+1 on what Andrew said.
Super nice!
Looks sooo great!
Brighter tank, brighter corals, happier wrasses..
Even if an area here or there blows away, I find it gives the tank a natural current blown look anyways. With the corraline on the bottom the exposed areas just seem like a deeply buried rock..

 

[M007]

Wow

 

[M007]

Wow

Looks very HD with the sand :bigeyes:

 

[markalot]

I present....sand!

Yay for sand, though I think both ways looked great.

 

[glaukos]

Looks good now too matt!!

 

[nemodan]

Nice !!!! Sand provides contrast and reflect light in a different way. Congrats for such beautiful tank !!!!

Daniel

 

[mhucasey]

Thanks everyone, Im loving the sand myself. I went shopping at AquaSD today, brought some new beauties home with me:

Blue Bomber:

Rainbow Loripes:

Yellow Tenuis:

Aussie Tenuis:

 

[mhucasey]

Whoopsie, I noticed yesterday that there was a little air space at the top of the pellet reactor but I was busy with something else and didn't think enough about it. I looked at the reactor tonight and the liquid inside was milky...I realized that the reactor has been recirculating but not pulling in fresh water for at least a day or so...

I adjusted the valves and the skimmer went crazy and the tank got a big dose of bacteria. All of a sudden several corals that have shown less polyp extension in the past few days were super fuzzy. Luckily no Hydrogen Sulfide smell, but the bacteria did lend a funky aroma.

I had done a Nitrate test just before this and it showed higher than the 5ppm it is usually at. That was what made me check over the reactor - good thing I did!

 

[cFloor]

Excellent pick ups Matt. That Loripes is beautiful. I love how they look when they grow out. And as others have said, the sand looks awesome!

 

[mhucasey]

Excellent pick ups Matt. That Loripes is beautiful. I love how they look when they grow out. And as others have said, the sand looks awesome!

I agree, the Loripes is pretty amazing. I got the corals I scoped out before the sale, so Im very happy with the pick up. I'm super happy about the sand, the tank looks so different!

FTS from tonight, more rearranging has been done to accommodate the new purchases:

And the flubber tank...I do almost nothing on this tank, its on autopilot. I clean the glass when it gets hazy enough that it starts looking unsightly, and throw food in...thats it: