Mike's 200g

Just read through your thread. You have some awesome corals. I am hoping my efflo looks like yours in year or two and that Tenius is very cool.

I noticed you are in Kirkland. I am in Sammamish. I suggest you frag those Borealis and Selago trouble makers and I'll happily take the bits off your hands!

I am struggling with low nutrients as well on a relatively new 4 month old tank. I am running AIO pellets and I assumed that was the primary cause. Your low nutrients sound a bit mysterious. I also get an algae haze after 24 hours but I still trust my test kits based on several of my pale colored corals. A few corals are holding their color well but most are on the pale side.

I am feeding heavily and reducing the volume of biopellets trying to slowly raise nutrients with limited success. I always test 0 on the nitrates (Elos) and occasionally get a blip of PO4 (Hanna). It is a 90G (also from Oceans by Design) with 11 small to medium fish so meets or exceeds the Biggles recommended fish quotient. I just started small doses of Calcium Nitrate - another freshwater plant fertilizer. Colors might be improving a little but too early to tell.

I'll be following your thread to see how N dosing works for you.

-Greg
 
seaguy7 said:
Just read through your thread. You have some awesome corals. I am hoping my efflo looks like yours in year or two and that Tenius is very cool.

I noticed you are in Kirkland. I am in Sammamish. I suggest you frag those Borealis and Selago trouble makers and I'll happily take the bits off your hands!

I am struggling with low nutrients as well on a relatively new 4 month old tank. I am running AIO pellets and I assumed that was the primary cause. Your low nutrients sound a bit mysterious. I also get an algae haze after 24 hours but I still trust my test kits based on several of my pale colored corals. A few corals are holding their color well but most are on the pale side.

I am feeding heavily and reducing the volume of biopellets trying to slowly raise nutrients with limited success. I always test 0 on the nitrates (Elos) and occasionally get a blip of PO4 (Hanna). It is a 90G (also from Oceans by Design) with 11 small to medium fish so meets or exceeds the Biggles recommended fish quotient. I just started small doses of Calcium Nitrate - another freshwater plant fertilizer. Colors might be improving a little but too early to tell.

I'll be following your thread to see how N dosing works for you.

-Greg
Click to expand...

Thanks for stopping in. Yeah not really sure why I have low nutrients either. I also have AIO pellets but havnt run them yet for obvious reasons.
I havnt started the no3 doses yet, first going to see just upping some feeding, acropower, and maybe some fauna marin color elements. Anything I do start doing I will note it on here.
Mike at OBD makes good tanks, I'm sure yours is great. Do you buy much livestock from him 2?
 
I've never used oyster feast and I really have my doubts about whether the sps actually entrap and ingest any of it but I'm pretty certain that it is a very rich source of organics which must be converted nicely to n and p.. The sps would benefit from that in your situation.. Better than aminos?? Tough question..
 
Added a few new pieces to the tank yesterday. 6 maricultured pieces and a couple freebie frags.
Since increasing my feeding a little and upping the acro power and sponge power I am noticing maybe a little deeper color, also I little more greenish algea on rock. Not necessarily bad just something I noticed. No3 still testing 0. Not tested po4
I am also a little annoyed with my hanna alk checker. Tested 3 times in a row with 3 different results with a 20 ppm spread.
 
FTS from today. This is right off camera with only resizing. Tweaking could be done to get colors more realistic, but it's not too far off. I took it with a lot of white light to try and make it not washed out. FTS`s are hard

 
cFloor said:
Tank looks beautiful Michael, and yes FTS are tough. That efflo is such a cool center piece, I love it!
Click to expand...

Yeah I love the efflo. The tank is missing a beautiful regal like yours though. LFS actually has a regal in (not a yellow belly though) and I've been so tempted, but I'm just too scared to risk it nipping... I love polyp extension.
 
MichaelW said:
I am also a little annoyed with my hanna alk checker. Tested 3 times in a row with 3 different results with a 20 ppm spread.
Click to expand...

+1, had a little tip burn start last week, Hana tested ALK at 7.6. Cross checked with a brand new Salifert, ALK came in at 8.7. Not impressed. All other perams within expected range. Reagent was opened 3 weeks ago after dumping the previous batch due to floating debris. Just about to dump this little egg in the trash :mad2:
 
M007 said:
+1, had a little tip burn start last week, Hana tested ALK at 7.6. Cross checked with a brand new Salifert, ALK came in at 8.7. Not impressed. All other perams within expected range. Reagent was opened 3 weeks ago after dumping the previous batch due to floating debris. Just about to dump this little egg in the trash :mad2:
Click to expand...

I hadn't really noticed it before and had only really ever Tested once at a time. The results seemed consistent with the previous test and I would adjust my dosing based on it. That time, suddenly my result was much higher, so I retest, only to have it come out lower. I will change to a new bottle of reagent for next test.
 
Here is one of my new additions, a coroliana I think. Pic took with the cell phone and then I disovered an editing tool on phone I played around with. Clearly it is overdone (my sand is not purple) but it was fun to mess around with. The coral itself actually is a really bright fantastic green with cool structure. Pic was taken just after introduction to tank. Currently it's on sand bed, don't know where I want it yet.

 
Quick update
Parameters tested last night
Alk 7.1 dkh... Had got to 6.6 so been raising it back to around 7.3
Ca 370... Also dropped
Mg1350
No3. 0.2...... Finally a reading!!!
Po4 still 0.00 on Hanna (not Ulr) :(

Additives I have been using
15 ml acro power twice a week
5 drops kz sponge power per day
Plus the trace in my fauna Marin balling lite

I am about to start fauna Marin color elements to try and push colors more. I am thinking starting with 5 ml once per week of each bottle, any one with experience with these products think this is a good idea/ start dose?

I also plan on adding more fish. A group of anthias (prob just go with lyretails) and want to find a lineatus. Then one more show fish but don't know what... Any ideas?

As of this weekend I am looking after 15 corals in my tank that are not mine, ranging from frags to fairly good size pieces. Will have added a bit of instability in dosing demands etc so I will have to keep an eye on it. Does make the tank look really full though.

Some pics

My fave wild blue tennis still going strong



Pink lemonade .. Love this coral



Hawkins.. Actually growing and didn't stn within 2 hours this time

 
Pearlberry





New wild piece.. Think plana.. Similar to pearlberry but more flouro in base. Been in tank 2 weeks now I think



 
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