Mhucasey's SPS obsession

[mhucasey]

Corals are looking good Matt!
What are the products you are going to start using from AF?
I know you have the pro bio s and np pro going.. What's next?
When do you think the aio pellets will be completely off?

Dan, I have never seen a tank using real ocean water do poorly.. There is definitely something in Mother Nature's water that is magic.
I have heard that the evaporated salts like H2ocean and Red Sea salts MAY contain some natural bacteria since the salts are not produced in a lab.. But I guess we don't know what types of bacteria. At least the AF salt has specific bacteria deliberately added to it.

For now just those two, I'll take the pellet reactor offline today. I'm due to receive the zeolites Monday, so the next step would be to add them and let everything stabilize. I have the coral A, B, E, and V- I'll start with those at half dose once the system has kicked in.

 

[Myka]

Regardless of the cyano in your system, your colors are spectacular! That pink coral (Mille?) with fuzzy green polyps - WOW!

I got the info from the guide and they recommended ProBio S and Np Pro for my specific tank since it's already established.
For fish only tanks, soft coral and LPS tanks, you use the "Bio S" bacterial strain, which seems heavy on the nitrifying bacterial strains, for SPS tanks you use "ProBio S" which is nitrifying and phosphate reducing bacteria. They also have "ProBio F" which are bacterioplankton - this would be added to SPS tank once established to provide a food source for SPS.

The carbon source is Np Pro in all cases.

Ah, ok. I couldn't make any sense of it all. :lol: I'm glad you figured it out. I'm going to go re-read it now then. Haha.

 

[tripdad]

Thank you for the info. much appreciated.

 

[mhucasey]

Took the BP reactor off line today, now I have a bunch of room under the tank for the Calcium reactor. I tested parameters last night after lights out:
Ca: 430
PO4: 0.00
NO3: 2.5
KH:7.3
Nothing new to report, the tank looks good other than the cyano. More coral pictures for you:

This Millie has been cooking for a couple of months, I like the direction its heading:

 

[mhucasey]

Regardless of the cyano in your system, your colors are spectacular! That pink coral (Mille?) with fuzzy green polyps - WOW!



Ah, ok. I couldn't make any sense of it all. :lol: I'm glad you figured it out. I'm going to go re-read it now then. Haha.

Thanks, that Millie was a "bonus coral" at Reef-a-palooza. I saw a hint of pink in it but it was green when I got it home and then it took two months for the pink to develop. A big colony of this one could be a real stunner!

 

[shih87]

It looks like mine dropped some, but I'm not sure how good the ORP probe is:

It also looks like PH crested higher yesterday but dipped lower this morning:

Mine is slowly drop but once water change, it up....

 

[mhucasey]

I'm not sure what the ORP numbers really mean in the tank, mine have been up around 400 right up to when i transitioned, even though I had Cyano all over. Its still interesting to watch though

 

[Reefvet]

If you add the two parts of two part together, you get saltwater with calcium carbonate.

Damn. I was going to stay clear of the several pages of confusion over this topic but with that comment I can't leave it alone. :uhoh3:

Corals and coralline consume the carbonate and the chloride in 2 part, that leaves NaCl (table salt) behind. This will raise salinity, very slowly. If you don't change water for an extended period of time you will eventually see an affect on specific gravity.

Specific gravity indicates the density of all molecules in solution. Salinity refers to the weight of the salt(s) in solution. They're corollaries, not synonyms.

Skimmers will remove some salts, lipids, solids and other dissolved organic compounds. An effective skimmer that is dry skimming can reduce the build up of NaCl from 2 part offsetting the increase in salinity, though that's all relative to the rest of your husbandry.

I'm not sure what the ORP numbers really mean in the tank, mine have been up around 400 right up to when i transitioned, even though I had Cyano all over. Its still interesting to watch though

Don't even get me started on how misunderstood ORP is for a hobbyist. I'll let RHF say it for me, and I quote, "So is ORP measurement and control recommended for nonscientists who also happen to be reef aquarists? My suggestion is no."

His article on ORP.

It is nice the see the Aquaforest products finally available here. I tested them a couple of years ago and they're very good. I hope you have good success with them.

Now why you don't have a 100 gallon tank in the back of your SUV for an occasional trip over to Scripps for free NSW I don't know because nothing beats the real thing. But that's another dicussion I guess.

 

[mhucasey]

Damn. I was going to stay clear of the several pages of confusion over this topic but with that comment I can't leave it alone. :uhoh3:

Corals and coralline consume the carbonate and the chloride in 2 part, that leaves NaCl (table salt) behind. This will raise salinity, very slowly. If you don't change water for an extended period of time you will eventually see an affect on specific gravity.

You misunderstood why i said that perhaps? I was responding to the comments about two part solutions not contributing to salinity. At a basic level combining two part solution does result in salty water and calcium carbonate. We dose them separately to prevent them from directly reacting with each other since we want the corals to use the calcium and alkalinity. This leaves sodium and chloride ions in the tank water.

Specific gravity indicates the density of all molecules in solution. Salinity refers to the weight of the salt(s) in solution. They're corollaries, not synonyms.

Ok. From the hobbyist point of view, rising salinity will also result in rising specific gravity.

Skimmers will remove some salts, lipids, solids and other dissolved organic compounds. An effective skimmer that is dry skimming can reduce the build up of NaCl from 2 part offsetting the increase in salinity, though that's all relative to the rest of your husbandry.

100% agree.

Don't even get me started on how misunderstood ORP is for a hobbyist. I'll let RHF say it for me, and I quote, "So is ORP measurement and control recommended for nonscientists who also happen to be reef aquarists? My suggestion is no."

100% agree. I got the probe for free with the Neptune and pay no real attention to it.

It is nice the see the Aquaforest products finally available here. I tested them a couple of years ago and they're very good. I hope you have good success with them.

I hope so too, in my opinion their products are competitively priced and the tanks that use their products are compelling.

Now why you don't have a 100 gallon tank in the back of your SUV for an occasional trip over to Scripps for free NSW I don't know because nothing beats the real thing. But that's another dicussion I guess.

No doubt, however you have to adjust the Scripps water for Alkalinity and Calcium, and added to hauling the water around, that seems like a hassle to me. I really dislike water changing - I do a lot of physical tasks with the aquarium without complaint but water changes are a real pain to me.

 

[mhucasey]

Update:
Lots of small bubbles on the sand, some cyano has disappeared. The corals are looking good, no issues there. The LPS corals look especially good. It took about twice as long for the glass to get a film of algae compared to before the change. Other than that, nothing new to report for today.

 

[mhucasey]

I finally got my hands on a digital drive peristaltic pump, so I went ahead and ordered my GEO 618 Calcium Reactor, the Aquariumplants.com Carbon doser regulator, and Reborn Media.

I also received the majority of my other Aquaforest products - gratuitous product shot:

I put in 300ml well-rinsed zeolites and 500ml Carbon.

 

[westreef]

Wow, you are all set. Hope your end results are similar to Debora's gorgeous tank. Please keep us posted.

 

[nemodan]

Matt... I got the Probiotic Salt Bucket today. But I have a family issue......Noone understand why I want to change the salt if all is going OK in the tank :-(

Cheers
Daniel

 

[mhucasey]

Matt... I got the Probiotic Salt Bucket today. But I have a family issue......Noone understand why I want to change the salt if all is going OK in the tank :-(

Cheers
Daniel

Because "ok" is never good enough for a reefer!:wavehand:

 

[reefmutt]

Because "ok" is never good enough for a reefer!:wavehand:

Yep.. True be that!!

 

[MichaelW]

Because "ok" is never good enough for a reefer!:wavehand:

100% my response when my wife says the tank looks "ok" or "fine". Seems like we all think alike

 

[nemodan]

100% my response when my wife says the tank looks "ok" or "fine". Seems like we all think alike

Thank you guys for your support. I will let all know when I get the divorce papers....... and those do not come from Amazon .......LOL

I hope my wife do not read this posting. She is really and Angel !!!!

Cheers all
Daniek

 

[reefmutt]

Just remember, Dan.. Your reef will never leave you!

 

[nemodan]

Just remember, Dan.. Your reef will never leave you!

That is soooo true .

But corals will not cook for me.:rollface:

 

[mhucasey]

Thank you guys for your support. I will let all know when I get the divorce papers....... and those do not come from Amazon .......LOL

I hope my wife do not read this posting. She is really and Angel !!!!

Cheers all
Daniek

Well you already have the salt, and it's not like you can take it back...