My 65 Gallon Mixed Reef

[Bello]

Hahaha....the problem biggles, is that I'm chopping frags....that are already bloody tiny

Thanks for the extensive info on your testing, I'm shocked that you test for PO4 twice a week, but that also explains why you don't have any algae headaches like I do?

Also, good info on your feeding regimen, I figure I feed about half of what you do, so that explains a lot .....yes my fish are starving....well, not really

Alright biggles, I took your advice and placed the SSC with higher light and better flow, but we all know that the PE will remain non-existent....so depress me with the top down SSC shot....I can handle it......I think

 

[Reef_Noob]

Biggles,
Your thread is a wealth of information!!!
Definitely deserves "Thread of the month"
And your tanks is showing beautiful growth and colour!!
A definite TOTM candidate already...
Thanks again for the detailed documentation...it's really helpful for an amateur like me.
:beer:

 

[Reef_Noob]

Hahaha....the problem biggles, is that I'm chopping frags....that are already bloody tiny

Thanks for the extensive info on your testing, I'm shocked that you test for PO4 twice a week, but that also explains why you don't have any algae headaches like I do?

Also, good info on your feeding regimen, I figure I feed about half of what you do, so that explains a lot .....yes my fish are starving....well, not really

Alright biggles, I took your advice and placed the SSC with higher light and better flow, but we all know that the PE will remain non-existent....so depress me with the top down SSC shot....I can handle it......I think

Hi Bello,
Check PO4...check PO4 again...then double check again with other test kits....
It's the bane of SPS keepers!!
When I see the values creeping up...I run GFO...
Get it down and take the GFO offline.
Are you running GAC and GFO?
Polyp extension...main factors to note are:
Flow, Alk and PO4...to an extent Nitrate too.
If your gonna run a new batch of GAC, get the SSC bit lower lit area cos the sudden increase in water clarity will nuke an already stressed coral.
For me...the key for SPS health is PE...it's definite proof the coral is healthy. Colour is secondary...a healthy coral will colour up nicely based on its location which might need bit of experimentation.
My advice...more foreplay to get good polyp "extension" and once achieved then select the right "position" for the frag :lol2:
Hope it helps

 

[biggles]

Hahaha....the problem biggles, is that I'm chopping frags....that are already bloody tiny

Thanks for the extensive info on your testing, I'm shocked that you test for PO4 twice a week, but that also explains why you don't have any algae headaches like I do?

Also, good info on your feeding regimen, I figure I feed about half of what you do, so that explains a lot....yes my fish are starving....well, not really

Alright biggles, I took your advice and placed the SSC with higher light and better flow, but we all know that the PE will remain non-existent....so depress me with the top down SSC shot....I can handle it......I think

Tried my best to adjust the colors, it looks like this in low light and gets yellower the higher you place it

A few more bits, Potatohead guards my SSC.........:strooper:

And yet another bit in a non color corrected shot Bello - remember you asked for this mate........

Biggles,
Your thread is a wealth of information!!!
Definitely deserves "Thread of the month"
And your tanks is showing beautiful growth and colour!!
A definite TOTM candidate already...
Thanks again for the detailed documentation...it's really helpful for an amateur like me.
:beer:

You're way too kind mate but thanks very much for letting me know you've found some of my musings helpful.

Hi Bello,
Check PO4...check PO4 again...then double check again with other test kits....
It's the bane of SPS keepers!!
When I see the values creeping up...I run GFO...
Get it down and take the GFO offline.
Are you running GAC and GFO?
Polyp extension...main factors to note are:
Flow, Alk and PO4...to an extent Nitrate too.
If your gonna run a new batch of GAC, get the SSC bit lower lit area cos the sudden increase in water clarity will nuke an already stressed coral.
For me...the key for SPS health is PE...it's definite proof the coral is healthy. Colour is secondary...a healthy coral will colour up nicely based on its location which might need bit of experimentation.
My advice...more foreplay to get good polyp "extension" and once achieved then select the right "position" for the frag
Hope it helps

Perfectly explained and i couldn't agree more with all of it mate, thanks for explaining it better than i could :beer:

Potatohead guards all my cool stuff tbh.........

 

[Bello]

Yeah I asked for it , SSC looks stunning :thumbsup:... I prefer the more green with pink tips/polyps combo, than the more pink version that you had before. And more yellowish would probably be just perfect. The contrast is awesome!!!... and the blue acro with potatohead is no slouch either...Gorgeous :thumbsup:

A question for you on the "Dallas Acro". I know you don't really like it much, but wanted to know your experience on it, if any. Anyways, the Dallas Acro, as I've read somewhere turns brownish under low nutrients, and green under higher levels. Is this correct?

If so, then it sounds like pretty much like a common Bali Green Stag. The reason I ask, is that mine have now turned brown with green polyps, which I obviously dislike. Comments?

@Reef Noob,
My PO4 levels are at 0.04ppm, which I wouldn't consider to be a lot. Either way, I'll probably do a GFO change to see if it makes a difference in PE. In any case, I have minimal PE on only about 5 frags out of 20 (SSC included). The rest of the corals have good PE, so I doubt its the PO4, but why not try....at the very least I'll get rid of some diatoms.

 

[biggles]

This is why Potatohead appears in so many top downs, he's a skunk stalker shrimp..............

The iphone video uncorrected is a tad blue but do we really care.......

 

[biggles]

Yeah I asked for it , SSC looks stunning :thumbsup:... I prefer the more green with pink tips/polyps combo, than the more pink version that you had before. And more yellowish would probably be just perfect. The contrast is awesome!!!... and the blue acro with potatohead is no slouch either...Gorgeous :thumbsup:

A question for you on the "Dallas Acro". I know you don't really like it much, but wanted to know your experience on it, if any. Anyways, the Dallas Acro, as I've read somewhere turns brownish under low nutrients, and green under higher levels. Is this correct?

If so, then it sounds like pretty much like a common Bali Green Stag. The reason I ask, is that mine have now turned brown with green polyps, which I obviously dislike. Comments?

Sorry mate i missed your post when i was putting the short vid up. Yeah i prefer the new SSC over the other one too
I've grown the Dallas stag, it would grow in a toilet if you threw it in there - that's how easy that stuff is to keep lol. I don't like green acros as you know but i will say you won't see a more richly saturated deep satin green stag ever. Grows very fast, easy to keep and if you like green stags you won't ever see a more beautifully deep satin green specimen. It would be a big favorite in the US as it has all the attributes that make a coral ideal for the hobbyist. It would only take the importers to contact their Aus collectors to arrange some frags of the stuff to be included with the fresh wild stuff.

You know how clean i keep my water and always have and my Dallas stags always looked almost glowing with the deep satin green color. I've seen lots of slimer pics, the Dallas stag puts it to shame in all regards and you would wet your bloody pants if you saw it in real life Bello - you green fiend.......
The only brown outs i used to see were in tanks with nitrates not under control, we didn't even test phos back then lol.
Btw it would look ridiculous under RB LED's because it glowed under the actinics i used way back when lol..........

 

[Bello]

Lol, thought you'd missed that

Crap, so now I'm really confused, as to why the slimer is looking pooey when everything else is fine. Looks like its time to run a few tests...Think its a demand for coral food?...I know you serve up the buffet

Hmm, this Dallas acro now sounds more intriguing...Got any old pics of it?.. You know how crazy I go over green stuff

 

[troubadour11]

Wow... Biggles... I have to say that all those new SCC frags don't look half as good as Potatohead does in all his close ups!!! Those stupid corals just get in the way of his beauty. Hehehe.

But it's a good thing he's there to guard them because they sure do look awesome! I will throw in my .02 and say I like the new ones better then the previous pieces. :thumbsup:

It looks like I'll continue to be long overdo for a PO4 test kit as well :facepalm: Seeing as how I've NEVER tested it in my system. Yet anyway. So I'm guessing that it's probably elevated PO4 that is giving me a good helping of rust colored diatoms all over? Although it does seem like if I change the flow in my tank, the diatoms get a little bit better. So I was thinking it could be a bit of flow issues.

Speaking of flow... I can't remember if we've discussed this. Do you run a wave maker on powerheads? A closed constant loop? I've been playing around with the timer setting on my wave maker and was wondering what would be a good ideal to start at for my mixed reef.

I also have a VERY small ball of cheato in that 75 fuge. And there's 3x as much rust color in my fuge then in the DT at least. But that's what it's there for, right? Shouldn't that start to increase it's rate of growth here soon (hopefully) and start to help stripping phosphate and nitrates out of the water (of course it will need to be harvested to fully remove it form the system)? It hasn't really grown much, but at least it hasn't died yet. The only other way to lower those levels would be with GFO and water changes right?

Hmmmm - Please attach a deep rich satin green Dallas Stag to the next homing angel fish you send trans pacific to me over in Cali. If it can grow in a toilet, I bet it can grow in my glass box right now :crazy1: I will take the green hit for my tank and grow it out to frag for credit at the LFS so they don't need to worry about importing it And +1 if you have any old pics of it. I'd love to see it as I've seen lots of green slimers over here.

How are the new floating magnet pieces doing? Are they settling into their new flow and light spots ok? I bet your new bigger tank will just have a floating cliff of SCC eventually. Who needs a backdrop or anything when you can grow a wall of that crazy colored stuff! :bounce1:

 

[biggles]

Hey guys,

I haven't got any of my old tank pics unfortunately Bello, i did have a couple of dvd's with all my old tank pics stored but i broke up with a long term girlfriend not realising they were at her place.......... those and about $1500- in reef books went in the bin or so she said when i asked
All my acros including the green clunkers are pretty crazily saturated with color atm and you know how much i feed whilst maintaining tight control over the water mate, a pinch of reef roids each night won't disrupt your algae management a great deal and from testing i know the corals consume it so that's my suggestion mate. There are many products out there but that one is a definite winner for SPS feeding if you want to pick just one. Pulverized mysis is another food greedily accepted by acros so rather than waste it on the fish fed whole try giving it to the corals at night instead for a while or split it up between the fish and corals like i do mate.

There's no time like the present to get a handle on your phos control Troub, the sooner the better and i'd be running GFO continually if i was you to remove all the excess phos that's likely in your system. I like to remove all the phos at the start that may be leaching from sand and rock etc so you end up with a system that only has the phos you add via feeding. Basically i like to strip the tank clean which is what i did when i ran it with nothing but RO and 2 part dosing going in for 2 months early on despite having acros already in the tank.
Water changes will help for sure and it's now when you don't have fussy corals to worry about that you should be keeping detailed logs of what your alk, cal and Mg are before and after water changes so when it does really matter you know exactly what the parameters will do at each change and can adjust dosing to keep things stable.
The term 'killing them with kindness' can be applied to water changes if you're doing large ones regularly without allowing for the swings they can cause. Don't get me wrong i think water changes are fine if you're into them but it's not as simple as just swapping out water, the water needs to be the same parameter wise or you need to dose to maintain your stable levels.
I have 4 pumps with only one controllable. I point it at the other main pump and have it ramping up from low to high over about 6-7 seconds which disrupts the flow from all the others giving me a swirling surging water flow around different areas of the tank.
The frags on the magnetic holders are all encrusting and coloring up so i'm pleased to see things are on track with that idea as i'm seriously going to plaster the back wall of the big tank with tables lol. Being able to move them around without putting my hands in the water is strange but cool.

Tested my potassium and it's 300 instead of 400 where it should be. I'd describe growth as slow atm and it's almost non existent on montis and seri's. I've ordered potassium as i'm beginning to think it's a tad more important than i previously thought. Might explain all my crappy looking seri's and sulking monti's......... worth a try :reading:

 

[sahin]

Biggles, my Potassium was at 290ppm a couple of months ago. Tested with the Salifert K test kit (which is the BEST kit out there).

My corals stopped growing too! At first I thought I was imagining it. I also started to get base tissue recession on some acros. Also, many of my corals had pale and or very poor colour.

I bought Potassium Chloride (powder form, was cheap http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/potassium-chloride-refill-pouch-primal-seas-marine-additives-100g-250g-500g-/280945978554?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&var=&hash=item4169af6cba) and dosed daily bringing the K up to 400ppm.

Incidentally, I further tested the Salifert K test and I was adding a calculated amount each time in my tank and knew what the increased amount should be, each time I tested with the Salifert kit it got it correct.

Anyway, within 2 weeks of upping the K to 400ppm, mate the growth returned and the coral colours are still improving each week.

One thing I took away from your thread is feeding the tank and corals lots. I basically doubled the amount I'm feeding the fishes; with variety of flakes and frozen foods. I also dosed KZ Amino Acids and Coral Vitaliser. I increased water changes because of the increased foods, as well as upping the GFO amount and started to use GAC as well.

My SPS have much better colour. My NO3 is less than 2ppm and PO4 is at 0.03ppm; main thing is corals are looking very healthy with amazing polyp extension and colour is improving weekly like I said.

Its probably here somewhere in the thread, but can you please tell me, do you use GAC and if so, how much and how often do you change it?

Many thanks.

PS keep the photos coming. Your acros are brilliant!

 

[biggles]

Biggles, my Potassium was at 290ppm a couple of months ago. Tested with the Salifert K test kit (which is the BEST kit out there).

My corals stopped growing too! At first I thought I was imagining it. I also started to get base tissue recession on some acros. Also, many of my corals had pale and or very poor colour.

I bought Potassium Chloride (powder form, was cheap http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/potassium-chloride-refill-pouch-primal-seas-marine-additives-100g-250g-500g-/280945978554?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&var=&hash=item4169af6cba) and dosed daily bringing the K up to 400ppm.

Incidentally, I further tested the Salifert K test and I was adding a calculated amount each time in my tank and knew what the increased amount should be, each time I tested with the Salifert kit it got it correct.

Anyway, within 2 weeks of upping the K to 400ppm, mate the growth returned and the coral colours are still improving each week.

One thing I took away from your thread is feeding the tank and corals lots. I basically doubled the amount I'm feeding the fishes; with variety of flakes and frozen foods. I also dosed KZ Amino Acids and Coral Vitaliser. I increased water changes because of the increased foods, as well as upping the GFO amount and started to use GAC as well.

My SPS have much better colour. My NO3 is less than 2ppm and PO4 is at 0.03ppm; main thing is corals are looking very healthy with amazing polyp extension and colour is improving weekly like I said.

Its probably here somewhere in the thread, but can you please tell me, do you use GAC and if so, how much and how often do you change it?

Many thanks.

PS keep the photos coming. Your acros are brilliant!

Hi Sahin, nice to hear from you mate
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with low potassium, i know you know your stuff with SPS so i'm more convinced than ever now that having potassium levels 25% lower than NSW is holding my SPS back. I just ordered the Brightwell potassium liquid as it was 1/3 the price of the zeo potassium and i'm a cheapskate reefer. Btw get this, they call it Potassion as if it's sexy reef perfume to your acros.....

Potassion........ let your polyps feel the sensual caress of........ Potassion !

Bloody idiots in their marketing dept. :hammer:

I'm glad to hear your SPS are doing well mate, i agree that feeding both the fish and the corals the right foods in high quantities whilst maintaining strict control over your algae and nutrient levels will lead a lot more reefers to success with richer more vibrant colors being displayed by their SPS. I think GFO is fantastic stuff and i use it on and off without hesitation passively. If i wanted to go nuts with food i might consider a reactor but passively works as long as you place the bag in the right spot to ensure good flow through it. My nitrates are always zero but the phos bounces around from 0.00-0.002 so whilst i run GFO if i see a reading on the Hanna for a week i stop when my eyes tell me the tank is getting that sterile look i don't want.
I stopped running a bag of carbon a month ago as i was only using it to polish the water really. I didn't see any effects to the tank at all either negative or positive. I always use carbon for a month and chuck it out as it's cheap and will use it again if i want to polish the water over a few days. I use the GFO for 8 weeks in total and change it over btw.
Have you started your tank journal yet Sahin, i'm looking forward to seeing your reef mate.

Video with just the T5's on so it's a bit reef porny lol. I fed the acros reef roids 5 mins earlier so the fish know it's their turn soon lol. Check out Potatohead stealing roids from the horrida on the right side, he lets you know what acros do and don't grab because he's an acro molesting food thief and is always stealing food from the corals. The hammers grab everything so he loves hanging out there at food time too lol - he's a cunning little bastard

 

[sahin]

Nice video mate. I just love how colourful your SPS are. Thanks for sharing your tank with us, there is much other reefkeepers can learn from your tank. It is a great example mate.

As for my tank thread, I will make one very soon. I am just waiting for some of my SPS to colour up. Some already have very nice colour, others are taking their time. My thread from about two years ago is just a memory...mate, I had such good colour in my acros back then. As soon as I am close to that again, I will make the thread.

Brightwell Potassion....stupid name...but whats worse is how dilute it is!
It states on the bottle:

1ml of Potassion in a 1 US-gallon of water will raise K+ by 21ppm!

So that means:

1ml of Potassion in a 100 US-gallon of water will raise K+ by 0.21ppm!

100ml in 100 USgallon will raise 21ppm...

500ml (whole bottle) in 100G will raise K+ by 105ppm!

The Potassium Chloride product is MUCH cheaper. I used probably 1/5 of it and raised my K+ by around 100ppm and it costs 1/2 as much!

I have lots left over to use on an on going basis if needed.

 

[Bello]

:lol: Potassion :lol:....Ridiculous!!!...I was contemplating purchasing that a couple days ago....

BTW, biggles, I usually dose 10ml of Reef Iodide (Seachem) weekly...so I guess that's why mine was at 350ppm, and not lower. Doubled the dose last week, and I'm at 390ppm in a 300g system ...Will probably stick with about 15ml weekly now onwards...

Nice vid.... colors look great, doesn't seem like low K has messed up with colors in your tank, that's for sure....

@Sahin
I remember your tank, the old thread...waiting

 

[biggles]

Nice video mate. I just love how colourful your SPS are. Thanks for sharing your tank with us, there is much other reefkeepers can learn from your tank. It is a great example mate.

As for my tank thread, I will make one very soon. I am just waiting for some of my SPS to colour up. Some already have very nice colour, others are taking their time. My thread from about two years ago is just a memory...mate, I had such good colour in my acros back then. As soon as I am close to that again, I will make the thread.

Brightwell Potassion....stupid name...but whats worse is how dilute it is!
It states on the bottle:

1ml of Potassion in a 1 US-gallon of water will raise K+ by 21ppm!

So that means:

1ml of Potassion in a 100 US-gallon of water will raise K+ by 0.21ppm!

100ml in 100 USgallon will raise 21ppm...

500ml (whole bottle) in 100G will raise K+ by 105ppm!

The Potassium Chloride product is MUCH cheaper. I used probably 1/5 of it and raised my K+ by around 100ppm and it costs 1/2 as much!

I have lots left over to use on an on going basis if needed.

Thanks for the kind words mate, i appreciate them a lot coming from you. I'm pleased to hear you are going to start a journal when things look up to scratch, looking forward to lots of yummy pics lol.....
Definitely going to source the cheap dry potassium as you have Sahin, thanks again for pointing out how much money i just wasted mate........ :lol2:

Potassion :lol:....Ridiculous!!!...I was contemplating purchasing that a couple days ago....

BTW, biggles, I usually dose 10ml of Reef Iodide (Seachem) weekly...so I guess that's why mine was at 350ppm, and not lower. Doubled the dose last week, and I'm at 390ppm in a 300g system ...Will probably stick with about 15ml weekly now onwards...

Nice vid.... colors look great, doesn't seem like low K has messed up with colors in your tank, that's for sure....

@Sahin
I remember your tank, the old thread...waiting

I have 2 bottles of that reefsex additive coming, one will basically lift me to 400 and the other should last a month or two i guess. I'll source a cheap bulk supplier in the meantime though. Bloody Iodide...... what the hell are you putting that in for Bello, it ain't a witches cauldron it's a reef tank....... how many bat wings and toad eyes do you dose while we're at it......... you might as well come clean mate
I have to agree that i really don't have any probs with colors at all other than the seri's and monti's so it will be interesting to see what happens over the next month when potassium levels are maintained at NSW levels with no other changes.

I ordered a 3ft LED light bar for cool evening viewing. 3W LED's, 14 x Royal Blue and 6 x UV (410nm) - saw it while looking for the potassium and impulse bought it.....:hmm2: I'll probably just leave it on all day with the other lights and turn it off last.

One of the banggais is dead, he was getting chased badly by the other one and i tried netting him to put him in the sump tank but i couldn't get him missing for 24 hours now and i have searched the entire room multiple times in case he jumped. Not in the weir or any other place so i guess he's in the rocks somewhere. I'm bummed about losing the little guy and p*ssed right off at the bully bastard one left.........

When i chopped the stylo up last week there was a brittle star living in the base branches so i carefully got him out with tweezers and dropped him in the display. I noticed yesterday that he's now taken up residence in a purple acro frag i stuck at the base of the red table. The acro doesn't seem to mind at all and he looks cool waving his dark arms about in the lighter purple branches.

I shall call him............ Barry

 

[sahin]

: Potassion....Ridiculous!!!...I was contemplating purchasing that a couple days ago....

BTW, biggles, I usually dose 10ml of Reef Iodide (Seachem) weekly...so I guess that's why mine was at 350ppm, and not lower. Doubled the dose last week, and I'm at 390ppm in a 300g system...Will probably stick with about 15ml weekly now onwards...

Nice vid.... colors look great, doesn't seem like low K has messed up with colors in your tank, that's for sure....

@Sahin
I remember your tank, the old thread...waiting

Bello, mate you only need a few drops of Iodide per week. Raising Potassium by dosing Iodide (ie Potassium Iodide) is CRAZY :crazy1:

Have a read of one of Randy's articles. But recalling from speed reading an article years ago; you will SEVERELY overdose the iodine levels before you even raise Potassium by ANY significant levels.

The most likely reason you have decent levels is because of the salt you are using and that you are doing regular water changes.

K level in my tank got so low because of my crappy salt. I am using TM Pro Reef...but mate, this salt keeps on solidifying...I am storing it the same way as I have done for the past few years...I suspect I have a bad batch...

But anyway, mate you only need a few drops of Iodine per week if that. Using mls of it will most likely be bad for your corals.

I have 2 bottles of that reefsex additive coming, one will basically lift me to 400 and the other should last a month or two i guess. I'll source a cheap bulk supplier in the meantime though.

2 bottles of that reefsex! :lol: I am still laughing mate as I am typing! Took me a second or two to work out what the heck you were talking about, but once I did I was like :lol: Potassion! HAHAHAHA What a stupid name...:lmao:

Bloody Iodide...... what the hell are you putting that in for Bello, it ain't a witches cauldron it's a reef tank....... how many bat wings and toad eyes do you dose while we're at it......... you might as well come clean mate
I have to agree that i really don't have any probs with colors at all other than the seri's and monti's so it will be interesting to see what happens over the next month when potassium levels are maintained at NSW levels with no other changes.

Witches Couldron! LOL You guys are funny!

One of the banggais is dead, he was getting chased badly by the other one and i tried netting him to put him in the sump tank but i couldn't get him missing for 24 hours now and i have searched the entire room multiple times in case he jumped. Not in the weir or any other place so i guess he's in the rocks somewhere. I'm bummed about losing the little guy and p*ssed right off at the bully bastard one left.........

Mate I have one Bangai in my tank...I had a PJ Cardinal as well...but the regular version one killed it...wouldnt let it go near his half of the tank and used to pester it at feeding times... Bangai's can be pretty mean to thier own kind.

I ordered a 3ft LED light bar for cool evening viewing. 3W LED's, 14 x Royal Blue and 6 x UV (410nm) - saw it while looking for the potassium and impulse bought it.....:hmm2: I'll probably just leave it on all day with the other lights and turn it off last.

I tell you mate, that is going to make your corals look awesome, but will make photography that much harder. Will look awesome late at night.

When i chopped the stylo up last week there was a brittle star living in the base branches so i carefully got him out with tweezers and dropped him in the display. I noticed yesterday that he's now taken up residence in a purple acro frag i stuck at the base of the red table. The acro doesn't seem to mind at all and he looks cool waving his dark arms about in the lighter purple branches.

I shall call him............ Barry

I want a Barry LOL. Barry looks cool. I had one of those years ago in my nano tank...back when the LiveRock coming into the UK WAS live...now its mostly cr@p. Mine had orange legs..never saw the central disc, always had a few legs sticking out and stayed in the same place.

Just done a water change on my tank. Really taking care of my tank lately...I miss having a tank thread, so hopefully my corals will reward me with nice colours soon and I can have a tank thread hehehe.

 

[Bello]

Reefsex????....I didn't even catch that till Sahin pointed it out :lol:

Biggles and Sahin,
Just realized how insane 20ml of Potassium Iodide sounds:blown:! Let me explain.....

While I admit that I suffer from frequent brain-farts, I've been very cautious about dosing anything with the system, still trying to keep things simple. A while ago, my ONLY reefer friend locally, purchased some Reef Iodide, and went a wee....well not really wee....more like "searching for the Titanic" type overboard. He has a 80g system, and was dosing a LOT of it, to the point that almost all acros just turned purple, you could pretty much dip your.....let's go with toe...in there and it'd turn purple. So, the amount I tried out to raise potassium was actually about 2/3rd of the recommended weekly dose. Admittedly, I failed to check out the exact concentrations...but given that I was doing 10ml weekly anyway, didn't see the harm. Happy to report and there's been no changes in the coral colors.:fun4:. So while not an exact science, I was pretty sure that I'd be ok. I did try out KZ K-Strong prior, but found it very diluted as well.

I'm using the Red Sea Regular type salt. K+ tests out at 390ppm, which is good enough for me :thumbsup:

I was hoping that I might see some saturation in colors after upping the dosing....nope!. And I've also realized that I'm also really bad at noticing subtle changes in color....:fun4:, it has to be the "in your face" type of a change, for me to really notice

The interesting question here I feel, is why did I experience low K+....No zeolites....salt at 390ppm...5-10% weekly water changes. So why? Needlewheel skimmer? I do remember Bob ("Aged Salt" from the Zeovit forums) mentioning the skimmer possibility :reading:

One more thing....while my friend was doing his overboard thing....his Monti Caps grew like crazy!!!!!....Mine??.... very little..all anecdotal I know

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I loved your latest video mate.

Apologies if you already mentioned it, but I would like to know the total turnover of the volume in your display tank please. My pumps (4 X Tunze 6055) plus the return from the sump turn over my display tank about 75 times per hour.

By the way, I like the idea of gluing corals to glass. I will borrow the concept as I have run out of space on live rock.

Finally, I also use Brightwell's Potassion-P (powdered form) :fun5: to keep up with Potassium depletion in my tank (about 10 ppm every ten days). When I run out of it, I will purchase potassium chloride directly from Ebay, which works out a lot cheaper.

 

[Bdial]

Biggles. I dose potassium, iodide, and iron. I can notice a difference in my montis almost the next day. When they look a little brown i dose K and Fe and the next day they are glowing. Ive been using the red sea kits. It seems efficient. Youll be happy you started dosing. Heck your tank is awesome now. Just wait til you dose.

 

[Rossreefer]

Hi Biggles, are you still running your Tunze pumps without a controller?