My 65G Shallow Reef Tank

[DiscusHeckel]

There is no way of answering your question with absolute accuracy unless I measure water flow around the siporax box with a lab equipment, or use siporax in a reactor.

All I can say is that my siporax box sits in between two baffles in my sump. The water flow in this section of the sump is under-over and over-under. Water flows over the box in a uniformed way, but the flow underneath the surface is very slow (see the picture below). I would say this is ideal to encourage anaerobic bacteria to colonise the media.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Hi everyone,

I hope you are well. I have been very busy lately and have been feeling guilty for not keeping up with your tank threads.

I have completed deforestation and then reforestation of my reef tank. I am very happy with the outcome and am now feeling that I can finally get my arms off my tank water for a considerable period of time. While cutting corals, I also removed the entire sand bed on the left hand side of the tank as part of my periodic nutrient export strategy and replaced it with new sand. I have also changed the flow arrangements in such a way that the sand is no longer moving about. Finally, I have also received two Tunze 6095 housing from Germany. I will put them on my 6055s to widen the flow.

While the sand looks clean, I have taken a few full tank shorts with two different light exposure settings on my camera. My tank looks a little different and perhaps a little less mature, but hey the way corals were growing, it was not sustainable to keep them any longer.

Thanks for looking.

Bulent

 

[mhucasey]

That looks fantastic Bulent!!! You did a great job with composition of color and form and you now have room to grow. Well done!!!

 

[drawman]

Looks gorgeous Bulent!

 

[reefmutt]

Wow, Bulent. Looks excellent.
Really nice job. I can see you put thought into stag placement and grow out potential.
What a beautiful young (old) reef you have!
Nice photos, as well.

 

[Chibils]

Absolutely beautiful Bülent!

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[DiscusHeckel]

That looks fantastic Bulent!!! You did a great job with composition of color and form and you now have room to grow. Well done!!!

Looks gorgeous Bulent!

Wow, Bulent. Looks excellent.
Really nice job. I can see you put thought into stag placement and grow out potential.
What a beautiful young (old) reef you have!
Nice photos, as well.

Absolutely beautiful Bülent!

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Thank you all for your encouraging words.

It is nice for a change not to have to worry about substantial fragging for a considerable period of time. I can now sit back and considerate on improving my pink colours on the sarmentosa, millepora and the SSC. Every other colour, including blues and purples look spot on to me and those who see my tank in person seem to agree.

Bye for now. :spin2:

 

[sahin]

Bulent those FTS look great. It's aesthetically very very pleasing :beer:

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Bulent those FTS look great. It's aesthetically very very pleasing :beer:

Thank you Sahin. I appreciate your praise. The tank is looking less crowded now. I have had to turn down my pumps significantly to avoid sand storms especially after replacing the propeller housings of two of my Tunze 6055s with wider flow versions used on Tunze 6095s.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Latest test results as of 13.00 this afternoon:

NO3: 5 ppm (Salifert)
PO4: 0.046 mg/l (Elos high resolution)
KH: 8 dKH (Salifert)
Ca: 400 ppm (Salifert)
Mg: 1300 ppm (Salifert)
K: 420 ppm (Salifert)

Alkalinity and calcium consumption are at an all time low due to deforestation. Limewater is for the first time meeting the tank's alkalinity and calcium requirements almost exclusively in these days. I am adding only 36 ml part-2 daily, which was well over 100 ml per day when the tank was packed with staghorns.

I have started to dose KZ sponge power again albeit at a smaller amount (2 drops daily as opposed 3 drops ) to help recently cut frags heal faster and establish. I am getting more diatoms on the glass and rocks as a result due to suspected silicates in this product. My Coco worms and giant feather duster worm appreciate diatoms when I clean the glass.

Moreover, I have re-started TM Pro-Coral iodine dosing, which is essentially lugol's solution (elemental iodine), twice a week (1 drop each time). I suspect that I am overdosing iodine because the KZ A- elements I am using daily already contains potassium iodide and though I cannot prove it KZ Sponge power must have some in it too. Having said that I cannot see any detrimental effect on any animals so far including the fish.

Finally, here are some top-down photos I took four days ago:

The sarmentosa has settled down on its new location. Its polyps are extended throughout the day. One of the two acro crabs has migrated to the desalwii. The pink colouration on its tips is coming back slowly.

The granulosa's growth rate has picked up recently. There is less green pigmentation on it.

The microclados is growing at a mad rate. During the deforestation process I have decided to dedicate the entire live rock to it and thus removed the acro directly above it to prevented it from being overpowered by the microclados. There was evidence that it was going to lose the acro war (see the white tip stung by the microclados in the second photo below).

 

[mhucasey]

Coral growth on steroids Bulent! That rock covered in coral is very impressive, hopefully their war will not have too many casualties.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Coral growth on steroids Bulent! That rock covered in coral is very impressive, hopefully their war will not have too many casualties.

I have already removed the coral on the left Matt. I anticipate that the encrusted sections on the left will be overtaken by the microclados on the right.

Both corals were placed on that rock as 1.5" frags last June.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

The echinata is having a growth spurt at the moment. I am happy with its progress. Referring back to what Andrew said about the colouration oft his coral, given the strong blue colours, the water must have the correct properties to sustain this colour. I lowered the light unit today. It is now 5" over the water surface. The bulbs are about 6 months old.

 

[markalot]

Holy cow that looks really top notch! I love the way the blue looks in front of the purple cap. Seriously, that's one of the best combinations I've seen. Deforestation success!

 

[reefmutt]

Very nice update, Bulent.
Things are looking really good in there!
I love the new coral population.
So, is it safe to say you have gone back, pretty much, to how you were doing things before the koral color?

 

[Wrangy]

Tank looks wonderful Bulent something everyone should be aspiring for

 

[kevlow]

The deforestation looks great! This leaves you room to try new things and acquire new pieces.
Could you share some info on the fifth photo [bottom pic] in post 590?
I think I might have a frag of this that I purchased as a nearly all white unknown acro. It was just starting to color a pastel lime green when I changed my system and spiked nitrates. It darkened very quickly. After two weeks it is lightening up again, getting it's color back.

It seems to be a very sensitive piece. Any knowledge on care, it's preferences, name or type that you could share would be greatly appreciated by me.

Thanks again,
Subscribed.

Kevin

 

[milsaltnewbie07]

Man that looks sexy!!!. Time for fore frags brother.

 

[plyle02]

Bulent, your tank is off the hook man! WOW, WOW, WOW!!!
Excellent FTS, excellent coral colors, and excellent photos. Just getting caught up on the journals after a long weekend at a coral show, yes been staring at corals for 3 days, and these pics have me smiling ear to ear. Whatever is going on in your tank, just keep doing it, this is the best group of photos you have posted, all the others are great, but the display is just perfect. Cheers Buddy

 

[joshky]

Bulent your tank look amazing, you did a fantastic job, seriously! That must have taken forever too! :eek1: